Category: Space Exploration

The Black Marble [Earth from Space at Night]

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date April 12, 2017
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Earth from Space at Night (NASA) — Today (April 12, 2017), NASA scientists have just released the first new global map of Earth at night after the original Black Marble, as well as a revised version of the 2012 map. The new images were taken in 2016 and they provide researchers with a unique perspective of human activities around the globe. By studying Earth at night, researchers can investigate how cities expand, monitor light intensity to estimate energy use and economic activity, and aid in disaster response.

The first new global map of Earth from space at night since 2012 has been released by NASA scientists. The nighttime look of our planet is dubbed the “Black Marble”. But why?

On December 7, 1972, the crew of Apollo 17 spacecraft en route to the Moon took a photo of Earth from space, at a distance of about 45,000 kilometers (28,000 miles). This image, with the official NASA designation AS17-148-22727, became known as “The Blue Marble“.

In fact, it was not the first clear image of Earth taken from space – similar photos had already been taken as early as 1967. But, the 1970s were the scene of a big surge in environmental activism. For example, on April 22, 1970, the first “Earth Day” was organized by Gaylord Nelson, former senator of Wisconsin, and Denis Hayes, Harvard graduate student. Millions of people gather in the United States for the event.

Jeff’s Earth [Amazing HD Video from the ISS]

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date March 2, 2017
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Red Sea from Space — On his most recent trip to the International Space Station (Expedition 48), recently-retired NASA astronaut Jeff Williams has recorded a great HD video of Earth using an Ultra High Definition video camera. In this amazingly beautiful image, we can see the Red Sea, Nile River, Suez Canal, and the southern Mediterranean.

On his most recent trip to the International Space Station (Expedition 48), recently-retired NASA astronaut Jeff Williams has recorded a great HD video of Earth (titled Jeff’s Earth) using an Ultra High Definition video camera.

Here in the video titled “Jeff’s Earth” below, he shares some of those images and talks about the beauty of the planet, the variety of things to see, and the value of sharing that perspective with everyone who can’t go to orbit in person.

Earth from Space Climate Space Exploration

GOES-16 Satellite delivers breathtaking Earth Images

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date January 23, 2017
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Earth and-Moon. GOES-16 image. — Launched on November 19, 2016 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the satellite now known as GOES-16 can now observe planet Earth from a geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above the equator. Its Advanced Baseline Imager captured this contrasting view of Earth and a gibbous Moon on January 15. The stark and airless Moon is not really the focus of GOES-16, though. Capable of providing a high resolution full disk image of Earth every 15 minutes in 16 spectral channels, the new generation satellite's instrumentation is geared to provide sharper, more detailed views of Earth's dynamic weather systems and enable more accurate weather forecasting. Like previous GOES weather satellites, GOES-16 will use the moon over our fair planet as a calibration target. Image: NASA.gov

The first set of images from the GOES-16 satellite (see notes 1) have been released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (N0AA). In the video below, published by Space.com, you can see the amazing images of the Earth and the Moon.

Earth from Space Mars Planet Earth Space Exploration

Photo of Earth and Moon from Mars

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date January 12, 2017
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NASA published an amazing image of Earth (and the Moon) from Mars, taken on November 20, 2016, by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The image is so incredibly detailed that we can see even the continents and clouds of Earth.

Earth from Space Places Planet Earth Space Exploration

10 Most Beautiful Earth Images Taken From the International Space Station in 2016

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date January 3, 2017
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Space Station flyover of the Mediterranean (January 2016) — This amazing nighttime photograph of Italy, Alps and Mediterranean was taken by the expedition 46 flight engineer Tim Peake on January 25, 2016. He shared this photo with his twitter followers.

Here are the top ten most beautiful Earth photos taken by the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2016.

Space Exploration Mars Solar System

SpaceX unveils the Interplanetary Transport System to colonize Mars

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date September 28, 2016
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Interplanetary Transport System - Separation Stage — There will be two main components of the system: SpaceX's new rocket, the BFR, or "Big F.cking Rocket" and the company's interplanetary spaceship, the BFS, or "Big F.cking Spaceship". The selected fuel type is deep-cryo methalox for 42 Raptor engines (SpaceX's next generation rocket engine) on the booster and 9 on the spacecraft (total of 51). The Raptor engine has about 500,000 pounds of thrust. Mask has said that the BFR will have 28,730,000 pounds of thrust at liftoff. The current Falcon 9 generates 1.7 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and uses nine "Merlin" engines.

Elon Musk, the founder, CEO, and Lead Designer of the private space travel company SpaceX announced that “they are planning to get humans to Mars in six years”. In order to achieve this goal, Musk revealed the Interplanetary Transport System, which aims to reach Mars with a human crew for the first time in history.

Solar System Astronomy Space Exploration

The scale of the Solar System and the first flybys of planets

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date September 22, 2016
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Solar System (distances not to scale) — Our solar system consists of an average star we call the Sun, the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. It includes: the satellites of the planets; numerous comets, asteroids, and meteoroids; and the interplanetary medium. The Solar System formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant interstellar molecular cloud. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun, with most of the remaining mass contained in Jupiter. The four smaller inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, are terrestrial planets, being primarily composed of rock and metal. The four outer planets are giant planets, being substantially more massive than the terrestrials. The two largest, Jupiter and Saturn, are gas giants, being composed mainly of hydrogen and helium; the two outermost planets, Uranus and Neptune, are ice giants, being composed mostly of substances with relatively high melting points compared with hydrogen and helium, called ices, such as water, ammonia and methane. All planets have almost circular orbits that lie within a nearly flat disc called the ecliptic. Image: Wikipedia

Previously I posted two articles titled “If The Moon Were Only 1 Pixel – A Tediously Accurate Map Of The Solar System“, and “A Scale Model of Solar System Drawn in the Desert and the Result is Stunning“. In these posts, science enthusiasts have shown the scale of the solar system realistically. Since the human brain cannot deal with really large numbers, these articles provide an amazing way to understand how big actually our Solar System is.

Now, I decided to put the Solar System into scale as an infographic. You can see the scale of the Solar System below, the planets’ distances from the Sun, and the first flybys over them. Plus some statistics about the planets and our home planet, the Earth. Planet sizes are not scaled since they’d be too small to be seen at this scale.

Earth from Space Space Exploration

A Year of Earth From a Million Miles Away [EPIC NASA video]

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date July 25, 2016
2 Comments on A Year of Earth From a Million Miles Away [EPIC NASA video]

"EPIC" Earth Image by NASA (July 06, 2015) — At the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrangian point, 1,500,000 km (930,000 mi) from Earth; NASA's Deep Space Climate Observatory took an amazing photo of the entire sunlit side of Earth. Photo: NASA

A year after returning its first image, NASA’s EPIC camera, a four-megapixel CCD camera, and telescope attached to the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) show us an entire year of Earth from a million miles away. The result is the amazing video below.

With the voice of Jay Herman, EPIC lead scientist.

Science Fiction Space Exploration

SpaceX Falcon 9 lands on a barge [and the Science Fiction sees the future again!]

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date April 12, 2016
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Left: SpaceX Falcon 9 Flight 23 landing (2016), right: the landing scene from The Sky Calls (1959 Russian Science Fiction Movie)

April 8, 2016, was a historical day that marked a new milestone in humanity’s space adventure: after delivering CRS-8 cargo on its way to the International Space Station, SpaceX Falcon 9 Flight 23, the third flight of the full thrust version landed vertically on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You over the Atlantic Ocean, 300 km (185 miles) from the Florida coastline, achieving a long-sought-after milestone for the SpaceX reusability development program.

Here are the videos of that historical moment:

Mars Space Exploration

NASA’s 360-Degree Interactive Image of Mars

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date March 28, 2016
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Mars surface (NASA, Curiosity) — On February 2016, NASA has released an interactive 360 degrees image of Mars, and you can see it on the popular video uploading site youtube. You can see our neighbor planet's surface with your own eyes, in HD!

NASA has unveiled a groundbreaking treat for space enthusiasts and curious minds alike, as they released a captivating interactive 360-degree image of Mars. Offering an immersive experience, this unprecedented glimpse into the Red Planet’s rugged terrain allows users to explore its alien landscapes from the comfort of their own screens. With each click and drag, this remarkable visual artifact invites us to venture into the mysteries of Mars, fostering a deeper understanding of our neighboring celestial body.