In this April 25, 1990, photograph taken by the crew of the STS-31 space shuttle mission, the Hubble Space Telescope is suspended above shuttle Discovery’s cargo bay some 332 nautical miles above Earth. via NASA http://ift.tt/1DHC056

The brilliant tapestry of young stars flaring to life resemble a glittering fireworks display in the 25th anniversary NASA Hubble Space Telescope image, released to commemorate a quarter century of exploring the solar system and beyond since its launch on April 24, 1990. via NASA http://ift.tt/1HqPKbC

In this photo taken from a chase plane, the Boeing ecoDemonstrator 757 flight test airplane –with NASA’s Active Flow Control technology installed on the tail — makes a final approach to King County Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington. via NASA http://ift.tt/1OGdlnA

This 15,000-by-15,000-pixel image of southern Africa and the surrounding oceans took six orbits of the Suomi NPP spacecraft to compile. via NASA http://ift.tt/1aPhuIp

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, currently on a one-year mission on the International Space Station, posted this image of the successful capture of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with the space station’s robotic arm. via NASA http://ift.tt/1Jnghnr

In this Chandra image of ngc6388, researchers have found evidence that a white dwarf star may have ripped apart a planet as it came too close. When a star reaches its white dwarf stage, nearly all of the material from the star is packed inside a radius one hundredth that of the original star.

The destruction of a planet may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but a team of astronomers has found evidence that this may have happened in an ancient cluster of stars at the edge of the Milky Way galaxy.

Using several telescopes, including NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, researchers have found evidence that a white dwarf star – the dense core of a star like the Sun that has run out of nuclear fuel – may have ripped apart a planet as it came too close.

More information.

Image Credit: NASA via NASA http://ift.tt/1CXW0jf

In this Chandra image of ngc6388, researchers have found evidence that a white dwarf star may have ripped apart a planet as it came too close. When a star reaches its white dwarf stage, nearly all of the material from the star is packed inside a radius one hundredth that of the original star.

The destruction of a planet may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but a team of astronomers has found evidence that this may have happened in an ancient cluster of stars at the edge of the Milky Way galaxy.

Using several telescopes, including NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, researchers have found evidence that a white dwarf star – the dense core of a star like the Sun that has run out of nuclear fuel – may have ripped apart a planet as it came too close.

More information.

Image Credit: NASA via NASA http://ift.tt/1cCAvPO

The X-56A Multi-Utility Technology Testbed (MUTT) is greeted on an Edwards Air Force Base runway by a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) team member. NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center and the AFRL, along with participants from Langley Research Center and Glenn Research Center, and support from Lockheed Martin, are using the second X-56A (dubbed “Buckeye”) to check out aircraft systems, evaluate handling qualities, characterize and expand the airplane’s performance envelope, and verify pre-flight predictions regarding aircraft behavior. The 20-minute flight marked the beginning of a research effort designed to yield significant advances in aeroservoelastic technology using a low-cost, modular, remotely piloted aerial vehicle.

Image Credit: NASA/Ken Ulbrich via NASA http://ift.tt/1IiaTlq

“Honoring #JackieRobinson today! #42” wrote NASA astronaut Terry Virts, wearing a replica Jackie Robinson jersey on orbit in the cupola of the International Space Station.

April 15, which was baseball’s opening day in 1947, has now come to commemorate Jackie Robinson’s memorable career and his place in history as the first black major league baseball player in the modern era. He made history with the Brooklyn Dodgers (now the Los Angeles Dodgers) and he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

Image Credit: NASA via NASA http://ift.tt/1DiQYl5

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the Dragon resupply spacecraft on the sixth commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 4:10 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, April 14. Research that will help prepare NASA astronauts and robotic explorers for future missions to Mars is among the two tons of cargo on its way to the International Space Station aboard Dragon.

The mission is the company’s sixth cargo delivery flight to the station through NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. Dragon’s cargo will support approximately 40 of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will be performed during Expeditions 43 and 44, including numerous human research investigations for NASA astronaut Scott Kelly’s one-year mission in space.

Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett via NASA http://ift.tt/1PJqGyI