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Crater of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) from 2004
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Approaching Titan Again
| Description |
Approaching Titan Again |
| Full Description |
Titan presented this face as the Cassini spacecraft approached for its second very close flyby of the mystery moon in December 2004. Prominent in the center of the image is Xanadu, a broad bright area on Titan first seen by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in the mid-1990s. The region seen a few hours later during this Cassini encounter at higher resolution has just started to rotate into view on the left when this image was taken. Regions on the right (east) in this image had not been seen clearly before. Other interesting features in this image, first seen by Cassini, include a bright 560-kilometer wide (345 mile) semi-circle in the lower right of Xanadu which may be an impact structure, and a confirmed crater with multiple concentric rings (near the upper right). The inner, dark circular feature in this crater is 300 +/- 20 kilometers (186 +/- 12 miles) in diameter. Below Xanadu, two bright, linear clouds can be seen at about 38 degrees south latitude, these clouds were seen to dissipate a few hours later. Surprisingly, no clouds were seen near the south pole, as had been seen during the October close encounter (see PIA06124) and during the July distant encounter (see PIA06110). This image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 10, 2004 at a distance of 1,746,000 kilometers (1,082,500 miles) and has a scale of 10.4 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel. A special filter in the near-infrared at 938 nanometers was used for this image. The image was processed to enhance surface features and sharpen boundaries. Some artifacts, like the false shadow around the bright streaked cloud, are a result of the processing. [This caption was modified on March 16, 2005.] The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org . *Credit:* NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Iapetus Thermal Radiation Im
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| Description |
Iapetus Thermal Radiation Image |
| Full Description |
This image of the infrared heat radiation from Saturn's moon Iapetus was obtained by the Cassini composite infrared spectrometer instrument 16 hours before Cassini's closest approach to this mysterious moon, on December 31, 2004. The thermal radiation is shown as both a grayscale image, equivalent to what we would see if our eyes were sensitive to infrared wavelengths near 15 microns, and as a color-coded temperature map. A previously-released mosaic obtained by Cassini's imaging camera shortly before the composite infrared spectrometer observation, with similar scale and orientation, is also shown for comparison. Temperatures reach nearly 130 Kelvin (-226 Fahrenheit) at noon on the equator on the dark material that covers most of this side of Iapetus, making high noon on Iapetus's dark side probably the warmest places in the Saturn system. This is much warmer than temperatures on another Saturnian moon, Phoebe, measured by composite infrared spectrometer in June 2004. Those Phoebe temperature measurements peaked near 112 Kelvin (-258 Fahrenheit), because though Phoebe is almost as dark as Iapetus's dark material and absorbs nearly as much sunlight, Phoebe rotates much more quickly (once every 9 hours, compared to 79 days for Iapetus). That means the surface has less time to heat up during the day. Temperatures on Iapetus's bright material are much colder, peaking near 100 Kelvin (-280 Fahrenheit), both because the bright material absorbs less sunlight and because it is further from the equator on this side of Iapetus. Temperatures in the large crater near the center of the disc are slightly different from those in surrounding areas, because sloping surfaces within the crater are warmer where they are tilted towards the Sun and cooler when tilted away from the Sun. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The composite infrared spectrometer team is based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the instrument team's home page, http://cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov/. *Credit*: NASA/JPL/GSFC |
| Date |
January 10, 2005 |
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Phoebian Explorers 2
| Description |
Phoebian Explorers 2 |
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These two montages of images of Saturn's moon Phoebe, taken by Cassini in June 2004, show the names provisionally assigned to 24 craters on this Saturnian satellite by the International Astronomical Union. The craters are named for the Argonauts, explorers of Greek mythology who sought the golden fleece. Argo was the name of their ship. The largest crater, approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) across, is named after the leading Argonaut, Jason. Phoebe is an outer moon of Saturn and is 220 kilometers (136 miles) across. The two-image montage (See Phoebian Explorers 1) displays mosaics made of individual, very high resolution images: 80 meters (260 feet) per pixel on the left, 200 meters (660 feet) per pixel on the right. This montage shows eight images of much lower resolution, ranging from 0.5 to 1 kilometer (0.3 to 0.6 mile) per pixel. The images in this montage show Phoebe as it rotated, and include regions of the moon not visible in the higher resolution montage. The images have been slightly rescaled from their original formats and contrast-enhanced. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . For images visit the Cassini imaging team home page http://ciclops.org . *Credit:* NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
February 24, 2005 |
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Phoebian Explorers 1
| Description |
Phoebian Explorers 1 |
| Full Description |
These two montages of images of Saturn's moon Phoebe, taken by Cassini in June 2004, show the names provisionally assigned to 24 craters on this Saturnian satellite by the International Astronomical Union. The craters are named for the Argonauts, explorers of Greek mythology who sought the golden fleece. Argo was the name of their ship. The largest crater, approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) across, is named after the leading Argonaut, Jason. Phoebe is an outer moon of Saturn and is 220 kilometers (136 miles) across. The two-image montage displays mosaics made of individual, very high resolution images: 80 meters (260 feet) per pixel on the left, 200 meters (660 feet) per pixel on the right. The other montage (see Phoebian Explorers 2) shows eight images of much lower resolution, ranging from 0.5 to 1 kilometer (0.3 to 0.6 mile) per pixel. The images in this montage show Phoebe as it rotated, and include regions of the moon not visible in the higher resolution montage. The images have been slightly rescaled from their original formats and contrast-enhanced. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . For images visit the Cassini imaging team home page http://ciclops.org . *Credit:* NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
February 24, 2005 |
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New Titan Territory
| Description |
New Titan Territory |
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Although the Huygens probe has now pierced the murky skies of Titan and landed on its surface, much of the moon remains for the Cassini spacecraft to explore. Titan continues to present exciting puzzles. This view of Titan uncovers new territory not previously seen at this resolution by Cassini's cameras. The view is a composite of four nearly identical wide-angle camera images, all taken using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 939 nanometers. The individual images have been combined and contrast-enhanced in such a way as to sharpen surface features and enhance overall brightness variations. Some of the territory in this view was covered by observations made by the Cassini synthetic aperture radar in October 2004 and February 2005. At large scales, there are similarities between the views taken by the imaging science subsystem cameras and the radar results, but there also are differences. For example, the center of the floor of the approximately 80-kilometer-wide (50-mile) crater identified by the radar team in February (near the center in this image, see PIA07368 for the radar image) is relatively bright at 2.2 centimeters, the wavelength of the radar experiment, but dark in the near-infrared wavelengths used here by Cassini's optical cameras. This brightness difference is also apparent for some of the surrounding material and could indicate differences in surface composition or roughness. Such comparisons, as well as information from observations acquired by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer at the same time as the optical camera observations, are important in trying to understand the nature of Titan's surface materials. The images for this composite view were taken with the Cassini spacecraft on March 31, 2005, at distances ranging from approximately 146,000 to 130,000 kilometers (91,000 to 81,000 miles) from Titan and at a Sun-Titan-spacecraft, or phase, angle of about 57 degrees. The image scale is 8 kilometers (5 miles) per pixel. Previous observations indicate that, due to Titan's thick, hazy atmosphere, the sizes of surface features that can be resolved are a few times larger than the actual pixel scale. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org |
| Date |
April 5, 2005 |
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Titan Mosaic - East of Xanad
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| Description |
Titan Mosaic - East of Xanadu |
| Full Description |
During a close flyby of Titan on March 31, 2005, Cassini's cameras got their best view to date of the region east of the bright Xanadu Region. This mosaic consists of several frames taken by the narrow-angle camera (smaller frames) put together with an image taken by the wide-angle camera filling in the background. It reveals new detail of dark expanses and the surrounding brighter terrain. Some of the features seen here are reminiscent of those seen elsewhere on Titan, but the images also reveal new features, which Cassini scientists are working to understand. In the center of the image (and figure A at bottom) lies a bright area completely surrounded by darker material. The northern boundary of the bright "island" is relatively sharp and has a jagged profile, resembling the now-familiar boundary on the western side of Xanadu (see Titan Mosaic: December 2004 ). The profile of the southern boundary is similar. However, streamers of bright material extend southeastward into the dark terrain. At the eastern end of the bright "island" lies a region with complex interconnected dark and bright regions (see figure B). To the south, the bright terrain is cut by fairly straight dark lines. Their linearity and apparently angular intersections suggest a tectonic influence, similar to features in seen in the bright terrain west of Xanadu (see Titan Mosaic: October 2004). The camera's near-infrared observations cover ground that was also seen by Cassini's synthetic aperture radar in October 2004 and February 2005. Toward the northeastern edge of the dark material a dark, circular spot in the middle of a bright feature (see figure C) is an approximately 80-kilometer-wide (50-mile) crater identified in the February 2005 radar data (see Impact Crater with Ejecta Blanket for the radar image). The resolution of this new image is lower but sufficient to reveal important similarities and differences between the two observations. Part of the crater floor is quite dark compared to the surrounding material at near-infrared wavelengths. This observation is consistent with the hypothesis that the dark material consists of complex hydrocarbons that have precipitated from the atmosphere and collected in areas of low elevation. At radar wavelengths the crater floor is much more uniform and there also are brightness differences seen by these two instruments outside of the crater. Such comparisons give Cassini scientists important clues about the roughness and composition of the surface material on Titan. Another interesting comparison is the "dark terrain" with small bright features as seen by the radar (see Dark Terrain) and the essentially inverted pattern (bright with small dark features) seen by the imaging science subsystem cameras. In the mosaic, this area is in the top left narrow-angle camera image. Within the bright terrain at the top of the mosaic, just left of center, lies a very intriguing feature: a strikingly dark spot from which diffuse dark, material appears to extend to the northeast. The origin of this feature is not yet known, but it, too, lies within the radar image, Cassini scientists will thus be able to study it using these complementary observations. The mosaic is centered on a region at 1 degree north latitude, 21 degree west longitude on Titan. The Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera images were taken using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light and were acquired at distances ranging from approximately 148,300 to 112,800 kilometers (92,100 to 70,100 miles) from Titan. Resolution in the images is about 1 to 2 kilometers (0.6 to 1.2 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
April 8, 2005 |
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Great White Splat
| Description |
Looking closely at Saturns moon Rhea during a somewhat distant flyby |
| Full Description |
Looking closely at Saturn's moon Rhea during a somewhat distant flyby, Cassini provides this view of what appears to be a bright, rayed and therefore relatively young crater. This crater was also observed by Cassini at much lower resolution in the fall of 2004 and in spring of 2005. Rhea is 1,528 kilometers (949 miles) across. For comparison, viewing the same crater near the terminator (the line between day and night) would highlight the crater's topography (vertical relief), compared to its brightness, which is highlighted in this view where the Sun is at a higher angle. North on Rhea is up and rotated about 15 degrees to the left. This view shows principally the leading hemisphere on Rhea. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 14, 2005, at a distance of approximately 247,000 kilometers (153,000 miles) from Rhea and at a Sun-Rhea-spacecraft, or phase angle of 70 degrees. Resolution in the image is 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org . Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
May 13, 2005 |
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The Face of Phoebe
| Description |
The Face of Phoebe |
| Full Description |
Phoebe's true nature is revealed in startling clarity in this mosaic of two images taken during Cassini's flyby on June 11, 2004. The image shows evidence for the emerging view that Phoebe may be an ice-rich body coated with a thin layer of dark material. Small bright craters in the image are probably fairly young features. This phenomenon has been observed on other icy satellites, such as Ganymede at Jupiter. When impactors slammed into the surface of Phoebe, the collisions excavated fresh, bright material -- probably ice -- underlying the surface layer. Further evidence for this can be seen on some crater walls where the darker material appears to have slid downwards, exposing more light-colored material. Some areas of the image that are particularly bright - especially near lower right - are over-exposed. An accurate determination of Phoebe's density - a forthcoming result from the flyby - will help Cassini mission scientists understand how much of the little moon is comprised of ices. This spectacular view was obtained at a phase, or Sun-Phoebe-spacecraft, angle of 84 degrees, and from a distance of approximately 32,500 kilometers (20,200 miles). The image scale is approximately 190 meters (624 feet) per pixel. No enhancement was performed on this image. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org . Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Phoebe's Surprise
| Description |
Phoebe's Surprise |
| Full Description |
Phoebe delivers on its promise to reveal new wonders to Cassini by showing probable evidence of an ice-rich body overlain with a thin layer of dark material. The sharply-defined crater at above center exhibits two or more layers of alternating bright and dark material. Imaging scientists on the Cassini mission have hypothesized that the layering might occur during the crater formation, when ejecta thrown out from the crater buries the pre-existing surface that was itself covered by a relatively thin, dark deposit over an icy mantle. The lower thin dark layer on the crater wall appears to define the base of the ejecta blanket. The ejecta blanket itself appears to be mantled by a more recent dark surface lag. This image was obtained on June, 11 2004 at a phase, or Sun-Phoebe-spacecraft, angle of 79 degrees, and from a distance of 13,377 kilometers (8,314 miles). The image scale is approximately 80 meters (263 feet) per pixel. No enhancement was performed on this image. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org . Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Phoebe Temperature Maps
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Phoebe Temperature Maps |
| Full Description |
A montage of maps of Saturn's moon Phoebe shows surface temperatures at various times of day as determined by the composite infrared spectrometer onboard Cassini during the June 11, 2004, Phoebe flyby. The asterisk on each map shows the location of the subsolar point, where the Sun is directly overhead. This point moves across the surface as Phoebe rotates. It is morning in regions to the left of the subsolar point, and afternoon in regions to the right. Like a newspaper weather map, different colors indicate different temperatures, though Phoebe's temperatures are distinctly cooler than even the coldest January day on Earth. Equatorial temperatures peak in the early afternoon near 112 Kelvin (-257 Fahrenheit), plunging to 78 Kelvin (-319 Fahrenheit) before dawn, and are even colder at higher latitudes. The large day/night temperature contrasts imply that Phoebe's surface is covered in loose dust or ice particles that store little heat and thus cool off rapidly at night. Regions of Phoebe's surface that were not observed are shown in black. Most of the maps show the effect on surface temperatures of the large crater-like depression seen in Cassini's visible-wavelength images of Phoebe, which is located just left of center in these maps. Crater walls that are shadowed and cold in the early morning in the first map are sunlit and warm in the late afternoon in the final map. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The composite infrared spectrometer team is based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini composite infrared spectrometer home page at http://cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ . Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Goddard Space Flight Center |
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The True Shape of Phoebe
| Description |
The True Shape of Phoebe |
| Full Description |
This colorful graphic illustrates that despite Phoebe's bumpy, irregular topography, the moon has a fairly round shape. A digitally rendered shape model of Phoebe was constructed using Cassini imaging data obtained before and after the spacecraft's close flyby of the Saturnian moon on June 11, 2004. The average diameter of Phoebe is about 214 kilometers (133 miles). The four views of the model are each separated by a 90 degree rotation, the upper left is centered at 0 degrees West longitude. The others show regions of the moon centered at 90, 180 and 270 degrees West longitude, as labeled. The coloring of the models corresponds to the height of Phoebe's surface, relative to the lowest point - a range of about 16 kilometers (10 miles) - going from blue (low) to red (high). Interestingly, much of this range in height occurs in one large crater, visible in the 180 degree West view. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org . Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Pocked Moon
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Pocked Moon |
| Full Description |
Cassini spied a crater-covered Dione in this image from Dec. 8, 2004. The bright, wispy streaks for which Dione is known are located on the moon's night side to the west. The streaky terrain was imaged at very high resolution by Cassini during its flyby of Dione on Dec. 14, 2004. Dione is 1,118 kilometers (695 miles) across. This view shows mostly the trailing hemisphere of Dione. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera at a distance of 2.5 million kilometers (1.6 million miles) from Dione and at a Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 58 degrees. North is up. The image scale is 15 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of two and contrast-enhanced to aid visibility of surface features. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org . *Credit*: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
December 31, 2004 |
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Prime Time for Rhea
| Description |
Prime Time for Rhea |
| Full Description |
This map of the surface of Saturn's moon, Rhea, illustrates the regions that will be imaged by Cassini during the spacecraft's close flyby of the moon on Nov. 26, 2005. At closest approach, the spacecraft is expected to pass approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) above the moon's surface. The colored lines delineate the regions that will be imaged at differing resolutions, listed in the legend at bottom. Rhea is 1,528 kilometers (949 miles) across. The new high-resolution coverage will examine details on the anti-Saturn hemisphere of Rhea, including two large impact basins there. Cassini previously imaged terrain farther to the south of this at approximately 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) per pixel in August 2005 (see Rhea: Polar View). Imaging scientists also hope to get a high-resolution view of a relatively young 50-kilometer-wide (30-mile) crater on the moon's leading hemisphere (see Great White Splat). Planetary scientists are interested in learning about the compositional makeup of Rhea, other than water ice, as well as the nature of the wispy streaks on the moon's trailing hemisphere. In December, 2004, Cassini revealed that similar bright, wispy markings on Dione are actually a system of braided tectonic fractures (see Dione's Surprise). The map was made from images obtained by both the Cassini and NASA Voyager spacecraft. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . *Credit:* NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
November 17, 2005 |
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Tracing Surface Features on
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| Description |
Tracing Surface Features on Titan -- Close-Ups |
| Full Description |
These images of Titan's south polar region were acquired during Cassini's first distant encounter with the smog-enshrouded moon on July 2, 2004. The spacecraft approached Titan at a distance of about 340,000 kilometers (211,000 miles) during this flyby. This montage contains pairs of close-up images, with the original images (at left) and also versions in which some of the narrow, dark, curvilinear and rectilinear surface features have been traced by red lines (at right). These dark features may be examples of surface channels and deeper crustal structures such as faults. The longest features (in the third and fourth pairs from the top) extend for as much as 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) across the surface and are as narrow as 10 kilometers (6 miles) across. At the bottom left, a single frame shows a small, dark, circular feature, which could be an impact crater. For reference, the white bar at the bottom right is a 1,000-kilometers-long (620 mile) scale bar. A large mosaic of this region and the source of the images in this montage is also available (see Tracing Surface Features on Titan -- Mosaic). The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org . *Credit:* NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
March 9, 2005 |
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Countdown to Phoebe
| Description |
Countdown to Phoebe |
| Full Description |
As Cassini sails toward its rendezvous with Phoebe, details on the small, dark moon are coming into view at a dizzying pace. The images shown here were taken 13 hours apart on June 10, 2004, just one day prior to closest approach. There is a dramatic increase in detail between these two views. Phoebe completes one rotation about its spin axis in nine hours and 16 minutes. We are looking at opposite hemispheres in these two views. A large crater, roughly 50 kilometers (31 miles) across, is visible in the image on the left. The image on the right shows a body heavily pitted with craters of varying sizes, including very large ones, and displaying a substantial amount of variation in surface brightness. Features that appear to be cliffs may be the boundaries between large craters. Despite its exaggerated topography, Phoebe is more round than irregular in shape. Left to right, the two views were obtained at a phase, or Sun-Phoebe spacecraft angle, of 87 degrees, and from distances of 956,000 kilometers (594,000 miles) and 658,000 kilometers (409,000 miles), respectively. The image resolutions are 5.7 and 3.9 kilometers (3.5 to 2.4 miles) per pixel, respectively. To aid visibility, the images were magnified three times via linear interpolation, no contrast enhancement was performed. Phoebe is approximately 220 kilometers (137 miles) wide. On Phoebe, the spin axis points up and approximately 13 degrees to the left of the boundary between day and night. Cassini draws closer to its only flyby of this mysterious outer moon of Saturn. Closest approach to Phoebe will be at 1:56 p.m. Pacific Time on June 11. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org . Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Empty Nest
| title |
Empty Nest |
| date |
01.18.2004 |
| description |
This image mosaic taken by the panoramic camera onboard the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit shows the rover's landing site, the Columbia Memorial Station, at Gusev Crater, Mars. This spectacular view may encapsulate Spirit's entire journey, from lander to its possible final destination toward the east hills. On its way, the rover will travel 250 meters (820 feet) northeast to a large crater approximately 200 meters (660 feet) across, the ridge of which can be seen to the left of this image. To the right are the east hills, about 3 kilometers (2 miles) away from the lander. The picture was taken on the 16th martian day, or sol, of the mission (Jan. 18/19, 2004). A portion of Spirit's solar panels appear in the foreground. Data from the panoramic camera's green, blue and infrared filters were combined to create this approximate true color image. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Cornell |
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Martian Meteorite
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Martian Meteorite |
| description |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has found an iron meteorite, the first meteorite of any type ever identified on another planet. The pitted, basketball-size object is mostly made of iron and nickel according to readings from spectrometers on the rover. Only a small fraction of the meteorites fallen on Earth are similarly metal-rich. Others are rockier. As an example, the meteorite that blasted the famous Meteor Crater in Arizona is similar in composition. "This is a huge surprise, though maybe it shouldn't have been," said Dr. Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the science instruments on Opportunity and its twin, Spirit. The meteorite, dubbed "Heat Shield Rock," sits near debris of Opportunity's heat shield on the surface of Meridiani Planum, a cratered flatland that has been Opportunity's home since the robot landed on Mars nearly one year ago. "I never thought we would get to use our instruments on a rock from someplace other than Mars," Squyres said. "Think about where an iron meteorite comes from: a destroyed planet or planetesimal that was big enough to differentiate into a metallic core and a rocky mantle." Rover-team scientists are wondering whether some rocks that Opportunity has seen atop the ground surface are rocky meteorites. "Mars should be hit by a lot more rocky meteorites than iron meteorites," Squyres said. "We've been seeing lots of cobbles out on the plains, and this raises the possibility that some of them may in fact be meteorites. We may be investigating some of those in coming weeks. The key is not what we'll learn about meteorites -- we have lots of meteorites on Earth -- but what the meteorites can tell us about Meridiani Planum." The numbers of exposed meteorites could be an indication of whether the plain is gradually eroding away or being built up. NASA Chief Scientist Dr. Jim Garvin said, "Exploring meteorites is a vital part of NASA's scientific agenda, and discovering whether there are storehouses of them on Mars opens new research possibilities, including further incentives for robotic and then human-based sample-return missions. Mars continues to provide unexpected science 'gold,' and our rovers have proven the value of mobile exploration with this latest finding." Initial observation of Heat Shield Rock from a distance with Opportunity's miniature thermal emission spectrometer suggested a metallic composition and raised speculation last week that it was a meteorite. The rover drove close enough to use its Moessbauer and alpha particle X-ray spectrometers, confirming the meteorite identification over the weekend. Opportunity and Spirit successfully completed their primary three-month missions on Mars in April 2004. NASA has extended their missions twice because the rovers have remained in good condition to continue exploring Mars longer than anticipated. They have found geological evidence of past wet environmental conditions that might have, been hospitable to life. Opportunity has driven a total of 2.10 kilometers (1.30 miles). Minor mottling from dust has appeared in images from the rover's rear hazard-identification camera since Opportunity entered the area of its heat-shield debris, said Jim Erickson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., rover project manager. The rover team plans to begin driving Opportunity south toward a circular feature called "Vostok" within about a week. Spirit has driven a total of 4.05 kilometers (2.52 miles). It has been making slow progress uphill toward a ridge on "Husband Hill" inside Gusev Crater. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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The Face of Phoebe
| title |
The Face of Phoebe |
| date |
06.11.2004 |
| description |
Phoebe's true nature is revealed in startling clarity in this mosaic of two images taken during Cassini's flyby on June 11, 2004. The image shows evidence for the emerging view that Phoebe may be an ice-rich body coated with a thin layer of dark material. Small bright craters in the image are probably fairly young features. This phenomenon has been observed on other icy satellites, such as Ganymede at Jupiter. When impactors slammed into the surface of Phoebe, the collisions excavated fresh, bright material -- probably ice -- underlying the surface layer. Further evidence for this can be seen on some crater walls where the darker material appears to have slid downwards, exposing more light-colored material. Some areas of the image that are particularly bright - especially near lower right - are over-exposed. An accurate determination of Phoebe's density -- a forthcoming result from the flyby -- will help Cassini mission scientists understand how much of the little moon is comprised of ices. This spectacular view was obtained at a phase, or Sun-Phoebe-spacecraft, angle of 84 degrees, and from a distance of approximately 32,500 kilometers (20,200 miles). The image scale is approximately 190 meters (624 feet) per pixel. No enhancement was performed on this image. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org [ http://ciclops.org/ ]. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Eyeing Eagle Crater
| title |
Eyeing Eagle Crater |
| description |
This image mosaic, compiled from navigation and panoramic camera images during the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's 33rd, 35th, and 36th sols on Mars, shows a panoramic view of the crater where the rover had been exploring since its dramatic arrival in late January 2004. The crater, now informally referred to as "Eagle Crater," is approximately 22 meters (72 feet) in diameter. Opportunity's lander is visible in the center of the image. Track marks reveal the rover's progress. The rover cameras recorded this view as Opportunity climbed close to the crater rim as part of a soil survey campaign. *Image credit*: NASA/JPL/Cornell |
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Looking Back
| title |
Looking Back |
| date |
03.26.2004 |
| description |
NASA's Opportunity rover looks back at the crater where it landed and spent the first two months of its mission exploring exposed bedrock. This area may have been the shore of a shallow sea. The image is the first 360-degree view from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's new position outside "Eagle Crater," the small crater where the rover landed about two months ago. Scientists are busy analyzing Opportunity's new view of the plains of Meridiani Planum. The plentiful ripples are a clear indication that wind is the primary geologic process currently in effect on the plains. The rover's tracks can be seen leading away from Eagle Crater. At the far left are two depressions - each about a meter (about 3.3 feet) across - that feature bright spots in their centers. One possibility is that the bright material is similar in composition to the rocks in Eagle Crater's outcrop and the surrounding darker material is what's referred to as "lag deposit," or erosional remnants, which are much harder and more difficult to wear away. These twin dimples might be revealing pieces of a larger outcrop that lies beneath. The depression closest to Opportunity is whimsically referred to as "Homeplate" and the one behind it as "First Base." The backshell and parachute that helped protect the rover and deliver it safely to the surface of Mars are also visible near the horizon, at the left of the image. This image was taken by the rover's navigation camera. *Image Credi*: NASA/JPL |
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Iapetus in 3D
| title |
Iapetus in 3D |
| date |
12.27.2004 |
| description |
This stereo view of Iapetus was created by combining two Cassini images, which were taken one day apart. The view serves mainly to show the spherical shape of Iapetus and some of the moon's topography. The prominent linear ridge in the center of the dark area -- a place known as Cassini Regio -- marks the equator quite closely. The ridge was first discovered in this set of images and was seen at higher resolution in images taken during Cassini's flyby of Iapetus on New Year's Eve 2004. Some Cassini imaging scientists have suggested that the ridge may have a causal relationship to the dark material that coats the moon's leading hemisphere. The mountain on the left is part of the ridge, and rises at least 13 kilometers (8 miles) above the surrounding terrain. The large basin near the terminator (at upper right) was detected in Cassini images from July and has a diameter of about 550 kilometers (340 miles). The large basin at upper left was newly detected in these images. The crater at far right (within the bright terrain) was known from the days of NASA's Voyager missions. North on Iapetus is towards the upper left. The images were obtained in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Dec. 26 and 27, 2004. Cassini's distance from Iapetus ranged from 880,537 to 716,678 kilometers (547,140 to 445,323 miles) between the two images, and the Sun-Iapetus-spacecraft, or phase, angle changed from 21 to 22 degrees. Resolution achieved in the original images was 5.2 and 4.3 kilometers (3.2 and 2.7 miles) per pixel, respectively. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov ] . For images visit the Cassini imaging team home page http://ciclops.org [ http://ciclops.org ] . Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Victoria Crater' at Meridian
…
| title |
Victoria Crater' at Meridiani Planum |
| date |
10.06.2006 |
| description |
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 wall are visible on the crater floor. The floor of the crater is occupied by a striking field of sand dunes. Since January 2004, the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has been operating at Meridiani Planum. Five days before this image was taken, Opportunity arrived at the rim of Victoria crater, after a drive of more than 9 kilometers (over 5 miles). The rover can be seen in this image, at roughly the "ten o'clock" position along the rim of the crater. This view is a portion of an image taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on Oct. 3, 2006. The complete image is centered at minus7.8 degrees latitude, 279.5 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 297 kilometers (185.6 miles). At this distance the image scale is 29.7 centimeters (12 inches) per pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects about 89 centimeters (35 inches) across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 centimeters (10 inches) per pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:30 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 59.7 degrees, thus the sun was about 30.3 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 113.6 degrees, the season on Mars is northern summer. This is an enhanced-color view generated from images acquired by the HiRISE camera using its red filter and blue-green filter. Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at: http://www.nasa.gov/mroor http://HiRISE.lpl.arizona.edu. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/UA |
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Mars Exploration Rover "Spir
…
| title |
Mars Exploration Rover "Spirit" Launches |
| date |
06.10.2003 |
| description |
Amid billows of smoke and steam, the Delta II rocket with its Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A) payload lifts off the pad on time at 1:58 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MER-A, known as "Spirit," is the first of two rovers being launched to Mars. When the two rovers arrive at the red planet in 2004, they will bounce to airbag-cushioned landings at sites offering a balance of favorable conditions for safe landings and interesting science. The rovers see sharper images, can explore farther and examine rocks better than anything that has ever landed on Mars. The designated site for the MER-A mission is Gusev Crater, which appears to have been a crater lake. The second rover, MER-B, is scheduled to launch June 25. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Spirit's Race Against Winter
| title |
Spirit's Race Against Winter |
| date |
11.29.2007 |
| description |
While struggling to reach a winter outpost necessary for survival on Mars, Spirit has been slowed by sand in the bottom of a shallow, bowl-like depression. Spirit's goal is to reach a slope on the north edge of "Home Plate" that will keep its solar panels trained on the Sun. If the rover can collect enough sunlight to survive, Spirit will continue to study terrain near "Home Plate," which the rover reached after crossing the floor of Gusev Crater and scaling the "Columbia Hills." This map shows the rover's progress from July 2004 to November 2007. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS/UNM/High-Resolution Science Imaging Experiment |
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Columbia Memorial
| title |
Columbia Memorial |
| date |
01.06.2004 |
| description |
The landing site of the Mars Spirit rover in honor of the astronauts who died in the tragic accident of the Space Shuttle Columbia in February. The area in the vast flatland of the Gusev Crater where Spirit landed this weekend will be called the Columbia Memorial Station. Since its historic landing, Spirit has been sending extraordinary images of its new surroundings on the red planet over the past few days. Among them, an image of a memorial plaque placed on the spacecraft to Columbia's astronauts and the STS-107 mission. The plaque is mounted on the back of Spirit's high-gain antenna, a disc-shaped tool used for communicating directly with Earth. The plaque is aluminum and approximately six inches in diameter. The memorial plaque was attached March 28, 2003, at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Chris Voorhees and Peter Illsley, Mars Exploration Rover engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., designed the plaque. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Spirit Descent
| title |
Spirit Descent |
| date |
01.03.2004 |
| description |
This image, taken by the descent image motion estimation system camera located on the bottom of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's lander, shows a view of Gusev Crater as the lander descends to Mars. The picture is taken at an altitude of 1400 meters. Numerous small impact craters can be seen on the surface of the planet. These images help the onboard software to minimize the lander's horizontal velocity before its bridal is cut, and it falls freely to the surface of Mars. See more Spirit images in the Mars Exploration Rover Image Gallery. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Spirit Launch
| title |
Spirit Launch |
| date |
06.10.2003 |
| description |
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 ever landed on Mars. Spirit's destination was Gusev Crater, which appears to have been a crater lake. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Fascinating Phoebe
| title |
Fascinating Phoebe |
| date |
06.11.2004 |
| description |
Early images returned from the first detailed reconnaissance of Saturn's small outer moon, Phoebe, show breathtaking details in the moon's pockmarked surface that already have imaging scientists puzzling over the body's history. The images are only a preview of what to expect from the high resolution images to be examined later today which will show details about 10 times smaller. Phoebe has revealed itself to be a rugged, heavily cratered body, with overlapping craters of varying sizes. This morphology suggests an old surface. There are apparently many craters smaller than 1 km, indicating that projectiles probably smaller than 100 meters once pummeled Phoebe. Whether these objects were cometary or asteroidal in origin, or were the debris that resulted from impacts on other bodies within the Saturn system, is hotly debated. There is also variation in surface brightness across the body. In the first image (at left) in which Phoebe looks somewhat like a sideways skull, the large crater near the bottom displays a complex and rugged interior. The lower right hand part of Phoebe appears to be covered by bright wispy material. The second, higher resolution image further reveals the moon's battered surface, including a crater near the right hand edge with bright rays that extend outward from its center. This suggests that dark material coats the outside. Features reminiscent of those seen on the Martian moon Phobos -- such as linear grooves--are faintly visible in the upper part of this image. There are suggestions of linear ridges or grooves and of chains of craters, perhaps radial to a large crater just hidden on the un-illuminated region in the upper left. Left to right, the two views were obtained at phase, or Sun-Phoebe-spacecraft, angles of approximately 86 degrees, and from distances ranging from 143,068 kilometers (88,918 miles) to 77,441 kilometers (48, 130 miles), for reference, Cassini's closest approach to Phoebe was approximately 2,068 kilometers (1,285 miles). The image scale ranges from 0.86 to 0.46 kilometers (0.53 to 0.29 miles) per pixel. No enhancement of any kind has been performed on the images. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Impact Excavation
| title |
Impact Excavation |
| date |
06.11.2004 |
| description |
Phoebe delivers on its promise to reveal new wonders to Cassini by showing probable evidence of an ice-rich body overlain with a thin layer of dark material. The sharply-defined crater at above center exhibits two or more layers of alternating bright and dark material. Imaging scientists on the Cassini mission have hypothesized that the layering might occur during the crater formation, when ejecta thrown out from the crater buries the pre-existing surface that was itself covered by a relatively thin, dark deposit over an icy mantle. The lower thin dark layer on the crater wall appears to define the base of the ejecta blanket. The ejecta blanket itself appears to be mantled by a more recent dark surface lag. This image was obtained on June, 11 2004 at a phase, or Sun-Phoebe-spacecraft, angle of 79 degrees, and from a distance of 13,377 kilometers (8,314 miles). The image scale is approximately 80 meters (263 feet) per pixel. No enhancement was performed on this image. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Phoebe's Skyline
| title |
Phoebe's Skyline |
| date |
06.11.2004 |
| description |
Images like this one, showing bright wispy streaks thought to be ice revealed by subsidence of crater walls, are leading to the view that Phoebe is an ice-rich body overlain with a thin layer of dark material. Obvious down slope motion of material occurring along the walls of the major craters in this image is the cause for the bright streaks, which are over-exposed here. Significant slumping has occurred along the crater wall at top left. The slumping of material might have occurred by a small projectile punching into the steep slope of the wall of a pre-existing larger crater. Another possibility is that the material collapsed when triggered by another impact elsewhere on Phoebe. Note that the bright, exposed areas of ice are not very uniform along the wall. Small craters are exposing bright material on the hummocky floor of the larger crater. Elsewhere on this image, there are local areas of outcropping along the larger crater wall where denser, more resistant material is located. Whether these outcrops are large blocks being exhumed by landslides or actual 'bedrock' is not currently understood. The crater on the left, with most of the bright streamers, is about 45 kilometers (28 miles) in diameter, front to back as viewed. The larger depression in which the crater sits is on the order of 100 kilometers (62 miles) across. The slopes from the rim down to the hummocky floor are approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) long, many of the bright streamers on the crater wall are on the order of 10 kilometers (6 miles) long. A future project for Cassini image scientists will be to work out the chronology of slumping events in this scene. This image was obtained at a phase, or Sun-Phoebe-spacecraft, angle of 78 degrees, and from a distance of 11,918 kilometers (7,407 miles). The image scale is approximately 70 meters (230 feet) per pixel. No enhancement was performed on this image. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Phoebe's Surface
| title |
Phoebe's Surface |
| date |
06.11.2004 |
| description |
This high-resolution image of Phoebe's pitted surface taken very near closest approach shows a 13-kilometer (8-mile) diameter crater with a debris-covered floor. Part of another crater of similar size is visible at left, as is part of a larger crater at top and many scattered smaller craters. The radial streaks in the crater are due to down slope movements of loose fragments from impact ejecta. Also seen are boulders ranging from about 50 to 300 meters (160 to 990 feet) in diameter. The building-sized rocks may have been excavated by large impacts, perhaps from some other region of Phoebe rather than the craters seen here. There is no visible evidence for layering of ice and dark material or a hardened crust in this region, as on other parts of this moon. Some of the relatively bright spots are from small impacts that excavated bright material from beneath the dark surface. Images like this provide information about impact processes on Phoebe. This image was obtained at a phase, or Sun-Phoebe-spacecraft, angle of 78 degrees, and from a distance of 11,918 kilometers (7,407 miles). The image scale is approximately 18.5 meters (60.5 feet) per pixel. The illumination is from the right. No enhancement was performed on this image. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Endurance Crater
| title |
Endurance Crater |
| description |
This navigation camera mosaic, created from images taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on sols 115 and 116 (May 21 and 22, 2004) provides a dramatic view of "Endurance Crater." The rover engineering team carefully plotted the safest path into the football field-sized crater, eventually easing the rover down the slopes around sol 130 (June 12, 2004). To the upper left of the crater sits the rover's protective heatshield, which sheltered Opportunity as it passed through the martian atmosphere. The 360-degree view is presented in a cylindrical projection, with geometric and radiometric seam correction. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL |
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Above Spirit
| title |
Above Spirit |
| date |
01.03.2004 |
| description |
A mosaic image taken by Spirit's navigation camera shows the Mars Exploration Rover sitting on its landing platform only hours after touching down on Gusev Crater. The image has been reprocessed to imove the view. See more Spirit images in the Mars Exploration Rover Image Gallery. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Colima's Long Eruption
| Title |
Colima's Long Eruption |
| Description |
, University of Hawaii Manoa. ASTER image courtesy NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ], The Colima Volcano part of a complex of volcanoes that forms the center of the Western Mexico Volcanic Belt. Rising 3,850 meters above the forested valley around the Nevado National Park, Colima is one of Mexico's most active volcanoes. Most recently, on September 28, 2004, a new lava dome began to rise from Colima's summit crater. By September 30, block and ash flows—an avalanche of hot volcanic rock—began streaming down the mountain, and lava bubbled out starting on October 1. The eruption had not stopped by October 5, when the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program [ http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm ] released their most recent report. The current eruption is a continuation of a longer eruptive phase. From February 2002 to February 2003, the volcano erupted almost continuously and has burst forth with several smaller eruptions since that time. In one of Colima's quieter moments, on January 17, 2004, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]) aboard NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the above false-color image (Bands 3-2-1). The large snow-covered mountain to the north is Nevado de Colima. This older edifice dwarfs the younger and historically active Colima volcano to the south, shown here with a minor steam plume. Several lava flows from previous eruptions can be seen emanating from the Colima volcano summit area. ASTER is not the only instrument that has proven useful in monitoring volcanoes from space. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] and Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellites detects thermal anomalies like volcanic hotspots and fires. MODIS data are entered into the MODVOLC system, which automatically calculates the heat output from the volcano. This plot shows the 2002-2003 eruptive phase as well as later sporadic events. The first alert occurred on February 16, 2002, roughly coincident with the appearance of new lava on February 14, 2002, and the last alert of the main 2002-2003 eruptive phase was on January 25, 2003, when lava effusion was beginning to diminish. Alerts in August through December 2003, and one in February 2004, represent the periodic explosive activity that has followed the 2002-2003 lava effusion at Colima. The alert dated August 29, 2003, was acquired within hours of a large explosion on August 28, which produced a series of pyroclastic flows down Colima's flanks. To read more about the use of MODIS to monitor volcanoes, please read Sensing Remote Volcanoes [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/monvoc/ ]. Eruption information from the Global Volcanism Network. Satellite data provided by the HIGP Thermal Alerts Team [ http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu ] |
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Colima's Long Eruption
| Title |
Colima's Long Eruption |
| Description |
, University of Hawaii Manoa. ASTER image courtesy NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ], The Colima Volcano part of a complex of volcanoes that forms the center of the Western Mexico Volcanic Belt. Rising 3,850 meters above the forested valley around the Nevado National Park, Colima is one of Mexico's most active volcanoes. Most recently, on September 28, 2004, a new lava dome began to rise from Colima's summit crater. By September 30, block and ash flows—an avalanche of hot volcanic rock—began streaming down the mountain, and lava bubbled out starting on October 1. The eruption had not stopped by October 5, when the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program [ http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/usgs/index.cfm ] released their most recent report. The current eruption is a continuation of a longer eruptive phase. From February 2002 to February 2003, the volcano erupted almost continuously and has burst forth with several smaller eruptions since that time. In one of Colima's quieter moments, on January 17, 2004, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]) aboard NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the above false-color image (Bands 3-2-1). The large snow-covered mountain to the north is Nevado de Colima. This older edifice dwarfs the younger and historically active Colima volcano to the south, shown here with a minor steam plume. Several lava flows from previous eruptions can be seen emanating from the Colima volcano summit area. ASTER is not the only instrument that has proven useful in monitoring volcanoes from space. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] and Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellites detects thermal anomalies like volcanic hotspots and fires. MODIS data are entered into the MODVOLC system, which automatically calculates the heat output from the volcano. This plot shows the 2002-2003 eruptive phase as well as later sporadic events. The first alert occurred on February 16, 2002, roughly coincident with the appearance of new lava on February 14, 2002, and the last alert of the main 2002-2003 eruptive phase was on January 25, 2003, when lava effusion was beginning to diminish. Alerts in August through December 2003, and one in February 2004, represent the periodic explosive activity that has followed the 2002-2003 lava effusion at Colima. The alert dated August 29, 2003, was acquired within hours of a large explosion on August 28, which produced a series of pyroclastic flows down Colima's flanks. To read more about the use of MODIS to monitor volcanoes, please read Sensing Remote Volcanoes [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/monvoc/ ]. Eruption information from the Global Volcanism Network. Satellite data provided by the HIGP Thermal Alerts Team [ http://modis.higp.hawaii.edu ] |
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Eruption of Anatahan
| Title |
Eruption of Anatahan |
| Description |
) captured the lower image, the island was made up of two volcanoes whose conjoined summit calderas formed an elliptical valley at the island?s center. Aside from occasional tremors, the island was quiet and no eruption had ever been recorded. Green plants, shown in red in these false-color (infrared-enhanced) images, covered the island and filled the caldera at its center. By April 27, 2005, the island had been transformed by a series of eruptions. On May 10, 2003, Anatahan?s eastern crater exploded, sending about 10 million cubic meters of material over the island and the surrounding ocean. The eruption continued through June 14, 2003. Smaller eruptions racked the eastern volcano between April and July 2004. The third recorded eruption at Anatahan began on January 6, 2005, and continued intermittently until the volcano exploded with its largest observed eruption on April 6, 2005. In this eruption, about 50 million cubic meters of ash was blasted from the eastern volcano. The volcano was still emitting steam and ash on April 27, when ASTER acquired the top image. The three eruptions have taken a toll on Anatahan. On April 27, the center of the island was completely devoid of plants, covered instead by grey volcanic material. Ash appears to have blanketed the western fringe of the island, where a layer of grey covers the underlying vegetation. The light cloud, ash and steam that cover the island make it difficult to see changes to the caldera, but it appears that the eruptions may have destroyed its southern wall. It also appears that volcanic material may have flowed into the Pacific Ocean on the south side of the island. The changes are easier to see at ASTER?s full resolution of 15 meters per pixel, provided above. The full scene, top link, shows the island and the plume of ash that extends northwest of the volcano. The center link provides a large version of the scene cropped in on the island to match the 2002 image. Anatahan Island sits in the center of the Northern Mariana Islands. The island arc forms a classic arc that frames the eastern edge of the Philippine plate, a large section of the Earth?s crust that floats on a layer of softer rock. To the east of the Marianas, the slab of crust that carries the Pacific Ocean crashes against the Philippine Plate. In the clash, the colder, denser Pacific Plate sinks beneath the Philippine Plate, forming the Mariana Trench, a deep gorge that plunges to a depth of 10,920 meters (35,827 feet)?deeper than Everest is tall and the deepest known point in any ocean. Plummeting deep into the Earth, the Pacific Plate breaks up, and the pressure and the heat melts some of the breaking rock. The hot rock forces its way back to the surface through weak points in the overriding Philippine Plate, creating the arc of volcanoes that make up the Northern Mariana Islands. Among the 14 small islands in the Northern Mariana Islands, there are 12 major volcanoes, including Anatahan. NASA images created by Jesse, Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the ASTER team and the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC., Three years have brought drastic changes to the island of Anatahan in the Northern Mariana Islands. In 2002, when the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] |
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Eruption of Anatahan
| Title |
Eruption of Anatahan |
| Description |
) captured the lower image, the island was made up of two volcanoes whose conjoined summit calderas formed an elliptical valley at the island?s center. Aside from occasional tremors, the island was quiet and no eruption had ever been recorded. Green plants, shown in red in these false-color (infrared-enhanced) images, covered the island and filled the caldera at its center. By April 27, 2005, the island had been transformed by a series of eruptions. On May 10, 2003, Anatahan?s eastern crater exploded, sending about 10 million cubic meters of material over the island and the surrounding ocean. The eruption continued through June 14, 2003. Smaller eruptions racked the eastern volcano between April and July 2004. The third recorded eruption at Anatahan began on January 6, 2005, and continued intermittently until the volcano exploded with its largest observed eruption on April 6, 2005. In this eruption, about 50 million cubic meters of ash was blasted from the eastern volcano. The volcano was still emitting steam and ash on April 27, when ASTER acquired the top image. The three eruptions have taken a toll on Anatahan. On April 27, the center of the island was completely devoid of plants, covered instead by grey volcanic material. Ash appears to have blanketed the western fringe of the island, where a layer of grey covers the underlying vegetation. The light cloud, ash and steam that cover the island make it difficult to see changes to the caldera, but it appears that the eruptions may have destroyed its southern wall. It also appears that volcanic material may have flowed into the Pacific Ocean on the south side of the island. The changes are easier to see at ASTER?s full resolution of 15 meters per pixel, provided above. The full scene, top link, shows the island and the plume of ash that extends northwest of the volcano. The center link provides a large version of the scene cropped in on the island to match the 2002 image. Anatahan Island sits in the center of the Northern Mariana Islands. The island arc forms a classic arc that frames the eastern edge of the Philippine plate, a large section of the Earth?s crust that floats on a layer of softer rock. To the east of the Marianas, the slab of crust that carries the Pacific Ocean crashes against the Philippine Plate. In the clash, the colder, denser Pacific Plate sinks beneath the Philippine Plate, forming the Mariana Trench, a deep gorge that plunges to a depth of 10,920 meters (35,827 feet)?deeper than Everest is tall and the deepest known point in any ocean. Plummeting deep into the Earth, the Pacific Plate breaks up, and the pressure and the heat melts some of the breaking rock. The hot rock forces its way back to the surface through weak points in the overriding Philippine Plate, creating the arc of volcanoes that make up the Northern Mariana Islands. Among the 14 small islands in the Northern Mariana Islands, there are 12 major volcanoes, including Anatahan. NASA images created by Jesse, Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the ASTER team and the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC., Three years have brought drastic changes to the island of Anatahan in the Northern Mariana Islands. In 2002, when the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] |
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Eruption of Anatahan
| Title |
Eruption of Anatahan |
| Description |
) captured the lower image, the island was made up of two volcanoes whose conjoined summit calderas formed an elliptical valley at the island?s center. Aside from occasional tremors, the island was quiet and no eruption had ever been recorded. Green plants, shown in red in these false-color (infrared-enhanced) images, covered the island and filled the caldera at its center. By April 27, 2005, the island had been transformed by a series of eruptions. On May 10, 2003, Anatahan?s eastern crater exploded, sending about 10 million cubic meters of material over the island and the surrounding ocean. The eruption continued through June 14, 2003. Smaller eruptions racked the eastern volcano between April and July 2004. The third recorded eruption at Anatahan began on January 6, 2005, and continued intermittently until the volcano exploded with its largest observed eruption on April 6, 2005. In this eruption, about 50 million cubic meters of ash was blasted from the eastern volcano. The volcano was still emitting steam and ash on April 27, when ASTER acquired the top image. The three eruptions have taken a toll on Anatahan. On April 27, the center of the island was completely devoid of plants, covered instead by grey volcanic material. Ash appears to have blanketed the western fringe of the island, where a layer of grey covers the underlying vegetation. The light cloud, ash and steam that cover the island make it difficult to see changes to the caldera, but it appears that the eruptions may have destroyed its southern wall. It also appears that volcanic material may have flowed into the Pacific Ocean on the south side of the island. The changes are easier to see at ASTER?s full resolution of 15 meters per pixel, provided above. The full scene, top link, shows the island and the plume of ash that extends northwest of the volcano. The center link provides a large version of the scene cropped in on the island to match the 2002 image. Anatahan Island sits in the center of the Northern Mariana Islands. The island arc forms a classic arc that frames the eastern edge of the Philippine plate, a large section of the Earth?s crust that floats on a layer of softer rock. To the east of the Marianas, the slab of crust that carries the Pacific Ocean crashes against the Philippine Plate. In the clash, the colder, denser Pacific Plate sinks beneath the Philippine Plate, forming the Mariana Trench, a deep gorge that plunges to a depth of 10,920 meters (35,827 feet)?deeper than Everest is tall and the deepest known point in any ocean. Plummeting deep into the Earth, the Pacific Plate breaks up, and the pressure and the heat melts some of the breaking rock. The hot rock forces its way back to the surface through weak points in the overriding Philippine Plate, creating the arc of volcanoes that make up the Northern Mariana Islands. Among the 14 small islands in the Northern Mariana Islands, there are 12 major volcanoes, including Anatahan. NASA images created by Jesse, Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the ASTER team and the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC., Three years have brought drastic changes to the island of Anatahan in the Northern Mariana Islands. In 2002, when the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] |
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Mount St. Helens
| Title |
Mount St. Helens |
| Description |
Hot lava had broken through the surface of the growing lava dome on Mount St. Helens when the MASTER sensor took this image in the early morning hours of October 13, 2004. MASTER, which stands for MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator, is an aircraft- mounted remote sensing device built to simulate the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] (ASTER) instruments on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. The top image was made from MASTER's thermal sensitive bands, and shows the heat in the volcano's crater. A brilliant white spot on the southwest side of the crater is hot lava bubbling to the surface. Smaller, less intense hot spots around the crater have formed where magma near the surface has heated the rock above it. The dark area around the lava dome is the crater. Shielded from the sun and covered with snow, the dark crater floor is cooler than the surrounding landscape, which appears red. A plume of steam rising from the lava dome (colored purple) drifts southeast in this image. The plume and crater floor are more visible in the lower, true color image. Acquired just after dawn, the image has few shadows and low contrast. An image composed of thermal infrared and visible light wavelengths reveals more details around the mountain. The volcanic plume is bright cyan, the cool crater is purple, and snow is light blue. To the north of the volcano, two bright red lines extend from south to north. These are warm-water streams, possibly heated by the active volcano. NASA images courtesy Jeff Myers, MASTER [ http://masterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] instrument team, NASA Ames Research Center |
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Mount St. Helens
| Title |
Mount St. Helens |
| Description |
Hot lava had broken through the surface of the growing lava dome on Mount St. Helens when the MASTER sensor took this image in the early morning hours of October 13, 2004. MASTER, which stands for MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator, is an aircraft- mounted remote sensing device built to simulate the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] (ASTER) instruments on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite. The top image was made from MASTER's thermal sensitive bands, and shows the heat in the volcano's crater. A brilliant white spot on the southwest side of the crater is hot lava bubbling to the surface. Smaller, less intense hot spots around the crater have formed where magma near the surface has heated the rock above it. The dark area around the lava dome is the crater. Shielded from the sun and covered with snow, the dark crater floor is cooler than the surrounding landscape, which appears red. A plume of steam rising from the lava dome (colored purple) drifts southeast in this image. The plume and crater floor are more visible in the lower, true color image. Acquired just after dawn, the image has few shadows and low contrast. An image composed of thermal infrared and visible light wavelengths reveals more details around the mountain. The volcanic plume is bright cyan, the cool crater is purple, and snow is light blue. To the north of the volcano, two bright red lines extend from south to north. These are warm-water streams, possibly heated by the active volcano. NASA images courtesy Jeff Myers, MASTER [ http://masterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] instrument team, NASA Ames Research Center |
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Mount St. Helens
| Title |
Mount St. Helens |
| Description |
Believe it or not, Mount St. Helens was an erupting volcano when the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER [ http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]) acquired this image on December 12, 2005. It may not be spouting ash and steam, but Mount St. Helens is steadily pushing a column of rock into its crater. Throughout 2005, the dome in the volcano's crater grew by an average of two cubic meters per second as magma pushed its way steadily up. In this image, snow and shadow mask the growing dome, which is on the southeast side of the crater. There are several types of volcanic eruptions [ http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/eruptions.html ] ranging from violent explosions to oozing lava, and Mount St. Helens has demonstrated many of them. In 1980, the volcano erupted violently, sending up a cloud of ash and volcanic gas and blasting pyroclastic flows—fast-moving clouds of rock fragments, ash, and gases—down the mountain. The most recent eruption [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12489 ] started with a swarm of earthquakes on September 23, 2004. By October 1, the volcano has breathed out a plume of ash and steam, and then settled into its dome-building eruption on October 11, 2004. Fourteen months later, the dome-building eruption continued, punctuated by small earthquakes that shake the mountain every minute and a half as magma rises in the dome. Mount St. Helens is the youngest and most frequently active of all of the volcanoes in the Cascade Range of the northwestern United States. The Cascades Volcano Observatory [ http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/framework.html ] provides daily updates and photos of the eruption. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team |
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Burns Cliff Anaglyph
| Title |
Burns Cliff Anaglyph |
| Explanation |
Get out your red/blue glasses and gaze across Burns Cliff [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08578 ] along the inner wall of Endurance crater [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Endurance_%28crater%29 ] on Mars! The view from the perspective of Mars rover Opportunity is a color anaglyph [ http://faxmentis.org/html/ana-howto.html ] - two different images are presented to the left and right eyes by color filters to produce the 3D effect. Scroll the picture to the right to see the full 180 degree panorama. Still returning science data and images, both Spirit [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060703.html ] and Opportunity rovers completed 2 years of Mars exploration in January. Opportunity spent the month [ http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/traverse_maps.html ] of July on the road to Victoria [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060605.html ] crater. The stereo pair of images used to create this view are based on image data recorded in November 2004 [ http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1312.html ]. |
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Degas Ray Crater on Mercury
| Title |
Degas Ray Crater on Mercury |
| Explanation |
Like the Earth's Moon, Mercury is [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/mercuryfact.html ] scarred with craters testifying to an intense bombardment during the early history [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990326.html ] of the Solar System. In 1974, the Mariner 10 [ http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/welcome/m10.htm ] spacecraft surveyed this innermost planet [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/mission_page/ MC_Mariner_10_page1.html ] up close, producing the only detailed images of its tortured surface. In the above mosaic [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/ m10_aom_3_e.html ] the bright rays emanating from the 45 kilometer wide Degas crater almost appear to be painted on [ http://sunsite.unc.edu/wm/paint/auth/degas/ ]. The rays consist of light colored material blasted out during the crater's formation. Craters [ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/expmoon/science/ craterstructure.html ] older than Degas are covered by the ray material while younger craters are seen superimposed on the rays. Mercury's [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/ mercury.html ] gravity and density are about [ http://www.whfreeman.com/ENVIRONMENTALGEOLOGY/EXMOD36/ PLANET.HTM ] twice that of Earth's [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/ planet_table_ratio.html ] Moon so such bright ray craters [ http://www.sunlink.net/~torff/bwlunar10.html ] on the lunar surface tend to be much larger. NASA plans to launch MESSENGER [ http://sd-www.jhuapl.edu/ MESSENGER/ ] to the least explored [ http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/PSRdiscoveries/Jan97/ MercuryUnveiled.html ] terrestrial planet in 2004. |
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Saturn's Moon Tethys
| Title |
Saturn's Moon Tethys |
| Explanation |
Tethys is one of the larger and closer moons of Saturn. It was visited by both Voyager spacecraft [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] - Voyager 1 in November 1980 and by Voyager [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960629.html ] 2 in August 1981. Tethys [ http://www.nineplanets.org/tethys.html ] is now known to be composed almost completely of water ice. Tethys [ http://www.solarviews.com/eng/tethys.htm ] shows a large impact crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990711.html ] that nearly circles the planet. That the impact that caused this crater did not disrupt the moon is taken as evidence that Tethys [ http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/features/planets/saturn/tethys.html ] was not completely frozen in its past. Two smaller moons, Telesto [ http://www.nineplanets.org/tethys.html#telesto ] and Calypso [ http://www.nineplanets.org/tethys.html#calypso ], orbit Saturn [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/saturn.html ] just ahead of and behind Tethys. Giovanni Cassini [ http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Cassini.html ] discovered Tethys in 1684. In 1997, NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/ ] launched [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971016.html ] a spacecraft named Cassini [ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/english/spacecraft/ ] to Saturn that will arrive in 2004. |
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Right on Target
| Title |
Right on Target |
| Description |
This map shows the estimated location of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit within Gusev Crater, Mars. Engineers targeted Spirit for the center of the blue ellipse. Measurements taken during the rover's descent by the Deep Space Network predicted its landing site to be the spot marked with a black dot. Later measurements taken on the ground by both the Deep Space Network and the orbiter Mars Odyssey narrowed the predicted landing site to a spot marked with a white dot. When initially choosing a landing site for the rover, engineers avoided hazardous terrain outlined here in yellow and red. This map consists of data from Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor. |
| Date |
01.13.2004 |
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Right on Target-2
| Title |
Right on Target-2 |
| Description |
This map shows a close-up look at the estimated location of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit within Gusev Crater, Mars. Measurements taken during the rover's descent by the Deep Space Network predicted its landing site to be the spot marked with a black dot. Later measurements taken on the ground by both the Deep Space Network and the orbiter Mars Odyssey narrowed the predicted landing site to a spot marked with a white dot. When initially choosing a landing site for the rover, engineers avoided hazardous craters outlined here in yellow and red. This map consists of data from Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor. |
| Date |
01.13.2004 |
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Right on Target-3
| Title |
Right on Target-3 |
| Description |
This map shows the estimated location of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit within Gusev Crater, Mars. Measurements taken during the rover's descent by the Deep Space Network predicted its landing site to be the spot marked with a black cross. Later measurements taken on the ground by both the Deep Space Network and the orbiter Mars Odyssey narrowed the predicted landing site to a spot marked with a white cross. When initially choosing a landing site for the rover, engineers avoided hazardous craters outlined here in yellow and red. This map consists of data taken during Spirit's descent by the descent image motion estimation system located at the bottom of the rover. |
| Date |
01.13.2004 |
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Roll-Off Dress Rehearsal at
…
| Title |
Roll-Off Dress Rehearsal at JPL |
| Description |
This image shows a test rover as it attempts a complete 115-degree turn on the lander in the JPL In-Situ Instruments Laboratory, or "testbed." This is where engineers tested the rover's three-point turn before completing the manuever with the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit at Gusev Crater on Mars. At this point, the test rover has turned 95 degrees, with 115 degrees being its goal position. |
| Date |
01.14.2004 |
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Rover Tracks Seen from Orbit
| title |
Rover Tracks Seen from Orbit |
| Description |
Wheel tracks left by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, and even the rover itself, are visible in this image from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter. North is up in this image. The tracks and rover are in the area south of a crater informally named "Bonneville," which is just southeast of the center of the image. The orbiter captured this image with use of an enhanced-resolution technique called compensated pitch and roll targeted observation. It took the picture on March 30, 2004, 85 martian days, or sols, after Spirit landed on Mars. The rover had driven from its landing site to the rim of Bonneville and was examining materials around the crater's rim. In this portion of the plains inside the much larger Gusev Crater, Spirit created wheel tracks darker than the undisturbed surface, as seen in the rover's own images showing the tracks (for example, http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05450 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05450 ]). The contrast allows the tracks to show up in the image obtained from orbit. Also visible are Spirit's lander, backshell and parachute, and the scar where its heat shield hit the ground. The full image covers an area 3 kilometers (2 miles) wide, at 14.8 degrees south latitude and 184.6 degrees west longitude. Pixel size is about 1.5 meters (5 feet) by one-half meter (1.6 feet). Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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Rolling Stones Make New Boul
…
| title |
Rolling Stones Make New Boulder Tracks |
| Description |
When a boulder rolls down a dusty slope, it can leave behind a trail of depressions. Usually known as boulder tracks, these features have been documented and studied on Earth, the Moon, and Mars. Geologists studying the Moon and Mars can use these tracks to learn about the physical properties of the fine-grained debris encountered by the boulder as it rolled down the slope. Because of the high-resolution capability (0.5 to 12 meters, 1.6 to 39 feet, per pixel) of the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, dozens of boulder track sites have been identified on the red planet. A Mars Orbiter Camera image of one set of boulder tracks in a south mid-latitude crater (located near 35.8 degrees south latitude, 158.4 degrees west longitude) was obtained on Nov. 14, 2003, (left). A second image of the same site, from Dec. 4, 2004, (right) shows that more than a dozen new boulder tracks formed on the crater wall during the intervening time. Mars is an active planet, with geologic changes occurring -- at some scale -- every day. In this case, some time between mid November 2003 and early December 2004, a suite of boulders became dislodged from the crater wall, then rolled and perhaps bounced their way to the crater floor. Wider context for the site can be seen in a mosaic of Mars Orbiter Camera wide-angle images acquired in May 1999 (insert MOC2-1213a). The white box indicates the location of the later, higher-resolution views. Why the new boulders slid down the slope is unknown. This is the product of a mass movement (landsliding) process. That is, gravity is the main culprit. Whether the boulder motion was triggered by something -- a seismic event ("Marsquake") or strong winds -- is not known. Also unknown is whether all of the new boulder tracks formed at the same time, in response to a single event, or rolled downhill one at a time over the nearly 13-month period. The Mars Orbiter Camera was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS |
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