Water World

Although Enceladus and Saturn's rings are largely made up of water ice, they show very different characteristics. via NASA http://ift.tt/1IvHEuX

A Precocious Black Hole

In July 2015, researchers announced the discovery of a black hole that grew much more quickly than its host galaxy. The discovery calls into question previous assumptions on development of galaxies. The black hole was discovered using the Hubble Space Telescope, and detected in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, by ESA's XMM-Newton and NASA's Chandra. via NASA http://ift.tt/1jnIyTy

Hubble Captures a Galactic Waltz

This curious galaxy — only known by the seemingly random jumble of letters and numbers 2MASX J16270254+4328340 — has been captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope dancing the crazed dance of a galactic merger. The galaxy has merged with another galaxy leaving a fine mist, made of millions of stars, spewing from it in long trails. via NASA http://ift.tt/1P8Z0p1

Historic Formation Flight of NASA's WB-57s Over Houston

NASA's three WB-57s fly over foggy downtown Houston, Texas during their historic formation flight over the area on Nov. 19, 2015. This photo flight was the first time that all three WB-57s have been aloft simultaneously since the early 1970s, when the U.S. Air Force had an operational squadron of WB-57s. via NASA http://ift.tt/1ji4Q97

Springtime in the South Atlantic

The springtime phytoplankton communities shown in this image were spotted between the Falkland Islands to the west and South Georgia Island to the east by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite on November 16, 2015. via NASA http://ift.tt/1QEaqkM

Northwest Australia From the Space Station's EarthKAM

This image of the northwest corner of Australia was snapped by a student on Earth after remotely controlling the Sally Ride EarthKAM aboard the International Space Station. The program allows students to request photographs of specific Earth features, which are taken by a special camera mounted on the station when it passes over these features. via NASA http://ift.tt/1S95YrK

Nov. 19, 1969, Apollo 12 Lunar Module Intrepid

The Apollo 12 Lunar Module (LM), in a lunar landing configuration, is photographed in lunar orbit from the Command and Service Modules (CSM) on Nov. 19, 1969. Aboard the LM were astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., commander; and Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot. via NASA http://ift.tt/1lwOF9L

Cloud Patterns Over the Prince Edward Islands

Early November 2015 brought cloudy skies and intriguing patterns over the Prince Edward Islands in the South Indian Ocean. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this scene on November 5. via NASA http://ift.tt/1MV1RLD

A Brighter Moon

Although Dione (near) and Enceladus (far) are composed of nearly the same materials, Enceladus has a considerably higher reflectivity than Dione. via NASA http://ift.tt/1HVSs50

Fingerprints of Water on the Sand

NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren took this photograph on Nov. 11, 2015 from the International Space Station. Lindgren wrote, "The delicate fingerprints of water imprinted on the sand. The #StoryOfWater." via NASA http://ift.tt/1Mxtpaz

Veiny 'Garden City' Site and Surroundings on Mount Sharp, Mars

This March 27, 2015, view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows a site with a network of prominent mineral veins below a cap rock ridge on lower Mount Sharp. via NASA http://ift.tt/1H0kNMM

Psychedelic Pluto

New Horizons scientists made this false color image of Pluto using a technique called principal component analysis to highlight the many subtle color differences between Pluto's distinct regions. via NASA http://ift.tt/1llORbL

Scott Kelly on the Second Spacewalk of Expedition 45

On Nov. 6, 2015, NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren spent 7 hours and 48 minutes working outside the International Space Station on the 190th spacewalk in support of station assembly and maintenance. The astronauts restored the port truss (P6) ammonia cooling system to its original configuration, the main task for the spacewalk. via NASA http://ift.tt/1kK3Z2c

Layers and Fractures in Ophir Chasma, Mars

Ophir Chasma forms the northern portion of the vast Mars canyon system Valles Marineris, and this image, acquired on Aug. 10, 2015, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, features a small part of its wall and floor. via NASA http://ift.tt/1RIGilw

Orion Service Module Stacking Assembly Secured For Flight

The Orion spacecraft service module stacking assembly interface ring and stack holding stand are secured on a special transportation platform and are being loaded into NASA's Super Guppy aircraft at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center. On Nov. 3, the Guppy flew from Kennedy to Glenn Research Center's Plum Brook Station facility. via NASA http://ift.tt/1GOPEMa