"NASA Beyond Boundaries"

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory — SDO — has now been watching the Sun non-stop for over a full decade. From its orbit in space around the Earth, SDO has gathered 425 million high-resolution images of the Sun, amassing 20 million gigabytes of data over the past 10 years. This information has enabled countless new discoveries about the workings of our closest star and how it influences the solar system. With a triad of instruments, SDO captures an image of the Sun every 0.75 seconds. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument alone captures images every 12 seconds at 10 different wavelengths of light. This 10-year time lapse showcases photos taken at a wavelength of 17.1 nanometers, which is an extreme ultraviolet wavelength that shows the Sun’s outermost atmospheric layer — the corona. Compiling one photo every hour, the movie condenses a decade of the Sun into 61 minutes. The video shows the rise and fall in activity that occurs as part of the Sun’s 11-year solar cycle and notable events, like transiting planets and eruptions. The custom music, titled “Solar Observer,” was composed by musician Lars Leonhard (https://www.lars-leonhard.de). While SDO has kept an unblinking eye pointed towards the Sun, there have been a few moments it missed. The dark frames in the video are caused by Earth or the Moon eclipsing SDO as they pass between the spacecraft and the Sun. A longer blackout in 2016 was caused by a temporary issue with the AIA instrument that was successfully resolved after a week. The images where the Sun is off-center were observed when SDO was calibrating its instruments. SDO and other NASA missions will continue to watch our Sun in the years to come, providing further insights about our place in space and information to keep our astronauts and assets safe. Some noteworthy events appear briefly in this time lapse. Use the time links below to jump to each event, or follow the links to more detailed views. 6:20 June 7, 2011-- A massive prominence eruption explodes from the lower right of the Sun. #NASA #SpaceExploration #Astronomy #SpaceScience #Universe #Planets #Astronauts #SpaceMissions #RocketLaunch #SolarSystem #CosmicDiscoveries #SatelliteImaging #Spacewalks #SpaceTechnology #AstronomicalPhenomena #EarthfromSpace #DeepSpace #InternationalSpaceStation(ISS) #LunarExploration #Exoplanets #HubbleSpaceTelescope #NASAImages #SpaceDocumentary #SpaceTravel #NASAResearch

This 4K visualization shows the Moon's phase and libration at hourly intervals throughout 2022, as viewed from the Southern Hemisphere. Each frame represents one hour. In addition, this visualization shows the Moon's orbit position, sub-Earth and subsolar points, and distance from the Earth at true scale. Craters near the terminator are labeled, as are Apollo landing sites, maria, and other albedo features in sunlight. Video credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Data visualization by Ernie Wright (USRA) Producer & Editor - David Ladd (AIMM) Music provided by Universal Production Music: “Blossom Hills” – Achille Richard #NASA #SpaceExploration #Astronomy #SpaceScience #Universe #Planets #Astronauts #SpaceMissions #RocketLaunch #SolarSystem #CosmicDiscoveries #SatelliteImaging #Spacewalks #SpaceTechnology #AstronomicalPhenomena #EarthfromSpace #DeepSpace #InternationalSpaceStation(ISS) #LunarExploration #Exoplanets #HubbleSpaceTelescope #NASAImages #SpaceDocumentary #SpaceTravel #NASAResearch

NASA’s Lucy mission tests the deployment of its solar arrays in the thermal vacuum chamber at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado. Each of the two circular arrays is nearly 24 feet (7.3 m) wide. These arrays will power Lucy on its 12-year odyssey through the Jupiter Trojan asteroids, breaking records for a solar powered mission by traveling 530 million miles (853 million km) from the Sun. These large arrays will capture the sunlight needed to power the spacecraft as it travels through deep space. #NASA #SpaceExploration #Astronomy #SpaceScience #Universe #Planets #Astronauts #SpaceMissions #RocketLaunch #SolarSystem #CosmicDiscoveries #SatelliteImaging #Spacewalks #SpaceTechnology #AstronomicalPhenomena #EarthfromSpace #DeepSpace #InternationalSpaceStation(ISS) #LunarExploration #Exoplanets #HubbleSpaceTelescope #NASAImages #SpaceDocumentary #SpaceTravel #NASAResearch

The astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station take pictures of Earth out their windows nearly every day, and over a year that adds up to thousands of photos. The people at the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston had the enviable job of going through this year’s crop to pick their top 17 photos of Earth for 2017—here’s what they chose! Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth: #NASA #SpaceExploration #Astronomy #SpaceScience #Universe #Planets #Astronauts #SpaceMissions #RocketLaunch #SolarSystem #CosmicDiscoveries #SatelliteImaging #Spacewalks #SpaceTechnology #AstronomicalPhenomena #EarthfromSpace #DeepSpace #InternationalSpaceStation(ISS) #LunarExploration #Exoplanets #HubbleSpaceTelescope #NASAImages #SpaceDocumentary #SpaceTravel #NASAResearch

NASA's Parker Solar Probe and its United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle prepare for an unprecedented mission to "kiss the Sun." #NASA #SpaceExploration #Astronomy #SpaceScience #Universe #Planets #Astronauts #SpaceMissions #RocketLaunch #SolarSystem #CosmicDiscoveries #SatelliteImaging #Spacewalks #SpaceTechnology #AstronomicalPhenomena #EarthfromSpace #DeepSpace #InternationalSpaceStation(ISS) #LunarExploration #Exoplanets #HubbleSpaceTelescope #NASAImages #SpaceDocumentary #SpaceTravel #NASAResearch

101955 Bennu is one of Earth’s closest planetary neighbors – an asteroid roughly the height of a skyscraper, and since late 2018, the place that NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has called home. When OSIRIS-REx arrived on Dec. 3, 2018, it began wrapping Bennu in a complex web of observations. OSIRIS-REx departs Bennu on May 10, 2021, on a return voyage to Earth, bringing with it over 60 grams of sample collected from the asteroid. This narrated video presents the mission’s complete trajectory during its time at Bennu. Music: “Visionary” by Andy Blythe and Marten Joustra; “Babel” by Max Cameron Concors, via Universal Production Music Data provided by: NASA/University of Arizona/CSA/York University/Open University/MDA Video credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio Dan Gallagher (USRA): Producer Kel Elkins (USRA): Producer Kel Elkins (USRA): Lead Data Visualizer Dan Gallagher (USRA): Narrator Michael Moreau (NASA/GSFC): Deputy Project Manager Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona): Principal Investigator Kenny Getzandanner (NASA/GSFC): Engineer #NASA #SpaceExploration #Astronomy #SpaceScience #Universe #Planets #Astronauts #SpaceMissions #RocketLaunch #SolarSystem #CosmicDiscoveries #SatelliteImaging #Spacewalks #SpaceTechnology #AstronomicalPhenomena #EarthfromSpace #DeepSpace #InternationalSpaceStation(ISS) #LunarExploration #Exoplanets #HubbleSpaceTelescope #NASAImages #SpaceDocumentary #SpaceTravel #NASAResearch

This video chronicles solar activity from Aug. 12 to Dec. 22, 2022, as captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). From its orbit in space around Earth, SDO has steadily imaged the Sun in 4K x 4K resolution for nearly 13 years. This information has enabled countless new discoveries about the workings of our closest star and how it influences the solar system. With a triad of instruments, SDO captures an image of the Sun every 0.75 seconds. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument alone captures images every 12 seconds at 10 different wavelengths of light. This 133-day time lapse showcases photos taken at a wavelength of 17.1 nanometers, which is an extreme-ultraviolet wavelength that shows the Sun’s outermost atmospheric layer: the corona. Compiling images taken 108 seconds apart, the movie condenses 133 days, or about four months, of solar observations into 59 minutes. The video shows bright active regions passing across the face of the Sun as it rotates. The Sun rotates approximately once every 27 days. The loops extending above the bright regions are magnetic fields that have trapped hot, glowing plasma. These bright regions are also the source of solar flares, which appear as bright flashes as magnetic fields snap together in a process called magnetic reconnection. While SDO has kept an unblinking eye pointed toward the Sun, there have been a few moments it missed. Some of the dark frames in the video are caused by Earth or the Moon eclipsing SDO as they pass between the spacecraft and the Sun. Other blackouts are caused by instrumentation being down or data errors. SDO transmits 1.4 terabytes of data to the ground every day. The images where the Sun is off-center were observed when SDO was calibrating its instruments. SDO and other NASA missions will continue to watch our Sun in the years to come, providing further insights about our place in space and information to keep our astronauts and assets safe. The music is a continuous mix from Lars Leonhard’s “Geometric Shapes” album, courtesy of the artist. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scott Wiessinger (PAO): Lead Producer Tom Bridgman (SVS): Lead Visualizer Scott Wiessinger (PAO): Editor #NASA #SpaceExploration #Astronomy #SpaceScience #Universe #Planets #Astronauts #SpaceMissions #RocketLaunch #SolarSystem #CosmicDiscoveries #SatelliteImaging #Spacewalks #SpaceTechnology #AstronomicalPhenomena #EarthfromSpace #DeepSpace #InternationalSpaceStation(ISS) #LunarExploration #Exoplanets #HubbleSpaceTelescope #NASAImages #SpaceDocumentary #SpaceTravel #NASAResearch

Parkinson’s disease affects more than 5 million people on Earth. Research on the International Space Station could provide insight into this chronic neurodegenerative disease and help scientists find ways to treat and prevent it. In this video, NASA astronaut Serena Auñon-Chancellor narrates as European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Alexander Gerst uses a microscope to examine and photograph the LRRK2 crystals. #NASA #SpaceExploration #Astronomy #SpaceScience #Universe #Planets #Astronauts #SpaceMissions #RocketLaunch #SolarSystem #CosmicDiscoveries #SatelliteImaging #Spacewalks #SpaceTechnology #AstronomicalPhenomena #EarthfromSpace #DeepSpace #InternationalSpaceStation(ISS) #LunarExploration #Exoplanets #HubbleSpaceTelescope #NASAImages #SpaceDocumentary #SpaceTravel #NASAResearch

For Earth Day 2021, we explore the connections of Earth systems and NASA's ability to observe them in a changing world, highlighting the links between dust transport, vegetation, water quality, conservation and human health, the cryosphere, and disasters. Music: "Ellipsis" and "Terrafirma" by Ben Niblett and Jon Cotton [PRS] via Universal Production Music Video credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Jefferson Beck (USRA): Lead Producer Ellen T. Gray (ADNET): Writer Sofie Bates (KBR): Writer Roberto Molar Candanosa (KBR): Writer #NASA #SpaceExploration #Astronomy #SpaceScience #Universe #Planets #Astronauts #SpaceMissions #RocketLaunch #SolarSystem #CosmicDiscoveries #SatelliteImaging #Spacewalks #SpaceTechnology #AstronomicalPhenomena #EarthfromSpace #DeepSpace #InternationalSpaceStation(ISS) #LunarExploration #Exoplanets #HubbleSpaceTelescope #NASAImages #SpaceDocumentary #SpaceTravel #NASAResearch

While Apollo placed the first steps on the Moon, Artemis opens the door for humanity to sustainably work and live on another world for the first time. Using the lunar surface as a proving ground for living on Mars, this next chapter in exploration will forever establish our presence in the stars. ✨ We are returning to the Moon – to stay – and this is how we are going! Actress Kelly Marie Tran of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” lent her voice to this project. #NASA #SpaceExploration #Astronomy #SpaceScience #Universe #Planets #Astronauts #SpaceMissions #RocketLaunch #SolarSystem #CosmicDiscoveries #SatelliteImaging #Spacewalks #SpaceTechnology #AstronomicalPhenomena #EarthfromSpace #DeepSpace #InternationalSpaceStation(ISS) #LunarExploration #Exoplanets #HubbleSpaceTelescope #NASAImages #SpaceDocumentary #SpaceTravel #NASAResearch