Powered by Sunlight via the Moon
A research paper in New Space outlined a potential solution to earth’s energy crisis: solar panels on the moon. The paper, written by a high school senior, proposed creating solar panels that would replicate themselves autonomously and supply all of earth’s electricity with energy collected from the sun.
Star Cluster R136
Astronomers have located the largest sample of massive stars ever found, comprised of nine giant stars with masses more than 100 times the mass of the sun.
The First Lady
A pair of bald eagles have nested in the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, DC. The United States Department of Agriculture is streaming a live camera of the mates, who they named Mr. President and The First Lady. Watch here for their second egg-hatching, expected to take place this weekend.
Pluto Haze
An ethereal NASA photo captures the haze layers clouding Pluto’s surface. The image was taken by the Ralph/Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) on NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft.
Satellite Imagery to Predict Disasters
This image of a volcano in Ecuador is part of an effort from an international team of space agencies within the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites that’s using satellite data to study and predict natural disasters. Radar satellites can provide information about the horizontal movement of terrain, temperature of the ground, and changes in ash clouds around volcanic craters.
Chance Of Rain
This satellite image of an Indian village called Mawsynram captures an aerial view of the wettest place on earth, according to NASA. Thanks to annual monsoons, the village experiences an average rainfall of about 467 inches per year.
Heart Maker
A team of scientists engineered beating human hearts by transplanting stem cells to donor hearts, allowing them to mature in a bioreactor (pictured here) for two weeks, and then giving them a shock of electricity. This is the closest scientists have come to growing complete transplantable hearts in a lab.
Luck of the Irish
NASA shared this photo of Ireland under the green glow of an aurora in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.
South Africa from Satellite
NASA also released this satellite image of South Africa. The Sally Ride EarthKAM aboard the International Space Station took the photo as part of the EarthKAM program, which allows students to request images of specific locations on Earth.
