NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured-03

Giant galaxies weren’t assembled in a day. Neither was this Hubble Space Telescope image of the face-on spiral galaxy Messier 101 (M101). It is the largest and most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy that has ever been released from Hubble.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured-02

New Horizons took this image of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io with its Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) at 15:15 Universal Time on February 28, 2007, nearly 10 hours after the spacecraft’s closest approach to Jupiter. In this image, volcanic debris from the plume, illuminated by the setting sun, rains down onto Io's nightside. Hot, glowing lava at the source of the plume is the bright point of light on the sunlit side of the terminator (the line separating day and night). Elsewhere along the terminator, mountains catch the setting sun. The nightside of Io is lit up by light reflected from Jupiter.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured-01

In one of the most detailed astronomical images ever produced, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured an unprecedented look at the Orion Nebula. This turbulent star formation region is one of astronomy's most dramatic and photogenic celestial objects. More than 3,000 stars of various sizes appear in this image.Some of them have never been seen in visible light. These stars reside in a dramatic dust-and-gas landscape of plateaus, mountains, and valleys that are reminiscent of the Grand Canyon. The Orion Nebula is a picture book of star formation, from the massive, young stars that are shaping the nebula to the pillars of dense gas that may be the homes of budding stars. Click to enlarge.

Why Did Nasa Develop Memory Foam Mattresses?

These days Memory foam mattress is quite famous. Memory Foam Mattresses are being used all over the world, not only for their comfort but also for all the health benefits they provide. Largely it has revolutionized our life. Actually, NASA had created first memory foam mattress. There purpose behind creating memory foam mattress was quite different. NASA started this program to help the astronauts so that they may reach the heaven with having profound night's sleep. They started heading towards this creation with the aim of creating such foam that would be able to sense the body temperature and body weight as well. These researchers were trying to create such memory foam that would have the quality to gently conform to the shape of the body. That would enable an astronaut to have coziness. Such kind of foam would provide a perfect amount of support for a long period. This whole research was aimed at helping daring astronauts to grab the space and boldly go where none had gone before this.

This mission gained momentum in the early 1970's by NASA's Ames Research Centre. This mission was very sanguine about creating such foam that would be able to help astronauts to overcome G-forces during the lift-off of space shuttle etc. The specialists of NASA's space program created a new foam material known as visco-elastic and that foam material was able to conform to a person's shape. Some people think that memory foam mattresses have some business with memory that is wrong. Memory foam mattresses do not have a memory but the cells of memory foam mattresses get deformed by evacuating the air when they are suppressed. Now NASA does not have monopoly over the Memory foam mattresses. These days, memory foam mattresses are being produced for commercial purposes. Fagerdala World Foams of Sweden is the first company that started producing memory foam mattresses for commercial purposes in the year 1980. In the year 1992, the same product was launched in North America and similarly, received excellent results.

With the success of Tempur-Pedic, other foam manufacturers in Canada and the United States began to develop their own visco elastic memory foam material to offer Mattress. Upholstering and specialty product companies allow consumers a wide variety of products and prices to choose. Now many other companies have surged to produce memory foam mattresses and now anyone can think of buying memory foam mattresses. Many medical institutions especially for osteopathy and physiotherapy purposes are using memory foam mattresses as memory foam mattresses have unique quality that improves blood circulation and help to reduce the sores that are caused due to pressure. These memory foam mattresses also give relief to those patients who bed ridden either due to burning or due to thief illness. Memory foam mattresses are no less than a boon to those who do are deprived from enjoying profound sleep and go on tossing and turning in the night and in the morning too present a sluggish look and feel drowsy in the day.

Nasa - Happy 100th to the Woman Who Helped Create Nasa

When Eilene Galloway was born, the Wright Brothers' historic flight was less than three years old. This centenarian, having celebrated her 102nd birthday in May, can claim credit for helping to create the agency that landed humans on the moon and is planning to send them back.

Fifty years ago, on July 29, 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, leading to the birth of NASA on Oct. 1, 1958. Galloway helped make it all happen.

Galloway began work with the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress in 1941, researching and writing House and Senate documents including "Guided Missiles in Foreign Countries," released just before the Soviets launched Sputnik in October 1957.

In 1958, then-U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson asked her to help with Congressional hearings that led to the creation of NASA and America's entry into the Space Race. "The only thing I knew about outer space at that time," she said, "was that the cow had jumped over the Moon."

Galloway helped write the legislation, emphasizing international cooperation and peaceful exploration. Later, she served as America's representative in drafting treaties governing the exploration and uses of outer space and launched the field of space law and international space law. She also served on nine NASA Advisory Committees.

Galloway also worked for several decades with the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and was also instrumental in creating the International Institute of Space Law, which serves as the forum for legal scholars and others from around the world in studying and debating the legal issues associated with the exploration and utilization of space, according to the AIAA.

NASA Confirms Liquid Lake on Saturn Moon

NASA scientists have concluded that at least one of the large lakes observed on Saturn's moon Titan contains liquid hydrocarbons, and have positively identified the presence of ethane. This makes Titan the only body in our solar system beyond Earth known to have liquid on its surface.

Scientists made the discovery using data from an instrument aboard the Cassini spacecraft. The instrument identified chemically different materials based on the way they absorb and reflect infrared light. Before Cassini, scientists thought Titan would have global oceans of methane, ethane and other light hydrocarbons. More than 40 close flybys of Titan by Cassini show no such global oceans exist, but hundreds of dark, lake-like features are present. Until now, it was not known whether these features were liquid or simply dark, solid material.

"This is the first observation that really pins down that Titan has a surface lake filled with liquid," said Bob Brown of the University of Arizona, Tucson. Brown is the team leader of Cassini's visual and mapping instrument. The results will be published in the July 31 issue of the journal Nature.

Ethane and several other simple hydrocarbons have been identified in Titan's atmosphere, which consists of 95 percent nitrogen, with methane making up the other five percent. Ethane and other hydrocarbons are products from atmospheric chemistry caused by the breakdown of methane by sunlight.

Some of the hydrocarbons react further and form fine aerosol particles. All of these things in Titan's atmosphere make detecting and identifying materials on the surface difficult, because these particles form a ubiquitous hydrocarbon haze that hinders the view. Liquid ethane was identified using a technique that removed the interference from the atmospheric hydrocarbons.

The visual and mapping instrument observed a lake, Ontario Lacus, in Titan's south polar region during a close Cassini flyby in December 2007. The lake is roughly 20,000 square kilometers (7,800 square miles) in area, slightly larger than North America's Lake Ontario.

"Detection of liquid ethane confirms a long-held idea that lakes and seas filled with methane and ethane exist on Titan," said Larry Soderblom, a Cassini interdisciplinary scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Ariz. "The fact we could detect the ethane spectral signatures of the lake even when it was so dimly illuminated, and at a slanted viewing path through Titan's atmosphere, raises expectations for exciting future lake discoveries by our instrument."

The ethane is in a liquid solution with methane, other hydrocarbons and nitrogen. At Titan's surface temperatures, approximately 300 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, these substances can exist as both liquid and gas. Titan shows overwhelming evidence of evaporation, rain, and fluid-carved channels draining into what, in this case, is a liquid hydrocarbon lake.

Earth has a hydrological cycle based on water and Titan has a cycle based on methane. Scientists ruled out the presence of water ice, ammonia, ammonia hydrate and carbon dioxide in Ontario Lacus. The observations also suggest the lake is evaporating. It is ringed by a dark beach, where the black lake merges with the bright shoreline. Cassini also observed a shelf and beach being exposed as the lake evaporates. "During the next few years, the vast array of lakes and seas on Titan's north pole mapped with Cassini's radar instrument will emerge from polar darkness into sunlight, giving the infrared instrument rich opportunities to watch for seasonal changes of Titan's lakes," Soderblom said.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona.

NASA History Division

For everyone who sees space as the final frontier, is a specific voyage that has opened new doors to discovery. NASA, one of the leading space discovery arenas, is one that has helped to provide new insights to those interested in space. Not only is this a part of the current events, but also invites discovery into the events that are designed to help with the discovery of the history of space science. The NASA history division is one that offers a fresh approach to the age-old science ideals that are currently available.

The NASA history division was established in 1959, one year after NASA was formed. Its main goal is to document and preserve the findings that are a part of the space discoveries of the arena of space. This includes basic documentation, books, publications and research that move back into what has already been discovered so new discoveries can be defined. This is combined with web sites and exhibits that further the ideals of science for those that are interested in a complete investigation of what has happened with science.

There are two main missions of this particular division, both which are equally important to those interested in the studies of space and science. The first is to work toward the Space Act, a mandate from 1959 that acknowledged that information about space should be sent into the public for common knowledge. The second main focus of this group is to keep documentation and discovery of the past toward future goals so the same mistakes aren't made with the activities that NASA is planning. This combination of ideals works for both those who are interested in the details of discovery, as well as those that are trying to move forward with the future of science.

Not only can you find historical records through this particular area of NASA, but can also find news that is documented about some of the recent discoveries available. By keeping in touch with this one division, you have the ability to access the most recent information and best publications of the organization, while tapping into the current events that have led to new discoveries. There is also a separate area for children who are interested in the organization and what it has to offer for those interested in getting basic information about the galaxy.

This particular division of NASA and the historical records that are kept is the first place for any science goer to investigate, especially if you want to delve into the details of space discovery. Through the recent findings, as well as the publications offered from the past, are an entire library of the universe on one shelf. This particular division is an important aspect to the entire functioning of NASA and provides even more insight into what is occurring in the universe and what new ideals are being set into motion.

Paris Hilton or Nasa Secrets?

Buzz Aldrin was planned for a phone interview on June 8, 2007. He was supposed to speak about the most recent space shuttle launch, but he unexpectedly found himself being inquired about Paris Hilton and as a result came to some interesting conclusions.
Buzz Aldrin was expected to be discussing the most recent Space Shuttle Mission. Therefore, it is easy to understand his surprise when the well-known astronaut’s guest was forced to talk about the never-ending debate about Paris. An experienced media guest, Buzz, however, never gets perplexed in such cases. When he was asked to say something on his attitude towards a world where Paris presided over the news for hours without end, Buzz started dwelling on some science fiction book he wrote. The narrative was about a civilization that was to be ruined in precisely one hundred and forty years by a dreadful disaster. His idea was that everyone was aware of that and did nothing until the very last moment. But that all finished with an unexpected point – he said that instead of thinking about the fact that the Russians, Chinese and Japanese are gradually going further in space research and exploration, we exaggerate and encourage non-essential events like Paris`s misfortune.
But what Buzz Aldrin really wanted to talk about was that he believed that NASA already knew how to distinguish UFOs in 1969. The humanity is still looking forward to hearing what the first man to be the moon has to tell us about the Apollo 11 Mission. An extremely private and truthful man, Armstrong has been practically silent since he came back to Earth excluding a few interviews that followed the mission. The only rational answer is that Neil Armstrong is not eager to talk about what occurred on the Apollo 11 Moon Mission. It is quite possible that he would rather be silent then lie to people, deceive them or convey answers approved by NASA. At the time when the media was permitted to keep an eye on majority of radio transmissions from the mission, strange noises and supposedly unknown languages could be heard. A mixture of declarations on the subject of unknown objects and strange incidents were made by all three members of the Apollo 11 crew. Moreover, some pictures taken during the mission seem to show some peculiar lights and bizarre objects in different positions near the Moon.
What we can hope for is an ultimate revelation from Armstrong while he is still alive or at least a sort of written or recorded declaration left behind after he leaves us. So, on a day when all the attention was drawn to a poor Paris Hilton, Buzz Aldrin’s information turned out a real bombshell. However, those valuable few and vital words from Aldrin were spoken all because of the Hilton “tragedy” coverage. So maybe we should say thanks to her.

NASA's Contribution to Gel Ant Farms

Gel ant farms are just one of the hundreds of spin-offs from the space program. We?ve always thought of space research as being a bit wacky. Ever since the Russians launched Laika the dog into space for no apparent reason (other than to get one over on the Americans) and since Alan Shepard used a six iron to hit a golf ball on the moon, we?ve been wondering what space research is all about.

It's all about gravity

Well, it turns out that ant farms also feature high on Nasa?s list of worthwhile experiments. Since the space program began there have been dozens of experiments devised to discover how processes that rely on gravity, or are affected by gravity, operate when freed from that ubiquitous force.

From trying to grow unfeasibly-large crystals of silicon (for micro-chip manufacture) to plant growth behavior, it's all been done. Some are successful and some aren?t. But that?s science, of course.

The mystery of underground navigation

And one of these experiments was the now famous Gel Ant Farm. Quite how ants manage to build and navigate their way through subterranean tunnels has always been something of a mystery. Therefore, in order to discover how they did it, NASA scientists tried to develop a clear gel which would make the ants visible as they built their tunnels.

The gel also needed to be sufficiently stable to withstand the high G-forces associated with launch and re-entry. Of course, any tunnel built in sand or soil would collapse under this extreme G force. High G wouldn?t affect the ants, of course, they are easily strong enough to take such forces in their stride.

Up it went the Gel Ant Farm on a space shuttle and the ants started tunnelling in their transparent gel. As I understand it, the tunnels were a somewhat more wiggly than ones made in the same gel by the same species on earth so gravity was thought to play a part in the ants? subterranean efforts. But, as far as I know, we didn?t find out much else.

Not to worry though, the bonus is that we now have a huge range of gel ant farms that are educational and great fun for kids. Some people say that non-stick frying pans are the only good thing ever to come out of the space program ? not so ? we now have gel ant farms as well!