• Tagged full moon, Harvest Moon, lunar eclipse, NASA, phenomena, space, tetrad, total lunar eclipse

April 15 is tax day in the USA, but don’t let that get you down. Instead, lift your eyes toward the heavens during the darkness and wee hours of the morning to view the first of four total lunar eclipses, spaced six full moons apart. Those four consecutive total lunar eclipses are called a tetrad. Christian Pastor John Hagee dubbed them “Blood Moons” denoting change for Israel; these total eclipses of the moon occur on Jewish holidays such a Passover in April 2014 and April 2015, and Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, in September 2014 and September 2015. Some folks are even claiming this series of blood-red moons is heralding the end is nigh. You’ve might have seen “blood red” moons before as the term has previously been applied to the coloring of Harvest moons. One thing that’s for sure, if you live in the USA, then you have a front row seat for a tetrad of lunar eclipses. Here’s a calculator to figure when you can see it from where you live. Here are some beautiful photos of blood red moons, aka total lunar eclipses. [20 Photos]

• Tagged Big Marble, Black Marble, Blue Marble, Earth, environment, NASA, NOAA, Satellite Image, space

NASA has shown us views of the Big Marble, the breathtakingly beautiful planet on which we live because it studies space and the Earth. The first Big Blue Marble photo was released in 1972 and each subsequent release of images have increased in quality so that the newest 2012 release of the Big Black Marble, or Earth at Night, are stunning. The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite was launched last year by NASA, NOAA, and the Department of Defense. It orbits 512 miles above our planet’s surface and has an extremely sensitive sensor that can detect the nocturnal glow produced by Earth’s atmosphere. In fact, it can see the light given off from a single street light or one glowing light on a boat floating alone on the ocean. The VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) “carries a low-light sensor that can distinguish night lights with six times better spatial resolution and 250 times better resolution of lighting levels (dynamic range) than before.” NASA added, “A global composite image, constructed using cloud-free night images from a new NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite, shows the glow of natural and human-built phenomena across the planet in greater detail than ever before.” So here is the series of the Big Marble in Old, New, Aqua, Blue, White and Black Marble. If you stop to think that this is our home, all of us regardless of where on the globe you are located, then it somehow seems possible that we could achieve peace on Earth around this holiday season for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Boxing Day. It also shows why we should protect our environment . . . it belongs to your children’s children and us all. Thank you NASA! You ROCK! [22 Photos, 2 Videos]

• Tagged full moon, Harvest Moon, moonrise, moonscape, phenomena, space

La luna makes folks seem like lunatics, and a bunch of people worldwide definitely cut loose and act crazy when there is a full moon. Harvest moon is real, but it is just as often a name referring to huge, orange moons. Red moons seem a bit like a bad premonition and blood red moons seem to be foretelling the end of the world. It’s a trick of light though. Full moons, supermoons and even lunar eclipses are all known for ‘the locals’ going temporarily looney. There are blue moons, Hunter moons and all kinds of beautiful full lunar moonscapes in these photos. Does looking at a magnificent moonrise in pictures, or only in real life, make you feel like barking or howling at the moon? [40 Photos]

• Tagged animals, celebrate creative commons license, military, Norway, people, photographers, space, transportation, Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year, World Photography Day

August 19, 2012, is World Photography Day. This is great opportunity to say thank you to photographers. Without photographers licensing their awesome captures as Creative Commons, we wouldn’t be able to share so many awesome works of art. Once upon a time there were not nearly so many quality images licensed under Creative Commons, but that continues to change. We wanted to celebrate World Photography Day by showcasing the Wikimedia Commons Pictures of the Year, decided at the last part of June 2012. There were all sorts of categories in this Sixth Annual Wikimedia Commons POTY Contest, so here are extremely varied subjects that were declared Picture of the Year winners. Congratulations! [31 Photos]

• Tagged Astronaut André Kuipers photos, Astronaut Don Pettit photos, ATV, Aurora, comet, dragon, ESA, International Space Station, ISS, lightning, lyrids, NASA, space, star trails, stargazing, stars

ISS astronauts continue to shoot spectacular images and send them back to Earth to share the stunning sights. [27 Photographs, 2 Videos]

• Tagged aerial photography, Aurora, Earth, ESA, ISS, NASA, space, spacecraft, travel

Aerial photography can give us awesome perspectives, but when we zoom out and then observe the Big Blue Marble from high above, such as the breathtaking views of Earth from the ISS, it’s an eye-opening experience for most of us. Internationally, many countries have satellites and spacecrafts with their unblinking eyes focused on the Earth. These amazing photos offer us a unique window overlooking our world; viewing the Earth from above offers a stunning opportunity to see our wonderful planet in out-of-our-world ways that most humans will never experience in their lifetime. [37 Photos]

• Tagged abandoned houses, Ben Canales, environment, nature, night photography, Oregon, photographer, photography, space, star trails, stargazing, stars

Ben Canales has astounding skills as a night photographer, capturing the child-like wonder and awe of our world as we stare up at the stars. When he was younger, he lived in an urban area where a starry night means maybe seeing a maximum of 20 stars. Now he lives on the West Coast “nearby some very dark, much less light-polluted night skies. It’s been a thrill and a treasured experience to look up and see a literal field of diamonds in the stars above.” Besides photographing the stars for personal enjoyment, Ben does it for us so we can feel the wonder of the sky as if we are standing under it ourselves and gazing up. He snaps glittering starry shots in amazing natural landscapes and also captures the night sky nearby abandoned houses way out in the middle of nowhere. He climbs mountains and pitches a tent far away from civilization to better bring us these amazing images of the stars. Ben quotes Van Gogh: “For my part I know nothing with any certainy, but the sight of the stars make me dream.” We were blown away, absolutely dazzled, when we saw his breathtaking photos on The Star Trail. Wowza! We love these pics! [40 Photos]

• Tagged aerial, autumn, environment, fall colors, forests, lakes, nature, photography, seasons, space, trees, waves, woods

There is no doubt that ISS astronauts have enviable and breathtaking views of Earth, but when the fall season transforms foliage into a kaleidoscope of colors–rich hues of reds, yellows, oranges and browns, autumn is heaven as seen on Earth. As fall bursts upon the forests, changing them from green to vivid autumn colors, the tantalizing seasonal change can be seen from space. Yet astronauts may envy us for our beautiful view. Here’s a look autumn as seen from high above Earth, then zooming down to enjoy Indian Summer and the kaleidoscope of autumn colors that make our great planet a bedazzling fall spectacular. [46 Photos]

• Tagged astronauts, ESA, International Space Station, ISS, NASA, space, travel

We envy the International Space Station astronauts with their window on the world offering breathtaking views of the Earth and of the universe as a whole. Outer space may become the next frontier for vacations. If that becomes a reality, and we can book a space hotel with an eye in the sky overlooking Earth . . . wow, talk about a room with a view! Who would not want to go? We love to stargaze the majestic Milky Way, but crews from the ISS can also planet-gaze down at Earth. We also love NASA images and have looked at the space-walkers and photos captured from the ISS during Endeavor’s last-ever space walk. Granted there are many countries with space programs and spacecraft taking awe-inspiring photos of Earth—so these images were not entirely captured by the ISS—but they made us dream of taking a space vacation. When we see any of these out-of-this-world pictures, we get ISS envy because those space station expedition crews get to live with those magnificent views for extended ‘vacations.’ Here’s a very small but wowza collection of 34 breathtaking pictures of Earth, and of spacecraft approaching the ISS, as well as two incredible videos.

• Tagged Atlantis, International Space Station, ISS, Kennedy Space Center, NASA, photography, space, space shuttle, space station, transportation

It’s been only a short time since the space shuttle Atlantis completed her 135th space flight and concluded her final mission into the space frontier. It’s the end of an era for NASA, the finale of the 30-year Space Shuttle Program. That just seems wrong to us since NASA seems as American as apple pie. Although it’s not the end of NASA, we already miss NASA in its former capacity. We love to stare at images of the shuttle and adore pictures captured far above Earth. This time, all of these photographs are either of Atlantis or taken from Atlantis. Here’s some of our favorite photos in a nostalgic look back at the Space Shuttle Atlantis. We still love you, NASA! [42 Photos]

• Tagged astronauts, Endeavour, International Space Station, ISS, NASA, people, photos, pics, space, space shuttle, transportation

Today NASA astronauts completed their final spacewalk, the last ever for Endeavour. During the 16-day mission, Endeavour and its crew completed NASA’s part in the construction of the International Space Station. This was the 36th shuttle mission to the ISS and this was the last spacewalkers that Endeavor will ever carry to space. The crew members for space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-134 mission are Commander Mark Kelly, Pilot Gregory H. Johnson and Mission Specialists Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori. Sadly, we cannot count upon NASA’s astronauts to take any more wowza photos for us. This is the 25th and final flight of Endeavour before the shuttle is retired along with the rest of NASA’s orbiter fleet later in 2011. Thank you NASA, Endeavour STS-134 mission astronauts and ISS astronauts for your bravery and amazing photographs. We love these pics! [46 Photos]

• Tagged 350 Earth, art, art exhibit, bizarre, climate change, enivronment, photos, pics, pictures, Satellite Image, space

350 Earth is the world’s first art exhibit large enough to be seen from space! 350 EARTH is a global project to put art and creativity at the center of the growing movement to stop the climate crisis. 350.org launched the 350 EARTH project in November 2010 in the lead up to the UN Climate Meetings in Cancun, Mexico, coordinating over a dozen major public art pieces large enough to be seen from space. 350.org is building a global movement to solve the climate crisis. We love these pics and this project! [21 Pics]