Check out our 2015 year in photos where you’ll find powerful moments from the 50th anniversary of the marches from Selma to Montgomery, the White House lit up to celebrate the Supreme Court ruling that gay and lesbian couples can marry, and of course, President Obama with babies.

🎶 Let it Bo! ❄

“Rick McKay had a knack for telling a good story. As a veteran photojournalist who became a trusted member of my team as White House Photo Editor, Rick dedicated his life to sharing the American Story through images—moments both expected and unlikely; snapshots both of epic events and everyday kindnesses. Last night, we lost Rick to cancer. Michelle and I send our most sincere condolences to Rick’s wife, Carol, and his children, Nick and Ally. Our hearts are heavy at the White House today. But Rick’s other family—his White House family—will tell our own stories, memories of Rick’s kindness and humor, his passion for NASCAR, his love for his dog, Kiley, and his dedication to doing the job the right way. We thank Rick for sharing his joy and optimism through the photos that will live on through history, the stories that will live on in our hearts, and most of all, for making his time here count.” —President Obama on the passing of White House Staffer Rick McKay

President Obama Calls the International Space Station

nasa:

President Obama made a special phone call today - all the way to the International Space Station. During his chat, American astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren highlighted some important things we’re doing here at NASA:
One Year Mission
Astronaut Scott Kelly is a little over halfway through his One-Year Mission, and the President wanted to know how he was doing. Kelly’s year in space is providing essential research on our journey to Mars. The studies performed throughout his time on the space station will give us new insights to how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, isolation, radiation and stress during long duration spaceflight.
Adjusting to Microgravity… Like Riding a Bike?
During the call, the President asked Kelly if anything has surprised him while he’s been in space. Kelly responded and told him that he was surprised at how easily he remembered and adapted to microgravity from his previous missions. The President remarked, “So being an astronaut is like riding a bicycle?”
In space, there is no “up” or “down.” That can mess with the human brain and affect the way people move and think in space. An investigation on the International Space Station seeks to understand how the brain changes in space and ways to deal with those changes.
Research on the International Space Station
November marks the 15 years of continuous human presence on the International Space Station! During the call, the President pointed out that many of today’s children have never known a time when we didn’t have astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. Pretty amazing! There are currently more than 400 experiments on the station that will not only help us achieve our goals in space, but will also benefit life on Earth.
Inspiring the Next Generation
President Obama made sure to tell Kelly and Lindgren that he was proud of the work they’re doing to inspire the next generation of astronauts. He even mentioned how Scott Kelly’s Instagram feed provides an amazing glimpse into life for would-be astronauts. This next generation will be the first humans to step foot on Mars.
Journey To Mars
President Obama highlighted the fact that he has tasked NASA with sending humans on a journey to Mars. He hopes to see the first humans walk on the Martian surface in his lifetime, and supports the work we’re doing to get there.

Astronomy Night at the White House

NASA took over the White House Instagram today in honor of Astronomy Night to share some incredible views of the universe and the world around us. Check out more updates from the astronauts, scientists, and students on South Lawn.

Here’s a nighttime view of Washington, D.C. from the astronauts on the International Space Station on October 17. Can you spot the White House?

Check out this look at our sun taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. The SDO watches the sun constantly, and it captured this image of the sun emitting a mid-level solar flare on June 25. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare can’t pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground. But when they’re intense enough, they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

Next up is this incredible view of Saturn’s rings, seen in ultraviolet by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Hinting at the origin of the rings and their evolution, this ultraviolet view indicates that there’s more ice toward the outer part of the rings than in the inner part.

Take a look at the millions of galaxies that populate the patch of sky known as the COSMOS field, short for Cosmic Evolution Survey. A portion of the COSMOS field is seen here by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Even the smallest dots in this image are galaxies, some up to 12 billion light-years away.

The picture is a combination of infrared data from Spitzer (red) and visible-light data (blue and green) from Japan’s Subaru telescope atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The brightest objects in the field are more than ten thousand times fainter than what you can see with the naked eye.

This incredible look at the Cat’s Eye nebula was taken from a composite of data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope. This famous object is a so-called planetary nebula that represents a phase of stellar evolution that the Sun should experience several billion years from now.

When a star like the Sun begins to run out of fuel, it becomes what is known as a red giant. In this phase, a star sheds some of its outer layers, eventually leaving behind a hot core that collapses to form a dense white dwarf star. A fast wind emanating from the hot core rams into the ejected atmosphere, pushes it outward, and creates the graceful filamentary structures seen with optical telescopes.

This view of the International Space Station is a composite of nine frames that captured the ISS transiting the moon at roughly five miles per second on August 2. The International Space Station is a unique place—a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and makes research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. As the third brightest object in the sky, the International Space Station is easy to see if you know when to look up. You can sign up for alerts and get information on when the International Space Station flies over you at spotthestation.nasa.gov.

Thanks for following along today as NASA shared the view from astronomy night at the White House. Remember to look up and stay curious!

President Obama’s photographer had some competition in Alaska this week—from the President himself. Go behind the lens with Pete Souza for a unique perspective on the President’s trip to Alaska, and a front-row seat to our fight against climate change.

Behind the Lens: Photographing the President in 50 Countries

by Pete Souza, Chief Official White House Photographer

Today, President Obama visits Kenya — the 50th country he has visited during his Administration. It’s also my 50th country traveling with the President.

To mark the occasion, as I did when the President visited his 50th state, I chose one photograph from each country that we’ve visited.

Traveling abroad with the President is very different.

Often times, I am at the mercy of the host country for access. Some countries are more accommodating to me than others. I am lucky to have counterpart official photographers in many countries who are extremely helpful to me in this regard. I of course try to return the help to them when they visit the White House with their head of state.

We’re also rarely in any one country for more than a couple of days, which gives us only a partial glimpse of each place. And because of security, the sites we are able to visit are often limited too.

All that said, we’ve had the incredible opportunity to visit the Pyramids in Egypt, Stonehenge in the United Kingdom, the Great Wall in China, Petra in Jordan, and the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar (Burma). (So I really shouldn’t complain too much.)

I hope you enjoy this gallery. And stay tuned — we’ll be adding a photograph from Kenya and additionally, Ethiopia, following his visit next week.

Afghanistan, 2012

Boarding Air Force One at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, May 1, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Australia, 2014

Holding a koala before the G20 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Nov. 15, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Belgium, 2014

Meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and King Philippe in Waregem, Belgium, March 26, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Brazil, 2011

Visiting the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 20, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Cambodia, 2012

Departing Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov. 20, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Canada, 2009

Waving to onlookers from the Presidential limousine near Ward Market in Ottawa, Canada, during his first foreign trip as President, February 19, 2009.

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