NASAGum 37 and the Southern Tadpoles https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250428.html #APOD
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Mark McIntyreHickson 93, a reprocess of Ha-Sii-Oiii-Lum data captured with iTelescope last year.
Fraser CainNASA's Psyche mission demonstrated that a laser can send high-bandwidth transmissions millions of km away. It makes sense that this technology will be deployed to the surface of Mars to send data home. But Mars has dust, which can interfere with a laser signal. Researchers simulated normal dust levels on Mars and found that optimal communications work fine for most of Mars but can degrade during dusty times and fail completely during global dust storms.
On the feasibility of laser satellite communications from the Martian surface
Free space optical (FSO) communication using lasers is a rapidly developing field in telecommunications that can offer advantages over traditional radio frequency technology. For example, optical laser links may allow transmissions at far higher data rates, require less operating power and smaller systems and have a smaller risk of interception. In recent years, FSO laser links have been demonstrated, tested or integrated in a range of environments and scenarios. These include FSO links for terrestrial communication, between ground stations and cube-sats in low Earth orbit, between ground and satellite in lunar orbit, as part of scientific or commercial space relay networks, and deep space communications beyond the moon. The possibility of FSO links from and to the surface of Mars could be a natural extension of these developments. In this paper we evaluate some effects of the Martian atmosphere on the propagation of optical communication links, with an emphasis on the impact of dust on the total link budget. We use the output of the Mars Climate Database to generate maps of the dust optical depth for a standard Mars climatology, as well as for a warm (dusty) atmosphere. These dust optical depths are then extrapolated to a wavelength of 1.55 um, and translated into total slant path optical depths to calculate link budgets and availability statistics for a link between the surface and a satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit. The outcomes of this study are relevant to potential future missions to Mars that may require laser communications to or from its surface. For example, the results could be used to constrain the design of communication terminals suitable to the Mars environment, or to assess the link performance as a function of ground station location.
Lunar Space Station for NASA’s Artemis Campaign to Begin Final Outfitting https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/lunar-space-station-for-nasas-artemis-campaign-to-begin-final-testing/ #NASA #Artemis #Artemis4 #EarthSMoon #ExplorationSystemsDevelopmentMissionDirectorate #GatewaySpaceStation #General #HumansInSpace
Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 5335 https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250426.html #APOD
Mary McIntyre Astronomy#ZodiacalLight from #Oxfordshire, UK on 25th Feb '25. It's the faint triangle of light that extends up from #Venus to the Pleiades, caused by sunlight reflecting off #InterplanetaryDust. It's a challenge from here because of increasing light pollution. 39x25sec + 20 darks, Canon 1100D +10mm lens. #Jupiter, #Uranus, #M31 the #AndromedaGalaxy & #M33 the #TriangulumGalaxy are also visible in the image. Click to expand the image and see the labelled version alongside
Blue Ghost to the Moon https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250301.html #APOD
Mars, 2025-01-02 at 21:45
Best 1200 frames of 9300, stacked in Autostakkert. Shot with an RC8, Altair 294C and 2x barlow.
The northern ice cap can be seen along with (if i have the orientation right) Acidalia (centre), Cydonia (right) and Argyre (across the bottom). Valles Marineris will be on the left side, with Tharsis just out of sight. Mark Watney's route to Schiaparelli will take him from Acidalia across the edge of Argyre towards the far right.
Best 1200 frames of 9300, stacked in Autostakkert. Shot with an RC8, Altair 294C and 2x barlow.
The northern ice cap can be seen along with (if i have the orientation right) Acidalia (centre), Cydonia (right) and Argyre (across the bottom). Valles Marineris will be on the left side, with Tharsis just out of sight. Mark Watney's route to Schiaparelli will take him from Acidalia across the edge of Argyre towards the far right.
IC434, the Horsehead. This is 40 minutes of data captured with my RC8 and Altair 294C, stacked in DSS and processed in Pixinsight.
Its interesting to note that IC434 is actually the bright nebula *behind* the horsehead. The nebula is about 1200 ly away and is an HII region being ionised by nearby Sigma Orionis.