2 min read Welcome to Nicky Notes: Release of NASA Science Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Annual Report November 2023 I am pleased to welcome you to this new blog series – what my team affectionally calls, “Nicky Notes.” Through this platform, I hope to regularly share updates about all of the exciting work we do in the Science Mission Directorate, while offering some more candid reflections. My first post is dedicated to a topic near and dear to me – our efforts in the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility…
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Hubble Tangos with a Dancer in Dorado
2 min read Hubble Tangos with a Dancer in Dorado This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 1566. ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Calzetti and the LEGUS team, R. Chandar This vibrant Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 1566, sometimes informally referred to as the ‘Spanish Dancer Galaxy’. Like the subject of another recent image, NGC 1566 is a weakly-barred or intermediate spiral galaxy. This means that it does not have a clearly present or a clearly absent bar-shaped structure at its center. The…
Read MoreSix Rules for Surviving in a Government Organization
8 min read Six Rules for Surviving in a Government Organization An interview of Dr. Paul Hertz, a senior leader in the Science Mission Directorate By: Anna Ladd McElhannon, Summer 2022 Intern, Office of the Chief Scientist Dr. Paul Hertz is a leader of NASA and had served as the Astrophysics Division Director since 2012 until 2022. Throughout his career, he remained a well‐respected and admired leader who accomplished things that an undergraduate physics student like me could only dream of. We met for the first time on a summer…
Read MoreNASA’s Dragonfly Tunnel Visions
5 min read NASA’s Dragonfly Tunnel Visions Dragonfly Team Utilizes Unique NASA Facilities to Shape Its Innovative Titan-bound Rotorcraft Dragonfly team members review the half-scale lander model after it underwent wind tunnel testing at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Pictured are (from left) Art Azarbarzin, Juan Cruz, Wayne Dellinger, Zibi Turtle, Chuck Hebert, Ken Hibbard, Bernadine Juliano and Bruce Owens. Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman With its dense atmosphere and low gravity, Saturn’s moon Titan is a great place to fly. But well before NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft lander soars…
Read MoreThe Space Life Sciences Training Program at Ames Research Center
Space Life Sciences Training Program An investment in tomorrow The Space Life Sciences Training Program (SLSTP) provides undergraduate students entering their junior or senior years, and entering graduate students, with professional experience in space life science disciplines. This challenging ten-week summer program is hosted by NASA’s Ames Research Center in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley. The primary goal of the program is to train the next generation of scientists and engineers, enabling NASA to meet future research and development challenges in the space life sciences. Summer 2023 SLSTP students…
Read MoreHubble Examines Entrancing Galaxy in Eridanus
2 min read Hubble Examines Entrancing Galaxy in Eridanus NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope’s view of NGC 685 in the constellation Eridanus, the River. NASA, ESA, and J. Lee (Space Telescope Science Institute); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) Hubble is sharing a brand new galaxy image every day through October 7, 2023! Visit our website daily, or follow along on X, Facebook, and Instagram. NGC 685 takes center stage amid faintly twinkling stars on an inky black background. This galaxy is clearly a barred spiral galaxy with its bright…
Read MoreHubble’s Multi-Wavelength View of Recently-Released Webb Image
2 min read Hubble’s Multi-Wavelength View of Recently-Released Webb Image This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 5068 uses data in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light. NASA, ESA, R. Chandar (University of Toledo), and J. Lee (Space Telescope Science Institute); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) Hubble is sharing a brand new galaxy image every day through October 7, 2023! Visit our website daily, or follow along on X, Facebook, and Instagram. Patches of bright pink and wisps of dark red paint the foreground of this new NASA…
Read MoreHubble Captures Starry Cetus Constellation Galaxy
2 min read Hubble Captures Starry Cetus Constellation Galaxy NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, ESA, R. Chandar (University of Toledo), and J. Lee (Space Telescope Science Institute); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) Hubble is sharing a brand new galaxy image every day through October 7, 2023! Visit our website daily, or follow along on X, Facebook, and Instagram. New and old stars alike twinkle in the dusty spiral arms of NGC 1087. Located 80 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus, NGC 1087 is a barred spiral galaxy. It…
Read MoreHubble Views A Vibrant Virgo Cluster Galaxy
2 min read Hubble Views A Vibrant Virgo Cluster Galaxy NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, ESA, and J. Lee (Space Telescope Science Institute); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) It’s easy to get swept up in the swirling starry arms of this intermediate spiral galaxy, NGC 4654, in the constellation Virgo. The galaxy has a bright center and is labeled “intermediate” because it has characteristics of both unbarred and barred spirals. NGC 4654 is just north of the celestial equator, making it visible from the northern hemisphere and most of…
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