space and stuff.

Sometimes planes too.

[the-wolf-and-moon]

NGC 6357, Heart of the Scorpion 

[humanoidhistory]

Classic Star Wars art by John Berkey, used for the original paperback novelization.

[fonseca1015]

[into-theuniverse]

IC 1805 & IC 1848 // Heart & Soul Nebulae (left)

and

NGC 869 & NGC 884 // h & Chi Perseii // The Double Cluster (right)

[macrocosmsofnebulae]

NASA to Hold Media Call on Evidence of Surprising Activity on Europa

NASA will host a teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT Monday, Sept. 26, to present new findings from images captured by the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa.

[macrocosmsofnebulae]

LIVE NOW: We’re launching to an asteroid! Watch live coverage of our OSIRIS-REx spacecraft lift off at 7:05 p.m. EDT aboard an Atlas V rocket on a...

[looking-at-the-universe]

[humanoidhistory]

TODAY IN HISTORY: Remembering teacher Christa McAuliffe, who perished in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 2, 1948.

[humanoidhistory]

Space is hard. Very hard. And terribly unforgiving.

Phil Plait (via humanoidhistory)

[thebeautifulcosmos]

[macrocosmsofnebulae]

Rosetta Spacecraft Scoops Up Surprise Speck of Fluffy Comet Dust

For the first time, the Rosetta spacecraft has analyzed pristine samples of dust from the comet it orbits, characterizing five tantalizing dust grains whose structure offers insight into the formation of comets and objects in the early solar system.

[macrocosmsofnebulae]

Boeing engineer and aircraft designer Joe Sutter, who achieved aviation icon status as the “Father of the 747”, died on 30 August. He was 95.

Rest in Peace Joe. Thank you for one of the greatest commercial aircrafts and for your contribution of the aviation industry.

[aeronick]

Thank you Joe, rest in peace.

[macrocosmsofnebulae]

Pluto Probe Spots Distant Dwarf Planet Quaoar (Photos)

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has photographed a distant dwarf planet cruising through the dark depths of the outer solar system.

[techniciansmakeithappen-blog]

As an Apprentice Telecoms Technician, Becky learns about connecting people. And connecting with people. 

When Becky finished her A Levels, she looked for a role that would really make a difference to the local community. Becky decided to join the Openreach apprenticeship to further develop her skills and to keep the homes and businesses in her local area connected.

Becky chose to pursue a technician role based on positive feedback from friends and the opportunities available around training and career progression. Becky also enjoys working outdoors and the fact that no job is ever the same.

She enjoys dealing with customers, installing phone and broadband services and fixing faults. She says that it makes her feel like she is making a real difference to the community. “They’re usually very grateful once their service is up and running again”.

Becky knows how important broadband is to households these days and also how dependent older people are on their phone line.

To find out more about technician careers at Openreach click here.

[techniciansmakeithappen-blog]

I just need space 

From your favourite festivals, to space exploration — did you know that #TechniciansMakeitHappen? 

Behind every incredible mission there’s a team of technicians making it happen. So you didn’t train as an astronaut. Why should that stop you reaching for the stars?

The space industry needs engineers, researchers and mathematicians to make dreams of space a reality.

Joe trained as a technician and now works at STFC RAL Space on equipment that is out of this world.

“I think it’s really exciting that something I’ve handled and helped to test at RAL Space is actually going to land on another planet.”

For more about careers in the space industry, check out spacecareers.uk or head to www.destinationspace.uk to find out where you’d sit on the space crew.

Space image credit: Greg Rakozy

[planned-planethood]

The Invisible Galaxy

A new form of diffuse galaxy has been discovered inside the Coma Cluster. This place is made 99.99% of dark matter, totally invisible as it doesn’t interact with light.

The galaxy is known as Dragonfly 44 and was discovered by astronomers Pieter van Dokkum and his colleagues.

The way star systems orbit around the center of a galaxy is inexplicable with “normal” physics. To account for the velocity variations and patterns we need to add a new ingredient to the gravitational pot: dark matter.

Dragonfly 44 in particular has so few stars that were the dark matter to be taken away, the galaxy would fly apart the same way you’d go flying if the cord holding the swing to a swing set were severed.

(Image credit: NASA, JPL-CalTech and L. Jenkins)