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Hubble Captures Star-Studded Cluster

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Hubble Captures Star-Studded Cluster

A packed, roughly spherical cluster of red, white and blue stars shines against the black background of space. The stars are clustered most densely toward the center of the cluster.
This image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope shows Messier 3, a densely packed cluster of stars whose origins may be a merger between globular clusters in the early universe.
NASA, ESA, and A. Sarajedini (Florida Atlantic University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

This image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope showcases Messier 3 (M3), one of the Milky Way galaxy’s most massive globular clusters, or spherical collections of gravitationally bound stars. Globular clusters are made up of ancient stars that formed at roughly the same time from the same cloud of gas, giving those stars similar ages. Around 150 known globular clusters are sprinkled around the outer regions of the Milky Way.

Learn more about M3.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Sarajedini (Florida Atlantic University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

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Cottonwood Fire Chars Utah

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Cottonwood Fire Chars Utah

 




June 5
June 29

Mountainous landscapes appear green and untouched by fire in a satellite image acquired on June 5, 2026.
Mountainous landscapes appear green and untouched by fire in a satellite image acquired on June 5, 2026.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

An image of the same area shows a large brown patch spanning much of the image in an image acquired after the fire on June 29, 2026.
An image of the same area shows a large brown patch spanning much of the image in an image acquired after the fire on June 29, 2026.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

Mountainous landscapes appear green and untouched by fire in a satellite image acquired on June 5, 2026.
Mountainous landscapes appear green and untouched by fire in a satellite image acquired on June 5, 2026.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison
An image of the same area shows a large brown patch spanning much of the image in an image acquired after the fire on June 29, 2026.
An image of the same area shows a large brown patch spanning much of the image in an image acquired after the fire on June 29, 2026.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

June 5

June 29


A burned landscape spans more than 150 square miles (390 square kilometers) of rugged terrain northwest of Junction, Utah, as seen in this pair of images captured by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 on June 5, 2026 (left) and June 29, 2026 (right). NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison.

After a winter of below-average snowpack and an unusually warm and dry start to summer, the National Interagency Fire Center warned that the Great Basin and parts of the Rockies faced an elevated risk of wildfires in July 2026.

The warning proved accurate. By July 7, firefighters labored to contain nearly three dozen large, early-season wildland fires that raced through forests in several parts of the western U.S. Utah was among the most active states, with fires having charred 558 square miles (1,445 square kilometers) and four major fires that were not fully contained still burning.

The Cottonwood fire ranked as one of Utah’s—and the country’s—largest and most destructive fires of the year so far. As of July 7, it had burned 150 square miles (390 square kilometers), just shy of the Babylon fire in eastern Utah. Landsat 9 captured the false-color image (bands 7-5-4) above (right) on June 29, 2026, when blackened vegetation spanned a large patch of rugged terrain along the Beaver River. The image on the left shows the same area on June 5, a few weeks before the fire ignited. In this band combination of shortwave infrared, near infrared, and visible light, unburned vegetation appears bright green, snow is blue, and clouds are white.

Ponderosa pine, oak, sagebrush, and grasses were among the vegetation types that burned. Officials with the state’s forestry division told news media that the Cottonwood fire had destroyed up to 150 structures. Eagle Point Ski Resort, which lost more than 100 condos and 30 cabins, also reported damage to four of its five chairlifts.

The damage to forests was extensive, though isolated patches survived largely unscathed, remaining as green oases within the broader burned area. Among them were the forests around Tushar Campground, the site of a 4-H summer camp. Beaver County officials credited years of forest treatments, such as clearing brush and trimming branches, with helping save the campground and surrounding forests.

The fire spreads especially rapidly on June 23 and June 26. The fire perimeters in this visualization are based on data from NASA’s Fire Events Data Suite.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

As the fire spread, NASA’s Fire Events Data Suite (FEDS) tracked its progression and rate of growth. The visualization above, based on the FEDS system, shows the fire surging on June 23 and tripling in size over 12 hours that day as it spread to the north, east, and south. It also grew rapidly on June 26, when it made a run to the north. FEDS draws on data from the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) sensors aboard the Suomi NPP, NOAA-20, and NOAA-21 satellites, which detect active fires day and night by their thermal infrared signature.

FEDS is one of several tools available to firefighters and emergency management officials when responding to fires. First responders often rely on higher-resolution airborne imagers or on firefighters walking fire edges to map perimeters. FEDS offers a different advantage: consistent, easily accessible data that do not need to be specially requested, according to Tempest McCabe, a University of Maryland scientist based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center who helped develop the tool. As a result, FEDS often detects a fire’s start earlier than other sources and tracks blazes for their full duration. To capitalize on strengths like these, the FEDS team is working closely with operational fire behavior analysts, with support from NASA’s FireSense program, to better understand and anticipate periods of rapid fire spread.

A total of 1,289 firefighters have been deployed to the Cottonwood fire, according to InciWeb, a website managed by the National Interagency Fire Center. As of July 7, the fire was 56 percent contained, but forecasters expect a hot, dry weather pattern to persist in the coming days, with fire behavior likely to be “very active to extreme” over the next 72 hours.

Government satellite data are part of a global system of observations used to track fire behavior and analyze emerging trends. Among the real-time wildfire monitoring tools that NASA makes available are FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System), the Worldview browser, and the Fire Event Explorer.

As of July 7, 2026, fires had burned 5,265 square miles (13,636 square kilometers) across the United States, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. That’s 46 percent more than the 10-year average (2016-2025) for that point in the season.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey and fire perimeter data from the Fire Events Data Suite. Story by Adam Voiland.

Downloads

Mountainous landscapes appear green and untouched by fire in a satellite image acquired on June 5, 2026.

June 5, 2026

JPEG (1.39 MB)
An image of the same area shows a large brown patch spanning much of the image in an image acquired after the fire on June 29, 2026.

June 29, 2026

JPEG (1.41 MB)
An animation shows the expansion of the fire between June 23 and July 7, with the burned area from the fire beginning as a small patch near Beaver, Utah, and then spreading north, east, and south.

FEDS fire perimeter (June 23-July 7)

JPEG (1.80 MB)

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More Cartilage, Blood Pressure Studies on Station as Crew Swap Preps Begin

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More Cartilage, Blood Pressure Studies on Station as Crew Swap Preps Begin

NASA astronaut and Expedition 74 flight engineer Jack Hathaway shows off a pair of Advanced Space Experiment Sample Processor-4 research cassettes being used aboard the International Space Station to study how weightlessness affects drug crystals possibly leading to new pharmaceutical formulas.
NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway shows off scientific hardware that processes research samples aboard the International Space Station.
NASA/Jessica Meir

Cartilage engineering and blood pressure studies to improve health on Earth and in space continued aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The Expedition 74 crew members also serviced an experimental module, configured a temporary sleep station, and began preparing for the return to Earth of three crewmates.

Lab-grown cartilage tissues on Earth are subject to gravity resulting in lesser quality than samples engineered in the weightless environment of the orbital outpost. NASA flight engineer Jessica Meir is helping scientists take advantage of microgravity to mimic how cartilage tissues are produced in the human body. Meir continued processing the growing cartilage cells inside the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox for viewing inside a fluorescent microscope. Observations from the biotechnology study may enable the engineering of more natural cartilage tissues than those produced on Earth leading to the advanced treatment and prevention of cartilage and joint injuries.

NASA flight engineer Jack Hathaway spent his day on maintenance and stowage inside BEAM, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, attached to the Tranquility module. Hathaway first replaced batteries inside sensors that monitor BEAM’s internal and external condition. Next, he opened BEAM’s hatch and retrieved hardware from inside the experimental module that was installed on April 16, 2016. Meir assisted Hathaway with the BEAM work during a break in her cartilage research.

NASA flight engineer Chris Williams, who will be returning to Earth soon with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, recorded a video message for European students describing the effects of microgravity and readjusting to Earth’s gravity. Williams also worked inside the Quest airlock inspecting tethers and stowing tools that he and Meir used during a spacewalk on June 30. He wrapped up his shift in the Columbus laboratory module replacing air ducts and measuring the airflow in an upgraded temporary sleep station in preparation for the arrival of a new crew next week.

Flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) began her shift retrieving cartilage cell samples from an incubator and handing them over to Meir for her research. Adenot then collected and analyzed her saliva samples using the Aphrodite portable device. The biomedical gear enables real-time, diagnostic health monitoring in space without sending samples back to Earth for analysis. Next, she worked on orbital plumbing inside Tranquility then installed protective covers on sensitive scientific equipment inside Kibo.

Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev are preparing for their upcoming return to Earth with Williams aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft. The duo called down to Roscosmos mission controllers for a conference with the support personnel who will greet the trio after they complete their eight-month space research mission at the end of July. The two cosmonauts then continued their cardiac research using light-based sensors and lasers on their skin to measure how blood flows in their tiny vessels, or the micro-circulatory system.

Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent most of his shift collecting station water and atmospheric moisture samples for analysis. Fedyaev also checked the operation of life support equipment in the Zvezda service module and cleaned ventilation systems in the Zarya module.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Mark A. Garcia

NASA Transfers ‘Hundred Acre Wood’ to Patuxent Research Refuge

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NASA Transfers ‘Hundred Acre Wood’ to Patuxent Research Refuge

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NASA Transfers ‘Hundred Acre Wood’ to Patuxent Research Refuge

a small crowd holds up a triangular pennant flag with "250" on it, with a field and trees in the background

Following a ceremony on July 7, 2026, officials hold up a U.S. 250th pennant at “Area 400,” a 105-acre parcel previously part of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and now part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Patuxent Research Refuge.

NASA ceremonially transferred ownership of about 105 acres of wooded land at its Goddard Space Flight Center’s Greenbelt, Maryland, campus Tuesday to the adjoining Patuxent Research Refuge, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The property, formerly known as NASA Goddard’s Area 400, is now part of the largest block of unfragmented forest between Washington and Baltimore. The nearly 13,000-acre woodland is the nation’s only refuge specifically established to support wildlife research. The refuge also supports recreational uses, such as walking, biking, horseback riding, fishing, and hunting.

two men sign certificates on a table with black tablecloth
At a ceremony on July 7, 2026, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik (left) and Jamie Dunn, center director, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., sign certificates that ceremonially transfer a 105-acre parcel of property known as “Area 400” from NASA Goddard to the Service.
NASA

“For over six decades, NASA Goddard has helped shape humanity’s understanding of Earth,” said Jamie Dunn, center director, NASA Goddard. “We’re glad to present this land to our colleagues in the Fish and Wildlife Service, whose conservation and research helps do the real legwork in preserving our Blue Marble for future generations.”

NASA Goddard had used Area 400 for propellant research beginning in the 1960s. That work has largely since shifted to NASA facilities in other states or to commercial providers, and the property had long been a candidate for divestment. NASA and the Service began discussing a potential transfer in 2021.

a Monarch butterfly rests on a man's hand
Following remarks from attending dignitaries and the signing ceremony, assembled guests participated in a monarch butterfly release and milkweed seed dispersal.
NASA

Prior to the transfer, Area 400 was still almost entirely wooded aside from a two-and-a-half-acre clearing with 11 small structures. The interagency transfer was effective on Feb. 23, and NASA recently completed its final closeout activities at the property, deconstructing the buildings, roadway, and utility service.

This aerial photograph shows Area 400’s appearance in 1984. The surrounding forest has remained largely unchanged since NASA Goddard occupied the property in the 1960s.
NASA

“Through working with partners on the best use of land, as exemplified with this land transfer, we can continue to conserve America’s natural beauty and expand outdoor recreation opportunities for future generations,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik.

Media contacts:

Rob Garner
News Chief, Office of Communications
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Keith Shannon
Regional Communications Lead – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region
U.S. Department of the Interior

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Rob Garner

NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft Wakes from Hibernation in Good Health

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NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft Wakes from Hibernation in Good Health

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NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft Wakes from Hibernation in Good Health

Following its longest hibernation period ever of nearly a year, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has emerged in good health and is ready to begin transmitting science data gathered in the distant Kuiper Belt far beyond Pluto.

Flight operators at computers in a mission control center monitor spacecraft data on large wall displays.
From left, flight controllers Mark Lahr and Josh Albers, and Mission Operations Manager Alice Bowman, monitor telemetry streaming from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft to the mission operations center at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, on June 24, 2026. Now approximately 5.9 billion miles (9.5 billion kilometers) from Earth, New Horizons is ready to begin transmitting science data after being awakened from its longest ever, nearly yearlong hibernation period.
NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/SwRI/Justin Gladden

On June 23, flight controllers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, confirmed New Horizons, acting on stored commands uplinked to its main computer last July, had safely awakened from a 321‑day hibernation period that began Aug. 7. With the spacecraft now approximately 5.9 billion miles (9.5 billion kilometers) from Earth, the radio signals carrying that confirmation took about 8 hours and 52 minutes to reach the APL Mission Operations Center via NASA’s Deep Space Network station near Madrid, Spain.

The mission team typically places New Horizons in resource‑saving hibernation mode during long cruise periods. While the spacecraft is hibernating, operators do not send commands or retrieve data, but the spacecraft continues gathering and storing data around the clock from its heliospheric plasma sensors, Solar Wind at Pluto and the Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation, as well as its space dust detector, the Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter.

Alice Bowman, the New Horizons mission operations manager at APL, said the spacecraft reported back to Earth, via the Deep Space Network, with a weekly status beacon. “Every status report through this hibernation period was ‘green,’ meaning all was well aboard New Horizons each and every week,” she said.

As New Horizons resumes active operations, Bowman noted, the team will begin downlinking spacecraft health and safety data, followed by data from the three scientific instruments. In about three weeks, the spacecraft’s onboard Alice ultraviolet spectrograph will look at the hydrogen gas distribution in the outer heliosphere, while the Solar Wind at Pluto, the Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation, and the Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter instruments continue their measurements, and the ground team conducts a series of spacecraft and instrument checkouts.

The team also is completing upgrades to the ground‑system software that will make it easier to maintain operations of the spacecraft. Tests are already underway and are expected to continue through the year.

New Horizons is operating on updated autonomy logic designed for operations farther from the Sun and to accommodate the expected reduction in power and the naturally occurring increase in radio‑signal travel time.

The NASA spacecraft’s exploration of this distant region of the solar system marks the latest step in a journey that began in January 2006 with the fastest launch on record; a flyby of Jupiter in February 2007 that included stunning views of the gas giant and its moons; the first exploration through the Pluto system in July 2015; the first exploration of a Kuiper Belt object, Arrokoth, in January 2019, and unique studies of the Sun’s outer heliosphere and dozens of additional Kuiper Belt objects since then.

For more information on NASA’s New Horizons mission, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/new-horizons/

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