August 2024 Supermoon Rises Near NASA Marshall

A super blue Moon rises over Huntsville, Alabama, home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Aug. 19. Visible through Wednesday, Aug. 21, the full Moon is both a supermoon and a Blue Moon. As the Moon reaches its closest approach to Earth, the Moon looks larger in the night sky with supermoons becoming the biggest and brightest full Moons of the year. While not blue in color, the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons is called a “Blue Moon.”

Huntsville is known as the “Rocket City” because of its proximity to NASA Marshall, which manages vital propulsion systems and hardware, engineering technologies, cutting-edge science, and launch vehicles for Apollo, shuttle, and Artemis. (NASA/Michael DeMocker)

Explore More

3 min read

NASA Marshall Names Roger Baird Associate Director

Article


19 hours ago

17 min read

The Marshall Star for August 14, 2024

Article


7 days ago

3 min read

NASA Challenge Seeks ‘Cooler’ Solutions for Deep Space Exploration

Article


1 week ago

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…
Beth Ridgeway

Hubble Peers Into the Center of a Star-forming Powerhouse

This view from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope plunges into the center of spiral galaxy Messier 33 (M33), also known as the Triangulum Galaxy. 

Located within the triangle-shaped constellation Triangulum and about half the size of our Milky Way galaxy, M33 is the third-largest member of our Local Group of galaxies after the Andromeda galaxy (M31) and the Milky Way. 

M33 is known to be a hotbed of starbirth, forming stars at a rate 10 times higher than the average of its neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy. Interestingly, M33’s neat, organized spiral arms indicate little interaction with other galaxies, so its rapid starbirth is not fueled by galactic collision, as in many other galaxies. The galaxy contains plenty of dust and gas for churning out stars, and numerous ionized hydrogen clouds, also called H-II regions, that give rise to tremendous star formation. Researchers have offered evidence that high-mass stars are forming in collisions between massive molecular clouds within M33.

This image captures reddish clouds of ionized hydrogen interspersed with dark lanes of dust. The apparent graininess of the image is actually swarms of countless stars. M33 is one of less than 100 galaxies close enough for telescopes like Hubble to resolve individual stars, as evident here. 

M33 is known to lack a central bulge, and there is no evidence of a supermassive black hole at its core ― strange since most spirals have a central bulge made up of densely concentrated stars and most large galaxies have supermassive black holes at their centers. Galaxies with this type of structure are called “pure disk galaxies,” and studies suggest they make up around 15-18 percent of galaxies in the universe. 

M33 may lose its streamlined appearance and undisturbed status in a dramatic fashion ― it’s on a possible collision course with both the Andromeda galaxy and the Milky Way. This image was taken as part of a survey of M33 in an effort to help refine theories about such topics as the physics of the interstellar medium, star-formation processes, and stellar evolution.

Explore More

Media Contact:

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Hubble Space Telescope

Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.

Hubble Science

Hubble’s Galaxies

Stars

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

NASA Awards 15 Grants to Support Open-Source Science

NASA awarded $1.4 million to 15 teams developing new technologies that advance and streamline the open sharing of scientific information.

High Priority Open-Source Science (HPOSS) awards fund projects that aim to increase the accessibility, inclusivity, or reproducibility of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) research. Projects include open-source tools, software, frameworks, data formats, or libraries that will have a significant impact to the SMD science community. HPOSS awards are for one year and approximately $100,000.

The HPOSS solicitation is one of several cross-divisional funding opportunities funded by NASA’s Office of the Chief Science Data Officer (OCSDO) with a focus on advancing open science practices. These solicitations are unique among NASA’s annual omnibus solicitation for basic and applied research, Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES), providing cross-divisional support for new work with strong potential to advance the adoption of open science practices across SMD.

“We are excited to be able to fund these opportunities to enable modern research through NASA’s support of open science,” said Chelle Gentemann, program officer for HPOSS and open science program scientist for OCSDO at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on an Intergovernmental Personnel Act assignment from the International Computer Science Institute. “Open science is crucial in improving the transparency, security, and reproducibility of scientific research.”

The HPOSS solicitation for ROSES-2024 is currently available as F.14 on NSPIRES. Under ROSES-2024, HPOSS has expanded to include the development of capacity-building materials, like curricula, tutorials, and other training materials, reflecting the program’s commitment to fostering open science practices.

The HPOSS solicitation has no fixed due date. Proposers are encouraged to submit their proposals via NSPIRES at any time. Proposals are evaluated by peer review panels and selections are made throughout the year.

“The proposals selected thus far illustrate the breadth of this solicitation, ranging from projects that will increase the accessibility of data relevant to specific research communities to open-source tools that will be relevant across multiple SMD divisions,” said Gentemann.

The selected awardees for the ROSES-22 and ROSES-23 calls are:

Roses-2022 Awardees

Erin Buchanan, Harrisburg University of Science & Technology, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
STAPLE: Science Tracking Across the Project Lifespan

James Colliander / Code For Science And Society, INC., Portland, Oregon
Ephemeral Interactive Computing for NASA Communities

Gretchen Daily, Stanford University, Stanford, California
Metadata Tools for More Transparent, Reproducible, and Accessible Geospatial Analysis

Douglas Moore, 39 Alpha Research, Tempe, Arizona
Dorothy: Making Scientific Data Transparent, Accessible, and Reproducible

Matthew Turk, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois
Synergistic Software Tooling for Geophysical and Astrophysical Analysis: Linking yt and Xarray

Richard Townsend, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
Catalyzing an Open-Source Ecosystem for the GYRE Stellar Oscillation Code

Andrew Jiranek, Sciencecast Inc., Towson, Maryland
Advancing Equitable Scientific Publishing through Open-Science Digital Innovations

Jami Montgomery, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia
Web-based Planetary Topography Toolkit

Roses-2023 Awardees

Russell Turner, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
Creation of an Open Access 3-Dimensional Image and Data Library for Rat Bones from Space Shuttle Experiments

Hans-Peter Marshall / Boise State University, Boise, Idaho
The SnowEx DB Open-Source Project — Standardized Data Access to Maximize Mission Data Use and Accelerate Research​

Leila DeFloriani / University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 
An Open-Source Library for Processing Forest Point Clouds Based on Topological Data Analysis

Michael Phillips / University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Spectral Cube Analysis Tool: A Python Graphical User Interface for Analyzing Spectral Image Data

Julie Barnum / University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
A Heliophysics Software Search Interface Portal

Benjamin Keller / University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee
Portable and Reproducible Initial Conditions for Galaxy Simulations

Ryan Curtin / NumFocus, Austin, Texas
Enhance Usability and Discoverability of mlpack for Low-Resource Spaceflight Machine Learning

Summaries of previously selected proposals can be found under the “Selections” section on the HPOSS NSPIRES pages for ROSES-2022 and ROSES-2023. 

To learn more about the HPOSS program element, a recording of a recent informational webinar is available, along with the presentation slides. 

To learn more about NASA open science funding opportunities, visit: science.nasa.gov/open-science/nasa-open-science-funding-opportunities/

Explore More

2 min read

Geospatial AI Foundation Model Team Receives NASA Marshall Group Achievement Award 

Article


5 days ago

5 min read

How NASA Citizen Science Fuels Future Exoplanet Research

Article


2 weeks ago

3 min read

Meet NASA Interns Shaping Future of Open Science

Article


4 weeks ago

Keep Exploring

Discover Related Topics

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

NASA Marshall Names Roger Baird Associate Director

Roger Baird has been selected as associate director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

In this role, Baird will lead execution and integration of the center’s business operations, mission support enterprise functions, and budget management. In addition, he will be a senior adviser in advancing the direction of the center’s future.

Baird will also help manage the center’s 7,000 civil service and contract employees and help oversee an annual budget of approximately $5 billion. He will provide executive leadership across Marshall’s mission support areas as well as the center’s diverse portfolio of human spaceflight, science, and technology efforts, which touch nearly every mission NASA pursues.

“I know Roger will make an excellent addition to Marshall’s leadership team,” said Center Director Joseph Pelfrey. “His dedication to NASA’s missions has helped shape Marshall into a powerful technical solutions provider for the agency and our industry partners. Roger’s leadership will be invaluable in this new era of space exploration.”

Baird previously served as associate director for operations of Marshall’s Engineering Directorate from 2020-2024, after being detailed to the position in 2019. Named to the Senior Executive Service position in March 2020, he provided senior management and leadership expertise for the evaluation of spacecraft, payloads and launch vehicle systems, and the integration of the associated budgets and resources authority for these efforts. He was responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating engineering project management and integration activities in support of Marshall’s programs and projects, and oversaw an annual budget of approximately $550 million, including management of a highly technical workforce of more than 2,500 civil service and contractor employees. 

In 2018, Baird was selected as manager of the Engineering Resource Management Office, where he was responsible for advising, coordinating, monitoring, directing and performing work associated with planning, programming, budgeting and managing the Engineering Directorate’s financial, human and infrastructure resources. 

Baird brings a wealth of expertise to the role, with 34 years of NASA experience in the areas of engineering design, development, testing, facility and budget management, and strategic workforce acquisition and development. He joined NASA in 1990 as an avionics engineer in Marshall’s Astrionics Laboratory and served in multiple technical leadership positions within the Engineering Directorate’s Space Systems Department, Spacecraft and Vehicle Systems Department, and Propulsion Systems Department.

A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Baird earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. 

Learn more about Marshall’s work to support the nation’s mission in space at:

https://www.nasa.gov/marshall

Lance D. Davis
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-640-9065
lance.d.davis @nasa.gov

Hannah Maginot
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-932-1937
hannah.l.maginot @nasa.gov

About the Author

Beth Ridgeway

Explore More

17 min read

The Marshall Star for August 14, 2024

Article


6 days ago

3 min read

NASA Challenge Seeks ‘Cooler’ Solutions for Deep Space Exploration

Article


1 week ago

5 min read

A ‘FURST’ of its Kind: Sounding Rocket Mission to Study Sun as a Star

Article


2 weeks ago

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…
Beth Ridgeway

2025 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition

The agriculture industry faces several challenges, including limited resources and growing demands to reduce agriculture’s environmental impact while increasing its climate resilience. NASA Aeronautics is dedicated to expanding its efforts to assist commercial, industry, and government partners in advancing aviation systems that could modernize capabilities in agriculture.

In NASA’s 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition: AgAir (Aviation Solutions for Agriculture) collegiate student teams will conceptualize novel aviation systems that can be applied to agriculture by 2035 or sooner with the goal of improving production, efficiency, environmental impact, and extreme weather/climate resilience. 

• Action Required: Teams of 2 to 6 students to submit a 5-7-page Proposal and 2-minute Video summarizing the team’s proposal concept. 
• Deadline: Proposal and Video Submissions are due February 17, 2025.  
• Forum & Award: We’ll pay you to travel! Up to 8 finalist teams will be selected by a panel of NASA and industry subject matter experts to receive an $8,000 stipend to facilitate full participation in the Gateways to Blue Skies Competition & Forum, held at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Mountain View, CA, in May 2025. Winners are offered internships within NASA Aeronautics during the academic year following the competition. 
• Contact: blueskies@nianet.org 

Explore More

2 min read

2025 RASC-AL Competition

The 2025 RASC-AL Competition is seeking undergraduate and graduate teams to develop new concepts that…

Article


2 weeks ago

4 min read

NASA Opportunities Fuel Growth and Entrepreneurship for Bronco Space Club Students

Article


2 months ago

8 min read

Inspiring the Next Generation with Student Challenges and Learning Opportunities

Creativity and curiosity are strongly tied to NASA’s missions and vision. Many of the agency’s…

Article


10 months ago

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…
Bailey G. Light