European Solar Telescope’s Post

𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 #𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬: 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐲 🌞 Temporal evolution of spicules in the northern polar coronal hole as observed by the Broadband Filter Imager onboard the Japanese Hinode satellite on 2007 November 7. The observations were taken through a Ca II H filter at 396.85 nm. Spicules are thin, elongated jets a few hundred kilometers wide. They reach up to 6000 km height and can move at speeds of more than 100 km/s. We need the extreme capabilities of the European Solar Telescope in order to fully understand the role of spicules in the mass transport and heating of the outer solar atmosphere. 🎥 A radial gradient filter was applied to enhance the intensity of the spicules above the solar limb. In this movie, the photosphere is depicted in orange and the chromosphere in blue. Movie credit: Mats Carlsson (ITA, University of Oslo) Observations: Hinode (ISAS/JAXA, NAOJ, NASA, STFC, ESA) More information about spicules and other solar phenomena in the EST Solar Gallery 👇 https://lnkd.in/dntvbDcv #ESFRI #ERIC #ResearchInfraestructures #solarphysics #Sun #Astronomy

Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) Black Hole Accreting with Jet (APOD: 2024 May 07) Illustration Credit: NASA, Swift, Aurore Simonnet (Sonoma State U.) https://lnkd.in/dJUq2PsS Explanation: What happens when a black hole devours a star? Many details remain unknown, but observations are providing new clues. In 2014, a powerful explosion was recorded by the ground-based robotic telescopes of the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (Project ASAS-SN), with followed-up observations by instruments including NASA's Earth-orbiting Swift satellite. Computer modeling of these emissions fit a star being ripped apart by a distant supermassive black hole. The results of such a collision are portrayed in the featured artistic illustration. The black hole itself is depicted as a tiny black dot in the center. As matter falls toward the hole, it collides with other matter and heats up. Surrounding the black hole is an accretion disk of hot matter that used to be the star, with a jet emanating from the black hole's spin axis. https://www.nasa.gov/ https://lnkd.in/d-GHUQnp https://lnkd.in/dqS-ZGea https://lnkd.in/d4ngM-Dd #APOD

NASA's $10 billion telescope is a state-of-the-art observatory that boasts cutting-edge technology and innovative design features. Some of the key aspects of its design include: 1. *Advanced Optics*: The telescope is equipped with advanced optics, including a large primary mirror and secondary mirrors that collect and focus light from distant stars and exoplanets. 2. *Adaptive Optics*: The telescope uses adaptive optics technology, which enables it to compensate for atmospheric distortion and achieve sharper images of celestial objects. 3. *Coronagraphs*: The telescope is equipped with coronagraphs, specialized instruments that block the light from distant stars, allowing astronomers to directly observe faint exoplanets orbiting nearby stars. 4. *Precision Instruments*: The telescope is equipped with precision instruments, such as spectrographs, that enable astronomers to study the composition, atmosphere, and properties of exoplanets. 5. *State-of-the-art Imaging Capabilities*: The telescope has advanced imaging capabilities, including the ability to capture high-resolution images of exoplanets and their parent stars. 6. *Space-based Observatory*: The telescope is a space-based observatory, which provides a clear view of the universe unobstructed by the Earth's atmosphere. 7. *Orbit and Location*: The telescope is located in a halo orbit around the L2 (Lagrange point 2), a gravitationally stable location that provides a stable thermal environment and a clear view of the sky. 8. *Sunshield and Thermal Control*: The telescope has a sophisticated sunshield and thermal control system, which maintains the observatory's temperature and prevents overheating or cooling. 9. *Advanced Sensors and Detectors*: The telescope is equipped with advanced sensors and detectors that enable astronomers to detect and study the faint light from exoplanets. 10. *Data Transmission and Analysis*: The telescope transmits its data to Earth, where scientists analyze the information using advanced software and algorithms to extract insights about exoplanets and their properties. These design features enable NASA's $10 billion telescope to capture unprecedented images and data about exoplanets, revolutionizing our understanding of the universe and the search for life beyond Earth. #NASA #solarsystem #transmission #exoplanets #telescope #spacecraft #space #universe #beyond #algorithms

WATCH NOW: NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) watched as two loops of cool, dense plasma erupted from the sun's surface, looking eerily similar to a pair of dementors from Harry Potter hovering over the sun. However, instead of soul-sucking mythical creatures, these blackish loops of plasma are are actually the beginning stages of a coronal mass ejection (CME), which are quite the magnetic mess that can create solar storms that impact Earth ☄️ https://lnkd.in/gpG3pNKr #space #spacenews #spaceweather #sun #science #cme #solarflare #solarstorm

LEVEL 5 FOR HUMAN-RATED OFF-WORLD ANALOGS Extreme #geomagnetic #storm caused by #solarflares and #coronal #mass #ejections ignited the skies with spectacular #auroras all around the Northern hemisphere and went as far down South to #Florida in the #UnitedStates on Friday, 10 May. With nature’s spectacle coinciding with my presentation at the #Analog #Astronauts #Conference on Friday at The University of Arizona Biosphere 2 -- it was not lost on me that indeed the #Moon has virtually no #atmosphere, #Mars has only a thin atmosphere, and both lack a #global #magneticfield; and, therefore, both are defenseless against direct surface exposure to deadly solar flares and #cosmicradiation. While Earth-based space analogs are typically #aboveground, human habitats on the Moon and Mars together with their food-production facilities – for protection against constant exposure to #ionizingradiation -- must be located #belowground, taking advantage of suitable #underground #lavatubes where they exist. The foregoing was the main rationale for my collaboration with my industry colleagues Matteo Jean P. and Mackenze McAleer on the design of our patent-pending #BORING (BurrOwing and Renerative IN-Ground) #VerticalFarm for the Moon, Mars and beyond. Thus, Space #LifeSupport (#SLS) #Level5 for human-rated off-world analog is a #Level4 analog -- but located #underground. Kai Staats, Sean Gellenbeck, John Adams NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration European Space Agency - ESA Biosphere 2, University of Arizona HI-SEAS (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog & Simulation) Lunares Research Station, The Mars Society, HABITAT MARTE Space Analog Station, Analog Astronaut Community, Association for Vertical Farming

Do you still have your solar eclipse glasses after the recent eclipse? You can now repurpose them instead of throwing them away! Astronomers Without Borders is collecting gently used glasses to distribute around the world. This small group of five employees has already made a worldwide impact and is working to keep millions of glasses from ending up in landfills. Your glasses could be used by someone on another continent to view the same celestial phenomena. NASA now says that as long as glasses are scratch-free, they can be used over and over again. Let's keep these glasses in circulation for future solar eclipses! 🌞🌑 #SolarEclipse #RepurposeGlasses #AstronomersWithoutBorders https://lnkd.in/ebPK7unA #SolarPower #RenewableEnergy #GreenTech #SustainableLiving #EcoFriendlyInnovation

The giant planet Jupiter, in all its banded glory, is revisited by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in these latest images, taken on January 5-6, 2024, capturing both sides of the planet. Hubble monitors Jupiter and the other outer solar system planets every year under the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program (OPAL). This is because these large worlds are shrouded in clouds and hazes stirred up by violent winds, causing a kaleidoscope of ever-changing weather patterns. [left image] – Big enough to swallow Earth, the classic Great Red Spot stands out prominently in Jupiter's atmosphere. To its lower right, at a more southerly latitude, is a feature sometimes dubbed Red Spot Jr. This anticyclone was the result of storms merging in 1998 and 2000, and it first appeared red in 2006 before returning to a pale beige in subsequent years. This year it is somewhat redder again. The source of the red coloration is unknown but may involve a range of chemical compounds: sulfur, phosphorus, or organic material. Staying in their lanes, but moving in opposite directions, Red Spot Jr. passes the Great Red Spot about every two years. Another small red anticyclone appears in the far north. [right image] – Storm activity also appears in the opposite hemisphere. A pair of storms, a deep red cyclone and a reddish anticyclone, appear next to each other at right of center. They look so red that at first glance, it looks like Jupiter skinned a knee. These storms are rotating in opposite directions, indicating an alternating pattern of high- and low-pressure systems. For the cyclone, there's an upwelling on the edges with clouds descending in the middle, causing a clearing in the atmospheric haze. #HST #OPAL #Jupiter NASA's Hubble Space Telescope imaged both sides of the giant planet, Jupiter, on January 5-6, 2024. (NASA, ESA, STScI)

The Sun: Prominences & Filaments FriendsofNASA.org | Full-size image: https://lnkd.in/gzft33jv This colorized and digitally sharpened image of the Sun is composed of frames recording emission from hydrogen atoms in the solar chromosphere on May 15, 2024. Approaching the maximum of Solar Cycle 25, a multitude of planet-dwarfing active regions and twisting, snake-like solar filaments are seen to sprawl across the surface of the active Sun. Suspended in the active regions' strong magnetic fields, the filaments of plasma lofted beyond the Sun's edge appear as bright solar prominences. The large prominences seen near 4 o'clock, and just before 9 o'clock around the solar limb are post flare loops from two powerful X-class solar flares that both occurred on that day. In fact, the 4 o'clock prominence is associated with the monster active region AR 3664 just rotating off the Sun's edge. Image Credit & Copyright: Steen Søndergaard Release Date: June 15, 2024 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration National Science Teaching Association U.S. Department of Education #NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Star #Sun #SolarProminences #SolarEruptions #SolarFilaments #Plasma #Corona #Chromosphere #SolarCycle25 #SolarMaximum #Heliophysics #Ultraviolet #SolarSystem #Astrophotography #SteenSøndergaard #Astrophotographer #STEM #Education #APoD

Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) A Black Hole Disrupts a Passing Star (APOD: 2024 May 05) Illustration Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech https://lnkd.in/dY2M6Kxd Explanation: What happens to a star that goes near a black hole? If the star directly impacts a massive black hole, then the star falls in completely -- and everything vanishes. More likely, though, the star goes close enough to have the black hole's gravity pull away its outer layers, or disrupt, the star. Then, most of the star's gas does not fall into the black hole. These stellar tidal disruption events can be as bright as a supernova, and an increasing amount of them are being discovered by automated sky surveys. In the featured artist's illustration, a star has just passed a massive black hole and sheds gas that continues to orbit. The inner edge of a disk of gas and dust surrounding the black hole is heated by the disruption event and may glow long after the star is gone. https://www.nasa.gov https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ #APOD

Tomorrow morning around 10:14 a.m. PST, the moon will pass between the Earth and the sun and a total solar eclipse will trace a narrow path across the entire country. Although the Bay Area is not within the “path of totality” as it’s called (within the area where day will turn to complete darkness), we will still have the opportunity to witness a partial solar eclipse, which means taking precautions to protect your eyes. "Have fun with this exciting experience, but remember safety is the number one priority when viewing a total solar eclipse!" said Carolyn Ho, MD, MPH, of MarinHealth Primary Care in Sonoma. "Be sure you're familiar with the specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing that you need to wear if you plan to view it. Viewing any part of the bright sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury, so please be careful, plan ahead, and enjoy!" Find more solar eclipse viewing safety guidelines direct from NASA at https://lnkd.in/gkNnNPHX #TotalSolarEclipse #SolarEclipse #Marin #BayArea #MarinHealth