Ghost Aurora over Canada


What does this aurora look like to you? While braving the cold to watch the skies above northern Canada early one morning in 2013, a most unusual aurora appeared. The aurora definitely appeared to be shaped like something , but what? Two ghostly possibilities recorded by the astrophotographer were "witch" and "goddess of dawn", but please feel free to suggest your own Halloween-enhanced impressions. Regardless of fantastical pareidolic interpretations, the pictured aurora had a typical green color and was surely caused by the scientifically commonplace action of high energy particles from space interacting with oxygen in Earth's upper atmosphere. In the image foreground, at the bottom, is a frozen Alexandra Falls, while evergreen trees cross the middle. via NASA http://ift.tt/2f4lSIh

Rains of Terror on Exoplanet HD 189733b


This Halloween, take a tour with NASA's Exoplanet Exploration site of some of the most terrifying destinations in our galaxy. The nightmare world of HD 189733 b is the killer you never see coming. To the human eye, this far-off planet looks bright blue. But any space traveler confusing it with the friendly skies of Earth would be badly mistaken. via NASA http://ift.tt/2f5xN8K

Halloween and the Ghost Head Nebula


Halloween's origin is ancient and astronomical. Since the fifth century BC, Halloween has been celebrated as a cross-quarter day, a day halfway between an equinox (equal day / equal night) and a solstice (minimum day / maximum night in the northern hemisphere). With a modern calendar however, even though Halloween occurs tomorrow, the real cross-quarter day will occur next week. Another cross-quarter day is Groundhog Day. Halloween's modern celebration retains historic roots in dressing to scare away the spirits of the dead. Perhaps a fitting tribute to this ancient holiday is this view of the Ghost Head Nebula taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. Similar to the icon of a fictional ghost, NGC 2080 is actually a star forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way Galaxy. The Ghost Head Nebula spans about 50 light-years and is shown in representative colors. via NASA http://ift.tt/2fjzIda

Expedition 49 Soyuz Spacecraft Landing


The Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 49 crew members NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, and astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016 (Kazakh time). via NASA http://ift.tt/2eVo0nF

Haunting the Cepheus Flare


Spooky shapes seem to haunt this jeweled expanse, drifting through the night in the royal constellation Cepheus. Of course, the shapes are cosmic dust clouds faintly visible in dimly reflected starlight. Far from your own neighborhood on planet Earth, they lurk along the plane of the Milky Way at the edge of the Cepheus Flare molecular cloud complex some 1,200 light-years away. Over 2 light-years across and brighter than the other ghostly apparitions, vdB 141 or Sh2-136 is also known as the Ghost Nebula, seen at the right of the starry field of view. Within the nebula are the telltale signs of dense cores collapsing in the early stages of star formation. via NASA http://ift.tt/2fe2onB

NASA Astronaut Kate Rubins Prepares For the Journey Home


NASA astronaut Kate Rubins is pictured inside of the Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft while conducting routine spacesuit checks. The Expedition 49 trio of Rubins, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi and cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin are scheduled to undock their Soyuz on Saturday, Oct. 29, and land at 11:59 p.m. EDT. via NASA http://ift.tt/2fnNzOH

First Pass of Echo 1 Satellite Over the Goldstone Tracking Station


This photograph shows the first pass of Echo 1, America’s first communications satellite, over the Goldstone Tracking Station managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, California, in the early morning of Aug. 12, 1960. The movement of the antenna, star trails, and Echo 1 (the long streak in the middle) are visible in this image. via NASA http://ift.tt/2fkiP12

Propeller Shadows on Saturn's Rings


What created these unusually long shadows on Saturn's rings? The dark shadows -- visible near the middle of the image -- extend opposite the Sun and, given their length, stem from objects having heights up to a few kilometers. The long shadows were unexpected given that the usual thickness of Saturn's A and B rings is only about 10 meters. After considering the choppy but elongated shapes apparent near the B-ring edge, however, a leading theory has emerged that some kilometer-sized moonlets exist there that have enough gravity to create even larger vertical deflections of nearby small ring particles. The resulting ring waves are called propellers, named for how they appear individually. It is these coherent groups of smaller ring particles that are hypothesized to be casting the long shadows. The featured image was taken by the robotic Cassini spacecraft currently orbiting Saturn. The image was captured in 2009, near Saturn's equinox, when sunlight streamed directly over the ring plane and caused the longest shadows to be cast. via NASA http://ift.tt/2eFVy6g

Paw Paw Bends


The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this image of the Potomac River and canal on September 27, 2016. The image shows the stretch between Hancock and Cumberland, Maryland—about 97 kilometers (60 miles) if you were to hike or bike along the towpath between these two towns. West Virginia is south of the river. via NASA http://ift.tt/2eROVNg

Clouds Near Jupiters South Pole from Juno


What's happening near the south pole of Jupiter? Recent images sent back by NASA's robotic Juno spacecraft are showing an interesting conglomeration of swirling clouds and what appear to be white ovals. Juno arrived at Jupiter in July and is being placed into a wide, looping orbit that will bring it near the gas giant -- and over its poles -- about twice a month. The featured image is a composite taken by JunoCam and post-processed by a digitally savvy citizen scientist. White ovals have been observed elsewhere on Jupiter and are thought to be giant storm systems. They have been observed to last for years, while typically showing Category 5 wind speeds of around 350 kilometers per hour. Unlike Earthly cyclones and hurricanes where high winds circle regions of low pressure, white ovals on Jupiter show rotational directions indicating that they are anticylones -- vortices centered on high pressure regions. Juno will continue to orbit Jupiter over thirty more times while recording optical, spectral, and gravitational data meant to help determine Jupiter's structure and evolution. via NASA http://ift.tt/2eHnAz7

Cygnus Spacecraft Attached to Space Station's Unity Module


Orbital ATK's Cygnus cargo craft (left) is seen from the Cupola module windows aboard the International Space Station on Oct. 23, 2016. The main robotic work station for controlling the Canadarm2 robotic arm is located inside the Cupola and was used to capture Cygnus upon its arrival. via NASA http://ift.tt/2e7cvG0

CST-100 Starliner Manufacturing


An engineer guides the upper dome of a Boeing CST-100 Starliner as it is connected to the lower dome to complete the first hull of the Starliner's Structural Test Article. The Starliner is one of two spacecraft in development in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program that will enable astronauts to fly to the International Space Station. via NASA http://ift.tt/2eohgjO

Hubble Spins a Web Into a Giant Red Spider Nebula


Huge waves are sculpted in this two-lobed nebula called the Red Spider Nebula, located some 3,000 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius. via NASA http://ift.tt/2edacE2

The Tulip in the Swan


Framing a bright emission region this telescopic view looks out along the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy toward the nebula rich constellation Cygnus the Swan. Popularly called the Tulip Nebula, the glowing cloud of interstellar gas and dust is also found in the 1959 catalog by astronomer Stewart Sharpless as Sh2-101. About 8,000 light-years distant and 70 light-years across the complex and beautiful nebula blossoms at the center of the composite image. Red, green, and blue hues map emission from ionized sulfur, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. Ultraviolet radiation from young, energetic stars at the edge of the Cygnus OB3 association, including O star HDE 227018, ionizes the atoms and powers the visible light emission from the Tulip Nebula. HDE 227018 is the bright star very near the blue arc at the center of the cosmic tulip. via NASA http://ift.tt/2dCMLmV

Jupiterrise


This image of the sunlit part of Jupiter and its swirling atmosphere was created by a citizen scientist (Alex Mai) using data from Juno's JunoCam instrument. JunoCam's raw images are available at http://ift.tt/29mJrNc for the public to peruse and process into image products. via NASA http://ift.tt/2eV97BU

M45: The Pleiades Star Cluster


Have you ever seen the Pleiades star cluster? Even if you have, you probably have never seen it as dusty as this. Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the bright stars of the Pleiades can be seen without binoculars even from the heart of a light-polluted city. With a long exposure from a dark location, though, the dust cloud surrounding the Pleiades star cluster becomes very evident. The featured image was a long duration exposure taken last month from Namibia and covers a sky area many times the size of the full moon. Also known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades lies about 400 light years away toward the constellation of the Bull (Taurus). A common legend with a modern twist is that one of the brighter stars faded since the cluster was named, leaving only six stars visible to the unaided eye. The actual number of visible Pleiades stars, however, may be more or less than seven, depending on the darkness of the surrounding sky and the clarity of the observer's eyesight. via NASA http://ift.tt/2el3RF8

Expedition 49 Launch to the International Space Station


The Soyuz MS-02 rocket is launched with Expedition 49 Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA, and flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The crew will spend the next four months living and working aboard the International Space Station. via NASA http://ift.tt/2dOhf2S

The Antlia Cluster of Galaxies


Galaxies dot the sky in this impressively wide and deep image of the Antlia Cluster. The third closest cluster of galaxies to Earth after Virgo and Fornax, the Antlia cluster is known for its compactness and its high fraction of elliptical galaxies over (spirals. Antlia, cataloged as Abell S0636, spans about 2 million light years and lies about 130 million light years away toward the constellation of the Air Pump (Antlia). The cluster has two prominent galaxy groups - bottom center and upper left -- among its over 200 galactic members, but no single central dominant galaxy. The vertical red ribbon of gas on the left is thought related to the foreground Antlia supernova remnant and not associated with the cluster. The featured image composite, taken from New Zealand, resulted from 150+ hours of exposures taken over six months. via NASA http://ift.tt/2egQ4iQ

Liftoff of Antares Rocket From NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia


The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, October 17, 2016 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Cygnus is delivering over 5,100 pounds of science and research, supplies and hardware to the space station. via NASA http://ift.tt/2enSgne

Orbital ATK Cargo Mission Set For Launch to Space Station


The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is seen on launch Pad-0A as the moon sets, predawn, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Orbital ATK’s cargo resupply mission will deliver over 5,100 pounds of science and research, supplies and hardware to the space station. via NASA http://ift.tt/2dJ9hIu

Herschel s Orion


This dramatic image peers within M42, the Orion Nebula, the closest large star-forming region. Using data at infrared wavelengths from the Herschel Space Observatory, the false-color composite explores the natal cosmic cloud a mere 1,500 light-years distant. Cold, dense filaments of dust that would otherwise be dark at visible wavelengths are shown in reddish hues. Light-years long, the filaments weave together bright spots that correspond to regions of collapsing protostars. The brightest bluish area near the top of the frame is warmer dust heated by the hot Trapezium cluster stars that also power the nebula's visible glow. Herschel data has recently indicated ultraviolet starlight from the hot newborn stars likely contributes to the creation of carbon-hydrogen molecules, basic building blocks of life. This Herschel image spans about 3 degrees on the sky. That's about 80 light-years at the distance of the Orion Nebula. via NASA http://ift.tt/2efmMkj

Antares Rocket Raising


The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is raised into the vertical position on launch Pad-0A, Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Scheduled to launch Oct. 16, Orbital ATK’s cargo resupply mission will deliver over 5,100 pounds of science and research, supplies and hardware to the space station. via NASA http://ift.tt/2dpR19e

Giants: GM Bobby Evans says he'll "explore every opportunity" to fix bullpen problems that plagued end of 2016 season (ESPN)

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Galaxies from the Altiplano


The central bulge of our Milky Way Galaxy rises over the northern Chilean Atacama altiplano in this postcard from planet Earth. At an altitude of 4500 meters, the strange beauty of the desolate landscape could almost belong to another world though. Brownish red and yellow tinted sulfuric patches lie along the whitish salt flat beaches of the Salar de Aguas Calientes region. In the distance along the Argentina border is the stratovolcano Lastarria, its peak at 5700 meters (19,000 feet). In the clear, dark sky above, stars, nebulae, and cosmic dust clouds in the Milky Way echo the colors of the altiplano at night. Extending the view across extragalactic space, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, shine near the horizon through a faint greenish airglow. via NASA http://ift.tt/2dP2QJ4

Giants ready to talk contract with Madison Bumgarner when he is; signed through 2017 with club options for 2018, 2019 (ESPN)

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Giants: GM Bobby Evans says he's reached out to Madison Bumgarner's reps, told them team is ready to discuss new deal (ESPN)

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Rumor Central: Free-agent-to-be P Javier Lopez unsure of future, open to returning to Giants - CSN Bay Area (ESPN)

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A Laser-Sharp View of Blended Wing Body Plane Design


A Laser-Sharp View of Blended Wing Body Plane Design via NASA http://ift.tt/2e3QlEM

Giants: Derek Law thanks fans for memorable rookie year on Twitter; "I now understand fully what it means to be a Giant" (ESPN)

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Inspecting the Space Station's Expandable Habitat


NASA astronaut Kate Rubins inspected the Bigelow Aerospace Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) attached to the International Space Station. Expandable habitats are designed to take up less room on a spacecraft while providing greater volume for living and working in space once expanded. via NASA http://ift.tt/2dWqgIy

Moon, Mercury, and Twilight Radio


Sharing dawn's twilight with the Moon on September 29, Mercury was about as far from the Sun as it can wander, the innermost planet close to its maximum elongation in planet Earth's skies. In this colorful scene fleeting Mercury is joined by a waning sunlit lunar crescent and earthlit lunar nightside, the New Moon in the Old Moon's arms. Below is the Italian Medicina Radio Astronomical Station near Bologna with a low row of antennae that is part of Italy's first radio telescope array dubbed the "Northern Cross", and a 32-meter-diameter parabolic dish. Of course, moonwatchers won't have to rise in early morning hours on October 8. After sunset the Moon will be high and bright in evening skies, at its first quarter phase for International Observe the Moon Night. via NASA http://ift.tt/2dIae4Y

NLDS: Cubs defeat Giants 5-2 to take commanding 2-0 series lead as Ps Kyle Hendricks and Travis Wood account for 3 RBI (ESPN)

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Final: Cubs 5 Giants 2. WP: CHC T Wood (1-0) LP: SF J Samardzija (0-1) (ESPN)

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NLDS: Giants trail Cubs 5-2 coming to bat in 9th looking to avoid falling behind 0-2 in series; listen live in ESPN App (ESPN)

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NLDS: Cubs P Kyle Hendricks leaves Game 2 vs. Giants in the 4th inning after getting hit in right arm by a line drive (ESPN)

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NLDS: Cubs, Kyle Hendricks aim to take commanding series lead against the Giants in Game 2; listen live in the ESPN App (ESPN)

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The Hydrogen Clouds of M33


Gorgeous spiral galaxy M33 seems to have more than its fair share of glowing hydrogen gas. A prominent member of the local group of galaxies, M33 is also known as the Triangulum Galaxy and lies about 3 million light-years distant. The galaxy's inner 30,000 light-years or so are shown in this telescopic portrait that enhances its reddish ionized hydrogen clouds or HII regions. Sprawling along loose spiral arms that wind toward the core, M33's giant HII regions are some of the largest known stellar nurseries, sites of the formation of short-lived but very massive stars. Intense ultraviolet radiation from the luminous, massive stars ionizes the surrounding hydrogen gas and ultimately produces the characteristic red glow. To enhance this image, broadband data was used to produce a color view of the galaxy and combined with narrowband data recorded through a hydrogen-alpha filter. That filter transmits the light of the strongest visible hydrogen emission line. via NASA http://ift.tt/2d8nO2o

Final: Cubs 1 Giants 0. WP: CHC J Lester (1-0) LP: SF J Cueto (0-1) SV: CHC A Chapman (1) (ESPN)

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NLDS: Cubs defeat Giants 1-0 behind Javier Baez's 8th-inning solo home run and Jon Lester's 8 shutout innings, 5 K's (ESPN)

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NLDS: NL's top-seeded Cubs host wild-card winner Giants in Game 1 at Wrigley Field; listen live in the ESPN App (ESPN)

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Giants: Bruce Bochy names Jeff Samardzija starter for Game 2 against the Cubs; Madison Bumgarner lined up for Game 3 (ESPN)

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Star Trails Seen From Low Earth Orbit


Astronauts on the International Space Station captured a series of incredible star trail images on Oct. 3, 2016, as they orbited at 17,500 miles per hour. The station orbits the Earth every 90 minutes, and astronauts aboard see an average of 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours. via NASA http://ift.tt/2dF0jNE

Giants: All-Star 3B Eduardo Nunez added to NLDS roster after he had been sidelined with a strained right hamstring (ESPN)

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Trifid, Lagoon, and Mars


Bright nebulae and star clusters along this 5 degree wide field of view are popular stops on telescopic tours of the constellation Sagittarius and the crowded starfields of the central Milky Way. Cataloged by 18th century French astronomer Charles Messier, M20, the colorful Trifid Nebula, and M8, the expansive Lagoon Nebula, are at upper left and center. Both are well-known star forming regions about 5,000 light-years distant. Just passing through the same field of view on September 29, the yellowish star lined up with M8 and M20 at the lower right is actually Mars, close to 8.8 light-minutes from Earth on that date. That distance is nearly equivalent to 1 astronomical unit or the distance from Earth to Sun. Mars is overexposed in the image, with visible diffraction spikes created by the telescope mirror supports. Of course, Mars has long been known to wander through planet Earth's night skies. via NASA http://ift.tt/2dOpssR

Space Station Flyover of Hurricane Matthew


The International Space Station has tracked Hurricane Matthew all week, providing images and video from low Earth orbit as the storm hit the Caribbean Sea and made its way towards Florida. In this photograph taken by Expedition 49 Flight Engineer Kate Rubins on Oct. 4, 2016, at 21:05 GMT, the hurricane's clouds extend across the frame. via NASA http://ift.tt/2cWWi4D

Giants Video: Team celebrates, dumps champagne on each other in the locker room after 3-0 NL wild-card win over Mets (ESPN)

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Giants: Johnny Cueto will start Game 1 of NLDS on Friday at Cubs; allowed 1 ER in 7 IP in Sept. 4 start at Wrigley Field (ESPN)

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Giants Video: Conor Gillaspie says he "let some frustration out" on swing that resulted in go-ahead 3-run HR in 9th (ESPN)

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A Crumbling Layered Butte on Mars


What is this unusual mound on Mars? NASA's Curiosity rover rolling across Mars has come across a group of these mounds that NASA has labelled Murray Buttes. Pictured is a recently assembled mosaic image of one of the last of the buttes passed by Curiosity on its way up Mt. Sharp -- but also one of the most visually spectacular. Ancient water-deposited layers in relatively dense -- but now dried-out and crumbling -- windblown sandstone tops the 15-meter tall structure. The rim of Gale crater is visible in the distance. Curiosity continues to accumulate clues about how Mars changed from a planet with areas wet and hospitable to microbial life to the dry, barren, rusted landscape seen today. via NASA http://ift.tt/2cSWFNv

MLB: Madison Bumgarner throws his 3rd postseason shutout; 1st pitcher ever with 2 shutouts in winner-take-all games (ESPN)

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Final: Giants 3 Mets 0. WP: SF M Bumgarner (1-0) LP: NYM J Familia (0-1) (ESPN)

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MLB Wild Card: Mets and Giants tied at 0 entering bottom 7th, Noah Syndergaard 10 K, 2 H allowed; watch live in ESPN App (ESPN)

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MLB Video: Mets CF Curtis Granderson sprints to make a spectacular catch crashing into the wall to save a run vs. Giants (ESPN)

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MLB Wild Card: Mets' Noah Syndergaard loses no-hit bid on single by Giants' Denard Span with 2 out in 6th; game tied 0-0 (ESPN)

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MLB Wild Card: Mets' Noah Syndergaard has not allowed hit through 5 IP vs. Giants, game tied 0-0; watch live in ESPN App (ESPN)

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Giants: Mayors of San Francisco and New York City talk smack and place a bet via Twitter ahead of NL wild-card game (ESPN)

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Hurricane Matthew Hits Haiti


On October 4, 2016, Hurricane Matthew made landfall on southwestern Haiti as a category-4 storm—the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean nation in more than 50 years. Just hours after landfall, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this natural-color image. via NASA http://ift.tt/2dKCYOn

Giants: Eduardo Nunez (hamstring) off wild-card roster; 11 pitchers kept, including SPs Jeff Samardzija, Johnny Cueto (ESPN)

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A Trio of Plumes in the South Sandwich Islands


On September 29, 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this false-color image (MODIS bands 7-2-1) showing volcanic activity in the South Sandwich Islands. Located in the South Atlantic Ocean, the uninhabited South Sandwich Islands include several active stratovolcanoes. via NASA http://ift.tt/2dMun9F

Aurora Over White Dome Geyser


Sometimes both heaven and Earth erupt. Colorful aurorae erupted unexpectedly a few years ago, with green aurora appearing near the horizon and brilliant bands of red aurora blooming high overhead. A bright Moon lit the foreground of this picturesque scene, while familiar stars could be seen far in the distance. With planning, the careful astrophotographer shot this image mosaic in the field of White Dome Geyser in Yellowstone National Park in the western USA. Sure enough, just after midnight, White Dome erupted -- spraying a stream of water and vapor many meters into the air. Geyser water is heated to steam by scalding magma several kilometers below, and rises through rock cracks to the surface. About half of all known geysers occur in Yellowstone National Park. Although the geomagnetic storm that created these aurorae has since subsided, eruptions of White Dome Geyser continue about every 30 minutes. via NASA http://ift.tt/2dmTiBm

MLB: Giants' Madison Bumgarner to start against Mets' Noah Syndergaard in NL wild-card game Wednesday at 8 pm ET on ESPN (ESPN)

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Final: Giants 7 Dodgers 1. WP: SF M Moore (13-12) LP: LAD K Maeda (16-11) (ESPN)

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MLB Video: Giants and Dodgers fans unite to salute Vin Scully before he broadcasts final game of his 67-year career (ESPN)

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Rosetta s Farewell


After closely following comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for 786 days as it rounded the Sun, the Rosetta spacecraft's controlled impact with the comet's surface was confirmed by the loss of signal from the spacecraft on September 30, 2016. One the images taken during its final descent, this high resolution view looks across the comet's stark landscape. The scene spans just over 600 meters (2,000 feet), captured when Rosetta was about 16 kilometers from the comet's surface. Rosetta's descent to the comet brought to an end the operational phase of an inspirational mission of space exploration. Rosetta deployed a lander to the surface of one of the Solar System's most primordial worlds and witnessed first hand how a comet changes when subject to the increasing intensity of the Sun's radiation. The decision to end the mission on the surface is a result of the comet's orbit now taking it to the dim reaches beyond Jupiter where there would be a lack of power to operate the spacecraft. Mission operators also faced an approaching period where the Sun would be close to line-of-sight between Earth and Rosetta, making radio communications increasingly difficult. via NASA http://ift.tt/2cIZosW

Final: Giants 3 Dodgers 0. WP: SF T Blach (1-0) LP: LAD C Kershaw (12-4) SV: SF S Romo (4) (ESPN)

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Giants: LF Angel Pagan slams fan to grass in AT&T Park outfield after he ran onto field, says "I had to do something" (ESPN)

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