Space...space... and more space

I admit it - I am somewhat space obsessed. I don't know if it began with watching Star Trek with my family when I was young, looking through the massive telescope at the Missouri University of Science & Technology, reading the article in National Geographic from 1969 after the initial moon landing, or just staring up at the sky - but it is just a fact of my life.

Obviously, I adore all science, but space has just always been something that fascinates me and, at the same time, leaves me dumbstruck. I wish I could understand the vast field of astronomy, astrophysics, astrobiology, astrochemistry, forensic astronomy, and the list goes on. I think one of the best things about space though, is the vivid and majestic images that we can see! Just try and imagine how overwhelmed Galileo and other early astronomers would be. This week I am going to share some images and videos from the past week.

This image was taken by the Hubble telescope [made by a man from Missouri!] on the 19th of October. It is of the spiral galaxy NGC 3344. NGC stands for the New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, which lists nebulas, galaxies, and clusters. This is a galaxy that is approximately 25 million light- years away, and is about half the size of the Milky Way.  The telescope was lucky enough to get a face on view. Read more about NGC 3344 - here.

This image is of NGC 2623, which is not one galaxy, but two spiral galaxies smashing together at astounding speeds. The pair is approximently 300 million light-years away from Earth. The tails extend 50,000 light-years from the center of the merging galaxy. Explore and create your own galaxy merger - here. Read more about NGC 2623- here.

I was having trouble decided between doing an update on the Space Rover or not, but then I found this article, and decided against it. There is going to be a meteor shower from the morning of October 20 to the end of the morning of the 21! The shower is of the Orionids, which are bits of rock and ice that remain from the Halley's comet (which passed Earth in 1986). These pieces hit Earth's atmosphere and burn up leaving bright tails! It is expected that 25 meteors will pass overhead every hour. If you can't find a way or a good place to watch the meteor shower, NASA is hosting a webcast of the event starting at 10 pm CT.  Read more - here.

If you still want an update on the Mars Rover - check here.

After all of these images and videos, I can't help but wonder how many more years it will be until Star Trek becomes a reality, and mankind can truly journey forth into - as Captain Kirk claimed - the final frontier.