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2005 Ozone Hole
Title 2005 Ozone Hole
Description The year 2005 marks the twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the ozone hole and the first full year that NASA's Aura satellite has provided detailed images of the hole. Aura was launched in 2004 to monitor the Earth's atmosphere, including the health of the delicate ozone layer. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument on Aura collected the data used to create this image on September 11, 2005, when the ozone hole covered 27 million square kilometers—its peak size for the season. Deep blue shows where ozone levels were low enough to be considered part of the ozone hole. New research shows that the ozone layer may be slower in recovering than previously thought. Ozone is a highly reactive colorless gas that contains three oxygen atoms. Near the surface of the Earth, ozone is hazardous to human health, causing problems like lung irritation, but high in the atmosphere, ozone acts as a crucial shield that absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The ozone hole is not an actual hole, but a place in the atmosphere where the protective layer of ozone has worn thin. In 1985, Joseph Farman, Brian Gardiner, and Jonathan Shanklin discovered in the ozone hole over Antarctica. In the following two years, scientists confirmed that human-produced chemicals, chlorofluorocarbons, used in refrigeration and propellant devices, were causing the hole. Chlorofluorocarbons contain high levels of chlorine, which breaks free from the larger molecules in the bitter cold and darkness of Antarctic and Arctic winter. Through a series of chemical reactions, the free chlorine becomes a two-atom molecule of chlorine gas. When sunlight returns, the chlorine gas disintegrates into separate chlorine atoms, which catalyze the destruction of atmospheric ozone. Though the production of chlorofluorocarbons was restricted in 1987, reservoirs of the chemicals in existing refrigerators and air conditioners are still emitting ozone-depleting chemicals into the atmosphere at higher levels than predicted, new measurements show. The extra chemicals may delay the recovery of the ozone hole until about 2065. Previous models predicted a recovery of the ozone layer by 2050. These results were announced on December 6, 2005, at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. To read more, see Ozone Hole: Prospects for Recovery [ http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2005/ozone_recovery.html ] on the NASA Goddard News web page. To read more about the ozone hole and NASA's mission to study it, check out Ozone Hole Watch [ http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts/hole.html ]. The site also contains daily images of the ozone hole as measured by Aura's Ozone Monitoring Instrument. NASA image and animations courtesy GSFC Ozone Processing Team, [ http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] based on data provided by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument [ http://www.knmi.nl/omi/publ-en/news/index.html ] (OMI)
2005 Ozone Hole
Title 2005 Ozone Hole
Description The year 2005 marks the twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the ozone hole and the first full year that NASA's Aura satellite has provided detailed images of the hole. Aura was launched in 2004 to monitor the Earth's atmosphere, including the health of the delicate ozone layer. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument on Aura collected the data used to create this image on September 11, 2005, when the ozone hole covered 27 million square kilometers—its peak size for the season. Deep blue shows where ozone levels were low enough to be considered part of the ozone hole. New research shows that the ozone layer may be slower in recovering than previously thought. Ozone is a highly reactive colorless gas that contains three oxygen atoms. Near the surface of the Earth, ozone is hazardous to human health, causing problems like lung irritation, but high in the atmosphere, ozone acts as a crucial shield that absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The ozone hole is not an actual hole, but a place in the atmosphere where the protective layer of ozone has worn thin. In 1985, Joseph Farman, Brian Gardiner, and Jonathan Shanklin discovered in the ozone hole over Antarctica. In the following two years, scientists confirmed that human-produced chemicals, chlorofluorocarbons, used in refrigeration and propellant devices, were causing the hole. Chlorofluorocarbons contain high levels of chlorine, which breaks free from the larger molecules in the bitter cold and darkness of Antarctic and Arctic winter. Through a series of chemical reactions, the free chlorine becomes a two-atom molecule of chlorine gas. When sunlight returns, the chlorine gas disintegrates into separate chlorine atoms, which catalyze the destruction of atmospheric ozone. Though the production of chlorofluorocarbons was restricted in 1987, reservoirs of the chemicals in existing refrigerators and air conditioners are still emitting ozone-depleting chemicals into the atmosphere at higher levels than predicted, new measurements show. The extra chemicals may delay the recovery of the ozone hole until about 2065. Previous models predicted a recovery of the ozone layer by 2050. These results were announced on December 6, 2005, at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. To read more, see Ozone Hole: Prospects for Recovery [ http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2005/ozone_recovery.html ] on the NASA Goddard News web page. To read more about the ozone hole and NASA's mission to study it, check out Ozone Hole Watch [ http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts/hole.html ]. The site also contains daily images of the ozone hole as measured by Aura's Ozone Monitoring Instrument. NASA image and animations courtesy GSFC Ozone Processing Team, [ http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] based on data provided by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument [ http://www.knmi.nl/omi/publ-en/news/index.html ] (OMI)
2005 Ozone Hole
Title 2005 Ozone Hole
Description The year 2005 marks the twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the ozone hole and the first full year that NASA's Aura satellite has provided detailed images of the hole. Aura was launched in 2004 to monitor the Earth's atmosphere, including the health of the delicate ozone layer. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument on Aura collected the data used to create this image on September 11, 2005, when the ozone hole covered 27 million square kilometers—its peak size for the season. Deep blue shows where ozone levels were low enough to be considered part of the ozone hole. New research shows that the ozone layer may be slower in recovering than previously thought. Ozone is a highly reactive colorless gas that contains three oxygen atoms. Near the surface of the Earth, ozone is hazardous to human health, causing problems like lung irritation, but high in the atmosphere, ozone acts as a crucial shield that absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The ozone hole is not an actual hole, but a place in the atmosphere where the protective layer of ozone has worn thin. In 1985, Joseph Farman, Brian Gardiner, and Jonathan Shanklin discovered in the ozone hole over Antarctica. In the following two years, scientists confirmed that human-produced chemicals, chlorofluorocarbons, used in refrigeration and propellant devices, were causing the hole. Chlorofluorocarbons contain high levels of chlorine, which breaks free from the larger molecules in the bitter cold and darkness of Antarctic and Arctic winter. Through a series of chemical reactions, the free chlorine becomes a two-atom molecule of chlorine gas. When sunlight returns, the chlorine gas disintegrates into separate chlorine atoms, which catalyze the destruction of atmospheric ozone. Though the production of chlorofluorocarbons was restricted in 1987, reservoirs of the chemicals in existing refrigerators and air conditioners are still emitting ozone-depleting chemicals into the atmosphere at higher levels than predicted, new measurements show. The extra chemicals may delay the recovery of the ozone hole until about 2065. Previous models predicted a recovery of the ozone layer by 2050. These results were announced on December 6, 2005, at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. To read more, see Ozone Hole: Prospects for Recovery [ http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2005/ozone_recovery.html ] on the NASA Goddard News web page. To read more about the ozone hole and NASA's mission to study it, check out Ozone Hole Watch [ http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts/hole.html ]. The site also contains daily images of the ozone hole as measured by Aura's Ozone Monitoring Instrument. NASA image and animations courtesy GSFC Ozone Processing Team, [ http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] based on data provided by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument [ http://www.knmi.nl/omi/publ-en/news/index.html ] (OMI)
Breakup of the World's Large …
Title Breakup of the World's Largest Iceberg
Description Iceberg B-15A was the largest iceberg in the world (measuring about 11,000 square kilometers) when it broke away from Western Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. It held that distinction for over three years until splitting into two pieces in early October, 2003. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) acquired these views of the new iceberg B-15J (resting against Ross Island) and B-15A (now free to drift into the Southern Ocean) on October 26. Several massive icebergs (including B-15A) had migrated during 2000 and 2001 and ground against Ross Island [ http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/galhistory/2002_jan_02.html ], forming a barrier that influenced wind and current patterns and altered the regional ecology. The two images provide information on both the spectral and angular reflectance properties of ice types in the region. The left-hand panel is a false-color view from MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera in which near-infrared, red and blue spectral data are displayed as red, green, and blue, respectively. Because of the tendency of water to absorb near-infrared wavelengths, some ice types exhibit an especially bright blue hue in this display. The right-hand panel is a multi-angular composite from three MISR cameras, in which color acts as a proxy for angular reflectance variations related to texture. Here, data from the red-band of MISR's 60 degree forward-viewing, nadir, and 60 degree backward-viewing cameras are displayed as red, green, and blue, respectively. In the southern latitudes, MISR's backward-pointing cameras receive a stronger signal from surfaces that predominantly forward scatter sunlight (these tend to be smooth surfaces), and MISR's forward-pointing cameras receive a stronger signal from surfaces that predominantly backscatter sunlight (these tend to be rougher surfaces). Thus, the colors in this representation highlight textural properties of elements within the scene, with blue tones indicating smoother surfaces and red/orange hues indicating rougher surfaces. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire Earth between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. The MISR Browse Image Viewer [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/MISRBR/ ] provides access to low-resolution true-color versions of these images. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 20511. The panels cover an area of 129 kilometers x 221 kilometers, and utilize data from blocks 153 to 155 within World Reference System-2 path 56. Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]. Text by Clare Averill (Raytheon/JPL).
Breakup of the World's Large …
Title Breakup of the World's Largest Iceberg
Description Iceberg B-15A was the largest iceberg in the world (measuring about 11,000 square kilometers) when it broke away from Western Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. It held that distinction for over three years until splitting into two pieces in early October, 2003. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) acquired these views of the new iceberg B-15J (resting against Ross Island) and B-15A (now free to drift into the Southern Ocean) on October 26. Several massive icebergs (including B-15A) had migrated during 2000 and 2001 and ground against Ross Island [ http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/galhistory/2002_jan_02.html ], forming a barrier that influenced wind and current patterns and altered the regional ecology. The two images provide information on both the spectral and angular reflectance properties of ice types in the region. The left-hand panel is a false-color view from MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera in which near-infrared, red and blue spectral data are displayed as red, green, and blue, respectively. Because of the tendency of water to absorb near-infrared wavelengths, some ice types exhibit an especially bright blue hue in this display. The right-hand panel is a multi-angular composite from three MISR cameras, in which color acts as a proxy for angular reflectance variations related to texture. Here, data from the red-band of MISR's 60 degree forward-viewing, nadir, and 60 degree backward-viewing cameras are displayed as red, green, and blue, respectively. In the southern latitudes, MISR's backward-pointing cameras receive a stronger signal from surfaces that predominantly forward scatter sunlight (these tend to be smooth surfaces), and MISR's forward-pointing cameras receive a stronger signal from surfaces that predominantly backscatter sunlight (these tend to be rougher surfaces). Thus, the colors in this representation highlight textural properties of elements within the scene, with blue tones indicating smoother surfaces and red/orange hues indicating rougher surfaces. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire Earth between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. The MISR Browse Image Viewer [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/MISRBR/ ] provides access to low-resolution true-color versions of these images. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 20511. The panels cover an area of 129 kilometers x 221 kilometers, and utilize data from blocks 153 to 155 within World Reference System-2 path 56. Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]. Text by Clare Averill (Raytheon/JPL).
3C175: Quasar Cannon
Title 3C175: Quasar Cannon
Explanation 3C175 is not only a quasar, it is a galaxy-fueled particle cannon. Visible as the central dot is quasar [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/96/35/quasar.html ] 3C175, the active center of a galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961125.html ] so distant [ http://isaac.exploratorium.edu/~pauld/activities/astronomy/cityuniversesize.html ] that the light we see from it was emitted when the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001127.html ] was just forming [ http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/niel/scales/geohist1.ascii ]. The above image [ http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~abridle/3c175.htm ] was recorded in radio waves [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html ] by an array of house-sized telescopes called the Very Large Array [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000530.html ] (VLA). Shooting out from 3C175 is a thin jet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000706.html ] of protons [ http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/particles/proton.html ] and electrons [ http://www.aip.org/history/electron/ ] traveling near the speed of light [ http://www.what-is-the-speed-of-light.com/ ] that is over one million light-years [ http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html ] long. The jet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000619.html ] acts like a particle cannon [ http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/ll_wendwar.html ] and bores through gas cloud in its path. How this jet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010816.html ] forms and why it is so narrow remain topics of current [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?1994AJ....108..766B ] research [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1999ApJ...511...84H ].
Antarctic Temperature Trend …
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle …
(Editor's note: This image w …
antarctic_temps.AVH1982-2004
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2006-04-27
creator NASA -- NASA image based on data provided by Josefino Comiso, NASA-GSFC.
identifier antarctic_temps.AVH1982-2004
Breakup of the World's Large …
PIA04344
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title Breakup of the World's Largest Iceberg
Original Caption Released with Image Iceberg B-15A was the largest iceberg in the world (measuring about 11,000 square kilometers) when it broke away from Western Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. It held that distinction for over three years until splitting into two pieces in early October, 2003. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) acquired these views of the new iceberg B-15J (resting against Ross Island) and B-15A (now free to drift into the Southern Ocean) on October 26. Several massive icebergs (including B-15A) had migrated during 2000 and 2001 and ground against Ross Island [ http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/galhistory/2002_jan_02.html ], forming a barrier that influenced wind and current patterns and altered the regional ecology. The two images provide information on both the spectral and angular reflectance properties of ice types in the region. The left-hand panel is a false-color view from MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera in which near-infrared, red and blue spectral data are displayed as red, green and blue, respectively. Because of the tendency of water to absorb near-infrared wavelengths, some ice types exhibit an especially bright blue hue in this display. The right-hand panel is a multi-angular composite from three MISR cameras, in which color acts as a proxy for angular reflectance variations related to texture. Here, data from the red-band of MISR's 60° forward-viewing, nadir, and 60° backward-viewing cameras are displayed as red, green and blue, respectively. In the southern latitudes, MISR's backward-pointing cameras receive a stronger signal from surfaces that predominantly forward scatter sunlight (these tend to be smooth surfaces), and MISR's forward-pointing cameras receive a stronger signal from surfaces that predominantly backscatter sunlight (these tend to be rougher surfaces). Thus, the colors in this representation highlight textural properties of elements within the scene, with blue tones indicating smoother surfaces and red/orange hues indicating rougher surfaces. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire Earth between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 20511. The panels cover an area of 129 kilometers x 221 kilometers, and utilize data from blocks 153 to 155 within World Reference System-2 path 56. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
Mars Researchers Rendezvous …
PIA03714
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title Mars Researchers Rendezvous on Remote Arctic Island
Original Caption Released with Image Devon Island is situated in an isolated part of Canada's Nunavut Territory, and is usually considered to be the largest uninhabited island in the world. However, each summer since 1999, researchers from NASA's Haughton-Mars Project and the Mars Society reside at this "polar desert" location to study the geologic and environmental characteristics of a site which is considered to be an excellent "Mars analog": a terrestrial location wherein specific conditions approximate environmental features reported on Mars. Base camps established amidst the rocks and rubble surrounding the Haughton impact crater enable researchers to conduct surveys designed to test the habitat, equipment and technology that may be deployed during a human mission to Mars. One of the many objectives of the project scientists is to understand the ice formations around the Haughton area, in the hopes that this might ultimately assist with the recognition of areas where ice can be found at shallow depth on Mars. These images of Devon Island from NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument provide contrasting views of the spectral and angular reflectance "signatures" of different surfaces within the region. The top panel is a natural color view created with data from the red, green and blue-bands of MISR's nadir (vertical-viewing) camera. The bottom panel is a false-color multiangular composite of the same area, utilizing red band data from MISR's 60-degree backward, nadir, and 60-degree forward-viewing cameras, displayed as red, green and blue, respectively. In this representation, colors highlight textural properties of elements within the scene, with blue tones indicating smooth surfaces (which preferentially forward scatter sunlight) and red hues indicating rougher surfaces (which preferentially backscatter). The angular reflectance "signature" of low clouds causes them to appear purple, and this visualization provides a unique way of distinguishing clouds from snow and ice. The data were captured on June 28, 2001, during the early part of the arctic summer, when sea ice becomes thinner and begins to move depending upon localized currents and winds. In winter the entire region is locked with several meters of nearly motionless sea ice, which acts as a thermodynamic barrier to the loss of heat from the comparatively warm ocean to the colder atmosphere. Summer melting of sea ice can be observed at the two large, dark regions of open water, one is present in the Jones Sound (near the top to the left of center), and another appears in the Wellington Channel (left-hand edge). A large crack caused by tidal heaving has broken the ice cover over the Parry Channel (lower right-hand corner). A substantial ice cap permanently occupies the easternmost third of the island (upper right). Surface features such as dendritic meltwater channels incised into the island's surface are apparent. The Haughton-Mars project site is located slightly to the left and above image, center, in an area which appears with relatively little surface ice, near the island's inner "elbow." The images were acquired during Terra orbit 8132 and cover an area of about 334 kilometers x 229 kilometers. They utilize data from blocks 27 to 31 within World Reference System-2 path 42. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
Clouds and Ice of the Lamber …
PIA03734
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR …
Title Clouds and Ice of the Lambert-Amery System, East Antarctica
Original Caption Released with Image These views from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) illustrate ice surface textures and cloud-top heights over the Amery Ice Shelf/Lambert Glacier system in East Antarctica on October 25, 2002. The left-hand panel is a natural-color view from MISR's downward-looking (nadir) camera. The center panel is a multi-angular composite from three MISR cameras, in which color acts as a proxy for angular reflectance variations related to texture. Here, data from the red-band of MISR's 60° forward-viewing, nadir and 60° backward-viewing cameras are displayed as red, green and blue, respectively. With this display technique, surfaces which predominantly exhibit backward-scattering (generally rough surfaces) appear red/orange, while surfaces which predominantly exhibit forward-scattering (generally smooth surfaces) appear blue. Textural variation for both the grounded and sea ice are apparent. The red/orange pixels in the lower portion of the image correspond with a rough and crevassed region near the grounding zone, that is, the area where the Lambert and four other smaller glaciers merge and the ice starts to float as it forms the Amery Ice Shelf. In the natural-color view, this rough ice is spectrally blue in color. Clouds exhibit both forward and backward-scattering properties in the middle panel and thus appear purple, in distinct contrast with the underlying ice and snow. An additional multi-angular technique for differentiating clouds from ice is shown in the right-hand panel, which is a stereoscopically derived height field retrieved using automated pattern recognition involving data from multiple MISR cameras. Areas exhibiting insufficient spatial contrast for stereoscopic retrieval are shown in dark gray. Clouds are apparent as a result of their heights above the surface terrain. Polar clouds are an important factor in weather and climate. Inadequate characterization of cloud properties is currently responsible for large uncertainties in climate prediction models. Identification of polar clouds, mapping of their distributions, and retrieval of their heights provide information that will help to reduce this uncertainty. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire Earth between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 15171. The panels cover an area of 380 kilometers x 984 kilometers, and utilize data from blocks 145 to 151 within World Reference System-2 path 127. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
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