Source: ESA
Crew training for 'Marswalk' at the simulated martian terrain of the Mars500 experiment.
Credits: ESA / IPMB
Three crewmembers of the virtual flight to Mars have 'landed' on their destination planet and two of them today took their first steps on the simulated martian terrain. The highlight of the Mars500 mission lasted for one hour and 12 minutes, starting at 11:00 (UTC).(read more)
Source: NASA
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA
Nebulae are enormous clouds of dust and gas occupying the space between the stars. Some have pretty names to match their good looks, for example the Rose nebula, while others have much more utilitarian names. Such is the case with LBN 114.55+00.22, an emission nebula. Unlike a reflection nebula, which reflects light from nearby stars, an emission nebula that emits light, seen here in an image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. Emission nebulae are usually found in the disks of spiral galaxies, and are places where new stars are forming.
Named after the astronomer who published a catalogue of nebulae in 1965, LBN stands for "Lynds Bright nebula." The numbers 114.55+00.22 refer to nebula's coordinates in our Milky Way galaxy, serving as a sort of galactic home address. (see image source)
