Stunning Close-Up of Asteroid Bennu

NASA's OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Takes Stunning Photo of Asteroid Bennu From Just 0.4 Miles Away. This image of asteroid Bennu was captured on Jun. 13, 2019, shortly after NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft executed its second orbital insertion maneuver. From the spacecraft’s vantage point in orbit, half of Bennu is sunlit and half is in shadow. At this distance, details as small as 1.6 ft (0.5 m) across can be resolved in the center of the image.

https://gizmodo.com/nasas-osiris-rex-spacecraft-takes-stunning-photo-of-ast-1835601275

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Originally posted on Twitter.

Bam! Fresh Crater Spied on Mars — and It Looks Spectacular

A small space rock crashed into the Red Planet's surface recently, producing a fresh crater that researchers estimate is 49 feet to 53 feet (15 to 16 meters) wide. The dramatic feature is clearly visible in a newly released image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

https://www.space.com/mars-fresh-crater-nasa-mro-photo-2019.html

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Originally posted on Twitter.

Asteroid Selfie

Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft grabs epic close-up just 30 feet above asteroid Ryugu: https://www.cnet.com/news/japans-hayabusa2-spacecraft-snaps-close-up-just-30-feet-above-asteroid/

Hayabusa2 has been hanging out orbiting Ryugu for almost a year now, doing science, shooting cannonballs at it, snapping pics and, soon, snagging a material sample.

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Originally posted on Twitter.

Mars 2020 Rover Has A Date With Jezero Crater

This is where the Mars 2020 Rover is heading. From this picture, I think you can guess why.

Jezero Crater is an ancient lake that formed inside an impact crater. Detailed study of the features of the lake led scientists to conclude that the lake is ancient and did not experience times when water went down. Due to its long lifespan as a lake, it’s possible that life may have developed in the lake. It’s possible, though not necessarily likely, that preserved signs of life are waiting to be discovered at Jezero Crater.

https://www.universetoday.com/142357/this-is-where-mars-2020-rover-is-heading-from-this-picture-i-think-you-can-guess-why/

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Originally posted on Twitter.

The Sky In X-Ray

NASA is building up a map of the entire sky seen in X-rays, line by line with its NICER experiment.

In this image, numerous sweeping arcs seem to congregate at various bright regions. You may wonder: What is being shown? Air traffic routes? Information moving around the global internet? Magnetic fields looping across active areas on the Sun?

In fact, this is a map of the entire sky in X-rays recorded by NASA's Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), a payload on the International Space Station.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/nsfc-nnm053019.php

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Originally posted on Twitter.

Boulders on Bennu

An abundance of boulders litters the surface of asteroid 101955 Bennu in this dramatic close-up from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Taken on March 28 from a distance of just 3.4 kilometers (2.1 miles) the field of view is about 50 meters across while the light colored boulder at top right is 4.8 meters tall. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190524.html

Incredible to think about, isn’t it?

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Originally posted on Twitter.

Heaven Is A Place On Earth

…and it’s called the Tattered Cover Bookstore
⠀
By sheer coincidence, Patricia Briggs was giving a talk and reading while we were there. About 60 people were crammed into the lower-level meeting space. #MrJennsen whispered sweet nothings in my ear about how that would be me at the podium one day 😉; I pshaw'ed him, went upstairs and bought some sci-fi books with beautiful covers.⠀

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Originally posted on Facebook and Instagram.

Hubble Deep-Sky Mosaic

Via NASA: “This might be the most exciting “history book” we’ve ever read. Astronomers have put together the largest and most comprehensive image of the evolving universe — using 16 years’ worth of observations from Hubble. Take a peek at this deep-sky mosaic.” https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/hubble-astronomers-assemble-wide-view-of-the-evolving-universe

Make sure and check out the short video at the link for a mind-boggling sense of scale.

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Originally posted on Twitter.

Avengers: Endgame (No Spoilers)

4.5 of 5 Glorious Stars 🌟

The half-star deduction is entirely on the first 1.5 hours, which honestly could have been cut to an hour without losing anything. The second 1.5 hours, though? OMG. 😲 Damn near perfection.

If you are remotely, even casually, invested in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, see this movie. 🤗

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Originally posted on Facebook.