37th Space Symposium opening fireworks, Monday, April 4, 2022, Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

37th Space Symposium Fireworks

Resembling sparks from a fireworks display, this image taken by a JPL camera onboard NASA Hubble Space Telescope shows delicate filaments that are sheets of debris from a stellar explosion in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy.

Celestial Fireworks

GUESTS WERE TREATED TO A FABULOUS FIREWORKS DISPLAY BESIDE THE DAVIDSON CENTER AT THE END OF THE NIGHT.

1101229

A New Set of Solar Fireworks

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of an M9-class flare on Oct 20, 2012 at 2:14 p.m. EDT. This image shows light at a wavelength of 131 Angstroms, which corresponds to material at 10 million Kelvin, and is a good wavelength for observing flares. This wavelength is typically colorized as teal, as shown here. To read more go to: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News102012-m9flare.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News102012-m9fla...</a> Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

NASA Unveils Celestial Fireworks as Official Image for Hubble 25th Anniversary

The brilliant tapestry of young stars flaring to life resemble a glittering fireworks display in the 25th anniversary NASA Hubble Space Telescope image, released to commemorate a quarter century of exploring the solar system and beyond since its launch on April 24, 1990. “Hubble has completely transformed our view of the universe, revealing the true beauty and richness of the cosmos” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “This vista of starry fireworks and glowing gas is a fitting image for our celebration of 25 years of amazing Hubble science.” The sparkling centerpiece of Hubble’s anniversary fireworks is a giant cluster of about 3,000 stars called Westerlund 2, named for Swedish astronomer Bengt Westerlund who discovered the grouping in the 1960s. The cluster resides in a raucous stellar breeding ground known as Gum 29, located 20,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Carina. Read more: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-unveils-celestial-fireworks-as-official-image-for-hubble-25th-anniversary" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-unveils-celestial-firewor...</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Firework Nova

In Hollywood blockbusters, explosions are often among the stars of the show. In space, explosions of actual stars are a focus for scientists who hope to better understand their births, lives, and deaths and how they interact with their surroundings. Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have studied one particular explosion that may provide clues to the dynamics of other, much larger stellar eruptions. A team of researchers pointed the telescope at GK Persei, an object that became a sensation in the astronomical world in 1901 when it suddenly appeared as one of the brightest stars in the sky for a few days, before gradually fading away in brightness. Today, astronomers cite GK Persei as an example of a “classical nova,” an outburst produced by a thermonuclear explosion on the surface of a white dwarf star, the dense remnant of a Sun-like star.

Firework Nova

Nova Stars are essentially giant fusion reactions occurring in the vacuum of space. Because stars have so much mass, they possess powerful gravitational force—but they don’t collapse because of the outward force generated by nuclear fusion, continually converting hydrogen atoms to helium. Sometimes stars begin orbiting each other, forming a binary star system. Typically this involves a white dwarf star and a red giant. Orbiting the red giant like a moon, the dwarf star rips matter from its companion until it essentially gags on the excess, coughing hot gas and radiation into space. This dramatic phenomenon is relatively common, and the white dwarf is not destroyed in the resulting nova. To learn more about x-ray emissions, read about NASA’s Chandra mission: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/main/" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/main/</a> --- Original caption: In Hollywood blockbusters, explosions are often among the stars of the show. In space, explosions of actual stars are a focus for scientists who hope to better understand their births, lives, and deaths and how they interact with their surroundings. Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have studied one particular explosion that may provide clues to the dynamics of other, much larger stellar eruptions. A team of researchers pointed the telescope at GK Persei, an object that became a sensation in the astronomical world in 1901 when it suddenly appeared as one of the brightest stars in the sky for a few days, before gradually fading away in brightness. Today, astronomers cite GK Persei as an example of a “classical nova,” an outburst produced by a thermonuclear explosion on the surface of a white dwarf star, the dense remnant of a Sun-like star. Read Full Article: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/mini-supernova-explosion-could-have-big-impact.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/mini-supernova-explosi...</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Hubble Reveals Stellar Fireworks in ‘Skyrocket’ Galaxy

Fireworks shows are not just confined to Earth’s skies. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured a spectacular fireworks display in a small, nearby galaxy, which resembles a July 4th skyrocket. A firestorm of star birth is lighting up one end of the diminutive galaxy Kiso 5639. The dwarf galaxy is shaped like a flattened pancake, but because it is tilted edge-on, it resembles a skyrocket, with a brilliant blazing head and a long, star-studded tail. Kiso 5639 is a rare, nearby example of elongated galaxies that occur in abundance at larger distances, where we observe the universe during earlier epochs. Astronomers suggest that the frenzied star birth is sparked by intergalactic gas raining on one end of the galaxy as it drifts through space. “I think Kiso 5639 is a beautiful, up-close example of what must have been common long ago,” said lead researcher Debra Elmegreen of Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie, New York. “The current thinking is that galaxies in the early universe grow from accreting gas from the surrounding neighborhood. It’s a stage that galaxies, including our Milky Way, must go through as they are growing up.” Observations of the early universe, such as Hubble’s Ultra-Deep Field, reveal that about 10 percent of all galaxies have these elongated shapes, and are collectively called “tadpoles.” But studies of the nearby universe have turned up only a few of these unusual galaxies, including Kiso 5639. The development of the nearby star-making tadpole galaxies, however, has lagged behind that of their peers, which have spent billions of years building themselves up into many of the spiral galaxies seen today. Elmegreen used Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 to conduct a detailed imaging study of Kiso 5639. The images in different filters reveal information about an object by dissecting its light into its component colors. Hubble’s crisp resolution helped Elmegreen and her team analyze the giant star-forming clumps in Kiso 5639 and determine the masses and ages of the star clusters. The international team of researchers selected Kiso 5639 from a spectroscopic survey of 10 nearby tadpole galaxies, observed with the Grand Canary Telescope in La Palma, Spain, by Jorge Sanchez Almeida and collaborators at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias. The observations revealed that in most of those galaxies, including Kiso 5639, the gas composition is not uniform. The bright gas in the galaxy’s head contains fewer heavier elements (collectively called “metals”), such as carbon and oxygen, than the rest of the galaxy. Stars consist mainly of hydrogen and helium, but cook up other “heavier” elements. When the stars die, they release their heavy elements and enrich the surrounding gas. “The metallicity suggests that there has to be rather pure gas, composed mostly of hydrogen, coming into the star-forming part of the galaxy, because intergalactic space contains more pristine hydrogen-rich gas,” Elmegreen explained. “Otherwise, the starburst region should be as rich in heavy elements as the rest of the galaxy.” Hubble offers a detailed view of the galaxy’s star-making frenzy. The telescope uncovered several dozen clusters of stars in the galaxy’s star-forming head, which spans 2,700 light-years across. These clusters have an average age of less than 1 million years and masses that are three to six times larger than those in the rest of the galaxy. Other star formation is taking place throughout the galaxy but on a much smaller scale. Star clusters in the rest of the galaxy are between several million to a few billion years old. “There is much more star formation going on in the head than what you would expect in such a tiny galaxy,” said team member Bruce Elmegreen of IBM’s Thomas J. Watson’s Research Center, in Yorktown Heights, New York. “And we think the star formation is triggered by the ongoing accretion of metal-poor gas onto a part of an otherwise quiescent dwarf galaxy.” Hubble also revealed giant holes peppered throughout the galaxy’s starburst head. These cavities give the galaxy’s head a Swiss-cheese appearance because numerous supernova detonations – like firework aerial bursts – have carved out holes of rarified superheated gas. The galaxy, located 82 million light-years away, has taken billions of years to develop because it has been drifting through an isolated “desert” in the universe, devoid of much gas. What triggered the starburst in such a backwater galaxy? Based on simulations by Daniel Ceverino of the Center for Astronomy at Heidelberg University in Germany, and other team members, the observations suggest that less than 1 million years ago, Kiso 5639’s leading edge encountered a filament of gas. The filament dropped a large clump of matter onto the galaxy, stoking the vigorous star birth. Debra Elmegreen expects that in the future other parts of the galaxy will join in the star-making fireworks show. “Galaxies rotate, and as Kiso 5639 continues to spin, another part of the galaxy may receive an infusion of new gas from this filament, instigating another round of star birth,” she said. The team’s results have been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. Other team members include Casiana Munoz-Tunon and Mercedes Filho (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Canary Islands), Jairo Mendez-Abreu (University of St. Andrews, United Kingdom), John Gallagher (University of Wisconsin-Madison), and Marc Rafelski (NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland). The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington, D.C. For images and more information about Kiso 5639 and Hubble, visit: <a href="http://hubblesite.org/news/2016/23" rel="nofollow">hubblesite.org/news/2016/23</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/hubble" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/hubble</a> Image credit: NASA, ESA, and D. Elmegreen (Vassar College) <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Overall view of the Houston Astrodome during a fireworks display at the 1997 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The event was attended by NASA and Russian Space Agency dignitaries.

Fireworks in the Astrodome during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Starburst Cluster Shows Celestial Fireworks

NASA image release June 6, 2010 Like a July 4 fireworks display a young, glittering collection of stars looks like an aerial burst. The cluster is surrounded by clouds of interstellar gas and dust - the raw material for new star formation. The nebula, located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina, contains a central cluster of huge, hot stars, called NGC 3603. This environment is not as peaceful as it looks. Ultraviolet radiation and violent stellar winds have blown out an enormous cavity in the gas and dust enveloping the cluster, providing an unobstructed view of the cluster. Most of the stars in the cluster were born around the same time but differ in size, mass, temperature, and color. The course of a star's life is determined by its mass, so a cluster of a given age will contain stars in various stages of their lives, giving an opportunity for detailed analyses of stellar life cycles. NGC 3603 also contains some of the most massive stars known. These huge stars live fast and die young, burning through their hydrogen fuel quickly and ultimately ending their lives in supernova explosions. Star clusters like NGC 3603 provide important clues to understanding the origin of massive star formation in the early, distant universe. Astronomers also use massive clusters to study distant starbursts that occur when galaxies collide, igniting a flurry of star formation. The proximity of NGC 3603 makes it an excellent lab for studying such distant and momentous events. This Hubble Space Telescope image was captured in August 2009 and December 2009 with the Wide Field Camera 3 in both visible and infrared light, which trace the glow of sulfur, hydrogen, and iron. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. in Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA, ESA, R. O'Connell (University of Virginia), F. Paresce (National Institute for Astrophysics, Bologna, Italy), E. Young (Universities Space Research Association/Ames Research Center), the WFC3 Science Oversight Committee, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe.

Hubble Reveals Stellar Fireworks in ‘Skyrocket’ Galaxy

Fireworks shows are not just confined to Earth’s skies. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured a spectacular fireworks display in a small, nearby galaxy, which resembles a July 4th skyrocket. A firestorm of star birth is lighting up one end of the diminutive galaxy Kiso 5639. The dwarf galaxy is shaped like a flattened pancake, but because it is tilted edge-on, it resembles a skyrocket, with a brilliant blazing head and a long, star-studded tail. Kiso 5639 is a rare, nearby example of elongated galaxies that occur in abundance at larger distances, where we observe the universe during earlier epochs. Astronomers suggest that the frenzied star birth is sparked by intergalactic gas raining on one end of the galaxy as it drifts through space. “I think Kiso 5639 is a beautiful, up-close example of what must have been common long ago,” said lead researcher Debra Elmegreen of Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie, New York. “The current thinking is that galaxies in the early universe grow from accreting gas from the surrounding neighborhood. It’s a stage that galaxies, including our Milky Way, must go through as they are growing up.” Observations of the early universe, such as Hubble’s Ultra-Deep Field, reveal that about 10 percent of all galaxies have these elongated shapes, and are collectively called “tadpoles.” But studies of the nearby universe have turned up only a few of these unusual galaxies, including Kiso 5639. The development of the nearby star-making tadpole galaxies, however, has lagged behind that of their peers, which have spent billions of years building themselves up into many of the spiral galaxies seen today. Elmegreen used Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 to conduct a detailed imaging study of Kiso 5639. The images in different filters reveal information about an object by dissecting its light into its component colors. Hubble’s crisp resolution helped Elmegreen and her team analyze the giant star-forming clumps in Kiso 5639 and determine the masses and ages of the star clusters. The international team of researchers selected Kiso 5639 from a spectroscopic survey of 10 nearby tadpole galaxies, observed with the Grand Canary Telescope in La Palma, Spain, by Jorge Sanchez Almeida and collaborators at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias. The observations revealed that in most of those galaxies, including Kiso 5639, the gas composition is not uniform. The bright gas in the galaxy’s head contains fewer heavier elements (collectively called “metals”), such as carbon and oxygen, than the rest of the galaxy. Stars consist mainly of hydrogen and helium, but cook up other “heavier” elements. When the stars die, they release their heavy elements and enrich the surrounding gas. “The metallicity suggests that there has to be rather pure gas, composed mostly of hydrogen, coming into the star-forming part of the galaxy, because intergalactic space contains more pristine hydrogen-rich gas,” Elmegreen explained. “Otherwise, the starburst region should be as rich in heavy elements as the rest of the galaxy.” Hubble offers a detailed view of the galaxy’s star-making frenzy. The telescope uncovered several dozen clusters of stars in the galaxy’s star-forming head, which spans 2,700 light-years across. These clusters have an average age of less than 1 million years and masses that are three to six times larger than those in the rest of the galaxy. Other star formation is taking place throughout the galaxy but on a much smaller scale. Star clusters in the rest of the galaxy are between several million to a few billion years old. “There is much more star formation going on in the head than what you would expect in such a tiny galaxy,” said team member Bruce Elmegreen of IBM’s Thomas J. Watson’s Research Center, in Yorktown Heights, New York. “And we think the star formation is triggered by the ongoing accretion of metal-poor gas onto a part of an otherwise quiescent dwarf galaxy.” Hubble also revealed giant holes peppered throughout the galaxy’s starburst head. These cavities give the galaxy’s head a Swiss-cheese appearance because numerous supernova detonations – like firework aerial bursts – have carved out holes of rarified superheated gas. The galaxy, located 82 million light-years away, has taken billions of years to develop because it has been drifting through an isolated “desert” in the universe, devoid of much gas. What triggered the starburst in such a backwater galaxy? Based on simulations by Daniel Ceverino of the Center for Astronomy at Heidelberg University in Germany, and other team members, the observations suggest that less than 1 million years ago, Kiso 5639’s leading edge encountered a filament of gas. The filament dropped a large clump of matter onto the galaxy, stoking the vigorous star birth. Debra Elmegreen expects that in the future other parts of the galaxy will join in the star-making fireworks show. “Galaxies rotate, and as Kiso 5639 continues to spin, another part of the galaxy may receive an infusion of new gas from this filament, instigating another round of star birth,” she said. The team’s results have been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. Other team members include Casiana Munoz-Tunon and Mercedes Filho (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Canary Islands), Jairo Mendez-Abreu (University of St. Andrews, United Kingdom), John Gallagher (University of Wisconsin-Madison), and Marc Rafelski (NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland). The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington, D.C.

NASA Telescope Spots Mystery in Fireworks Galaxy

This visible-light image of the Fireworks galaxy (NGC 6946) comes from the Digital Sky Survey and is overlaid with data from NASA's NuSTAR observatory (shown in blue and green). Blue light indicates X-rays captured during the first of two observations by NuSTAR, in May 2017. Green light indicates X-rays seen less than two weeks later in the second observation. This means that the source of the green spot to the lower left of the galactic center began radiating in the time between those two observations. Two bright sources near the top of the image show a combination of blue and green, indicating those sources were visible during both observations. The X-ray data don't have the same spatial resolution as the visible-light image, so the X-ray sources appear larger. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23401

Hubble Sees Stars and a Stripe in Celestial Fireworks

Release date: July 1, 2008 SN 1006 Supernova Remnant (Hubble) A delicate ribbon of gas floats eerily in our galaxy. A contrail from an alien spaceship? A jet from a black-hole? Actually this image, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, is a very thin section of a supernova remnant caused by a stellar explosion that occurred more than 1,000 years ago. On or around May 1, 1006 A.D., observers from Africa to Europe to the Far East witnessed and recorded the arrival of light from what is now called SN 1006, a tremendous supernova explosion caused by the final death throes of a white dwarf star nearly 7,000 light-years away. The supernova was probably the brightest star ever seen by humans, and surpassed Venus as the brightest object in the night time sky, only to be surpassed by the moon. It was visible even during the day for weeks, and remained visible to the naked eye for at least two and a half years before fading away. It wasn't until the mid-1960s that radio astronomers first detected a nearly circular ring of material at the recorded position of the supernova. The ring was almost 30 arcminutes across, the same angular diameter as the full moon. The size of the remnant implied that the blast wave from the supernova had expanded at nearly 20 million miles per hour over the nearly 1,000 years since the explosion occurred. In 1976, the first detection of exceedingly faint optical emission of the supernova remnant was reported, but only for a filament located on the northwest edge of the radio ring. A tiny portion of this filament is revealed in detail by the Hubble observation. The twisting ribbon of light seen by Hubble corresponds to locations where the expanding blast wave from the supernova is now sweeping into very tenuous surrounding gas. The hydrogen gas heated by this fast shock wave emits radiation in visible light. Hence, the optical emission provides astronomers with a detailed "snapshot" of the actual position and geometry of the shock front at any given time. Bright edges within the ribbon correspond to places where the shock wave is seen exactly edge on to our line of sight. Today we know that SN 1006 has a diameter of nearly 60 light-years, and it is still expanding at roughly 6 million miles per hour. Even at this tremendous speed, however, it takes observations typically separated by years to see significant outward motion of the shock wave against the grid of background stars. In the Hubble image as displayed, the supernova would have occurred far off the lower right corner of the image, and the motion would be toward the upper left. SN 1006 resides within our Milky Way Galaxy. Located more than 14 degrees off the plane of the galaxy's disk, there is relatively little confusion with other foreground and background objects in the field when trying to study this object. In the Hubble image, many background galaxies (orange extended objects) far off in the distant universe can be seen dotting the image. Most of the white dots are foreground or background stars in our Milky Way galaxy. This image is a composite of hydrogen-light observations taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in February 2006 and Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 observations in blue, yellow-green, and near-infrared light taken in April 2008. The supernova remnant, visible only in the hydrogen-light filter was assigned a red hue in the Heritage color image. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgment: W. Blair (Johns Hopkins University) To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Hubble Sees Stars and a Stripe in Celestial Fireworks

Release date: July 1, 2008 This image is a composite of visible (or optical), radio, and X-ray data of the full shell of the supernova remnant from SN 1006. The radio data show much of the extent that the X-ray image shows. In contrast, only a small linear filament in the northwest corner of the shell is visible in the optical data. The object has an angular size of roughly 30 arcminutes (0.5 degree, or about the size of the full moon), and a physical size of 60 light-years (18 parsecs) based on its distance of nearly 7,000 light-years. The small green box along the bright filament at the top of the image corresponds to the dimensions of the Hubble release image. The optical data was obtained at the University of Michigan's 0.9-meter Curtis Schmidt telescope at the National Science Foundation's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) near La Serena, Chile. H-alpha, continuum-subtracted data were provided by F. Winkler (Middlebury COllege) et al. The X-ray data were acquired from the Chandra X-ray Observatory's AXAF CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) at 0.5-3keV, and were provided by J. Hughes (Rutgers University) et al. The radio data, supplied by K. Dyer (NRAO, Socorro) et al., were a composite from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array (NRAO/VLA) in Socorro, New Mexico, along with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in Green Bank, West Virginia. Data of the supernova remnant were blended on a visible-light stellar background created using the Digitized Sky Survey's Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO2) blue and red plates. Photo Credit: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI) Science Credit: Radio: NRAO/AUI/NSF GBT+VLA 1.4 GHz mosaic (Dyer, Maddalena and Cornwell, NRAO); X-ray: NASA/CXC/Rutgers/G. Cassam-Chenai and J. Hughes et al.; Optical: F.Winkler/Middlebury College and NOAO/AURA/NSF; and DSS To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Join us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a>

They sounded more like fireworks than rockets but the Chinese used rockets in battle.

Early Rockets

GUESTS WERE TREATED TO A FABULOUS FIREWORKS DISPLAY BESIDE THE DAVIDSON CENTER PAVILION AT THE END OF THE NIGHT

1101233

This is an image from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope of stars and galaxies in the Ursa Major constellation. This infrared image covers a region of space so large that light would take up to 100 million years to travel across it.

The Universe First Fireworks

Superficially resembling a skyrocket, Comet ISON is hurtling toward the Sun at a whopping 48,000 miles per hour in this still from a Hubble animation.

Comet ISON Brings Holiday Fireworks

KSC-2012-6117

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Fireworks celebrate the arrival of the space shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex following a 10-mile journey. As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's visitor complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

History of Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

This is a color Hubble Space Telescope (HST) heritage image of supernova remnant N49, a neighboring galaxy, that was taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. Color filters were used to sample light emitted by sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen. The color image was superimposed on a black and white image of stars in the same field also taken with Hubble. Resembling a fireworks display, these delicate filaments are actually sheets of debris from a stellar explosion.

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Fireworks celebrate the arrival of the space shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex following a 10-mile journey. As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's visitor complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Fireworks celebrate the arrival of the space shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex following a 10-mile journey. As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's visitor complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Holidays in Space

At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, the first night of Holidays in Space 2017 ended with a spectacular fireworks finale. Holidays in Space 2017 kicked off Dec. 20 and includes nightly performances by the dance group Fighting Gravity, which uses optical illusions, black light and the interplay of light and dark in its gravity-defying choreography. The event runs through 31, excluding Dec. 25.

Heroes and Legends Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Fireworks are launched as dignitaries, including members of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, have just cut a ceremonial ribbon opening the Heroes and Legends attraction at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The new facility includes the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame and looks back to the pioneering efforts of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. It sets the stage by providing the background and context for space exploration and the legendary men and women who pioneered the nation's journey into space.

Holidays in Space

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Fireworks celebrate the arrival of the space shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex following a 10-mile journey. As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's visitor complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida is visible through an ornament-shaped doorway set up for Holidays in Space 2017. The event kicked off Dec. 20 with a dazzling performance by the dance group Fighting Gravity, followed by a fireworks finale. Holidays in Space 2017 includes nightly performances from Dec. 20 through 31, excluding Dec. 25.

Holidays in Space

At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, Holidays in Space 2017 kicked off with a dazzling performance by the dance group Fighting Gravity, which uses optical illusions, black light and the interplay of light and dark in its gravity-defying choreography. Holidays in Space 2017 kicked off Dec. 20 and includes nightly performances and fireworks from Dec. 20 through 31, excluding Dec. 25.

The exterior of the Heroes and Legends exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida is festively decorated for Holidays in Space 2017. The event kicked off Dec. 20 with a dazzling performance by the dance group Fighting Gravity, followed by a fireworks finale. Holidays in Space 2017 includes nightly performances from Dec. 20 through 31, excluding Dec. 25.

Holidays in Space

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Fireworks celebrate the arrival of the space shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex following a 10-mile journey. As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's visitor complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Around Marshall

The evening skies over the U. S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL burst into life as members of the Huntsville community gathered to celebrate the 30th arniversary of the Lunar Landing. Commerating this historical achievement for NASA and the US Space Program, a replica of the original Saturn V rocket was built on the grounds of the U. S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. On the evening of the anniversary thousands of onlookers cheered as fireworks lit up the night sky behind the massive Saturn V rocket.

Holidays in Space

Snowflakes are projected onto a Saturn IB rocket on display in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The rockets in the exhibit are lit in green and red for Holidays in Space 2017. The event kicked off Dec. 20 with a dazzling performance by the dance group Fighting Gravity, followed by a fireworks finale. Holidays in Space 2017 includes nightly performances from Dec. 20 through 31, excluding Dec. 25.

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Fireworks celebrate the arrival of the space shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex following a 10-mile journey. As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's visitor complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

A delicate ribbon of gas floats eerily in our galaxy. This image, taken by NASA Hubble Space Telescope, is a very thin section of a supernova remnant caused by a stellar explosion that occurred more than 1,000 years ago.

Hubble Sees Stars and a Stripe in Celestial Fireworks

A newly expanded image of the Helix nebula lends a festive touch to the fourth anniversary of the launch of NASA Spitzer Space Telescope

Spitzer Celebrates Fourth Anniversary with Celestial Fireworks

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Fireworks begin on Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as the engines ignite under the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket carrying NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-K, TDRS-K, to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:48 p.m. EST. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_tdrs_index.html. Photo credit: NASA_George Roberts

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Viewed from the NASA Causeway, Space Shuttle Discovery makes a perfect launch as it shoots into the blue sky with its own Fourth of July fireworks. The launch made history as it was the first ever launch on Independence Day. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Carl Winebarger

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Smoke and steam billow across Launch Pad 39B as the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 kicks off the fireworks for the U.S. holiday and makes history as the first time a shuttle has launched on Independence Day. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray & Tim Powers

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A Starfire Night Skyshow takes place above the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida during the “We Made History! Shuttle Program Celebration” on Aug. 13. The event was held to honor shuttle workers’ dedication to NASA’s Space Shuttle Program and to celebrate 30 years of space shuttle achievements. The show featured spectacular night aerobatics with special computer-controlled lighting and firework effects on a plane flown by experienced pilot Bill Leff. The event also featured food, music, entertainment, astronaut appearances, educational activities and giveaways. Photo credit: Jim Grossmann

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - As the ground fills with smoke and steam, Space Shuttle Discovery creates its own fireworks display, fitting for the first ever launch to be made on Independence Day. It was the third launch attempt in four days; the others were scrubbed due to weather concerns. Liftoff on mission STS-121 was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo courtesy of Nikon/Scott Andrews

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Like a roman candle shooting through the blue sky, the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 kicks off the fireworks for the U.S. holiday in its third launch attempt in four days. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - As smoke and team billow across Launch Pad 39B, Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 kicks off the fireworks for the U.S. holiday and makes history as the first time a shuttle has launched on Independence Day. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray

STS-38 Atlantis, OV-104, lifts off from KSC LC Pad during night launch

STS-38 Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, lifts off from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) Pad at 6:48:15:0639 pm (Eastern Standard Time (EST)) for Department of Defense (DOD)-devoted mission. OV-104, atop the external tank (ET) and flanked by solid rocket boosters (SRBs), is almost clear of the launch tower which is lit up by the SRB and space shuttle main engine (SSME) firings. Spotlight equipment is silhouetted against the SRB/SSME glow in the foreground. The retracted rotating service structure (RSS) is highlighted against the evening darkness by the launch fireworks.

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Thousands of space shuttle workers and their families watch a Starfire Night Skyshow at the “We Made History! Shuttle Program Celebration,” Aug. 13, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Fla. The event was held to honor shuttle workers’ dedication to NASA’s Space Shuttle Program and to celebrate 30 years of space shuttle achievements. The show featured spectacular night aerobatics with special computer-controlled lighting and firework effects on a plane flown by experienced pilot Bill Leff. The event also featured food, music, entertainment, astronaut appearances, educational activities and giveaways. Photo credit: Jim Grossmann

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Under clear blue skies, the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 kicks off the fireworks for the U.S. holiday in its third launch attempt in four days. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - All eyes, and lenses, focus on the perfect launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on its third attempt in four days. Kicking off the Fourth of July with its own fireworks, the launch made history as it was the first ever launch on Independence Day. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Carl Winebarger

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Crowds along the NASA Causeway are excited as Space Shuttle Discovery makes a perfect launch, shooting into the blue sky with its own Fourth of July fireworks. The launch made history as it was the first ever launch on Independence Day. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Carl Winebarger

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis’ arrival at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida is marked by celebration and fireworks. Atlantis made the 10-mile trip from Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building to the visitor complex where it will be put on public display. As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis will be displayed at Kennedy’s Visitor Complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis’ arrival at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida is marked by celebration and fireworks. Atlantis made the 10-mile trip from Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building to the visitor complex where it will be put on public display. As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis will be displayed at Kennedy’s Visitor Complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Space Shuttle Discovery kicks off the Fourth of July fireworks with its own fiery display as it rockets into the blue sky, spewing foam and smoke over the ground, on mission STS-121. It was the third launch attempt in four days; the others were scrubbed due to weather concerns. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Sandy Joseph, Robert Murray

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Under clear blue skies, the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 kicks off the fireworks for the U.S. holiday in its third launch attempt in four days. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo courtesy of Nikon/Scott Andrews

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis’ arrival at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida is marked by celebration and fireworks. Atlantis made the 10-mile trip from Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building to the visitor complex where it will be put on public display. As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis will be displayed at Kennedy’s Visitor Complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Space Shuttle Discovery kicks off the Fourth of July fireworks with its own fiery display as it rockets into the blue sky, spewing foam and smoke over the ground, on mission STS-121. It was the third launch attempt in four days; the others were scrubbed due to weather concerns. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit:NASA/Sandy Joseph, Robert Murray

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Under clear blue skies, the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 kicks off the fireworks for the U.S. holiday in its third launch attempt in four days. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39B was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Sandy Joseph & Robert Murrary

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Smoke and steam billow across Launch Complex 39B as the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 kicks off the fireworks for the U.S. holiday and making history as the first time a shuttle has launched on Independence Day. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Sandy Joseph & Robert Murray

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Like 10,000 fireworks going off at once, Space Shuttle Atlantis roars into the moonlit sky while clouds of steam and smoke cascade behind. Liftoff occurred at 6:13:02 p.m. EST. Along with a crew of five, Atlantis is carrying the U.S. Laboratory Destiny, a key module in the growth of the Space Station. Destiny will be attached to the Unity node on the Space Station using the Shuttle’s robotic arm. Three spacewalks are required to complete the planned construction work during the 11-day mission. This mission marks the seventh Shuttle flight to the Space Station, the 23rd flight of Atlantis and the 102nd flight overall in NASA’s Space Shuttle program. The planned landing is at KSC Feb. 18 about 1:39 p.m. EST

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Like 10,000 fireworks going off at once, Space Shuttle Atlantis roars into the moonlit sky while clouds of steam and smoke cascade behind. Liftoff occurred at 6:13:02 p.m. EST. Along with a crew of five, Atlantis is carrying the U.S. Laboratory Destiny, a key module in the growth of the Space Station. Destiny will be attached to the Unity node on the Space Station using the Shuttle’s robotic arm. Three spacewalks are required to complete the planned construction work during the 11-day mission. This mission marks the seventh Shuttle flight to the Space Station, the 23rd flight of Atlantis and the 102nd flight overall in NASA’s Space Shuttle program. The planned landing is at KSC Feb. 18 about 1:39 p.m. EST

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Like a roman candle shooting through the blue sky, the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 kicks off the fireworks for the U.S. holiday in its third launch attempt in four days. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. The countdown clock on the grounds of the NASA News Center shows 17 seconds into the launch. Media crowd the banks of the turn basin to capture the sight of the launch. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Framed by the woods across the pond, Space Shuttle Discovery kicks off the Fourth of July fireworks with its own fiery display as it rockets into the blue sky, spewing foam and smoke over the ground, on mission STS-121. It was the third launch attempt in four days; the others were scrubbed due to weather concerns. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Sandy Joseph, Robert Murray

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Like a roman candle shooting through the blue sky, the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 kicks off the fireworks for the U.S. holiday in its third launch attempt in four days. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. The countdown clock on the grounds of the NASA News Center shows 7 seconds into the launch. Media crowd the banks of the turn basin to capture the sight of the launch. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Shooting like a roman candle into Florida's blue sky from Launch Pad 39B, Space Shuttle Discovery kicks off the Fourth of July fireworks with its own fiery display, reflected as well in the nearby water. History was made with the first ever launch on Independence Day. It was the third launch attempt in four days; the others were scrubbed due to weather concerns. Liftoff on mission STS-121 was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo courtesy of Nikon/Scott Andrews

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Space Shuttle Discovery shoots into Florida's blue sky over the blue Atlantic Ocean, kicking off Fourth of July fireworks with its own fiery display. History was made with the first ever launch on Independence Day. It was the third launch attempt in four days; the others were scrubbed due to weather concerns. Liftoff on mission STS-121 was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo courtesy of Nikon/Scott Andrews

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Shooting like a roman candle into Florida's blue sky, Space Shuttle Discovery kicks off the Fourth of July fireworks with its own fiery display and makes history with the first ever launch on Independence Day. It was the third launch attempt in four days; the others were scrubbed due to weather concerns. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni Woods

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Viewed from the top of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Space Shuttle Discovery kicks off the Fourth of July fireworks with its own fiery display as it rockets over the blue Atlantic Ocean and into the blue sky, spewing foam and smoke over the ground, on mission STS-121. It was the third launch attempt in four days; the others were scrubbed due to weather concerns. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni Woods

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Viewed from the top of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Space Shuttle Discovery shoots like a roman candle into the blue sky, kicking off the Fourth of July fireworks with its own fiery display. It was the third launch attempt in four days; the others were scrubbed due to weather concerns. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni Woods

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - As smoke and steam billows across the ground, Space Shuttle Discovery leaps free and rockets into the clear blue sky, creating its own fireworks display. History was made with the first ever launch on Independence Day. It was the third launch attempt in four days; the others were scrubbed due to weather concerns. Liftoff was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Photo courtesy of Nikon/Scott Andrews

Space Science

This is an artist's impression of how the very early universe (less than one billion years old) might have looked when it went through a voracious onset of star formation, converting primordial hydrogen into myriad stars at an unprecedented rate. The deepest views of the cosmos from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) yield clues that the very first stars may have burst into the universe as brilliantly and spectacularly as a firework finale. Except in this case, the finale came first, long before Earth, the Sun ,and the Milky Way Galaxy formed. Studies of HST's deepest views of the heavens lead to the preliminary conclusion that the universe made a significant portion of its stars in a torrential firestorm of star birth, which abruptly lit up the pitch-dark heavens just a few hundred million years after the "big bang," the tremendous explosion that created the cosmos. Within the starburst galaxies, bright knots of hot blue stars come and go like bursting fireworks shells. Regions of new starbirth glow intensely red under torrent of ultraviolet radiation. The most massive stars self-detonate as supernovas, which explode across the sky like a string of firecrackers. A foreground starburst galaxy at lower right is sculpted with hot bubbles from supernova explosions and torrential stellar winds. Unlike today there is very little dust in these galaxies, because the heavier elements have not yet been cooked up through nucleosynthesis in stars. Recent analysis of HST deep sky images supports the theory that the first stars in the universe appeared in an abrupt eruption of star formation, rather than at a gradual pace. Science Credit: NASA and K. Lanzetta (SUNY). Artwork Credit: Adolf Schaller for STScI.

Hubble Captures Vivid Auroras in Jupiter’s Atmosphere

Astronomers are using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study auroras — stunning light shows in a planet’s atmosphere — on the poles of the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter. This observation program is supported by measurements made by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, currently on its way to Jupiter. Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, is best known for its colorful storms, the most famous being the Great Red Spot. Now astronomers have focused on another beautiful feature of the planet, using Hubble's ultraviolet capabilities. The extraordinary vivid glows shown in the new observations are known as auroras. They are created when high-energy particles enter a planet’s atmosphere near its magnetic poles and collide with atoms of gas. As well as producing beautiful images, this program aims to determine how various components of Jupiter’s auroras respond to different conditions in the solar wind, a stream of charged particles ejected from the sun. This observation program is perfectly timed as NASA’s Juno spacecraft is currently in the solar wind near Jupiter and will enter the orbit of the planet in early July 2016. While Hubble is observing and measuring the auroras on Jupiter, Juno is measuring the properties of the solar wind itself; a perfect collaboration between a telescope and a space probe. “These auroras are very dramatic and among the most active I have ever seen”, said Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester, U.K., and principal investigator of the study. “It almost seems as if Jupiter is throwing a firework party for the imminent arrival of Juno.” Credits: NASA, ESA, and J. Nichols (University of Leicester)

NASA Wallops Rocket Launch Lights up the Mid-Atlantic Coast

July 4 fireworks came early when a NASA Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket was successfully launched at 4:25 a.m., Thursday, June 29, from the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. During the 8-minute flight, 10 canisters about the size of a soft drink can were ejected in space, 6 to 12 miles away from the 670-pound main payload. The canisters deployed blue-green and red vapor that formed artificial clouds visible from New York to North Carolina. During an ionosphere or aurora science mission, these clouds, or vapor tracers, allow scientists on the ground to visually track particle motions in space. The development of the multi-canister ampoule ejection system will allow scientists to gather information over a much larger area than previously possible when deploying the tracers just from the main payload. Read more here: <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/wallops/2017/nasa-sounding-rocket-will-release-early-morning-artificial-clouds0lighting-up-the-mid-atlantic-coast-may-31" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/feature/wallops/2017/nasa-sounding-rocket-wi...</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Canadian Smoke Now Over U.S. East Coast

The smoke from the Canadian wildfires that was in the middle of the U.S. on June 30 has drifted its way to the East Coast obscuring parts of the coast from New Jersey to North Carolina. Images taken on June 30 showed the smoke covering states from Minnesota to Tennessee. The jet stream has pushed the smoke along so that by July 1 it reached the U.S. East Coast. Residents of the area will get a preview of July 4th fireworks with redder than usual sunrises and sunsets due to particulates in the air. This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite on July 1, 2015. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

NASA Wallops Rocket Launch Lights up the Mid-Atlantic Coast

July 4 fireworks came early when a NASA Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket was successfully launched at 4:25 a.m., Thursday, June 29, from the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. During the 8-minute flight, 10 canisters about the size of a soft drink can were ejected in space, 6 to 12 miles away from the 670-pound main payload. The canisters deployed blue-green and red vapor that formed artificial clouds visible from New York to North Carolina. During an ionosphere or aurora science mission, these clouds, or vapor tracers, allow scientists on the ground to visually track particle motions in space. The development of the multi-canister ampoule ejection system will allow scientists to gather information over a much larger area than previously possible when deploying the tracers just from the main payload. Credit: NASA/Wallops <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Hubble Captures Vivid Auroras in Jupiter’s Atmosphere

Astronomers are using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study auroras — stunning light shows in a planet’s atmosphere — on the poles of the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter. This observation program is supported by measurements made by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, currently on its way to Jupiter. Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, is best known for its colorful storms, the most famous being the Great Red Spot. Now astronomers have focused on another beautiful feature of the planet, using Hubble's ultraviolet capabilities. The extraordinary vivid glows shown in the new observations are known as auroras. They are created when high-energy particles enter a planet’s atmosphere near its magnetic poles and collide with atoms of gas. As well as producing beautiful images, this program aims to determine how various components of Jupiter’s auroras respond to different conditions in the solar wind, a stream of charged particles ejected from the sun. This observation program is perfectly timed as NASA’s Juno spacecraft is currently in the solar wind near Jupiter and will enter the orbit of the planet in early July 2016. While Hubble is observing and measuring the auroras on Jupiter, Juno is measuring the properties of the solar wind itself; a perfect collaboration between a telescope and a space probe. “These auroras are very dramatic and among the most active I have ever seen”, said Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester, U.K., and principal investigator of the study. “It almost seems as if Jupiter is throwing a firework party for the imminent arrival of Juno.” Read more: <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/294QswK" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/294QswK</a> Credits: NASA, ESA, and J. Nichols (University of Leicester)

Houston Rodeo Salutes NASA

The STS-114 crew was treated with true Southern hospitality and a standing ovation as they were introduced to rodeo fans on opening night of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on March 2, 2004. Views include Astronaut Charles Camarda and a rodeo goer(11078); Astronaut Camarda and a rodeo going family(11079); The STS-114 crew poses with rodeo goers(11080); Astronaut Eileen Collins with a young fan(11081); Astronaut Collins poses with a rodeo goer(11082); The STS-114 crew poses for a photograph(11083); The STS-114 crew poses with young fans for a photograph(11084) Young fans pose for a photograph(11085); Astronaut Wendy Lawrence addresses a crowd(11086); Astronaut James Kelly and STS-114 crew aboard a wagon at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo(11087);Young fansat the Rodeo(11088); The STS-114 crew rides around Reliant Stadium as the Rodeo salutes them(11089); The STS-114 crew rides around Reliant Stadium(11090); The STS-114 crew rides around Reliant Stadium(11091); The STS-114 Crew rides around Reliant Stadium(11092); A young fan at the Rodeo(11093); A young fan at the Rodeo(11094); A young fan at the Rodeo(11095); The Jumbotron at Reliant Stadium salutes the STS-114(11096); Young fans at the Houston Rodeo(11097); The STS-114 crew poses with a dignitary(11098); Astronaut Eileen Collins at the Houston Rodeo(11099); The STS-114 crew rides around the stadium(11100); Astronaut Eileen Collins adresses the Rodeo crowd(11101); Astronaut Collins and the STS-114 crew rides around the stadium(11102); Astronauts Eileen Collins and Andrew Thomas at the Rodeo(11103); Astronauts Stephen Robinson, Soichi Noguchi, Andrew Thomas and James Kelly at the Rodeo(11104); Kelly,Noguchi,Thomas and Robinson at the Rodeo(11105); The STS-114 crew at the Rodeo(11106); The STS-114 crew at the Rodeo(11107); The STS-114 crew rides around the stadium(11108); The STS-114 crew salutes the crowd(11109); The astronauts on the Jumbotron at the Rodeo(11110); Fireworks going off at the Rodeo saluting the astronauts(11111); The STS-114 crew poses for a photograph(11112); Reliant Stadium alit with lasers saluting the STS-114 crew(11113); Young fans pose for a photograph at the Houston Rodeo(11114).

Hubble Views a Cosmic Skyrocket

NASA image release July 3, 2012 Caption: Resembling a Fourth of July skyrocket, Herbig-Haro 110 is a geyser of hot gas from a newborn star that splashes up against and ricochets off the dense core of a cloud of molecular hydrogen. Although the plumes of gas look like whiffs of smoke, they are actually billions of times less dense than the smoke from a July 4 firework. This Hubble Space Telescope photo shows the integrated light from plumes, which are light-years across. -- Herbig-Haro (HH) objects come in a wide array of shapes, but the basic configuration stays the same. Twin jets of heated gas, ejected in opposite directions away from a forming star, stream through interstellar space. Astronomers suspect that these outflows are fueled by gas accreting onto a young star surrounded by a disk of dust and gas. The disk is the "fuel tank," the star is the gravitational engine, and the jets are the exhaust. When these energetic jets slam into colder gas, the collision plays out like a traffic jam on the interstate. Gas within the shock front slows to a crawl, but more gas continues to pile up as the jet keeps slamming into the shock from behind. Temperatures climb sharply, and this curving, flared region starts to glow. These "bow shocks" are so named because they resemble the waves that form at the front of a boat. In the case of the single HH 110 jet, astronomers observe a spectacular and unusual permutation on this basic model. Careful study has repeatedly failed to find the source star driving HH 110, and there may be good reason for this: perhaps the HH 110 outflow is itself generated by another jet. Astronomers now believe that the nearby HH 270 jet grazes an immovable obstacle - a much denser, colder cloud core - and gets diverted off at about a 60-degree angle. The jet goes dark and then reemerges, having reinvented itself as HH 110. The jet shows that these energetic flows are like the erratic outbursts from a Roman candle. As fast-moving blobs of gas catch up and collide with slower blobs, new shocks arise along the jet's interior. The light emitted from excited gas in these hot blue ridges marks the boundaries of these interior collisions. By measuring the current velocity and positions of different blobs and hot ridges along the chain within the jet, astronomers can effectively "rewind" the outflow, extrapolating the blobs back to the moment when they were emitted. This technique can be used to gain insight into the source star's history of mass accretion. This image is a composite of data taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in 2004 and 2005 and the Wide Field Camera 3 in April 2011. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

May 8 Hubble View of ISON

Superficially resembling a skyrocket, Comet ISON is hurtling toward the Sun at a whopping 48,000 miles per hour. Its swift motion is captured in this image taken May 8, 2013, by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. At the time the image was taken, the comet was 403 million miles from Earth, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Unlike a firework, the comet is not combusting, but in fact is pretty cold. Its skyrocket-looking tail is really a streamer of gas and dust bleeding off the icy nucleus, which is surrounded by a bright, star-like-looking coma. The pressure of the solar wind sweeps the material into a tail, like a breeze blowing a windsock. As the comet warms as it moves closer to the Sun, its rate of sublimation will increase. The comet will get brighter and the tail grows longer. The comet is predicted to reach naked-eye visibility in November. The comet is named after the organization that discovered it, the Russia-based International Scientific Optical Network. This false-color, visible-light image was taken with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) -------- More details on Comet ISON: Comet ISON began its trip from the Oort cloud region of our solar system and is now travelling toward the sun. The comet will reach its closest approach to the sun on Thanksgiving Day -- 28 Nov 2013 -- skimming just 730,000 miles above the sun's surface. If it comes around the sun without breaking up, the comet will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere with the naked eye, and from what we see now, ISON is predicted to be a particularly bright and beautiful comet. Catalogued as C/2012 S1, Comet ISON was first spotted 585 million miles away in September 2012. This is ISON's very first trip around the sun, which means it is still made of pristine matter from the earliest days of the solar system’s formation, its top layers never having been lost by a trip near the sun. Comet ISON is, like all comets, a dirty snowball made up of dust and frozen gases like water, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide -- some of the fundamental building blocks that scientists believe led to the formation of the planets 4.5 billion years ago. NASA has been using a vast fleet of spacecraft, instruments, and space- and Earth-based telescope, in order to learn more about this time capsule from when the solar system first formed. The journey along the way for such a sun-grazing comet can be dangerous. A giant ejection of solar material from the sun could rip its tail off. Before it reaches Mars -- at some 230 million miles away from the sun -- the radiation of the sun begins to boil its water, the first step toward breaking apart. And, if it survives all this, the intense radiation and pressure as it flies near the surface of the sun could destroy it altogether. This collection of images show ISON throughout that journey, as scientists watched to see whether the comet would break up or remain intact. The comet reaches its closest approach to the sun on Thanksgiving Day -- Nov. 28, 2013 -- skimming just 730,000 miles above the sun’s surface. If it comes around the sun without breaking up, the comet will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere with the naked eye, and from what we see now, ISON is predicted to be a particularly bright and beautiful comet. ISON stands for International Scientific Optical Network, a group of observatories in ten countries who have organized to detect, monitor, and track objects in space. ISON is managed by the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences. <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scienti