Incredible. Time lapse video from the ISS.
Artist’s rendering of newly discovered planet TrES-2b, a gas giant about 750 light years away that reflects less than 1% of the light it receives (compared to Earths 37%). That makes this planet blacker than coal. Scientists don’t know why, or even how, it reflects so little light, and have gone so far as to say “There’s a good chance it’s (due to) a chemical we haven’t even thought of yet.”
Read more here.
It’s the 50th anniversary of the first American in space. Click through for the full gallery of images from the first manned space mission.
Great set of photos.
Putting it all in perspective. How have I not seen a graphic like this before.
(Source: spaceporn)
Super Moon over Minneapolis by Matty Lang.
Super Full Moon - NASA 
On March 19th, a full Moon of rare size and beauty will rise in the east at sunset. It’s a super “perigee moon”—the biggest in almost 20 years.
(via nprfreshair)
On February 24, 2011, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed this billowing plasma tower they’ve dubbed a “monster prominence.” For 90 minutes, this flare twisted on the Sun’s surface before collapsing and emitting material into space.
Don’t Miss Space Shuttle Discovery’s Final Launch
Date: Feb. 24
Mission: STS-133
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 4:50 p.m. EST
Landing Date and Time: March 7, 12:44 p.m. EST
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
STS-133 Description: Space shuttle Discovery will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-4 (ELC-4), a Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) and critical spare components to the International Space Station on an 11 day mission.
“It’s certainly earned its retirement. [Space Shuttle] Discovery has flown more missions than any other shuttle – more than any other spacecraft, in fact. After 38 missions to date, and more than 5,600 trips around the Earth, Discovery has carried satellites such as the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit and sent the Ulysses robotic probe on its way to the Sun. It was the first shuttle to rendezvous with the Russian Mir Space Station, and it delivered the Japanese Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station.
By the end of STS-133, 180 people will also have flown aboard Discovery, including the first female shuttle pilot and the first female shuttle commander (who happen to be the same person – Eileen Collins), the first African American spacewalker (Bernard Harris) and the first sitting member of congress to fly in space (Jake Garn).”
“STS-133: Final Flight of Discovery” on nasa.gov
Space Shuttle Discovery rolls to the launch pad for the last time. The shuttle embarks on it’s final mission today.
The Sun, now in 3D.
On December 30, 2010, amateur astrophotographer Chris Kotsiopoulos set out to capture an entire day in a single photograph. After several days of preparation and nearly 30 hours alone in a stationary position, Kotsiopoulos produced this incredible image. Click here to find out how he did it.
(Source: The Atlantic)
Kepler space telescope spots five Earth-sized planets in our galaxy. All 5 are potentially orbiting in the “habitable zone… where liquid water could exist.”
Brain melt of the evening:
A physicist explains why parallel universes may exist on MPR’s Fresh Air. I love this stuff.
