Glaciers Ebb on South Georgia Island

Frequent cloud cover in the southern Atlantic Ocean often obscures satellite images of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. But occasionally the clouds give way. On September 14, 2016, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured natural-color images of South Georgia Island, where several glaciers are in retreat. via NASA http://ift.tt/2m3yN2e

Images of the Sun From the GOES-16 Satellite

These images of the sun were captured at the same time on January 29, 2017 by the six channels on the Solar Ultraviolet Imager or SUVI instrument aboard NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite. Data from SUVI will provide an estimation of coronal plasma temperatures and emission measurements which are important to space weather forecasting. via NASA http://ift.tt/2lOkQTJ

Orion Spacecraft Progress Continues With Installation of Module to Test Propulsion Systems

On Feb. 22, engineers successfully installed ESA’s European Service Module Propulsion Qualification Module (PQM) at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico that was delivered by Airbus – ESA’s prime contractor for the Service Module. The module will be equipped with a total of 21 engines to support NASA’s Orion spacecraft. via NASA http://ift.tt/2lNu6cD

Sounding Rocket Launches to Study Auroras

A NASA Black Brant IX sounding rocket soars skyward into an aurora over Alaska following a 5:13 a.m. EST, Feb. 22, 2017 launch from the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska. The rocket carried an Ionospheric Structuring: In Situ and Groundbased Low Altitude StudieS (ISINGLASS) instrumented payload examining the structure of an aurora. via NASA http://ift.tt/2lp4hz6

Rays of Creusa

When viewed from a distance with the sun directly behind Cassini, the larger, brighter craters really stand out on moons like Dione. via NASA http://ift.tt/2kHYR3n

Liftoff of SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon From Launch Complex 39A

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This is the company's 10th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 9:39 a.m. EST from the historic launch site now operated by SpaceX under a property agreement with NASA. via NASA http://ift.tt/2kNCo03

Falcon 9 Rocket With Dragon Spacecraft Vertical at Launch Complex 39A

NASA provider SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft are vertical at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff of SpaceX's tenth Commercial Resupply Services cargo mission to the International Space Station is scheduled for 10:01 a.m. EST on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. via NASA http://ift.tt/2lr9OFB

Thomas Byrdsong, Aerospace Engineer at NASA Langley Research Center

On March 2, 1963 Engineer Thomas Byrdsong checks the Apollo/Saturn 1B Ground-wind-loads model in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. via NASA http://ift.tt/2ku7vT9

Glacial 'Aftershock' Spawns Antarctic Iceberg

Pine Island Glacier has shed another block of ice into Antarctic waters. The loss was tiny compared to the icebergs that broke off in 2014 and 2015, but the event is further evidence of the ice shelf’s fragility. via NASA http://ift.tt/2lhOlz6

Space Station Flight Over Venice

Expedition 50 Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency shared this photograph from the International Space Station on Feb. 14, 2017, writing, "Venice, city of gondoliers and the lovers they carry along the canals. Happy Valentine's Day!" via NASA http://ift.tt/2kti7fZ

F for Fabulous

When seen up close, the F ring of Saturn resolves into multiple dusty strands. This Cassini view shows three bright strands and a very faint fourth strand off to the right. via NASA http://ift.tt/2lc53zv

Hubble Sees Spiral in Andromeda

The Andromeda constellation is one of the 88 modern constellations and should not be confused with our neighboring Andromeda Galaxy. via NASA http://ift.tt/2kcRMCB

Jeanette A. Scissum, Scientist and Mathematician at NASA Marshall

Jeanette Scissum joined NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in 1964 after earning bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from Alabama A&M University. Scissum published a NASA report in 1967, “Survey of Solar Cycle Prediction Models,” which put forward techniques for improved forecasting of the sunspot cycle. via NASA http://ift.tt/2lofO2M

Sunrise at Rogers Dry Lake

A sunrise photo of Edwards Air Force Base’s Rogers Dry Lake was taken after heavy rainfall in southern California. NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center is seen in the foreground. via NASA http://ift.tt/2kmG89u

Antarctica’s Changing Larsen Ice Shelf

The Larsen Ice Shelf is situated along the northeastern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, one of the fastest-warming places on the planet. In the past three decades, two large sections of the ice shelf (Larsen A and B) collapsed. A third section (Larsen C) seems like it may be on a similar trajectory, with a new iceberg poised to break away soon. via NASA http://ift.tt/2khVD2e

Potentially Hospitable Enceladus

Seen from outside, Enceladus appears to be like most of its sibling moons: cold, icy and inhospitable. via NASA http://ift.tt/2kdYKIB

Hubble Captures Brilliant Star Death in “Rotten Egg” Nebula

The Calabash Nebula, pictured here is a spectacular example of the death of a low-mass star like the sun. via NASA http://ift.tt/2k9Nu2t

Looking Back: Dr. George Carruthers and Apollo 16 Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph

Dr. George Carruthers, right, and William Conway, a project manager at the Naval Research Institute, examine the gold-plated ultraviolet camera/spectrograph, the first moon-based observatory that Carruthers developed for the Apollo 16 mission. Apollo 16 astronauts placed the observatory on the moon in April 1972. via NASA http://ift.tt/2kwxJTs

Lake Powell and Grand Staircase-Escalante

This panorama, photographed by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, shows nearly the full length of Lake Powell, the reservoir on the Colorado River in southern Utah and northern Arizona. Note that the ISS was north of the lake at the time, so in this view south is at the top left of the image. via NASA http://ift.tt/2jw0kt1