Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way. via NASA http://ift.tt/1FHM6qV

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Parachute Testing for NASA’s InSight Mission

This parachute testing for NASA’s InSight mission to Mars was conducted inside the world’s largest wind tunnel, at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, in February 2015. via NASA http://ift.tt/1dzEQnH

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View From an F-15D

NASA pilot Jim Less and photographer Jim Ross pull their F-15D #897 aircraft away from a KC-135 refueling tanker. NASA is supporting the Edwards Air Force Base F-15 program with safety and photo chase expertise. via NASA http://ift.tt/1AtUvPM

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Climate of Change: The Catholic Church’s Dance With Science by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

From Galileo to genetics, the Roman Catholic Church has danced with science, sometimes in a high-tension tango but more often in a supportive waltz. Pope Francis is about to introduce a new twist: global warming.

Published: May 27, 2015 at 06:42AM

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Europa’s Jupiter-Facing Hemisphere

This 12-frame mosaic provides the highest resolution view ever obtained of the side of Jupiter’s moon Europa that faces the giant planet. It was obtained on Nov. 25, 1999 by the camera onboard the Galileo spacecraft, a past NASA mission to Jupiter and its moons which ended in 2003. via NASA http://ift.tt/1dv2LVx

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Coronal Loops Over a Sunspot Group

The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument on NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory images the solar atmosphere in multiple wavelengths to link changes in the surface to interior changes. When AIA images are sharpened a bit, such as this AIA 171Å channel image, the magnetic field can be readily visualized through the bright, thin strands that ar via NASA http://ift.tt/1Q1m9oI

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SpinSat Investigation Tests New Technology, Returns Data

Equipment and data from the SpinSat investigation returns to Earth today, May 21, 2015, with splashdown of the sixth SpaceX cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. This Nov. 28, 2014 photograph by NASA astronaut Terry Virts captures the predeploy of SpinSat, which was launched into orbit from the station. via NASA http://ift.tt/1KmpTCL

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The Advance of Hubbard Glacier

This image, acquired by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8, shows Hubbard Glacier on July 22, 2014. via NASA http://ift.tt/1FvZ9wP

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Journey to Space in a Vacuum Chamber

Supporting the testing of electric propulsion and power systems, VF-5 has the highest pumping speed of any electric propulsion test facility in the world. via NASA http://ift.tt/1S6QzK1

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Mount St. Helens at 35

On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens gave way to a cataclysmic flank collapse, avalanche, and explosion that killed 57 people and displaced many others. The event dramatically reshaped the volcano and surrounding land in southwest Washington. via NASA http://ift.tt/1df1mlF

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Astronauts at Work on the International Space Station

NASA astronauts Scott Kelly (left) and Terry Virts (right) work on a Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) inside the station’s Japanese Experiment Module. via NASA http://ift.tt/1RPB752

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Green Aviation Project Tests Shape Changing Wing Flaps

A NASA F-15D flies chase for the G-III Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) project. The ACTE experimental flight research project is a joint effort between NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to determine if advanced flexible trailing-edge wing flaps can both improve aircraft aerodynamic efficiency and reduce airport-area noise. via NASA http://ift.tt/1AZlddP

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May 13, 1992, Record-Setting Spacewalk on Shuttle Endeavour’s First Mission

On May 13, 1992, following the successful capture of the Intelsat VI satellite, three astronauts continue moving the 4.5 ton communications satellite into the space shuttle Endeavour’s cargo bay. The sections of Earth which form the backdrop for the scene are blanketed with thousands of square miles of clouds. via NASA http://ift.tt/1F7sPi5

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Early Morning Sunrise Over the Grand Canyon

From the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Terry Virts took this photograph of an early morning sunrise over the Grand Canyon and posted it to social media on May 10, 2015. Because the station completes each trip around the globe in about 92 minutes, the crew experiences 16 sunrises and sunsets each day. via NASA http://ift.tt/1K4phBN

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Serene Saturn

From a distance Saturn seems to exude an aura of serenity and peace. via NASA http://ift.tt/1E23G4D

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Feds Eye Giving Endangered Status to Gulf Whale Species by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A unique species of baleen whales in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida Panhandle may be threatened with extinction and could get special protection from federal regulators.

Published: May 10, 2015 at 04:27AM

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Cloudy Earth

Earth’s cloudy nature is unmistakable in this global cloud fraction map, based on data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite. This version of the map shows an average of all of the satellite’s cloud observations between July 2002 and April 2015. via NASA http://ift.tt/1cfuCI7

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Letters: In Infamy by Unknown Author

By Unknown Author

Readers respond to recent reviews of Richard Reeves’s “Infamy,” Mary Norris’s “Between You & Me” and more.

Published: May 9, 2015 at 08:00PM

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Engineers Clean Mirror with Carbon Dioxide Snow

Engineers are using carbon dioxide snow to clean James Webb Space Telescope’s mirrors without scratching them. via NASA http://ift.tt/1EkcF1x

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Solar Dynamics Observatory Sees ‘Cinco de Mayo’ Solar Flare

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured these images of a significant solar flare – as seen in the bright flash on the left – peaking at 6:11 p.m. EDT on May 5, 2015. Each image shows a different wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights a different temperature of material on the sun. via NASA http://ift.tt/1KLRniC

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Trajectory of Alan Shepard’s Historic Flight

Fifty-four years ago on May 5, 1961 only 23 day after Yuri Gagarin of the then-Soviet Union became the first person in space, NASA astronaut Alan Shepard launched at 9:34 a.m. EDT aboard his Freedom 7 capsule powered by a Redstone booster to become the first American in space. His historic flight lasted 15 minutes, 28 seconds. via NASA http://ift.tt/1FMOPRm

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Mimas Stares Back

The great eye of Saturn’s moon Mimas, a 130-kilometer-wide (80-mile) impact crater called Herschel, stares out from the battered moon. Several individual ringlets within the F ring are resolved here, and the small moon Atlas is also seen faintly outside the main rings. via NASA http://ift.tt/1E0rtTI

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Ten-Engine Electric Plane Prototype Takes Off

A team at NASA’s Langley Research Center is developing a concept of a battery-powered plane that has 10 engines and can take off like a helicopter and fly efficiently like an aircraft. The prototype, called Greased Lightning or GL-10, is currently in the design and testing phase. via NASA http://ift.tt/1QU3iz8

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