Europa Clipper’s First Images of Stars

In this week's newsletter, take a look at the Europa Clipper spacecraft's first imagery of space; discover NASA's skywatching highlights for February; and don't miss the agency's first Twitch livestream from the International Space Station. Plus, more stories you might have missed.

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Three months after launch, the Europa Clipper spacecraft has another 1.6 billion miles to go before it reaches Jupiter’s orbit in 2030 to take close-up images of the icy moon Europa with science cameras.

Meanwhile, a set of cameras serving a different purpose is snapping photos in the space between Earth and Jupiter. Called star trackers, the two imagers look for stars and use them like a compass to help mission controllers know the exact orientation of the spacecraft—information critical for pointing telecommunications antennas toward Earth and sending data back and forth smoothly.

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THE SOLAR SYSTEM

A Month of Bright Planets

What’s up for February? Skywatchers have the opportunity to observe the Moon’s many engagements, Venus looking brilliant in the west after sunset, and a menagerie of bright winter stars.

SKYWATCHING HIGHLIGHTS

HUMANS IN SPACE

Live from Twitch, it’s the Space Station!

On Wednesday, Feb. 12, NASA will host the first live Twitch event from the International Space Station. Viewers will have the opportunity to ask NASA astronauts Don Pettit, who is currently aboard the orbiting laboratory, and Matt Dominick, who recently returned to Earth after the agency’s Crew-8 mission, questions about life in orbit.

LIVESTREAM DETAILS

THE UNIVERSE

A Cosmic Bullseye

The gargantuan galaxy LEDA 1313424 is rippling with nine star-filled rings after an “arrow”—a far smaller blue dwarf galaxy—shot through its heart. Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope identified eight visible rings, and confirmed a ninth using data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

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THE SOLAR SYSTEM

New InSight on Marsquakes

By observing how seismic waves from marsquakes change as they travel through the planet’s crust, mantle, and core, scientists get a glimpse into Mars’ interior, as well as a better understanding of how all rocky worlds form, including Earth and its Moon

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More NASA News

Are you ready for the big game? No matter what team you’re rooting for, NASA technology is helping athletes play the game. Discoveries off the planet have helped develop equipment for the field—from shock-absorbent foam in helmets to retractable stadium roofs.

NASA aeronautics researcher Kathryn Chapman is part of a team improving fire mitigation strategies using advanced aeronautics technologies, like drones. She and her team hope the technologies they are testing will help minimize the devastation wildfires can leave behind.

The largest solar storm in two decades hit Earth in May 2024, and with the help of a small NASA satellite, scientists have discovered the storm also created two new temporary belts of energetic particles encircling Earth.

Do You Know?

10 years ago, in February 2005, NASA’s NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft became the first human-made object to orbit an asteroid. After a year of collecting valuable data about the asteroid’s composition, NEAR Shoemaker touched down on its surface on February 12, 2001.

What is the name of the asteroid?

B. Eros

Find out the answer in next week's edition of the NASA newsletter 🤓

Last week, we asked what the small wings on NASA's highly modified F-15B #837 are called. The answer? Canards! Seen here on the X-36 research aircraft studied by NASA in the 1990s, canards have been experimental elements of aircraft design from the pioneering days of flight. The Wright Brothers’ first controlled and sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft was made with a canard biplane: the 1903 Wright Flyer.

Do you have a telescope? Would you like to see some of the same night sky objects from the ground that Hubble has from space? We invite you to commemorate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 35th anniversary by accepting our yearlong stargazing challenge! New challenge objects will be featured weekly.

This week’s object is Caldwell 58, a group of stars loosely bound together by gravity called an open cluster. It is located in the constellation Canis Major, roughly 3,700 light-years from Earth. Astronomers used Hubble to study certain types of stars in Caldwell 58, helping them better understand the age of our galaxy. Use a pair of binoculars to spot the cluster under a dark, moonless sky!

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