May 25, 2020 - Blowing in the Wind

Blowing in the Wind  This three-dimensional-looking Hubble Space Telescope image shows the edge of a giant gaseous cavity within the star-forming region called NGC 3324. Set amid a backdrop of softly glowing blue light are wispy tendrils of gas as well as dark trunks of dust that are light-years in height. The glowing nebula has been carved out by intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from several hot young stars. A cluster of extremely massive stars located in the center of the nebula (well outside this image to the right) is responsible for the ionization of the nebula and excavation of the cavity. The radiation from those stars is a wind blowing the denser dust and gas on the left, creating the sharply defined boundary. NGC 3324 is in the constellation Carina, about 7,200 light-years away from Earth.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Weekly Calendar

May 25 - 31, 2020

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

 

Monday 25

Memorial Day

1961: JFK challenges nation to Moon landing before end of decade
1965: Saturn SA-8 launched
1966: Roll-out of first full-scale Saturn V
1973: Skylab 2 begins 28-day mission
2008: Phoenix lander lands on Mars

Tuesday 26

1951: Sally Ride born

Wednesday 27

Juno stationary

2009: Soyuz TMA-15 launched carrying ISS Expedition 20/21 crew

Thursday 28

1959: First primates in space, Able and Baker (monkeys), complete suborbital flight
1964: SA-6 launched, second Saturn I Block 2
2013: Soyuz TMA-09M launched carrying ISS Expedition 36/37 crew
2014: Soyuz TMA-13M launched carrying ISS Expedition 40/41 crew

Friday 29

First Qtr Moon 11:30 PM ET

1919: Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity tested during total solar eclipse
2009: ISS Expedition 20 begins

Saturday 30

1934: Alexi Leonov born
1966: Surveyor 1 launched
1971: Mariner 9 probe launched

Sunday 31

1975: European Space Agency formed
1990: Kristall module launched to Mir space station
2008: STS-124 Discovery launched