NASA Images: A look Back at the Best Views of Our Planet From Space in the Last Year.

NASA | Earth from Orbit 2012

A look back at the best views of our planet from space in the last year, including true color satellite images, Earth science data visualizations, time lapses from the International Space Station, and computer models.

Italy's shimmering boot as seen from space


Make sure to watch in HD full screen!

How to Photograph in Space ~ by Donald R. Pettit (Ph.D.) NASA Astronaut

Donald Pettit speaks at Luminance 2012 from PhotoShelter.com on Vimeo.

“My star trail images are made by taking a time exposure of about 10 to 15 minutes. However, with modern digital cameras, 30 seconds is about the longest exposure possible, due to electronic detector noise effectively snowing out the image. To achieve the longer exposures I do what many amateur astronomers do. I take multiple 30-second exposures, then ‘stack’ them using imaging software, thus producing the longer exposure.” ~ Donald Pettit (A total of 18 images were combined to create this composite.)

Pettit poses with 10 Nikon cameras and lenses.

570 Megapixel Camera Photographs Galaxies Up To 8 Billion Light Years Away.

The Dark Energy Survey (DES) is designed to probe the origin of the accelerating universe and help uncover the nature of dark energy by measuring the 14-billion-year history of cosmic expansion with high precision. More than 120 scientists from 23 institutions in the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Germany are working on the project. This collaboration built the extremely sensitive 570-Megapixel digital camera, DECam, and mounted it on the Blanco 4-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory high in the Chilean Andes. Starting in Sept. 2012 and continuing for five years, DES will survey a large swath of the southern sky out to vast distances in order to provide new clues to this most fundamental of questions. [via DES]

"The achievement of first light through the Dark Energy Camera

 begins a significant new era in our exploration of the cosmic

 frontier," said James Siegrist, associate director of science for

 high-energy physics at the US Department of Energy, which 

oversaw the instrument's construction.

"The results of this survey will bring us closer to understanding 

the mystery of dark energy

 and what it means for the Universe."

This is the first image from the world's most powerful digital camera.

NGC 1365 is a barred spiral galaxy around 60 million light years from Earth, located in the Fornax galactic cluster.

Over the next five years, scientists plan to create these massive colour photos of 1/8th of the night sky, capturing 300 million galaxies, 100,000 galaxy clusters, and even 4,000 supernovae.

Photo of the Dark Energy Camera's 62 CCD sensors 

The goal is to discover the nature of dark energy, which is

theorised to be responsible for the ever-faster expansion of

 the Universe.

Fourth Annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year Award WInners

M51—also known as the Whirlpool galaxy—is a classic spiral galaxy that scientists have studied for centuries. But this mesmerizing new image of the galaxy has nabbed Australian photographer Martin Pugh the top prize in the fourth annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards, announced this week. The sharp detail of the spiral’s arms, defined by dark, dusty areas and bright, pink clouds of hydrogen, impressed the judges. “This is arguably one of the finest images of M51 ever taken by an amateur astronomer,” said judge and astronomer Will Gater in a press release. Pugh’s photograph—which was chosen from more than 800 entries from around the world and earned him £1500—as well as those of the winners in categories such as ”Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year,” “Earth and Space,” and “Our Solar System,” are now on display at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in the United Kingdom. Other standout entries include a photograph of the Pleiades cluster, taken by a 15-year-old astronomer, and an image of this year’s transit of Venus across the sun, which was taken on 6 June. [via science now]

*Click on images for a larger view*

M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy 
The grand prize-winning entry shows the Whirlpool galaxy's spiral arms in sharp detail; trails of light show a smaller, neighbouring galaxy being slowly torn apart by the Whirlpool's gravitational pull. © Martin Pugh

 Pleiades Cluster
The Pleiades, sometimes called the Seven Sisters, is a cluster of many young stars. The 15-year-old photographer captured this image after more than an hour of exposure (winner of the "Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year" category). © Jacob von Chorus

Transit of Venus 2012 in Hydrogen-Alpha 
Venus passed between Earth and the sun on 6 June. The photographer captured the rare event—which won't happen again for 105 years—on a cloudy morning in Blackheath, London (winner of the "Our Solar System" category). © Chris Warren

Star Icefall
The constellations of Orion, Taurus, and the Pleiades illuminate an ethereal icescape in Nagano, Japan (winner of the "Earth and Space" category). © Masahiro Miyasaka

Simeis 147 Supernova Remnant 

Remnants of a star that exploded roughly 40,000 years ago collide with gas and dust, forming the glowing "Spaghetti Nebula" (runner-up of the "Deep Space" category). © Rogelio Bernal Andreo

Space Shuttle Time-Lapse

In honour of the final Space Shuttle Launch here is a great time lapse of the sequence of events leading up to and including the launch of the Shuttle.

After 30 years, the shuttle program, which began on April 12, 1981 with Colombia, has ended with the 135th mission on July 21 2011. Atlantis went aloft 33 times, logging over 125 million miles. The last shuttle will become a museum exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center



Here are some images from the final Shuttle launch and landing

View from the Space Station of Atlantis Landing

Astronaut Self Portraits

What an Astronaut's Camera Sees

watch in 1080P HD!

Stunning NASA CASSINI MISSION Images Set To Nine Inch Nails

Cassini-Huygens is one of the most ambitious missions ever launched into space. Loaded with an array of powerful instruments and cameras, the spacecraft is capable of taking accurate measurements and detailed images in a variety of atmospheric conditions and light spectra.

Two elements comprise the spacecraft: The Cassini orbiter and the Huygens probe. In 2004, Cassini-Huygens reached Saturn and its moons. There the spacecraft began orbiting the system in July 2004, beaming home valuable data that will help us understand the vast Saturnian region. Huygens entered the murky atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's biggest moon, and descended via parachute onto its surface.

via http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm