Plans For A New British Tokamak, STEP? Https://t.co/j1V8O25HSs @JB_Fusion @JETOxfordshire #fusionenergy

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Unveiling the Center of Our Milky Way Galaxy

We captured an extremely crisp infrared image of the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Spanning more than 600 light-years, this panorama reveals details within the dense swirls of gas and dust in high resolution, opening the door to future research into how massive stars are forming and what’s feeding the supermassive black hole at our galaxy’s core.

Among the features coming into focus are the jutting curves of the Arches Cluster containing the densest concentration of stars in our galaxy, as well as the Quintuplet Cluster with stars a million times brighter than our Sun. Our galaxy’s black hole takes shape with a glimpse of the fiery-looking ring of gas surrounding it.

The new view was made by the world’s largest airborne telescope, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

From #IBF19 Sergio Frattini, CEO @ASGsconductors

"The superconducting technology which has been developed in the #ITER project has led to a number of innovative systems in the fields of medicine and energy" @iterorg https://t.co/CCk9f1JXVP

#IBF2019 participants on tour at #ITER. Here in the Assembly Hall where the two giant tools stand ready to assemble the vacuum vessel sectors. #fusionenergy #WeAreITER https://t.co/MLh2Z7gbr3

Say hello to the Butterfly Nebula 👋

It looks like our Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of a peaceful, cosmic butterfly unfurling its celestial wings, but the truth is vastly more violent. In the Butterfly Nebula, layers of gas are being ejected from a dying star. Medium-mass stars grow unstable as they run out of fuel, which leads them to blast tons of material out into space at speeds of over a million miles per hour!

Streams of intense ultraviolet radiation cause the cast-off material to glow, but eventually the nebula will fade and leave behind only a small stellar corpse called a white dwarf. Our middle-aged Sun can expect a similar fate once it runs out of fuel in about six billion years.

Planetary nebulas like this one aren’t actually related to planets; the term was coined by astronomer William Herschel, who actually discovered the Butterfly Nebula in 1826. Through his small telescope, planetary nebulas looked like glowing, planet-like orbs. While stars that generate planetary nebulas may have once had planets orbiting them, scientists expect that the fiery death throes these stars undergo will ultimately leave any planets in their vicinity completely uninhabitable.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

Don't miss it! Join the #ITER Business Forum #IBF19 from 26-28 March in Antibes, France. Learn about upcoming business opportunities, partner up with other businesses and foster relationships! MORE INFO HERE: https://t.co/yEwk722uzN #b2b #WeAreITER https://t.co/cFJHUodfsJ

outer banks → places: heyward’s seafood

Curious to see how #DEMO- the #fusion machine after #ITER - will look like? #F4E and @FusionInCloseUp collaborated to bring you this great illustration.

100 MW of net electricity on the way! Check this out https://t.co/9YoysYfo7W #sustainable #energy https://t.co/4ilupezbzX

The scaffolding has come off the lower cylinder of the #ITER #cryostat. Clad in thin film it is now being scanned by metrologists for reverse engineering and will then be cocooned for storage until assembly. #fusionenergy #WeAreITER https://t.co/DOag9p1rPp https://t.co/xoi5GTq0Vc

Robotic “Bees” Are About to Join Astronauts in Space

There are some things only humans can do in space. The rest can be left to robots. To free up valuable time for astronauts living and working aboard the International Space Station, we’re sending three robotic helpers to the orbiting outpost. Developed and built at our Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, the cube-shaped Astrobee robots will each stay as busy as a bee flying around the space station and assisting crew with routine tasks like maintenance and tracking inventory. The robots will also help researchers on the ground carry out experiments, test new technologies and study human-robot interaction in space. Learning how robots can best work with humans in close proximity will be key for exploring the Moon and other destinations. Get to know more about our new robots headed to space: 

The Astrobee robots were tested inside a special lab at our Ames Research Center where researchers created a mockup of the space station’s interior. 

The flying robots are propelled by fans. They can move in any direction and turn on any axis in space. 

Each robot is equipped with cameras and sensors for navigating inside the space station and avoiding obstacles.

Claw power! Astrobees have a robotic arm that can be attached for handling cargo or running experiments.

Astrobee is battery powered. When its battery runs low, the robot will autonomously navigate and dock to a power station to recharge.

The robots can operate in either fully automated mode or under remote control by astronauts or researchers on Earth.

Astrobee builds on the success of SPHERES, our first-generation robotic assistant that arrived at the space station in 2006.  

Two of the three Astrobee robots are scheduled to launch to space this month from our Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia! Tune in to the launch at www.nasa.gov/live.

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