The star map in celestial coordinates, at five different resolutions. The map is centered at 0h right ascension, and r.a. increases to the left. || starmap_2020_4k_print.jpg (1024x512) [41.8 KB] || starmap_2020_4k_searchweb.png (320x180) [53.9 KB] || starmap_2020_4k_thm.png (80x40) [5.5 KB] || starmap_2020_4k.exr (4096x2048) [34.3 MB] || starmap_2020_8k.exr (8192x4096) [124.5 MB] || starmap_2020_16k.exr (16384x8192) [422.9 MB] || starmap_2020_32k.exr (32768x16384) [1.4 GB] || starmap_2020_64k.exr (65536x32768) [3.8 GB] ||

This scientific visualization shows the development of Supernova 1987A, from the initial explosion observed three decades ago to the luminous ring of material we see today. || sn87a_sim-example_frame-1920x1080.jpg (1920x1080) [85.8 KB] || sn87a_sim-example_frame-1920x1080_searchweb.png (320x180) [25.0 KB] || sn87a_sim-example_frame-1920x1080_thm.png (80x40) [2.3 KB] || sn87a_sim-b-1920x1080p30.mov (1920x1080) [21.5 MB] || sn87a_sim-b-1920x1080p30.webm (1920x1080) [2.4 MB] || sn87a_sim-b-1280x720.m4v (1280x720) [10.0 MB] || sn87a_sim-b-1280x720.wmv (1280x720) [8.5 MB] || sn87a_sim-b-1920x1080.m4v (1920x1080) [16.3 MB] || sn87a_sim-b-1920x1080.wmv (1920x1080) [15.4 MB] || sn87a_sim-b-30863.key [22.0 MB] || sn87a_sim-b-30863.pptx [21.8 MB] || blast-wave-from-supernova-1987-a.hwshow [302 bytes] ||

This image set is a skymap of stars from the Tycho and Hipparcos star catalogs, provided by the ESO/ECF generic catalog server. The maps are plotted in plate carrée projection (Cylindrical-Equidistant) using celestial coordinates making them suitable for mapping onto spheres in many popular animation programs. The stars are plotted as gaussian point-spread functions (PSF) so the size and amplitude of the stars corresponds to their relative intensity. The stars are also elongated in Right Ascension (celestial longitude) based on declination (celestial latitude) so stars in the polar regions will still be round when projected on a sphere. Stars fainter than the threshold magnitude, usually selected as 5th magnitude, have their magnitude-intensity curve adjusted so they appear brighter than they really are. This makes the band of the Milky Way more visible. Stellar colors are assigned based on B and V magnitudes (B and V are stellar magnitudes measured through different filters). If Johnson B and V magnitudes are unavailable, Tycho B and V magnitudes are used instead. From these, an effective stellar temperature is derived using the algorithms described in Flower (ApJ 469, 355 1996). Corrections were noted from Siobahn Morgan (UNI). The effective temperature was then converted to CIE tristimulus X,Y,Z triples assuming a black-body emission distribution. The X,Y,Z values are then converted to red-green-blue color pixels. About 2.4 million stars are plotted, but many may be below the pixel intensity resolution. The three most conspicuously missing objects on these maps are the Andromeda galaxy (M31) and the two Magellanic Clouds. Changes from the first version #3442, The Tycho Catalog Skymap: The star generation algorithm now favors use of the Johnson magnitudes when available. This improves the star colors over the previous method. The star intensity profiles are also slightly modified to make the cores brighter with a faster intensity falloff. We have also set the color standard to SMPTE with a gamma of 1.8.Update: This skymap has been revised. The newer version is available at Deep Star Maps. ||

This set of star maps was created by plotting the position, brightness, and color of just over 100 million stars from the Bright Star, Tycho-2, and UCAC3 star catalogs. The constellation boundaries are those established by the International Astronomical Union in 1930. The constellation figures also come from the IAU, although they're not official.The maps are presented in plate carrée projections using either celestial (J2000 geocentric right ascension and declination) or galactic coordinates. They are designed for spherical mapping in animation software. The oval shapes near the top and bottom of the star maps are not galaxies. The distortion of the stars in those parts of the map is just an effect of the projection.The celestial coordinate mapping will be the more useful one for animation, since camera rotations in the software will correspond in a straightforward way to the right ascension and declination in astronomy references. The galactic coordinate mapping works as a standalone image showing the edge-on view of our home galaxy, from the inside.The animation demonstrates the use of the maps in a tour of the sky. The tour starts at W-shaped Cassiopeia, then heads south through Perseus to the winter constellation of Orion the Hunter and the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters in Taurus. It moves southeast past Orion's canine companion and its star, Sirius, brightest in the sky, eventually pausing at the rich southern hemisphere portion of the Milky Way in Carina and Crux, the Southern Cross.East of the Cross, in Centaurus, is the binary star Alpha Centauri, at 4.4 light-years the naked-eye star system nearest to the Sun. Also visible as a fuzzy spot near the top of the frame is the globular cluster Omega Centauri. The number of stars used to draw the star maps is large enough to reveal many globular and open star clusters as well as the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.After passing near the celestial south pole, the tour moves north along the Milky Way to the center of our galaxy near the teapot in Sagittarius. The tour veers northwest from there, finally stopping at the familiar Big Dipper or Plough asterism in Ursa Major.This is an update to entry 3572. ||

Movie showing the heliosphysics missions from near Earth orbit out to the orbit of the Moon.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. || Helio2015A.MMStour.slate_RigRHS.HD1080i.0500_print.jpg (1024x576) [112.6 KB] || Helio2015A.MMStour.HD1080.webm (1920x1080) [6.7 MB] || WithoutTimeStamp (1920x1080) [128.0 KB] || Helio2015A.MMStour.HD1080.mov (1920x1080) [196.3 MB] || Helio2015_4288.pptx [198.6 MB] || Helio2015_4288.key [201.3 MB] ||

In late 2014 and early 2015, NASA's Kepler telescope observed the eighth planet in our solar system, Neptune. Kepler detected Neptune's daily rotation, the movement of clouds, and even minute changes in the sun's brightness, paving the way for future studies of weather and climate beyond our solar system. Complete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Music Provided by Killer Tracks:"Lost Contact" – Adam Salkeld & Neil Pollard"Processing Thoughts" – Theo Golding || Neptune-Triton-Zoom-Thumbnail.jpg (1920x1080) [1.2 MB] || 4559_Kepler_Neptune_Twitter_720.mp4 (1280x720) [30.6 MB] || WEBM-4559_Kepler_Neptune_APR.webm (960x540) [58.6 MB] || Neptune-Triton-Zoom-Thumbnail_Big.tiff (1920x1080) [11.9 MB] || 4559_Kepler_Neptune_Facebook_720.mp4 (1280x720) [173.0 MB] || 4559_Kepler_Neptune_Captions_Output.en_US.srt [2.8 KB] || 4559_Kepler_Neptune_Captions_Output.en_US.vtt [2.9 KB] || 4559_Kepler_Neptune_APR.mov (1920x1080) [1.9 GB] || 4559_Kepler_Neptune_APR_4444.mov (1920x1080) [4.1 GB] || 4559_Kepler_Neptune_APR.mov.hwshow [205 bytes] ||

Supercomputer Simulations of Galaxy Formation and Evolution. This visualization shows small galaxies forming, interacting, and merging to make ever-larger galaxies. This 'hierarchical structure formation' is driven by gravity and results in the creation of galaxies with spiral arms much like our own Milky Way galaxy. The Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) simulation generated from ENZO code for cosmology and astrophysics was developed by Drs. Brian O'Shea and Michael Norman. The AMR code generated 1.8 terabytes of data and was computed at NCSA. AVL used Amore software (http://avl.ncsa.illinois.edu/what-we-do/software) to interpolate and render 2700 frames (42 gigabytes of HD images). The simulation spans a time period of 13.7 billion years. This visualization provides insight into the assembly and formation of galaxies. James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will probe the earliest periods of galaxy formation by looking deep into space to see the first galaxies that form in the universe, only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. The Advanced Visualization Laboratory (AVL) at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) collaborated with NASA and Drs. Brian O'Shea and Michael Norman to visualize the formation of a Milky Way-type galaxy. The Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) simulation generated from ENZO code for cosmology and astrophysics was developed by Drs. Brian O'Shea and Michael Norman. The AMR code generated 1.8 terabytes of data and was computed at NCSA. AVL used Amore software (http://avl.ncsa.illinois.edu/what-we-do/software) to interpolate and render 2700 frames (42 gigabytes of HD images). The simulation spans a time period of 13.7 billion years. This visualization provides insight into the assembly and formation of galaxies. James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will probe the earliest periods of galaxy formation by looking deep into space to see the first galaxies that form in the universe, only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.AVL(http://avl.ncsa.illinois.edu/) at NCSA (http://ncsa.illinois.edu/), University of Illinois (www.illinois.edu) ||

4. Hubble Memorable Moments: Comet ImpactIn July 1994, the Hubble Space Telescope was poised to use its newly fixed optics to observe one of the most impressive astronomical events of the century - the 21 fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacting Jupiter. But these observations almost didn’t happen.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || Hubble_Memorable_Moments.png (1276x717) [1004.3 KB] || Hubble_Memorable_Moments_print.jpg (1024x575) [98.6 KB] || Hubble_Memorable_Moments_web.png (320x180) [78.1 KB] || Hubble_Memorable_Moments_thm.png (80x40) [7.7 KB] || mem.jpg (320x180) [9.8 KB] || HubbleMemorableMoments_CometImpact.webm (1280x720) [52.1 MB] || HubbleMemorableMoments_CometImpact.mp4 (1280x720) [763.6 MB] || HubbleMemorableMoments_CometImpact.en_US.srt [9.6 KB] || HubbleMemorableMoments_CometImpact.en_US.vtt [9.6 KB] || HubbleMemorableMoments_CometImpact.mov (1280x720) [6.4 GB] ||

Time lapse video showing the installation of all 18 mirror segments of the Webb Telescope at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. || OTE-timelaspe-image.jpg (1920x1080) [1.3 MB] || OTE-timelaspe-image_print.jpg (1024x576) [647.9 KB] || OTE-timelaspe-image_searchweb.png (180x320) [149.2 KB] || OTE-timelaspe-image_web.png (320x180) [149.2 KB] || OTE-timelaspe-image_thm.png (80x40) [31.2 KB] || Webb_Mirror_Install_timelapse-quicktime.mov (1280x720) [82.6 MB] || Webb_Mirror_Install_timelapse-quicktime.webm (1280x720) [9.1 MB] || Webb_Mirror_Install_timelapse12145.key [87.1 MB] || Webb_Mirror_Install_timelapse12145.pptx [84.4 MB] || Webb_Mirror_Install_timelapse.mov (1920x1080) [1.4 GB] || webb-primary-mirror-installation-time-lapse.hwshow [343 bytes] ||

Watch this video to learn about time-domain astronomy and how time will be a key element in the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope's galactic bulge survey.Music: "Elapsing Time" and "Beyond Truth" from Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || Roman_TDA-GBS_Still.jpg (1920x1080) [716.0 KB] || Roman_TDA-GBS_Still_print.jpg (1024x576) [206.4 KB] || Roman_TDA-GBS_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [95.5 KB] || Roman_TDA-GBS_Still_thm.png (80x40) [7.0 KB] || 14438_Roman_TimeDomain_GalacticBulgeSurvey_Sub100.mp4 (1920x1080) [91.9 MB] || 14438_Roman_TimeDomain_GalacticBulgeSurvey_Good.webm (1920x1080) [32.2 MB] || 14438_Roman_TimeDomain_GalacticBulgeSurvey_Good.mp4 (1920x1080) [215.7 MB] || 14438_Roman_TimeDomain_GalacticBulgeSurvey_Best.mp4 (1920x1080) [744.2 MB] || 14438_Roman_TimeDomain_GalacticBulgeSurvey_Captions.en_US.srt [6.0 KB] || 14438_Roman_TimeDomain_GalacticBulgeSurvey_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [4.0 GB] ||