Posts tagged "Astronomy"

balsawood:

The following [is a] supersaturated coloured [image] of the moon. The lunar surface has very subtle colours that can be enhanced with image processing. The blue colour indicates that the basic lava flows contain high amounts of the element Titanium. Red areas have reduced amounts of titanium (low-Ti basalts).

ikenbot:

Solar Loops

Image courtesy: SDO/NASA

Huge loops of plasma—superheated, charged gas—rise from an active region on the sun in a newly released picture from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Each loop is as tall as several Earths stacked on top of each other.

cwnl:

Russia Takes Lead to Create Manned Moon Base with USA & Europe

Officials from Russia’s Space Agency, Roscosmos, are reportedly in talks with Europe’s ESA and NASA over possibly establishing a collective an orbital station around the moon, or a manned lunar research base. According to Russian news site RIA Novosti, while the country intends on making the moon its focal point, Russia’s plans calls for more than merely putting boots on the lunar surface.

According to Roscosmos chief, Vladimir Popovkin, that leaves only two options: “setup a base on the Moon, or launch a station to orbit around it. We don’t want the man to just step on the Moon,” Popovkin stated in an interview with Russian radio station Vesti FM.

“Today, we know enough about it, we know that there is water in its polar areas,” he said of the moon, adding “we are now discussing how to begin exploration with NASA and the European Space Agency,” he added.

During the late 1950’s Soviet and US. Scientists first began discussing the possibility of establishing a permanent manned outpost, but as the Cold War drew on, those plans never went any further.

(via ikenbot)