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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
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NASA
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Extending above the photosphere or visible surface of the Sun , the faint, tenuous solar corona can't be easily seen from Earth, but it is measured to be hundreds of times hotter than the photosphere itself. What makes the solar corona so hot? Astronomers have long sought the source of the corona's heat in magnetic fields which loft monstrous loops of solar plasma above the photosphere. Still, new and dramatically detailed observations of coronal loops from the orbiting TRACE satellite are now...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Sun, What -- Earth, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=191
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4.0K
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
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NASA
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A new chapter in space flight began in July 1950 with the launch of the first rocket from Cape Canaveral , Florida: the Bumper 2. Shown above, Bumper 2 was an ambitious two-stage rocket program that topped a V-2 missile base with a WAC Corporal rocket. The upper stage was able to reach then-record altitudes of almost 400 kilometers, higher than even modern Space Shuttles fly today. Launched under the direction of the General Electric Company, Bumper 2 was used primarily for testing rocket...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Space Shuttle Orbiter, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=385
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
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NASA
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Voyager 1 image of the clouds of Jupiter to the southeast of the Great Red Spot. This is a false color image of Jupiter, with exaggerated colors to enhance subtle variations in color and shading in order to bring out details of the cloud structure and atmospheric dynamics. (Voyager 1, P-21224) *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Voyager 1, What -- Jupiter
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2047
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902
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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Ham, the chimpanzee who took the first flight into space aboard a Mercury Redstone rocket, is greeted by a U.S. Navy officer after a 16-minute suborbital flight. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mercury
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=683
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1.2K
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
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NASA
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At first glance, Jupiter looks like it has a mild case of the measles. Five spots - one colored white, one blue, and three black are scattered across the upper half of the planet. Closer inspection by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveals that these spots are actually a rare alignment of three of Jupiter's largest moons - Io, Ganymede, and Callisto - across the planet's face. In this image, the telltale signatures of this alignment are the shadows [the three black circles] cast by the moons....
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Jupiter, What -- Hubble Space...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=3083
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A magnetosphere is that area of space, around a planet, that is controlled by the planet's magnetic field. The shape of the Earth's magnetosphere is the direct result of being blasted by solar wind. The solar wind compresses its sunward side to a distance of only 6 to 10 times the radius of the Earth. A supersonic shock wave is created sunward of Earth called the Bow Shock. Most of the solar wind particles are heated and slowed at the bow shock and detour around the Earth in the Magnetosheath....
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Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/magnetosphere2.html
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327
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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This photo composite shows an aerial view of FedEx Field in Landover, Md., home of the Washington Redskins, superimposed on Mars' Victoria Crater to give a sense of the crater's scale. Image Credit: FedEx Field: Screenshot (c) Google Inc. and reproduced with permission. Victoria Crater: NASA/JPL/UA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars, What -- Crater, Where...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=4704
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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An artist's concept portrays a NASA Mars Exploration Rover on the surface of Mars. Two rovers, Spirit and Opportunitylanded on Mars in January 2004. Each has the mobility and toolkit to function as a robotic geologist. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Cornell University/Maas Digital
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars Exploration Rover (MER),...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2209
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The sun and its atmosphere consist of several zones or layers. From the inside out, the solar interior consists of the core, the radiative zone, and the convection zone. The solar atmosphere is made up of the photosphere, the chromosphere, a transition region, and the corona. Beyond the corona is the solar wind, which is actually an outward flow of coronal gas. The sun's magnetic fields rise through the convection zone and erupt through the photosphere into the chromosphere and corona. The...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/Sunlayers.html
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403
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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An illustration of a massive asteroid crashing into Earth. The Earth may have experienced such gigantic impacts in its youth, but fortunately today there are no projectiles this large to threaten our planet. *Image Credit*: Don Davis, NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Earth
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2306
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654
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
image
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While analyzing NASA Hubble Space Telescope images of the Sagittarius dwarf irregular galaxy (SagDIG), an international team of astronomers led by Simone Marchi, Yazan Momany, and Luigi Bedin were surprised to see the trail of a faint asteroid that had drifted across the field of view during the exposures. The trail is seen as a series of 13 reddish arcs on the right in this August 2003 Advanced Camera for Surveys image. As the Hubble telescope orbits around the Earth, and the Earth moves...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Hubble Space Telescope (HST),...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=3165
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A powerful electrical storm created an eerie tapestry of light in the skies near Complex 39A in the hours preceding the launch of STS-8. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- STS-8
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1774
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384
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
image
eye 384
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The smooth dark areas on the Moon's surface are called maria (plural for mare; Latin for seas). These volcanic plains are made up of a rock type known as basalt, similar in composition to the rocks found in Hawaii. They cover 17% of the surface area of the Moon. The maria contain physical features such as pits and channels, but lack large volcanos. Features visible in this image of the western part of the lunar nearside include Mare Imbrium, Mare Humorum, Mare Nubium, and the craters Copernicus...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Moon, What -- Lunar Orbiter,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=800
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1.2K
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows "Victoria crater," an impact crater at Meridiani Planum, near the equator of Mars. The crater is approximately 800 meters (half a mile) in diameter. It has a distinctive scalloped shape to its rim, caused by erosion and downhill movement of crater wall material. Layered sedimentary rocks are exposed along the inner wall of the crater, and boulders that have fallen from the crater...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- High Resolution Imaging...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=4743
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Melba Roy headed a group of NASA mathematicians, known as "computers," who tracked early Echo satellites in Earth orbit. Roy's computations helped produce the orbital element timetables by which millions saw the satellite from Earth as it passed overhead. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Earth
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=165
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565
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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Jupiter and its four planet-size moons, called the Galilean satellites, were photographed in early March by Voyager 1 and assembled into this collage. They are not to scale but are in their relative positions. Startling new discoveries on the Galilean moons and the planet Jupiter made by Voyager 1 have been factored into a new mission design for Voyager 2. Voyager 2 will fly past Jupiter on July 9. Reddish Io (upper left) is nearest Jupiter; then Europa (center); Ganymede and Callisto (lower...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Jupiter, What -- Voyager 1,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2114
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Diagram of the layers within Earth's atmosphere. Troposphere The troposphere starts at the Earth's surface and extends 8 to 14.5 kilometers high (5 to 9 miles). This part of the atmosphere is the most dense. Almost all weather is in this region. Stratosphere The stratosphere starts just above the troposphere and extends to 50 kilometers (31 miles) high. The ozone layer, which absorbs and scatters the solar ultraviolet radiation, is in this layer. Mesosphere The mesosphere starts just above the...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/atmosphere-layers2.html
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NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took this close-up of the red planet Mars when it was just 55,760,220 km (34,648,840 miles) away. The picture was taken only 11 hours before Mars made its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years. The next closest approach is in 2287. *Image Credit*: NASA
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Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Hubble Space Telescope (HST),...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=124
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689
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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This stunning false-color view of Saturn's moon Hyperion reveals crisp details across the strange, tumbling moon's surface. Differences in color could represent differences in the composition of surface materials. The view was obtained during Cassini's close flyby on Sept. 26, 2005 . Hyperion has a notably reddish tint when viewed in natural color. The red color was toned down in this false-color view, and the other hues were enhanced, in order to make more subtle color variations across...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Moon, What -- Cassini, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=4143
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327
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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As it swooped past the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus on July 14, 2005 , Cassini acquired high resolution views of this puzzling ice world. From afar, Enceladus exhibits a bizarre mixture of softened craters and complex, fractured terrains. This large mosaic of 21 narrow-angle camera images have been arranged to provide a full-disk view of the anti-Saturn hemisphere on Enceladus. This mosaic is a false-color view that includes images taken at wavelengths from the ultraviolet to the...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Moon, What -- Enceladus, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=4023
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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What would our Milky Way galaxy look like if we could travel outside it and snap a picture? It might look a lot like a new image by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of a spiral galaxy called NGC 7331 - a virtual twin of our Milky Way. The picture shows our twin as never before. Its swirling arms spin outward from a central bulge of light, which is outlined by a ring of actively forming stars. "Being inside our galaxy makes it difficult to see what's going on in the center," said Dr....
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Spitzer Space Telescope, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2625
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The Space Shuttle Atlantis - carrying the Galileo spacecraft - soars above Florida on Oct. 18, 1989. The scene was recorded with a 70mm camera by astronaut Daniel Brandenstein. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, Who -- Daniel Brandenstein, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2063
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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Mars Global Surveyor was greeted with this view of 'Happy Face Crater' smiling back at its camera from its location on the east side of Argyre Planitia. This crater is officially known as Galle Crater, and it is about 215 kilometers (134 miles) across. The picture was taken by the MOC's red and blue wide angle cameras. The bluish-white tone is caused by wintertime frost. Illumination is from the upper left. For more information and Viking Orbiter views of "Happy Face Crater," see...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2119
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July 21, 2011: Space shuttle Atlantis landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, wrapping up the final mission of NASA's space shuttle program. At 08:27:48 UT, just 21 minutes before the deorbit burn, astrophotographer Thierry Legault captured what might be the last picture of Atlantis in space--and it was a solar transit. › Link to associated news item
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Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/20110721-atlantis-transit.html
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368
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
image
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Cassini stares deep into the swirling hurricane-like vortex at Saturn's south pole, where the vertical structure of the clouds is highlighted by shadows. Such a storm, with a well-developed eye ringed by towering clouds, is a phenomenon never before seen on another planet. This 14-frame movie shows a swirling cloud mass centered on the south pole, around which winds blow at 550 kilometers (350 miles) per hour. The frames have been aligned to make the planet appear stationary, while the sun...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Cassini, What -- Sun, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=4643
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698
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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This picture of Neptune was produced from the last whole planet images taken through the green and orange filters on the Voyager 2 narrow angle camera. The images were taken at a range of 4.4 million miles from the planet, 4 days and 20 hours before closest approach. The picture shows the Great Dark Spot and its companion bright smudge; on the west limb the fast moving bright feature called Scooter and the little dark spot are visible. These clouds were seen to persist for as long as Voyager's...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Neptune, What -- Voyager 2,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2424
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520
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Saturn appears serene and majestic in the first color composite made of images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on its approach to the ringed planet, with arrival still 20 months away. The planet was 285 million kilometers (177 million miles) away from the spacecraft, nearly twice the distance between the Sun and Earth, when Cassini took images of it in various filters as an engineering test on Oct. 21, 2002. It is summer in Saturn's southern hemisphere. The Sun is a lofty 27 degrees below...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Saturn, What -- Cassini, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2159
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163
Sep 18, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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Cassini zooms in, for the first time, on the patchy, bright and dark mountains originally identified in images from the NASA Voyager spacecraft taken more than 25 years earlier. The image was acquired during Cassini's only close flyby of Iapetus, a two-toned moon of Saturn. The terrain seen here is located on the equator of Iapetus at approximately 199 degrees west longitude, in the transition region between the moon's bright and dark hemispheres. North is up. The image was taken on Sept. 10,...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Cassini, What -- Voyager,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=5603
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Sep 18, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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Aerogel was used on the Stardust spacecraft to capture comet particles from Comet Wild 2. This image shows Dr. Peter Tsou handling the so-called "solid blue smoke." Aerogel is an incredibly light, extrtemely durable substance - .8 percent of the volume is empty space. By comparison, aerogel is 1,000 times less dense than glass, which is another silicon-based solid. When a particle hits the aerogel, it buries itself in the material, creating a carrot-shaped track up to 200 times its...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Stardust
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=197
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429
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The Luna 3 spacecraft returned the first views ever of the far side of the Moon. The first image was taken at 03:30 UT on 7 October at a distance of 63,500 km after Luna 3 had passed the Moon and looked back at the sunlit far side. The last image was taken 40 minutes later from 66,700 km. A total of 29 photographs were taken, covering 70% of the far side. The photographs were very noisy and of low resolution, but many features could be recognized. This is the first image returned by Luna 3....
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Luna 3, What -- Moon, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1963
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415
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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Cassini's climb to progressively higher elevations reveals the "negative" side of Saturn's rings. As the Sun shines through the rings, they take on the appearance of a photonegative: the dense B ring (at the center) blocks much of the incoming light, while the less dense regions scatter and transmit light. Close inspection reveals not one, but two moons in this scene. Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) is easily visible near the upper right, but the shepherd moon Prometheus...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Sun, What -- Mimas, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=3943
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Luna 2 was the second of a series of spacecraft launched in the direction of the Moon. The first spacecraft to land on the Moon, it impacted the lunar surface east of Mare Serenitatis near the Aristides, Archimedes, and Autolycus craters. Luna 2 was similar in design to Luna 1, a spherical spacecraft with protruding antennae and instrument parts. The instrumentation was also similar, including scintillation- and geiger- counters, a magnetometer, and micrometeorite detectors. The spacecraft also...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Luna 1, What -- Moon, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1891
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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The Genesis sample return capsule on the ground in Utah. The impact occurred near Granite Peak on a remote portion of the Utah Test and Training Range. No people or structures were anywhere near the area. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Genesis, Where -- Utah
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2924
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An x-class flare began at 3:48 AM EDT on August 9, 2011 and peaked at 4:05 AM. The flare burst from sun spot region AR11263, before it rotated out of view. The image here was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in extreme ultraviolet light at 131 Angstroms. This image is from the beginning of the event just before the satellite sensors were overwhelmed by energetic particles. Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA › Link to associated news item
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/20110809-x7Flare.html
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604
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
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NASA
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Magellan radar image of Wheatley crater on Venus. This 72 km diameter crater shows a radar bright ejecta pattern and a generally flat floor with some rough raised areas and faulting. The crater is located in Asteria Regio at 16.6N,267E. (Portion of Magellan C1-MIDR 15N266;1,framelets 21 and 22) *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Magellan, What -- Crater,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2029
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741
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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This is a computer-generated gravity map image of the Chicxulub Crater found on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The buried impact structure has been implicated in the mass extinction of life 65 million years ago and may be much larger than scientists first suspected. New analyses of gravity measurements in the region have turned up evidence that the feature is a multiring basin with a fourth, outer ring about 300 kilometers in diameter. At this diameter, the Chixulub Basin represents one of the...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Crater, What -- Venus, Where...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=791
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395
Sep 18, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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This oblique photograph looks south across the Aristarchus plateau. There are two prominent impact craters in the photograph. On the left is Aristarchus, 40 kilometers in diameter, and on the right is Herodotus, 35 kilometers in diameter. In the center of the photograph, between the two craters, is a feature known as Cobra's Head. Beginning at Cobra's Head, the sinuous valley that snakes its way to the right is Vallis Schroter. Vallis Schroter, which is typically 8-10 kilometers wide and more...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Apollo 15
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=797
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708
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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In 1994, during its flight, the Clementine spacecraft returned images of the Moon. In addition to the geologic mapping cameras, the Clementine spacecraft also carried two Star Tracker cameras for navigation. These lightweight (0.3 kg) cameras kept the spacecraft on track by constantly observing the positions of stars, reminiscent of the age-old seafaring tradition of sextant/star navigation. These navigation cameras were also to take some spectacular wide angle images of the Moon. In this...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Clementine, What -- Moon,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2095
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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These images of Saturn's polar aurora were taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on Jan. 24, 26, and 28. Each of the three images of Saturn combines ultraviolet images of the south polar region (to show the auroral emissions) with visible wavelength images of the planet and rings. The Hubble images were obtained during a joint campaign with NASA's Cassini spacecraft to measure the solar wind approaching Saturn and the Saturn kilometric radio emissions. The strong brightening of the aurora on...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Polar, What -- Hubble Space...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=3723
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265
Sep 18, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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A large, bright and complex convective storm that appeared in Saturn's southern hemisphere in mid-September 2004 was the key in solving a long-standing mystery about the ringed planet. Saturn's atmosphere and its rings are shown here in a false color composite made from Cassini images taken in near infrared light through filters that sense different amounts of methane gas. Portions of the atmosphere with a large abundance of methane above the clouds are red, indicating clouds that are deep in...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Cassini, What -- Huygens Probe
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=3763
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Alan Shepherd holds the distinction of being the first American to journey into space. On May 5, 1961, in the Freedom 7 spacecraft, he was launched by a Redstone vehicle on a ballistic trajectory suborbital flight--a flight which carried him to an altitude of 116 statute miles and to a landing point 302 statute miles down the Atlantic Missile Range. Born Born November 18, 1923, in East Derry, NH, Shepherd retired from the U.S. Navy at the rank of Rear Admiral. He died on July 21, 1998. He was...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1833
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284
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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True-color (LRGB) image of Comet C/2002 V1 (NEAT), obtained on 29 January 2003 (18h44-18h57UT) with 60-cm, f/3.3 Deltagraph telescope, photometric filters and CCD. Image is a composite of 3x60s B, 3x60s V and 3x60s R images added together. The light image (L) was made by adding all 9 images. Image scale is 2.49 arc sec/pixel. *Image Credit*: European Space Agency Copyright: 2003 by B. Dintinjana and J. Skvarc.
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2228
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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This map of Antarctica shows some of the places where meteorites have been found in abundance. Each year, the U.S. sponsors ANSMET (the Antarctic Search for Meteorites), a group of meteorite hunters. Money for the hunts comes from the National Science Foundation and NASA. The first ANSMET team joined Japanese explorers to hunt for meteorites in Antarctica in 1976. The Japanese had started collecting in Antarctica in 1973 and retrieved 983 meteorites in just three expeditions. More than 7500...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=847
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977, from the NASA Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida, propelled into space on a Titan/Centaur rocket. JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Voyager 2, What -- Voyager,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2113
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This dramatic view of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and its surroundings was obtained by Voyager 1 on Feb. 25, 1979, when the spacecraft was 5.7 million miles (9.2 million kilometers) from Jupiter. Cloud details as small as 100 miles (160 kilometers) across can be seen here. The colorful, wavy cloud pattern to the left of the Red Spot is a region of extraordinarily complex end variable wave motion. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Voyager mission for NASA's Office of Space Science. *Image...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Voyager 1, What -- Jupiter,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2052
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Hurtling out of the conflagration at 78 seconds are the Challenger's left wing, main engines (still burning residual propellant) and the forward fuselage (crew cabin). *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1756
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132
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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This is what Dr. Goddard wrote in his diary for March 16, 1926, which was the day he launched the first liquid-fueled rocket. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2232
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This model is an indication of the complexity of the ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere (ITM) system of planet Earth and the range of physical processes operating. Credit: NASA/J. Grobowsky
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/itm-processes.html
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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This European Southern Observatoryimage show Uranus and several of its moons in near-infrared. From top to bottom, the moons are Titania, Umbriel, Portia, Miranda, Puck and Ariel. The unidentified, round object to the left is a background star. The image scale in indicated by the bar. *Image Credit*: European Southern Observatory
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Uranus, What -- Titania, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2235
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163
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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Technicians reposition and level the Cassini orbiter in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in July 1997, after stacking the craft's upper equipment module on the propulsion module. For more images related to the mission, visit the Cassini Multimedia Gallery. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Cassini, Where -- Kennedy...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=507
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829
Apr 26, 2011
04/11
by
NASA
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The crew of STS-85 used a 35mm camera with a time exposure to record this image of the southern lights or Aurora Australis. The vertical stabilizer of the Space Shuttle Discovery appears in the foreground. Image credit: NASA
Topics: What -- STS-85, What -- Space Shuttle Orbiter
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/171269main_image_feature_776_ys_full.jpg
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Zond 3 was launched from a Tyazheliy Sputnik (65-056B) earth orbiting platform towards the moon and interplanetary space. The spacecraft was equipped with an f106 mm camera and TV system that provided automatic inflight film processing. On July 20 lunar flyby occurred approximately 33 hours after launch at a closest approach of 9200 km. 25 pictures of very good quality were taken of the lunar farside from distances of 11,570 to 9960 km over a period of 68 minutes. The photos covered 19,000,000...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Zond 2, What -- Earth, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1905
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On January 4, the Hinode satellite captured these breathtaking images of an annular solar eclipse. An annular eclipse occurs when the moon, slightly more distant from Earth than on average, moves directly between Earth and the sun, thus appearing slightly smaller to observers' eyes; the effect is a bright ring, or annulus of sunlight, around the silhouette of the moon. Hinode, a Japanese mission in partnership with NASA, NAOJ, STFC, ESA, and NSC, currently in Earth orbit, is studying the Sun to...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/010611hinode.html
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361
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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An enormous magnetic loop of hot gases creates a glowing handle on the Sun. The June 9 'prominence' was caused by explosive instabilities in the Sun's magnetic field.
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Sun
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=106
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311
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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The NASA Deep Space Network - or DSN - is an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe. The network also supports selected Earth-orbiting missions. The DSN currently consists of three deep-space communications facilities placed approximately 120 degrees apart around the world: at Goldstone, in California's Mojave Desert; near Madrid, Spain; and near...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Deep Space Network, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=202
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Reproduction of the first daguerrotype of the Sun. The original image was a little over 12 centimeters in diameter. According to the Paul Charbonneau of the National Science Foundation's High Altitude Observatory, this photo was made on April, 2 1845 by French physicists Louis Fizeau (1819-1896) and Lion Foucault (1819-1868). Image reproduced from G. De Vaucouleurs, Astronomical Photography, MacMillan, 1961 [plate 1]. *Image Credit*: National Science Foundation, High Altitude Observatory
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Sun
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2243
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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A bizarre six-sided feature encircling the north pole of Saturn near 78 degrees north latitude has been spied by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer on NASA's Cassini spacecraft. This image is one of the first clear images ever taken of the north polar region as seen from a unique polar perspective. Originally discovered and last observed by a spacecraft during NASA's Voyager flybys of the early 1980's, the new views of this polar hexagon taken in late 2006 prove that this is an...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Saturn, What -- Visual and...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=4803
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Luna 1 was the first spacecraft to reach the Moon, and the first of a series of Soviet automatic interplanetary stations successfully launched in the direction of the Moon. The spacecraft was sphere-shaped. Five antennae extended from one hemisphere. Instrument ports also protruded from the surface of the sphere. There were no propulsion systems on the Luna 1 spacecraft itself. Because of its high velocity and its announced package of various metallic emblems with the Soviet coat of arms, it...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Luna 1, What -- Moon, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1894
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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A high-resolution TIFF file of this image is available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04869. Details in a fan-shaped deposit discovered by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter provide evidence that some ancient rivers on Mars flowed for a long time, not just in brief, intense floods. The apron of debris filling the middle of this picture from the spacecraft's Mars Orbiter Camera is a hardened and eroded distributory fan, a type of geological feature that includes river deltas and...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=344
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Voyager 2 was launched August 20, 1977, sixteen days before Voyager 1 aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket. Their different flight trajectories caused Voyager 2 to arrive at Jupiter four months later than Voyager 1, thus explaining their numbering. The initial mission plan for Voyager 2 specified visits only to Jupiter and Saturn. The plan was augmented in 1981 to include a visit to Uranus, and again in 1985 to include a flyby of Neptune. After completing the tour of the outer planets in 1989, the...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Voyager 1, What -- Titan,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1807
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Jupiter casts a baleful eye toward the moon Ganymede in this enhanced-contrast image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Jupiter's "eye', the Great Red Spot, was captured just before disappearing around the eastern edge of the planet. The furrowed eyebrow above and to the left of the spot is a turbulent wake region caused by westward flow that has been deflected to the north and around the Red Spot. The smallest features visible are about 240 kilometers (150 miles) across. Within the band...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Jupiter, What -- Moon, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2156
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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The Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on New Horizons captured another dramatic picture of Jupiter's moon Io and its volcanic plumes, 19 hours after the spacecraft's closest approach to Jupiter on Feb. 28, 2007. LORRI took this 75 millisecond exposure at 0035 Universal Time on March 1, 2007, when Io was 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from the spacecraft. Io's dayside is deliberately overexposed to bring out faint details in the plumes and on the moon's night side. The...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Long Range Reconnaissance...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=5043
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Aerial view of the STS-2 Columbia launch from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, taken by astronaut John Young aboard NASA's Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA). *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, Who -- John Young, What -- Columbia,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1755
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Kitty Joyner, electrical engineer, at Langley in 1952. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1777
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
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NASA
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favorite 6
comment 0
5th Grade
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- COMETS
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=19
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
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NASA
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Mariner 10's first image of Mercury acquired on March 24, 1974. During its flight, Mariner 10's trajectory brought it behind the lighted hemisphere of Mercury, where this image was taken, in order to acquire important measurements with other instruments. This picture was acquired from a distance of 3,340,000 miles (5,380,000 km) from the surface of Mercury. The diameter of Mercury (3,031 miles; 4,878 km) is about 1/3 that of Earth. Images of Mercury were acquired in two steps, an inbound leg...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mariner 10, What -- Mercury,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2096
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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This enhanced-color view shows gullies in an unnamed crater in the Terra Sirenum region of Mars. It is a sub-image from a larger view imaged by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Oct. 3, 2006. This scene is about 254 meters (about 830 feet) wide. The upper and left regions of this scene are in shadow, yet color variations are still apparent. The high signal to noise ratio of the HiRISE camera allows for colors to be...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Crater, What -- Terra, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=4725
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These two images, taken 11 hours apart with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, reveal two nearly opposite sides of Mars. Hubble snapped these photos as the red planet was making its closest approach to Earth in almost 60,000 years. Mars completed nearly one half a rotation between the two observations. *Image Credit*: NASA, J. Bell (Cornell U.) and M. Wolff (SSI) Additional image processing and analysis support from: K. Noll and A. Lubenow (STScI); M. Hubbard (Cornell U.); R. Morris (NASA/JSC); P....
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Hubble Space Telescope (HST),...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1868
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A trail of smoke is all that identifies the Delta II rocket with the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit aboard as it hurtles into space. Liftoff occurred on time at 1:58 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Spirit was the first of two rovers launched to Mars in the summer of 2003. Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, landed on opposite sides of the planet in January 2004. The rovers see sharper images, can explore farther and examine rocks better than anything that has...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars Exploration Rover (MER),...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1881
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95
Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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The power of the Keck telescope's adaptive optics system is clear in this image of Uranus, its rings and the moon Miranda. The two sets of exposures compare Keck AO system off (left) to Keck AO system on (right). Upper: Uranus, its rings and moon Miranda at near infrared wavelengths of 2.2 microns. Lower: Uranus and its atmospheric details as seen in near infrared wavelengths of 1.6 microns. The image has been doubled in size. Date is Universal Time. *Image Credit*:Heidi Hammel, Space Science...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Keck Observatory, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=3164
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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The Imbrium Basin is the largest basin on the nearside of the Moon, with a diameter of 1,160 kilometers (the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the farside is twice as large). The Imbrium Basin is also the second youngest basin on the Moon. Based on samples returned by Apollo 15, it formed about 3.85 billion years ago. It was subsequently filled in with volcanic basalt lava seen in this image as the dark areas. This image - taken by NASA's Lunar Orbiter 4 - provides an overview of the Mare Imbrium...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Moon, What -- Apollo 15, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=795
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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A team of scientists have made the first full-rotational Earth-based observations of asteroid (511) Davida. The asteroid measures 320 km (200 miles) in diameter. These images are among the first high-resolution shots of large asteroids.
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Earth
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=142
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From its orbit around Earth, the Goddard Space Flight Center's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) captured this edge-on view of our Milky Way galaxy in infrared light, a form of radiation that humans cannot see but can feel in the form of heat, as part of its mission to test the "Big Bang" theory of the creation of the universe. The theory, first proposed in 1927 by Belgian cosmologist Georges Lematre, holds that the universe began as an incredibly dense "primeval atom" that...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Earth, What -- Explorer, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1799
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Venera 14 was identical to its twin, Venera 13. The spacecraft carried out three midcourse corrections on the way to Venus: on 14 November 1981, 23 November 1981, and 25 February 1982. Russian sources indicate that one of the corrections was incorrect (probably the first) and could have jeopardized the mission. The lander probe separated from its flyby parent on 3 March 1982 before the entry cycle began. The probe's main parachute opened at an altitude of 62 to 63 kilometers, thus activating...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Venera 13, What -- Venus,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=3523
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Sep 17, 2009
09/09
by
NASA
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Since SOHO in its halo orbit was a bit "ahead" of Earth at the time, Mercury's shadow caught up with SOHO a little later than with observers on Earth. The transit itself started at 7:48 UT and ended at 13:16 UT; Mercury was, however, visible in EIT images against the extended corona for some hours before and after. Three instruments made a series of special observations: MDI took a series of full disk continuum images at varying focus positions during the entire transit, in order to...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- SOHO, What -- Earth, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=324
