Updating a 150-year-old German photography technique, NASA and the U.S. Air Force released what’s called a “schlieren” image of the shock wave from a supersonic aircraft. via NASA http://ift.tt/1fFScyS

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft spotted this tall, conical mountain on Ceres from a distance of 915 miles (1,470 kilometers). via NASA http://ift.tt/1IcpgoZ

As the northern hemisphere experiences the heat of summer, ice moves and melts in the Arctic waters and the far northern lands surrounding it. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of sea ice off Greenland on July 16, 2015. via NASA http://ift.tt/1PuQrkn

Here we see the spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427 — more commonly known as WR 124 — and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it. via NASA http://ift.tt/1U4ogtV

This low-angle self-portrait of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle above the “Buckskin” rock target, where the mission collected its seventh drilled sample. via NASA http://ift.tt/1NvoIS7

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated August 19 as National Aviation Day in honor of Orville Wright’s birthday, directing citizens to celebrate the day with activities that encourage an interest and appreciation for aviation. NASA’s heritage in aviation research goes back more than 100 years. via NASA http://ift.tt/1PmyG6I

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly shared this photograph on social media, taken from the International Space Station on August 15, 2015. Kelly wrote, “#Aurora trailing a colorful veil over Earth this morning. Good morning from @space_station! #YearInSpace” via NASA http://ift.tt/1EAdN2i

While not bursting with activity like its system satellite Enceladus, the surface of Dione is definitely not boring. via NASA http://ift.tt/1KrxyLw

Bursts of pink and red, dark lanes of mottled cosmic dust, and a bright scattering of stars — this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows part of a messy barred spiral galaxy known as NGC 428. via NASA http://ift.tt/1WoQCD7

At NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, engineers are welding together the Orion crew module pathfinder in preparation for the welding process set to begin later this summer on the Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1. This pathfinder, including the barrel section shown here, is a full-scale version of the current spacecraft design. via NASA http://ift.tt/1HIG9Yn