Stars and Gas of the Running Chicken Nebula


To some, it looks like a giant chicken running across the sky. To others, it looks like a gaseous nebula where star formation takes place. Cataloged as IC 2944, the Running Chicken Nebula spans about 100 light years and lies about 6,000 light years away toward the constellation of the Centaur (Centaurus). The featured image, shown in scientifically assigned colors, was captured recently in an 11-hour exposure from a backyard near Melbourne, Australia. Two star clusters are visible: the Pearl Cluster seen on the far left, and Collinder 249 embedded in the nebula's glowing gas. Although difficult to discern here, several dark molecular clouds with distinct shapes can be found inside the nebula. via NASA http://ift.tt/1UapnIf

πŸ™ŒπŸΌ kinda night in ATL. #SFGiants by sfgiants


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Giants Video: Jake Peavy allows 1 hit, strikes out 3 over seven dominant innings in 4-0 win over the Braves (ESPN)

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Have a birthday, Jake! 7 IP, 1 hit, AND scores a run. #SFGiants by sfgiants


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Final: Giants 4 Braves 0. WP: SF J Peavy (2-5) LP: ATL M Wisler (2-5) (ESPN)

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National League Player of the Week: @johnnycueto47 Congrats, Johnny! #SFGiants by sfgiants


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Great Barrier Reef Near Whitsunday Islands


An astronaut aboard the International Space Station used a powerful lens to photograph these three reefs in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef on Oct. 12, 2015. Reefs are easy to spot from space because the iridescent blues of shallow lagoons contrast sharply with the dark blues of deep water. via NASA http://ift.tt/1P1a2Iu

Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars


Mars will look good in Earth's skies over the next few days -- but not this good. To get a view this amazing, a spacecraft had to actually visit the red planet. Running across the image center, though, is one the largest canyons in the Solar System. Named Valles Marineris, the grand valley extends over 3,000 kilometers long, spans as much as 600 kilometers across, and delves as much as 8 kilometers deep. By comparison, the Earth's Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA is 800 kilometers long, 30 kilometers across, and 1.8 kilometers deep. The origin of the Valles Marineris remains unknown, although a leading hypothesis holds that it started as a crack billions of years ago as the planet cooled. Several geologic processes have been identified in the canyon. The featured mosaic was created from over 100 images of Mars taken by Viking Orbiters in the 1970s. Tomorrow, Mars and Earth will pass the closest in 11 years, resulting in the red planet being quite noticeable toward the southeast after sunset. via NASA http://ift.tt/24eIt5s

Giants Video: Denard Span sends Chris Rusin's pitch into the second deck for a massive solo HR in 8-3 win vs. Rockies (ESPN)

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Sunday at the yard πŸ™Œ #SFGiants by sfgiants


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Final: Giants 8 Rockies 3. WP: SF J Cueto (8-1) LP: COL C Rusin (1-3) (ESPN)

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After 4 in Denver, #SFGiants lead 6-2. #DiaDeCueto by sfgiants


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Would you look at that? Buster Posey, crushing two homers in a day. #ASGWorthy: MLB.com/vote #Repost @mlb by sfgiants


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Cat s Eye Wide and Deep


The Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is one of the best known planetary nebulae in the sky. Its more familiar outlines are seen in the brighter central region of the nebula in this impressive wide-angle view. But the composite image combines many short and long exposures to also reveal an extremely faint outer halo. At an estimated distance of 3,000 light-years, the faint outer halo is over 5 light-years across. Planetary nebulae have long been appreciated as a final phase in the life of a sun-like star. More recently, some planetary nebulae are found to have halos like this one, likely formed of material shrugged off during earlier episodes in the star's evolution. While the planetary nebula phase is thought to last for around 10,000 years, astronomers estimate the age of the outer filamentary portions of this halo to be 50,000 to 90,000 years. Visible on the left, some 50 million light-years beyond the watchful planetary nebula, lies spiral galaxy NGC 6552. via NASA http://ift.tt/1XXfRhn

Giants Video: Buster Posey crushes a pair of three-run homers into the bullpen during 10-5 rout of the Rockies (ESPN)

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Buster does it....again! TWO 3-run HRs today. #SFGiants by sfgiants


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Final: Giants 10 Rockies 5. WP: SF C Gearrin (1-0) LP: COL C Estevez (1-2) (ESPN)

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Giants: Matt Cain placed on the 15-day DL with a right hamstring strain; left Friday's start in the second inning (ESPN)

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Giants Video: On this date in 2006, Barry Bonds hit his 715th career home run to pass Babe Ruth on the all-time list (ESPN)

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The Great Carina Nebula


A jewel of the southern sky, the Great Carina Nebula, also known as NGC 3372, spans over 300 light-years, one of our galaxy's largest star forming regions. Like the smaller, more northerly Great Orion Nebula, the Carina Nebula is easily visible to the unaided eye, though at a distance of 7,500 light-years it is some 5 times farther away. This gorgeous telescopic close-up reveals remarkable details of the region's central glowing filaments of interstellar gas and obscuring cosmic dust clouds. The field of view is over 50 light-years across. The Carina Nebula is home to young, extremely massive stars, including the stars of open cluster Trumpler 14 (below and right of center) and the still enigmatic variable Eta Carinae, a star with well over 100 times the mass of the Sun. Eta Carinae is the brightest star, seen here just above the dusty Keyhole Nebula (NGC 3324). While Eta Carinae itself maybe on the verge of a supernova explosion, X-ray images indicate that the Great Carina Nebula has been a veritable supernova factory. via NASA http://ift.tt/1ORra3a

Final: Rockies 5 Giants 2. WP: COL T Chatwood (6-3) LP: SF A Suarez (1-1) SV: COL J McGee (14) (ESPN)

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Giants: P Matt Cain left Friday's game vs. the Rockies in the 2nd inning with a strained right hamstring (ESPN)

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A little rain doesn't phase Joe. #SFGiants by sfgiants


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Ready for the weekend. #πŸ” #SFGiants by sfgiants


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Scott Kelly's Post-Flight Visit to Washington


Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly speaks about his historic mission aboard the International Space Station during an event at the United States Capitol Visitor Center, Wednesday, May 25, 2016, in Washington. via NASA http://ift.tt/1sfuKiW

IC 5067 in the Pelican Nebula


The prominent ridge of emission featured in this sharp, colorful skyscape is cataloged as IC 5067. Part of a larger emission nebula with a distinctive shape, popularly called The Pelican Nebula, the ridge spans about 10 light-years following the curve of the cosmic pelican's head and neck. This false-color view also translates the pervasive glow of narrow emission lines from atoms in the nebula to a color palette made popular in Hubble Space Telescope images of star forming regions. Fantastic, dark shapes inhabiting the 1/2 degree wide field are clouds of cool gas and dust sculpted by the winds and radiation from hot, massive stars. Close-ups of some of the sculpted clouds show clear signs of newly forming stars. The Pelican Nebula, itself cataloged as IC 5070, is about 2,000 light-years away. To find it, look northeast of bright star Deneb in the high flying constellation Cygnus. via NASA http://ift.tt/1qLt7rO

Chasma Boreale and North Polar Ice Cap of Mars


Mars has bright polar caps of ice that are easily visible from telescopes on Earth. A seasonal cover of carbon-dioxide ice and snow is observed to advance and retreat over the poles during the Martian year. Scientists using radar data have found a record of the most recent Martian ice age recorded in the north polar ice cap. via NASA http://ift.tt/1sdb3bv

NGC 5078 and Friends


This sharp telescopic field of view holds two bright galaxies. Barred spiral NGC 5101 (top right) and nearly edge-on system NGC 5078 are separated on the sky by about 0.5 degrees or about the apparent width of a full moon. Found within the boundaries of the serpentine constellation Hydra, both are estimated to be around 90 million light-years away and similar in size to our own large Milky Way galaxy. In fact, if they both lie at the same distance their projected separation would be only 800,000 light-years or so. That's easily less than half the distance between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy. NGC 5078 is interacting with a smaller companion galaxy, cataloged as IC 879, seen just left of the larger galaxy's bright core. Even more distant background galaxies are scattered around the colorful field. Some are even visible right through the face-on disk of NGC 5101. But the prominent spiky stars are in the foreground, well within our own Milky Way. via NASA http://ift.tt/1WOiTos

Giants Video: Brandon Crawford drills walk-off hit off center field wall in 4-3 win over Padres; 9-0 vs. SD on season (ESPN)

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WALKOFF πŸ™ŒπŸΌ 13 of 14 #Vote4Craw #SFGiants by sfgiants


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F/10: Giants 4 Padres 3. WP: SF G Kontos (1-1) LP: SD B Hand (1-2) (ESPN)

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The White Shark strikes again. The Giants lead 2-0 after 6 innings πŸ’ͺ🏼 #SFGiants by sfgiants


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πŸ‘πŸΎ #ProTip: Eat a homerun dog with all the fixings while you watch the game. Or eat multiple. We promise we won't tell anyone. #Winning #SFGiants by cafesfg


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Glorious day here at the ball park πŸŒžπŸ™ŒπŸΌ⚾️ #sfgiants by cafesfg


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Go time πŸ‘ŠπŸ½ #SFGiants by sfgiants


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Rick brought his lucky glove to the ballpark today. Good game. πŸ™Œ #SFGiants #SFGSocial by cafesfg


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Nothing like a little day baseball ⚾️🌀 #ATTPark by sfgiants


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☺️ This junior Giant was all smiles after getting her very own Matt Duffy bobblehead #FanLove #SFGiants #SFGSocial by cafesfg


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#same #SFGiants by cafesfg


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All Karlee wants for her birthday is a Giants win! Thanks for spending the day with us! πŸŽ‚πŸŽ‰#SFGiants #WeAreGiant by cafesfg


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🎢 They see me rollin' 🎢 Fan πŸ“Έ by @lost.at.sea #SFGiants #SFGSocial #DubNation by cafesfg


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NASA's OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Prepared for Mission to an Asteroid


NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is revealed after its protective cover is removed inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, on May 21, 2016. OSIRIS-REx, targeted for a Sept. 8 launch, will be the first U.S. mission to sample an asteroid, retrieve at least two ounces of surface material and return it to Earth for study. via NASA http://ift.tt/1OWSkLu

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Giants Video: Brandon Crawford plates three with a bases-loaded triple to deep right field in 8-2 win over the Padres (ESPN)

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Final: Giants 8 Padres 2. WP: SF J Samardzija (7-2) LP: SD A Cashner (2-4) (ESPN)

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Giants fan Isaias was tossed a ball from the one and only Blanco tonight! Congrats on getting your first ball of the season! #SFGiants #sfgsocial #FanLove by cafesfg


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Milky Way Over the Spanish Peaks


That's not lightning, and it did not strike between those mountains. The diagonal band is actually the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy, while the twin peaks are actually called the Spanish Peaks -- but located in Colorado, USA. Although each Spanish peak is composed of a slightly different type of rock, both are approximately 25 million years old. This serene yet spirited image composite was meticulously created by merging a series of images all taken from the same location on one night and early last month. In the first series of exposures, the background sky was built up, with great detail being revealed in the Milky Way dust lanes as well as the large colorful region surrounding the star Rho Ophiuchus just right of center. One sky image, though, was taken using a fogging filter so that brighter stars would appear more spread out and so more prominent. As a bonus, the planets Mars and Saturn are placed right above peaks and make an orange triangle with the bright star Antares. Later that night, after the moonrise, the Moon itself naturally illuminated the snow covered mountain tops. via NASA http://ift.tt/1TwOTI0

Just KKKKK-icking back and enjoying the game. #sfgsocial 1-0 #SFGiants by cafesfg


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"Simplicity is the key to brilliance." #sfgsocial #BruceLeeAtBat #SFGiants by cafesfg


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The skipper #sfgiants #attpark #wearesf #wearegiant by sfgiants


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@busterposey and #shark 🐬 are getting ready #sfgiants #attpark #wearesf #wearegiant by sfgiants


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#WeAreSF, and tonight we are also #DubNation! by cafesfg


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⚾️ What better way to spend Tuesday night than at #attpark for #BruceLeeAtBat! #sfgsocial by cafesfg


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MLB: Giants aim for 12th win in 13 games in home meeting against NL West rival Padres; watch live in the ESPN App (ESPN)

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@gregorblanco9 ✒️⚾️ #sfgiants #attpark #wearesf #wearegiant by sfgiants


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Fjord and Glacier in East-Central Greenland


On May 19, 2016, NASA's IceBridge, an airborne survey of polar ice, crossed Greenland to fly central glacier flowlines in the east-central region of the country. This photo captures the fjord of Violin Glacier, with Nord Glacier at the upper left corner. This is IceBridge's eighth spring campaign of science flights over Arctic sea and land. via NASA http://ift.tt/1s7jaq6