J. P. Major

J. P. Major
Location
Dallas, Texas, USA
Birthday
December 26
Title
Editor / Author
Company
LightsInTheDark.com
Bio
Astronomy news and photos from around our solar system! More on Twitter @JPMajor

MY RECENT POSTS

OCTOBER 12, 2011 10:52PM

Latest Images of Enceladus

Enceladus' ice plumes in action are best seen from its night side.

On Saturday, Oct. 1, the Cassini spacecraft performed another flyby of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Passing by at a distance of only 62 miles (99 km) Cassini took some fantastic images of the 318-mile-wide moon —/… Read full post »

OCTOBER 11, 2011 10:46PM

Hunter's Moon - October 11, 2011

Lights In The Dark posted a photo:

Hunter's Moon - October 11, 2011

Tonight's full moon is known as the Hunter's Moon, as is also at apogee - the furthest point in its orbit around the earth.

© Jason P. Major. All rights reserved. Read full post »

OCTOBER 11, 2011 6:51PM

Astronaut Memorial

Lights In The Dark posted a photo:

Astronaut Memorial

The poignant Astronaut Memorial at Kennedy Space Center.

© Jason Major Read full post »

OCTOBER 9, 2011 9:41PM

Vision: Save The James Webb!

Do you love astronomy? Do you appreciate science? Do you have a curiosity about the nature of our Universe, how it came to be and what our place is within it? If you are even reading this I assume your answers to all of those questions is a resounding “yes!” and… Read full post »

OCTOBER 8, 2011 11:35PM

A Glow From Above

Image taken from the ISS showing airglow. Credit: NASA

Many of the recent images and videos I’ve shared here have featured amazing views from the Space Station. At 225 miles up, astronauts aboard the ISS enjoy an unprecedented and privileged view of our world, literally from the edge of… Read full post »

OCTOBER 7, 2011 11:42AM

Goodnight Moon

The Moon sets behind Earth's atmosphere

Another stunning view from the Space Station, this photo was taken by Expedition 28 astronaut Ron Garan on July 31, 2011 and shows the Moon seeming to sink into the ocean of air that is our life-supporting atmosphere.

As the Moon passes behind Earth… Read full post »

Editor’s Pick
OCTOBER 5, 2011 11:08PM

Steve Jobs. He Thought Different.

Steve Jobs, creator and CEO of Apple. 1955 - 2011

He thought different than most people. He definitely thought different than most CEOs and most computer programmers. But he didn’t think so different that he lost touch of what people want, of who people are and that, ultimately, his/… Read full post »

OCTOBER 5, 2011 10:46AM

Earth's Aurora and ISS

Lights In The Dark posted a photo:

Earth's Aurora and ISS

Beautiful image of Earth's aurora from the ISS, captured by Expedition 28 astronaut Mike Fossum.

Docked Soyuz capsules can be seen in the foreground.

Originally uploaded to Twitpic by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield on October 5, 2011. twitpic.com/6vgRead full post »

OCTOBER 3, 2011 10:37PM

Can Comets Cause CMEs?

First, watch this sequence:

What is it? It’s an animation made from images taken by ESA’s SOHO solar observatory showing a comet diving into the Sun on October 1, and then a large CME (coronal mass ejection) erupting immediately thereafter.

Now, typically science has said that the… Read full post »

OCTOBER 3, 2011 11:02AM

Peekaboo Helene

Lights In The Dark posted a photo:

Peekaboo Helene

While the original raw image from Cassini, acquired during a flyby on October 1, 2011, didn't show it very well when I adjusted the curves in Photoshop I was able to see what seems to be Helene peeking out from… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011 8:08PM

Pay a Visit to Vesta

Can’t see the video below? Click here.

Here’s a great video released by JPL taking us on a virtual tour of the asteroid Vesta, from the point of view of NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. It’s a shape model of Vesta, mapped with actual images acquired by Dawn during its approach and… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011 1:41AM

Mountains and Dark Material on Vesta

Lights In The Dark posted a photo:

Mountains and Dark Material on Vesta

This image of Vesta acquired on August 14, 2011 by NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows mountains on the asteroid's north pole region and splotches of dark material surrounding some of its craters.

This image was taken through the camera’s clear… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011 12:24AM

Mercury’s Curious Hollows

Hollows in Sander Crater.

As part of a wealth of new information presented today by the MESSENGER science team, this image shows the interior of Sander Crater, located within Mercury’s vast Caloris Basin. Areas seen as bright spots in previous lower-resolution images have been revisited/… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011 12:36PM

Did Earth Once Have Two Moons?

Our Moon. It lights up our nights, governs our tides and has inspired millions — perhaps billions -– of people throughout history to contemplate its nature, its influence on our lives (if any) and, of course, where it may have come from.

The currently accepted theory is that over four and… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011 11:47AM

Ripples in the Sky

Here’s something interesting…

This Saturday I was looking at some timelapse video from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope’s Cloudcam… those are beautiful in their own right, but really I was interested in seeing if there was any visual of the reentering UARS. After doing some time… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011 1:48AM

Crescent Earth from Apollo 4

Lights In The Dark posted a photo:

Crescent Earth from Apollo 4

A beautiful photograph of our planet, taken by the unmanned Apollo 4 spacecraft on Nov. 9, 1967. This is one of the first American images taken of the whole Earth.

Obtained from the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011 1:48AM

Large Solar Flare on 9/25/11 (SDO AIA304)

Lights In The Dark posted a photo:

Large Solar Flare on 9/25/11 (SDO AIA304)

A good-sized solar flare erupted from sunspot 1302 on September 25, at 15:59 UT, as seen here in an image from SDO (cropped and edited.) sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/

The scale size of Earth is shown by the blue globe at lower… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 25, 2011 10:21PM

On Top of the World

ISS astronaut Ron Garan peers out if the Station's cupola at the Earth below.

In what may be the best single representation of the visual feast of images we have enjoyed from Expedition 28 flight engineer Ron Garan during his 5 1/2 month stay aboard the ISS, this amazing image shows… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 25, 2011 6:28PM

On Top of the World

Lights In The Dark posted a photo:

On Top of the World

In what may be the best single representation of the visual feast of images we have enjoyed from Expedition 28 flight engineer Ron Garan during his 5 1/2 month stay aboard the ISS, this amazing image shows him inside the… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 25, 2011 1:47AM

Rolling Stones in the Lake of Death

Boulders rest in a crater valley on the Moon

No, it’s not the title of a B-movie starring Keith Richards, it’s an image of lunar boulders resting in a line within a valley on the Moon. This valley, located in the central peak of Bürg crater, is filled with boulders ranging/… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 23, 2011 3:25PM

Mercury's Debussy Crater

Lights In The Dark posted a photo:

Mercury's Debussy Crater

The bright rays of the crater Debussy on Mercury stretch far across the planet in this image from MESSENGER, acquired September 13, 2011.

The brightness of the rays denotes this as a relatively young crater, as compared to the… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 23, 2011 12:57PM

As The World Turns

Today is the autumnal equinox, when the Earth receives sunlight at its most direct angle relative to its equator and poles. As Earth orbits around the Sun over the course of a year, its axial tilt causes the angle of solar illumination to change – a predictable and regular change, but… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011 12:23AM

Moons of Three

The moons of Saturn are as beautiful as they are varied...

Saturn’s moons Dione and Titan lined up with the planet’s rings, seen here nearly edge-on, from the point of view of the Cassini spacecraft’s camera on September 17, 2011.

This is a composite of three raw images taken/… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011 12:04AM

Dione and Titan (9-17-11)

Lights In The Dark posted a photo:

Dione and Titan (9-17-11)

Saturn's moons Dione and Titan lined up with the planet's rings, seen here nearly edge-on, from the point of view of the Cassini spacecraft's camera on September 17, 2011.

This is a composite of three raw images taken with… Read full post »

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011 1:34AM

Hyperion 3D 9-16-11

Lights In The Dark posted a photo:

Hyperion 3D 9-16-11

3D anaglyph of Saturn's moon Hyperion, made from recent Cassini raw images acquired on September 16, 2011.

Original image: saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/raw/rawimagedetails/index.cfm?...

Credit: NASA / JPL / SSI. Edited by J. Major.

Read more about Hyperi… Read full post »