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Lunarama
Title Lunarama
Full Description An extraordinary lunar panorama at Station 4 (Shorty Crater) showing Geologist-Astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt working at the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA-2) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. This is the area where Schmitt first spotted the orange soil. Shorty Crater is to the right. The peak in the center background is Family Mountain. A portion of South Massif is on the horizon at the left edge.
Date 12/12/1972
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Antares" on the Frau Mauro H …
Title Antares" on the Frau Mauro Highlands
Full Description A front view of the Apollo 14 Lunar Module "Antares", which reflects a circular flare caused by the brilliant sun. The unusual ball of light was said by the astronauts to have a jewel-like appearance. At extreme left, the lower slope of Cone Crater can be seen.
Date 02/05/1971
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Orange Soil Discovery
Title Orange Soil Discovery
Full Description A view of the area at Station 4 (Shorty Crater) showing the highly- publicized orange soil which the Apollo 17 crewmen found on the Moon during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA-2) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. The tripod-like object is the gnomon and photometric chart assembly which is used as a photographic reference to establish local vertical Sun angle, scale and lunar color. The Gnomon is one of the Apollo lunar geology hand tools.
Date 12/12/1972
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Conrad and Surveyor on the S …
Title Conrad and Surveyor on the Slope of a Crater
Full Description Charles Conrad Jr., Apollo 12 Commander, examines the unmanned Surveyor III spacecraft during the second extravehicular activity (EVA-2). The Lunar Module (LM) "Intrepid" is in the right background. This picture was taken by astronaut Alan L. Bean, Lunar Module pilot. The "Intrepid" landed on the Moon's Ocean of Storms only 600 feet from Surveyor III. The television camera and several other components were taken from Surveyor III and brought back to earth for scientific analysis. Surveyor III soft-landed on the Moon on April 19, 1967.
Date 11/20/1969
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Crater Tsiolkovsky
Title Crater Tsiolkovsky
Full Description This is a view of the large crater Tsiolkovsky as photographed by the astronauts during the Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission, looking East toward the lunar horizon. Tsiolkovsky is approximately 150 statute miles in diameter. It was first identified and named by the Russians from photographs taken by their unmanned Luna III spacecraft.
Date 12/24/1968
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Roving Hills
Title Roving Hills
Full Description David R. Scott, Commander of Apollo 15, works at the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) during the third lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) of the mission at the Hadley-Apennine landing site. Hadley Rille is at the right center of the picture. Hadley Delta, in the background, rises approximately 4,000 meters (about 13,124 feet) above the plain. St. George Crater is partially visible at the upper right edge. This photograph was taken by Lunar Module pilot James B. Irwin. This view is looking almost due South.
Date 08/01/1971
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Duke on the Craters Edge
Title Duke on the Craters Edge
Full Description Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., Lunar Module pilot of the Apollo 16 mission, is photographed collecting lunar samples at Station no. 1 during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity at the Descartes landing site. This picture, looking eastward, was taken by Astronaut John W. Young, commander. Duke is standing at the rim of Plum crater, which is 40 meters in diameter and 10 meters deep. The parked Lunar Roving Vehicle can be seen in the left background.
Date 04/21/1972
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Duke on the Descartes
Title Duke on the Descartes
Full Description Apollo 16 astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., pilot of the Lunar Module "Orion", stands near the Rover, Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) at Station no. 4, near Stone Mountain, during the second Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA-2) at the Descartes landing site. Light rays from South Ray crater can be seen at upper left. The gnomon, which is used as a photographic reference to establish local vertical Sun angle, scale, and lunar color, is deployed in the center foreground. Note angularity of rocks in the area.
Date 04/22/1972
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Terraced Wall Crater on the …
Title Terraced Wall Crater on the Lunar Limb
Full Description This oblique view featuring International Astronomical Union (IAU) Crater 302 on the Moon surface was photographed by the Apollo 10 astronauts in May of 1969. Note the terraced walls of the crater and central cone. Center point coordinates are located at 162 degrees, 2 minutes east longitude and 10 degrees, 1 minute south latitude. One of the Apollo 10 astronauts aimed a handheld 70mm camera at the surface from lunar orbit for a series of pictures in this area.
Date 05/01/1969
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
The Lunar Farside
Title The Lunar Farside
Full Description View of the lunar surface taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft looking southward from high altitude across the Southern Sea. The bright-rayed crater near the horizon is located near 130 degrees east longitude and 70 degrees south latitude. The dark floored crater near the middle of the right side of the photograph is about 70 kilometers (45 statute miles) in diameter. Both features are beyond the eastern limb of the Moon as viewed from earth, neither has a name.
Date 12/24/1968
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Irwin Loads-up the Rover
Title Irwin Loads-up the Rover
Full Description Apollo 15 Lunar Module pilot James B. Irwin loads-up the "Rover", Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) with tools and equipment in preparation for the first lunar extravehicular activity (EVA-1) at the Hadley-Apennine landing site. A portion of the Lunar Module (LM) "Falcon" is on the left. The undeployed Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector (LR-3) lies atop the LM's Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA). This view is looking slightly West of South. Hadley Delta and the Apennine Front are in the background to the left. St. George crater is approximately 5 kilometers (about 3 statute miles) in the distance behind Irwin's head.
Date 07/31/1971
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Young and Rover on the Desca …
Title Young and Rover on the Descartes
Full Description Astronaut John W. Young, Commander of the Apollo 16 mission, replaces tools in the hand tool carrier at the aft end of the "Rover" Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) during the second Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA-2) at the Descartes landing site. This photograph was taken by Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., Lunar Module pilot. Smokey Mountain, with the large Ravine crater on its flank, is in the left background. This view is looking Northeast.
Date 04/22/1972
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Mars: Closest Encounter
Title Mars: Closest Encounter
ACD02-0141-002
Human Robotic (Virtual) stud …
7/25/02
Description Human Robotic (Virtual) study of Houghton crater from NASA AMES Future Flight Central (FFC) Simulator tower L-R: Dr Stephen Hoffman, JSC (seated), Dr. Kelly Snook, Ames/JSC: Dr Jeffry Moersch, Univ of Tenn, and Dr Jim Saunders, Auburn
Date 7/25/02
Mount Etna, Sicily
Title Mount Etna, Sicily
Description One of the most consistently active volcanoes in the world, Sicily's Mount Etna has a historical record of eruptions dating back to 1500 BC. This astronaut photograph captures plumes of steam and possibly ash originating from summit craters on the mountain: the Northeast Crater and Central Crater, which includes two secondary craters (Voragine and Bocca Nuova). Locals heard explosions coming from the rim of the Northeast Crater on July 26, 2006, and the plumes shown in this image are likely a continuation of that activity. The massive 3,350-meter-high volcano is located approximately 24 kilometers north of Catania, the second-largest city in Sicily, and it dominates the city's northern skyline. Much of Etna's surface consists of generations of dark, basaltic lava flows that extended outwards from the summit craters. Fertile soils developed on older flows are marked by green vegetation. Although Etna's current explosive eruptions tend to occur at the summit, lava flows generally erupt through fissures lower down on the flanks of the volcano. Cinder cones, such as Monte Frumento, mark many of the lava flow vents on the volcano's flanks. There is evidence of larger eruptive events as well. The Valle del Bove to the south-southeast of the summit is a caldera formed by the emptying of a subsurface magma chamber during a large eruptive event. Once the magma chamber emptied, the overlying roof material collapsed downwards. Astronaut photograph ISS013-E-62714 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS013&roll=E&frame=62714 ] was acquired August 2, 2006, with a Kodak 760C digital camera using an 800 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Group, Johnson Space Center. The image in this article has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast. Lens artifacts have also been removed. The International Space Station Program [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/home/index.html ] supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ ]
Pinacates Biosphere Reserve
Title Pinacates Biosphere Reserve
Description The Pinacates region of Mexico's Sonoran Desert is one of the most unique and striking landscapes in North America. Located just a few miles south of the Mexico-Arizona border, this volcanic field originated with the rifting of the Gulf of California millions of years ago, but the features seen today (volcanic peaks, lava flows, cinder cones and collapsed craters) formed in the late Pleistocene period (2 million to 11,000 years ago). The volcanic range is surrounded by one of North America's largest dune fields, Gran Desierto. The natural history of the region includes thousands of years of human occupation, it is the aboriginal homeland of the O'Odham tribe, also known as the Papago. The region also served as an early training site for Apollo astronauts in the 1960s. This ecosystem supports a wonderfully diverse northern Sonoran desert assemblage of plants and animals, including large saguaro cacti, ocotillo, many species of reptiles, amphibians, and insects. In fact, the name Pinacate is derived from "pinacatl," the Aztec name for the desert stink beetle, which is common in the region. The natural and cultural resource management of the region, including the archeological sites and the high biodiversity, is now guaranteed: the site was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1993. Early in May 2004, the new Space Station crew (ISS-9) obtained high-resolution images of the Pinacates, allowing for detailed observations of the surface features. One example is a large volcanic crater (see box, and detail below) called Crater Elegante which is one of the most prominent and interesting features of the Pinacates. For scale, the diameter of the crater is approximately 1500 meters. These detailed images can be used to monitor vegetation and development in the region. Astronaut photographs ISS009-E-5953 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS009&roll=E&frame=5953 ] and 5944 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS009&roll=E&frame=5944 ] were acquired May 7, 2004 with a Kodak DCS760 digital camera equipped with 80 and 400 mm lenses (respectively), and are provided by the Earth Observations Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The International Space Station Program [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/ ] supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ ]
Pinacates Biosphere Reserve
Title Pinacates Biosphere Reserve
Description The Pinacates region of Mexico's Sonoran Desert is one of the most unique and striking landscapes in North America. Located just a few miles south of the Mexico-Arizona border, this volcanic field originated with the rifting of the Gulf of California millions of years ago, but the features seen today (volcanic peaks, lava flows, cinder cones and collapsed craters) formed in the late Pleistocene period (2 million to 11,000 years ago). The volcanic range is surrounded by one of North America's largest dune fields, Gran Desierto. The natural history of the region includes thousands of years of human occupation, it is the aboriginal homeland of the O'Odham tribe, also known as the Papago. The region also served as an early training site for Apollo astronauts in the 1960s. This ecosystem supports a wonderfully diverse northern Sonoran desert assemblage of plants and animals, including large saguaro cacti, ocotillo, many species of reptiles, amphibians, and insects. In fact, the name Pinacate is derived from "pinacatl," the Aztec name for the desert stink beetle, which is common in the region. The natural and cultural resource management of the region, including the archeological sites and the high biodiversity, is now guaranteed: the site was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1993. Early in May 2004, the new Space Station crew (ISS-9) obtained high-resolution images of the Pinacates, allowing for detailed observations of the surface features. One example is a large volcanic crater (see box, and detail below) called Crater Elegante which is one of the most prominent and interesting features of the Pinacates. For scale, the diameter of the crater is approximately 1500 meters. These detailed images can be used to monitor vegetation and development in the region. Astronaut photographs ISS009-E-5953 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS009&roll=E&frame=5953 ] and 5944 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS009&roll=E&frame=5944 ] were acquired May 7, 2004 with a Kodak DCS760 digital camera equipped with 80 and 400 mm lenses (respectively), and are provided by the Earth Observations Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The International Space Station Program [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/ ] supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ ]
Pinacates Biosphere Reserve
Title Pinacates Biosphere Reserve
Description The Pinacates region of Mexico's Sonoran Desert is one of the most unique and striking landscapes in North America. Located just a few miles south of the Mexico-Arizona border, this volcanic field originated with the rifting of the Gulf of California millions of years ago, but the features seen today (volcanic peaks, lava flows, cinder cones and collapsed craters) formed in the late Pleistocene period (2 million to 11,000 years ago). The volcanic range is surrounded by one of North America's largest dune fields, Gran Desierto. The natural history of the region includes thousands of years of human occupation, it is the aboriginal homeland of the O'Odham tribe, also known as the Papago. The region also served as an early training site for Apollo astronauts in the 1960s. This ecosystem supports a wonderfully diverse northern Sonoran desert assemblage of plants and animals, including large saguaro cacti, ocotillo, many species of reptiles, amphibians, and insects. In fact, the name Pinacate is derived from "pinacatl," the Aztec name for the desert stink beetle, which is common in the region. The natural and cultural resource management of the region, including the archeological sites and the high biodiversity, is now guaranteed: the site was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1993. Early in May 2004, the new Space Station crew (ISS-9) obtained high-resolution images of the Pinacates, allowing for detailed observations of the surface features. One example is a large volcanic crater (see box, and detail below) called Crater Elegante which is one of the most prominent and interesting features of the Pinacates. For scale, the diameter of the crater is approximately 1500 meters. These detailed images can be used to monitor vegetation and development in the region. Astronaut photographs ISS009-E-5953 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS009&roll=E&frame=5953 ] and 5944 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS009&roll=E&frame=5944 ] were acquired May 7, 2004 with a Kodak DCS760 digital camera equipped with 80 and 400 mm lenses (respectively), and are provided by the Earth Observations Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The International Space Station Program [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/ ] supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ ]
Plume at Mount Bagana, Bouga …
Title Plume at Mount Bagana, Bouganville Island
Description Bouganville Island is geographically part of the Solomon Islands chain to the east of Papua New Guinea. (Politically, the island is part of Papua New Guinea.) Bouganville is typical of many Pacific Rim islands in that volcanism has played a large part in both its geological and recorded history. The island hosts three large volcanoes along its northwest-southeast trending axis: Mount Balbi, Mount Bagana, and the Mount Takuan volcanic complex. Mount Bagana, located near image center in this astronaut photograph, is the only historically active volcano on the island. Within Bouganville's lush landscape, light green vegetation and brown lava flows mark the 1,750-meter-high lava cone of Mount Bagana. The lighter color of vegetation could result from volcanic activity, higher altitude, or both. The eruptive style of the volcano is typically non-explosive, producing thick lobes of lava that run down the flanks and maintain a dome in the summit crater. Occasional pyroclastic flows of rock fragments and volcanic ash have also occurred. The most recent phase of activity, which began on March 7, was characterized by vapor plumes with occasional ash-producing emissions. This astronaut photograph, acquired 20 days after the last reported activity at Bagana, shows a diffuse white vapor plume extending west-southwest from the summit. The Solomon Island region experiences other effects due to the geologic setting. On April 1, 2007, a large but shallow earthquake [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17603 ] shook the region and induced a tsunami that hit the western part of the Solomon Island chain. The featured astronaut photograph ISS014-E-18844 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS014&roll=E&frame=18844 ] was acquired on April 2, 2007, with a Kodak digital camera using an 180 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The image in this article has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast. The International Space Station Program [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/home/index.html ] supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ ]
Santa Maria Volcano, Guatema …
Title Santa Maria Volcano, Guatemala
Description The eruption of Santa Maria volcano in 1902 was one of the largest eruptions of the 20th century, forming a large crater on the mountain?s southwest flank. Since 1922, a lava-dome complex, Santiaguito, has been forming in the 1902 crater. Growth of the dome has produced pyroclastic flows as recently as the 2001?they can be identified in this image. The city of Quezaltenango (approximately 90,000 people in 1989) sits below the 3772 m summit. The volcano is considered dangerous because of the possibility of a dome collapse such as one that occurred in 1929, which killed about 5000 people. A second hazard results from the flow of volcanic debris into rivers south of Santiaguito, which can lead to catastrophic flooding and mud flows. More information on this volcano can be found at web sites maintained by the Smithsonian Institution [ /cgi-bin/redirect?http://www.volcano.si.edu/gvp/volcano/region14/ guatemal/santamar/var.htm ], Volcano World [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/south_america/guat/santa_maria.html ], and Michigan Tech University [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/santamaria/ ]. ISS004-ESC-7999 was taken 17 February 2002 from the International Space Station using a digital camera. The image is provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ ] at Johnson Space Center. Searching and viewing of additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts is available at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/ ]
Sicily's Mount Etna
Title Sicily's Mount Etna
Description One of the most consistently active volcanoes in the world, Sicily's Mount Etna has a historical record of eruptions dating back to 1500 BC. This astronaut photograph captures plumes of steam and possibly ash originating from summit craters on the mountain: the Northeast Crater and Central Crater, which includes two secondary craters (Voragine and Bocca Nuova). Locals heard explosions coming from the rim of the Northeast Crater on July 26, 2006, and the plumes shown in this image are likely a continuation of that activity. The massive 3,350-meter-high volcano is located approximately 24 kilometers north of Catania, the second-largest city in Sicily, and it dominates the city's northern skyline. Much of Etna's surface consists of generations of dark, basaltic lava flows that extended outwards from the summit craters. Fertile soils developed on older flows are marked by green vegetation. Although Etna's current explosive eruptions tend to occur at the summit, lava flows generally erupt through fissures lower down on the flanks of the volcano. Cinder cones, such as Monte Frumento, mark many of the lava flow vents on the volcano's flanks. There is evidence of larger eruptive events as well. The Valle del Bove to the south-southeast of the summit is a caldera formed by the emptying of a subsurface magma chamber during a large eruptive event. Once the magma chamber emptied, the overlying roof material collapsed downwards. Astronaut photograph ISS013-E-62714 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS013&roll=E&frame=62714 ] was acquired August 2, 2006, with a Kodak 760C digital camera using an 800 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Group, Johnson Space Center. The image in this article has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast. Lens artifacts have also been removed. The International Space Station Program [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/home/index.html ] supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ ]
Summit Crater of Mauna Loa
Title Summit Crater of Mauna Loa
Description high resolution, 1000 pixel-wide image Astronauts obtained this detailed image of the summit caldera of Mauna Loa volcano, called Mokuaweoweo Caldera. Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on our planet—the summit elevation is 4,170 m (over 13,600 ft), but the volcano's summit rises 9 km above the sea floor. The sharp features of the summit caldera and lava flows that drain outward from the summit are tribute to the fact that Mauna Loa is one of the Earth's most active volcanoes. The most recent eruption was in 1984. The straight line the cuts through the center of the crater from top to bottom is a rift zone—an area that pulls apart as magma reaches the surface. A weather observatory run by NOAA?s Climate Monitoring & Diagnostics Lab is on the volcano's north slope at 11,000 ft (3397 m). This facility, known as the Mauna Loa Observatory, is the site where scientists have documented the constantly increasing concentrations of global atmospheric carbon dioxide. Other resources about Mauna Loa:  http://wwwhvo.wr.usgs.gov/maunaloa/ [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://wwwhvo.wr.usgs.gov/maunaloa/ ]  http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov/obop/mlo/ [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov/obop/mlo/ ]  http://www.volcano.si.edu/gvp/usgs/vol_archive/maunaloa.htm [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://www.volcano.si.edu/gvp/usgs/vol_archive/maunaloa.htm ] Astronaut photograph ISS005-E-7002 was provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/%20 ]
Summit Crater of Mauna Loa
Title Summit Crater of Mauna Loa
Description high resolution, 1000 pixel-wide image Astronauts obtained this detailed image of the summit caldera of Mauna Loa volcano, called Mokuaweoweo Caldera. Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on our planet—the summit elevation is 4,170 m (over 13,600 ft), but the volcano's summit rises 9 km above the sea floor. The sharp features of the summit caldera and lava flows that drain outward from the summit are tribute to the fact that Mauna Loa is one of the Earth's most active volcanoes. The most recent eruption was in 1984. The straight line the cuts through the center of the crater from top to bottom is a rift zone—an area that pulls apart as magma reaches the surface. A weather observatory run by NOAA?s Climate Monitoring & Diagnostics Lab is on the volcano's north slope at 11,000 ft (3397 m). This facility, known as the Mauna Loa Observatory, is the site where scientists have documented the constantly increasing concentrations of global atmospheric carbon dioxide. Other resources about Mauna Loa:  http://wwwhvo.wr.usgs.gov/maunaloa/ [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://wwwhvo.wr.usgs.gov/maunaloa/ ]  http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov/obop/mlo/ [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov/obop/mlo/ ]  http://www.volcano.si.edu/gvp/usgs/vol_archive/maunaloa.htm [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://www.volcano.si.edu/gvp/usgs/vol_archive/maunaloa.htm ] Astronaut photograph ISS005-E-7002 was provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/%20 ]
Impact: 65 Million Years Ago
Title Impact: 65 Million Years Ago
Explanation What killed the dinosaurs? [ http://www.wf.carleton.ca/Museum/extinction/homepg.html ] Their sudden disappearance 65 million years ago, along with about 70 percent of all species then living on Earth, is known as the K-T event [ ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1998/98-042.txt ] (Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction event). Geologists and paleontologists often entertain the idea that a large asteroid or comet impacting [ http://rainbow.ldeo.columbia.edu/courses/v1001/23.html ] the Earth was the culprit. In such a cosmic catastrophe, the good(!) news would be that the impact [ http://www.agu.org/revgeophys/claeys00/claeys00.html ] would generate firestorms, tidal waves, earthquakes, and hurricane winds. As for the bad news [ http://www.techreview.com/articles/feb95/tyson.html ] ... debris thrown into the atmosphere would have a serious global environmental consequences, creating extended periods of darkness, low temperatures, and acid rains - resulting in a planet-wide extinction event. In 1990, dramatic support for this theory [ http://juliet.stfx.ca/ academic/geology/courses/170/whatsnew/biosph/dino2.html ] came from cosmochemist Alan Hildebrand's revelation of a 65 million year old, 112 mile wide ring structure still detectable [ http://southport.jpl.nasa.gov:80/pio/srl1/sirc/srl1-yucatan.html ] under layers of sediment in the Yucatan Peninsula region of Mexico. The outlines of the structure, called the Chicxulub crater [ http://ucaswww.mcm.uc.edu/geology/huff/Chicxulub.html ] (named for a local village), are visible in the above representation of gravity and magnetic field data from the region. In addition to having the right age, the crater is consistent with the impact of [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970323.html ] an asteroid of sufficient size (6 to 12 miles wide) to cause the global disruptions. Regardless of the true cause of the K-T event, it is fortunate that such impacts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990610.html ] are presently [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/CloseApp.html ] believed to happen [ http://impact.arc.nasa.gov/index.html ] only about once every 100 million years!
Newton Crater: Evidence for …
Title Newton Crater: Evidence for Recent Water on Mars
Explanation What could have formed these unusual channels? Inside a small crater [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo/education/plansurf/plansurfii.html ] that lies inside large Newton Crater [ http://ic.arc.nasa.gov/ic/projects/bayes-group/Atlas/Mars/features/n/newton.html ] on Mars [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mars.html ], numerous narrow channels run from the top down to the crater floor. The above picture [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/june2000/newton/index.html ] covers a region spanning about 3000 meters across. These and other gullies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000623.html ] have been found on Mars in recent high-resolution pictures [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/june2000/index.html ] taken by the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/overvu/overview.html ] robot spacecraft. Similar channels on Earth [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/june2000/labeled/index.html ] are formed by flowing water, but on Mars the temperature is normally too cold and the atmosphere [ http://windows.ivv.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/tour_def/mars/lower_atmosphere.html ] too thin to sustain liquid water [ http://www.es.mq.edu.au/courses/GEOS112/mod2/worsho/06/6_2.html ]. Nevertheless, many scientists now hypothesize that liquid water did burst out here from underground Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/mars.html ], eroded the gullies, and pooled at the bottom as it froze and evaporated. If so, life-sustaining ice and water [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980530.html ] might exist even today below the Martian surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000514.html ] -- water that could potentially support a human mission to Mars [ http://www-sn.jsc.nasa.gov/marsref/contents.html ]. Research into this exciting possibility [ http://www.sciencemag.org/feature/data/hottopics/index.html ] is sure to continue!
Earth's Richat Structure
Title Earth's Richat Structure
Explanation What on Earth is that? The Richat Structure [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/publications/slidesets/geology.html ] in the Sahara Desert [ http://library.thinkquest.org/16645/the_land/sahara_desert.shtml ] of Mauritania [ http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mr.html ] is easily visible from space because it is nearly 50 kilometers across. Once thought to be an impact crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990711.html ], the Richat Structure [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS58/10083803.htm ]'s flat middle and lack of shock-altered rock indicates otherwise. The possibility that the Richat Structure [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/GT4/10074021.htm ] was formed by a volcanic eruption [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960805.html ] also seems improbable because of the lack of a dome of igneous [ http://jersey.uoregon.edu/~mstrick/AskGeoMan/geoQuerry14.html ] or volcanic rock. Rather, the layered sedimentary rock of the Richat structure [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/media/rel/Past-News-Releases-93-94-95/93-088.DOC.html ] is now thought by many to have been caused by uplifted rock sculpted by erosion. Why the Richat Structure [ http://www.lib.ttu.edu/playa/text/playa7.htm ] is nearly circular remains a mystery.
Manicouagan Impact Crater on …
Title Manicouagan Impact Crater on Earth
Explanation The Manicouagan Crater [ http://www.linkdirectory.com/airphoto/1030.html ] in northern Canada [ http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html ] is one of the oldest impact craters [ http://observe.ivv.nasa.gov/nasa/exhibits/craters/impact_home.html ] known. Formed during a surely tremendous impact [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990711.html ] about 200 million years ago, the present day terrain supports a 70-kilometer diameter hydroelectric reservoir [ http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/nam/nam-26.html ] in the telltale form of an annular lake [ http://epod.usra.edu/archive/epodviewer.php3?oid=40640 ]. The crater itself has been worn away by the passing of glaciers [ http://www.glacier.rice.edu/land/5_whatisaglacier.html ] and other erosional processes. Still, the hard rock [ http://duke.usask.ca/~reeves/prog/geoe118/geoe118.011.html ] at the impact site has preserved much of the complex impact structure [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960120.html ] and so allows scientists a leading case to help understand large impact features on Earth [ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/impacts.html ] and other [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001213.html ap960906.html ] Solar System bodies. Also visible above [ http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/lores.cgi?PHOTO=STS009-48-3139 ] is the vertical fin of the Space Shuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990411.html ] Columbia from which the picture was taken in 1983.
Moon Mare and Montes
Title Moon Mare and Montes
Explanation This arresting [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991108.html ] image of the third quarter moon in the excellent skies above the Pine Crest Farm Observatory, Dell Prairie, Wisconsin, was recorded [ http://www.scancam.com/ ] with a 24 inch telescope and digital camera on October 19. Marvelously detailed [ http://www.seds.org/billa/psc/lunam.html ], especially along the terminator or shadow line between lunar night [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960919.html ] and day, this cropped version of the full mosaicked image shows the cratered north polar region (top) and the broad smooth Mare Imbrium [ http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/planet_volcano/lunar/ mare/mlm.html ]. Notable at the northern edge [ http://www.arval.org.ve/MoonMapen.htm ] of the Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) is the 95 kilometer wide dark crater Plato, while the dramatic straight "cut" to the right of Plato, (toward the terminator) is the Vallis Alpes (Alpine Valley). The long, graceful arc of the lunar [ http://www.tiac.net/users/richarde/ ] Montes Apenninus (Apennine Mountains) in the lower portion of the image sweeps southward along the boundary of the mare toward the left and ends near the bright ray crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001216.html ] Copernicus [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/orbiter/ orbiter-craters.html#COPER ] at the picture's edge. In 1971, Apollo 15 [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/a15j.html ] landed near the gap beyond the opposite (northern) end of the Montes Apenninus arc.
Crater Copernicus
Title Crater Copernicus
Explanation One of the more prominent craters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990711.html ] on the Moon [ http://www.nineplanets.org/luna.html ] is named Copernicus [ http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Copernicus.html ]. Copernicus [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/orbiter/orbiter-craters.html#COPER ] is a large young crater visible with binoculars slightly northwest of the center of the Moon's Earth-facing hemisphere [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010218.html ]. Copernicus [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/solar/cap/moon/coper.htm ] is distinguished by its size and by the many bright rays pointing out from it. Although Copernicus [ http://www.mhhe.com/physsci/astronomy/fix/student/chapter9/09f21.html ] is relatively young for a lunar crater, it was formed nearly a billion years ago by a colossal impact [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/science/craterstructure.html ]. The center of Copernicus [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/Apollo17/ A17_Photography_metric.html#Copernicus ] is about 93 kilometers across. The above picture [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/science/craterstructure.html#Copernicus ] was taken in 1972 by the last human mission to the moon: Apollo 17 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001209.html ]. The prospects for a return have been boosted recently with increased evidence of ice deposits [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/ice/ice_moon.html ] near the lunar poles [ http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast13oct99_1.htm ].
Aurora from Space
Title Aurora from Space
Explanation From the ground, spectacular auroras seem to dance [ http://science.nasa.gov/spaceweather/aurora/ gallery_01mar03.html ] high above. But the International Space Station (ISS [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070625.html ]) orbits at nearly the same height as many auroras [ http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/ auroras/ ], sometimes passing over [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010210.html ] them, and sometimes right through them. Still, the auroral electron [ http://www.aip.org/history/electron/ ] and proton [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/lament.html ] streams pose no direct danger to the ISS [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/ ]. In 2003, ISS Science Officer Don Pettit [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/pettit.html ] captured the green aurora, pictured above [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/ 24mar_noseprints.htm ] in a digitally sharpened image. From orbit, Pettit reported [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp6/ spacechronicles.html ] that changing auroras [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/ ] appeared to crawl around like giant green amoebas [ http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artsep01/ amoeba.html ]. Over 300 kilometers below, the Manicouagan Impact Crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001213.html ] can be seen in northern Canada, planet Earth.
Ganymede: Torn Comet - Crate …
Title Ganymede: Torn Comet - Crater Chain
Explanation This striking line of 13 closely spaced craters [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA01610 ] on Jupiter's moon Ganymede [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/research/outerp/gany.html ] was photographed by the Galileo spacecraft in 1997. The picture covers an area about 120 miles wide and the chain of craters cuts across a sharp boundary between dark and light terrain. What caused this crater chain? Remarkably, the exploration of the Solar System [ http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html ], has shown that crater chains [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950715.html ] like this one are not unique [ http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/moon.html ], though they were [ http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news12.html ] considered mysterious until a dramatic object lesson was offered by comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. In 1994 many denizens of planet Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971026.html ] watched as huge pieces of this torn comet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990814.html ] slammed into Jupiter itself in a spectacular series of sequential impacts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980804.html ]. It is very likely that similar torn comets from the early history of the Solar System are responsible for this and other crater chains [ http://astrosun.tn.cornell.edu/staff/bottke/crater_chain/ chain.html ].
The Crater Chain
Title The Crater Chain
Explanation NASA's robot spaceprobe Voyager 1 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/voyager.html ], took this closeup image of the surface of Jupiter's crater scarred moon Callisto in 1979. A mysterious chain of craters is seen to extend diagonally across the image (upper left to lower right). What could cause the craters to line up in such a regular fashion? Scientists were at a loss to explain this crater chain along with several other chain like features observed on Callisto's surface. Fifteen years later, with the discovery of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 [ http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/sl9/sl9.html ], also known as the "string of pearls" comet, [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950713.html ] the mystery was solved. Comets whose orbits stray too close to Jupiter are torn apart by the strong gravity. When the individual pieces, strung out along the orbital path of the comet hit an object like Callisto, the sequence of impacts produces a crater chain. For more information about the picture see the Split Comet Studies Page. [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/split/split.html ]
Apollo 14 on the Moon
Title Apollo 14 on the Moon
Explanation The jewel-like glare from a brilliant sun reflects off the lunar module of the Apollo 14 [ http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/SolarSystem/apo14.htm ] mission to the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950903.html ] as it rests on the lunar surface in February 1971. Astronauts Alan Shepard [ http://tigger.uic.edu/~jph/abs.htm ] and Edgar Mitchell walked on the Moon's surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950922.html ] while astronaut Stuart Roosa piloted the orbiting command module. Coming only months after the abortive Apollo 13 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950707.html ] mission, Apollo 14 [ http://ees5-www.lanl.gov/APOLLO/ ] was famous for long exploratory moon walks, collecting samples of lunar bedrock from Cone Crater, deploying the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package, and hitting golf balls [ http://ees5-www.lanl.gov/APOLLO/a14.clsout2.html ]. The slope rising to the rim of Cone Crater is visible at the left edge of the photo.
Apollo 14 Deploys ALSEP
Title Apollo 14 Deploys ALSEP
Explanation After the lunar module [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951209.html ] of Apollo 14 [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/apo14.htm ] set down on the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951128.html ], Astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell deployed the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) and collected samples of lunar material. The ALSEP scientific experiments included a seismometer [ http://gldfs.cr.usgs.gov/ ] sensitive to slight lunar surface movements, and charged particle detectors which measured the solar wind [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html#sol_wind ]. The seismometer successfully measured surface tremors interpreted as moonquakes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950904.html ] and meteoroids [ http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/sst/ ] striking the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950903.html ], while the solar wind [ http://www.sel.bldrdoc.gov/effects.html ] experiment was sensitive enough to detect the element argon [ http://www.cchem.berkeley.edu/Table/Ar.html ]. These and other ALSEP experiments helped classify the internal structure and magnetic field of Earth's Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950629.html ]. Shepard and Mitchell also made a geology traverse to the rim of Cone Crater, carrying their tools and sample containers in the Modular Equipment Transporter (MET). In this picture Alan Shepard assembles a core tube which he will then hammer into the surface.
Ancient Volcanos of Mars
Title Ancient Volcanos of Mars
Explanation Findings of ancient martian microbial fossils [ http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/astrobiology/biomarkers/ recentnews.html ] in meteorites and liquid water related [ http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ ast29jun_1m.htm ] features on Mars' surface [ http://unisci.com/stories/20012/0402013.htm ] are currently controversial issues. But one thing long established by space-based observations of the Red Planet [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] is the presence of volcanos, as Mars supports some of the largest volcanos [ http://www.msss.com/http/ps/volcanoes.html ] in the solar system. This synthetic color picture recorded in March [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/news2002/ceraunius/ index.html ] by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft shows two of them, Ceraunius Tholus (leftmost) and Uranius Tholus. Found north of the Tharsis [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990618.html ] region of truly large martian volcanos [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000529.html ], these are actually two relatively small volcanos, Ceraunius Tholus being only about the size of the Big Island of Hawaii [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020425.html ] on planet Earth. Impact craters which overlay the volcanic martian terrain [ http://themis.la.asu.edu/latest.html ] indicate that these volcanos are [ http://www.solarviews.com/eng/marsvolc.htm ] themselves ancient and inactive. North is to the right and the scene is illuminated by sunlight from the top left. A light region of dust deposited by recent global dust storms [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011017.html ] lies on the lower left flank of Ceraunius Tholus, whose summit crater is about 25 kilometers across.
Earth's Richat Structure
Title Earth's Richat Structure
Explanation What on Earth is that? The Richat Structure [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/publications/slidesets/geology.html ] in the Sahara Desert [ http://www.pbs.org/sahara/ ] of Mauritania [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mr.html ] is easily visible from space because it is nearly 50 kilometers across. Once thought to be an impact crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990711.html ], the Richat Structure [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS58/10083803.htm ]'s flat middle and lack of shock-altered rock indicates otherwise. The possibility that the Richat Structure [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=9319 ] was formed by a volcanic eruption [ http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vw.html ] also seems improbable because of the lack of a dome of igneous [ http://jersey.uoregon.edu/~mstrick/AskGeoMan/geoQuerry14.html ] or volcanic rock. Rather, the layered sedimentary rock [ http://www.fi.edu/fellows/payton/rocks/create/sediment.htm ] of the Richat structure is now thought by many to have been caused by uplifted rock sculpted by erosion [ http://www.geography4kids.com/files/land_erosion.html ]. The above image [ http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/earthasart/richat.html ] was captured last year by the orbiting Landsat 7 [ http://landsat7.usgs.gov/ ] satellite. Why the Richat Structure [ http://www.lib.ttu.edu/playa/text/playa7.htm ] is nearly circular remains a mystery.
The Largest Impact Crater
Title The Largest Impact Crater
Explanation What is the largest known impact crater [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/edu/craters.htm ] in the Solar System? Over 1300 miles across, the South Pole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951128.html ]-Aitken Basin on the farside [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950914.html ] of Earth's Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/moon.html ] holds that distinction. Circled above in a false color mosaic of Clementine images [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/CLEM/clemtext.html ] it was caused when an asteroid [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960215.html ] or comet sized object [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950821.html ] crashed into the surface, penetrating the lunar mantle. In general, the rocky terrestrial planets and moons are scarred and battered from frequent repeated bombardment by large objects during our Solar System's early years. On Earth, continuous geological activity has hidden much of the damage [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960604.html ], but the surface of the smaller, less active Moon [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/moon.html ] bears testimony to a shared history of fierce and frequent impacts. At the present time in the vicinity of Earth, the bombardment continues [ http://omzg.comcen-1.nsk.su/tunguska/TUNGUSKA.html ] - fortunately at a greatly reduced rate [ http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/sst/main.html ].
Aurora From Space
Title Aurora From Space
Explanation What do auroras look like from space? From the ground, auroras dance [ http://science.nasa.gov/spaceweather/aurora/gallery_01mar03.html ] high above clouds [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010402.html ], frequently causing spectacular displays [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000410.html ]. The International Space Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021103.html ] (ISS) orbits just at the same height as many auroras [ http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/ ], though. Therefore, sometimes it flies over [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010210.html ] them, but also sometimes it flies right through. The auroral electron [ http://www.aip.org/history/electron/ ] and proton [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/lament.html ] streams are too thin to be a danger to the ISS [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/ ], just as clouds [ http://seaborg.nmu.edu/Clouds/bluesky.html ] pose little danger to airplanes [ http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/airflylvl3.htm ]. ISS Science Officer [ http://spacelink.nasa.gov/NASA.News/NASA.News.Releases/Previous.News.Releases/0 2.News.Releases/02-09.News.Releases/02-09-16.First.NASA.ISS.Science.Officer ] Don Pettit [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/pettit.html ] captured a green aurora, pictured above [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/24mar_noseprints.htm ] in a digitally sharpened image. From orbit [ http://science.nasa.gov/ppod/ ], Dr. Pettit [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp6/spacechronicles.html ] reports, changing auroras [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/ ] can appear to crawl around like giant green amoebas [ http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artsep01/amoeba.html ]. Far below, on planet Earth, the Manicouagan Impact Crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001213.html ] can be seen in northern Canada [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html ].
A Spherule from the Earth's …
Title A Spherule from the Earth's Moon
Explanation How did this spherule come to be on the Moon? When a meteorite [ http://www.nineplanets.org/meteorites.html ] strikes the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/moon.html ], the energy of the impact [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast30nov_1.htm ] melts some of the splattering rock [ http://www.teachersource.com/micrometeorites.htm ], a fraction of which might cool into tiny glass beads [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010523.html ]. Many of these glass beads [ http://www.geocities.com/ladysveva/BeadHistory.html ] were present in lunar soil samples [ http://www-curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/lunar/lunar.htm ] returned to Earth by the Apollo missions [ http://www.nasm.edu/apollo/ ]. Pictured above [ http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/lunar-spherule.html ] is one such glass spherule [ http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/spherule ] that measures only a quarter of a millimeter [ http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/everyday.htm ] across. This spherule [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040210.html ] is particularly interesting because it has been victim to an even smaller impact. A miniature crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990711.html ] is visible on the upper left, surrounded by a fragmented area caused by the shockwaves [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010623.html ] of the small impact. By dating [ http://www.dc.peachnet.edu/~pgore/geology/geo102/radio.htm ] many of these impacts, some astronomers estimate [ http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/lunar-spherule.html ] that cratering [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010428.html ] on our Moon increased [ http://www.sciencenews.org/20000311/fob3.asp ] roughly 500 million years ago and continues even today.
Impact! 65 Million Years Ago
Title Impact! 65 Million Years Ago
Explanation What killed the dinosaurs? [ http://www.wf.carleton.ca/Museum/extinction/homepg.html ] Their sudden disappearance 65 million years ago, along with about 70 percent of all species then living on Earth, is known as the K-T event [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/comet/appendb.htm ] (Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction event). Geologists and paleontologists often entertain the idea of a large asteroid or comet impacting [ http://rainbow.ldeo.columbia.edu/courses/v1001/23.html ] the Earth as the culprit. Besides the firestorms, tidal waves, earthquakes, and hurricane winds such an impact [ http://web.mit.edu/afs/athena/org/t/ techreview/www/articles/feb95/tyson.html ] would generate, the debris thrown into the atmosphere would have a serious global environmental impact -- creating extended periods of darkness, low temperatures, and acid rains. In 1990, dramatic support for this theory [ http://juliet.stfx.ca/ academic/geology/courses/170/whatsnew/biosph/dino2.html ] came from cosmochemist Alan Hildebrand's revelation of a 65 million year old, 112 mile wide ring structure still detectable under layers of sediment in the Yucatan Peninsula region of Mexico. The outlines of the structure, called the Chicxulub crater [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/tercrate.htm#chic ] (named for a local village), are visible in the above representation of gravity and magnetic field data from the region [ http://www.agu.org/sharpton.html ]. In addition to having the right age, the crater is consistent with the impact [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970323.html ] of an asteroid of sufficient size (6 to 12 miles wide) to cause the global disruptions. Regardless of the true cause of the K-T event, it is fortunate that such impacts are presently believed to happen only about once every 100 million years! [ http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/sst/main.html ]
Barringer Crater on Earth
Title Barringer Crater on Earth
Explanation What happens when a meteor [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/meteorites.html ] hits the ground? Usually nothing much, as most meteors [ http://medicine.wustl.edu/~kronkg/meteor_shower.html ] are small, and indentations they make are soon eroded away. 49,000 years ago, however, a large meteor created Barringer Meteor Crater [ http://www.etsimo.uniovi.es/solar/cap/earth/meteor.htm ] in Arizona, pictured above. Barringer [ http://www.meteorite.com/meteor_crater/ ] is over a kilometer across. In 1920, it was the first feature on Earth to be recognized as an impact crater [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/publications/slidesets/impacts.html ]. Today, over 100 terrestrial impact craters [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/tercrate.htm ] have been identified. Early this morning, the Leonid Meteor Shower [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971116.html ] reaches its peak, although no impacts of this magnitude are expected.
Earth's Richat Structure
Title Earth's Richat Structure
Explanation What on Earth is that? The Richat Structure [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/publications/slidesets/geology.html ] in the Sahara Desert [ http://somerset.qld.edu.au/student/10_CE/MINTZ%20David/d3.htm ] of Mauritania [ http://www.umr.edu/~ayahya/ ] is easily visible from space because it is nearly 50 kilometers across. Once thought to be an impact crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971117.html ], the Richat Structure [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS58/10083803.htm ]'s flat middle and lack of shock-altered rock indicates otherwise. The possibility that the Richat Structure [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/GT4/10074021.htm ] was formed by a volcanic eruption [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960805.html ] also seems improbable because of the lack of a dome of igneous [ http://jersey.uoregon.edu/~mstrick/AskGeoMan/geoQuerry14.html ] or volcanic rock. Rather, the layered sedimentary rock of the Richat structure [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/media/rel/Past-News-Releases-93-94-95/93-088.DOC.html ] is now thought by many to have been caused by uplifted rock sculpted by erosion. Why the Richat Structure [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS58/10083803.htm ] is nearly circular remains a mystery.
Dark Craters on Ganymede
Title Dark Craters on Ganymede
Explanation Ganymede [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/ganymede.html ] has craters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971117.html ] within craters [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/publications/slidesets/impacts.html ] within craters [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/edu/craters.htm ]. The old surface of the largest moon [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/solar/eng/ganymede.htm ] in the Solar System [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/overview.html ] shows its age [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960712.html ] by the large amount of these impact features. The above picture [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA01607 ] released last week shows two old craters with dark floors located in a relatively bright region known as Memphis Facula [ http://galileo.ivv.nasa.gov/sepo/atjup/ganymede/GG1MEMFAC.html ], a region itself thought created by an ancient collision. The strange dark floors of these craters were themselves created long ago and now house craters of their own. Crater Chrysor, on the left, spans about 6000 meters, about half that of crater Aleyn on the right. The robot spacecraft Galileo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/scpics.html ] took the above photograph [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA01607 ] during a flyby of this moon of Jupiter [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/jupiter.html ] in June 1996.
Burns Cliff on Mars
Title Burns Cliff on Mars
Explanation The majestic walls of Endurance Crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040510.html ] contain layers of clues about the ancient past of Mars [ http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html ]. In fact, the deeper the layer, the older the clue. The particular crater wall imaged above [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07039 ] was dubbed Burns Cliff and was in front of the robot rover Opportunity [ http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/overview/ ] last week. Close inspection of different layers [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2004-204 ] has found slightly different compositions as well as interesting trends in relative compositions [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030819.html ]. For example, deeper layers [ http://aerospacescholars.jsc.nasa.gov/CAS/lessons/L9/14.HTM ] contain similarly decreasing amounts of both magnesium [ http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/elements/12.html ] and sulfur [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur ], indicating a common reason for their decline -- possibly dissolution [ http://www.gemsociety.org/info/igem17.htm ] in water [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040303.html ]. Today, more practically, Burns Cliff [ http://www.markcarey.com/mars/discuss-20290-burns-cliff.html ] blocks one exit direction for Opportunity to leave Endurance Crater [ http://www.planetary.org/news/2004/mer-update_0819.html ]. When combined with slippery sand [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07026 ] elsewhere on the crater floor, controllers have decided to program Opportunity to back out of the crater [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2004-276 ] the way it came in - after a few more days exploration.
Ganymede: Torn Comet - Crate …
Title Ganymede: Torn Comet - Crater Chain
Explanation This remarkable line of 13 closely spaced craters [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA01610 ] on Jupiter's moon Ganymede [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/research/outerp/gany.html ] was photographed by the Galileo spacecraft in 1997. The picture covers an area about 120 miles wide and the chain of craters cuts across a sharp boundary between dark and light terrain. What caused this crater chain? During the exploration of the Solar System [ http://ceps.nasm.edu:2020/ETP/ETP.html ], crater chains like this one have been discovered [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950715.html ] in several places [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971209.html ] and were considered mysterious until a dramatic object lesson was offered by comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. In 1994 many denizens of planet Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971026.html ] watched as huge pieces of this torn comet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980801.html ] slammed into Jupiter itself in a spectacular series of sequential impacts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980804.html ]. It is very likely that similar torn comets [ http://www.skypub.com/comets/sw3.html ] from the early history of the Solar System are responsible for this and other crater chains [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/sl9/news80.html ].
Crater Copernicus
Title Crater Copernicus
Explanation One of the more prominent craters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971117.html ] on the Moon [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/luna.html ] is named Copernicus [ http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Copernicus.html ]. Copernicus [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/orbiter/orbiter-craters.html#COPER ] is a large young crater visible with binoculars slightly northwest of the center of the Moon's Earth-facing hemisphere [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980107.html ]. Copernicus [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/solar/cap/moon/coper.htm ] is distinguished by its size and by the many bright rays pointing out from it. Although Copernicus is relatively young for a lunar crater, it was formed nearly a billion years ago by a colossal impact [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/science/craterstructure.html ]. The center of Copernicus [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/Apollo17/ A17_Photography_metric.html#Copernicus ] is about 93 kilometers across. The above picture [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/science/craterstructure.html#Copernicus ] was taken in 1972 by the last human mission to the moon: Apollo 17 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970905.html ]. The prospects for a return have been boosted recently with increased evidence of ice deposits near the lunar poles [ http://george.arc.nasa.gov/dx/basket/pressrelease/98_47AR.html ].
Apollo 12: Surveyor 3 and In …
Title Apollo 12: Surveyor 3 and Intrepid
Explanation On April 20, 1967, NASA's robot spacecraft Surveyor 3 landed [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html ] on the moon, touching down on the inside slope of a small lunar crater in the Ocean of Storms. Over 2 1/2 years later, on November 19, 1969, the lunar module Intrepid, piloted by Apollo 12 [ http://www.nasm.edu/APOLLO/AS12/ ] astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean, flew overhead and landed nearby [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo12/A12_lsite.html ] in the second visit by humans to the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4214/cover.html ]. Intrepid touched down about 600 feet away and the moon walking astronauts [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/a12j.html ] were easily able to reach the Surveyor [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/surveyor/Surveyor3.html ] and examine the remote explorer that had preceded them. Intrepid is seen in the background of this striking high resolution [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/images12.html#HiRes ] picture of Surveyor 3. Surveyor's leftmost foot pad appears dug in while its foreground foot pad has made two distinct imprints in the powdery lunar soil [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980327.html ] - clear indications that the Surveyor slid and bounced on landing. Using bolt cutters, the astronauts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961124.html ] removed Surveyor's TV camera (the cylinder shape at the right of the tall solar panel mast) and its sampling scoop (on the arm extended to the right), returning them to Earth for study.
Water Ice in a Martian Crate …
Title Water Ice in a Martian Crater
Explanation What lies on the floor of this Martian crater? A frozen patch of water ice. The robotic Mars Express [ http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMNS75V9ED_0.html ] spacecraft took the above image [ http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v435/n7043/full/435723b.html&filetype=pdf ] in early February. The ice pocket was found in a 35-kilometer wide crater that resides 70 degrees north of the Martian equator [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010628.html ]. There, sunlight is blocked by the 300-meter tall crater wall from vaporizing [ http://www.thursdaysclassroom.com/13jul00/article1.html ] the water-ice on the crater floor into the thin Martian atmosphere [ http://calspace.ucsd.edu/marsnow/library/science/climate_history/general_circulation_of_the_atmosphere1.html ]. The ice pocket may be as deep as 200 meters thick. Frost can be seen around the inner edge on the upper right part of the crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050308.html ], while part of the lower left crater wall is bathed in sunlight. The existence of water-ice pockets inside craters near the Martian North Pole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021224.html ], like that pictured above [ http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v435/n7043/full/435723b.html&filetype=pdf ] and others noted previously [ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/LPSC99/pdf/2026.pdf ], give clues not only about surface conditions in the Martian past but also possible places [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050228.html ] where future water-based astronauts [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/ ] might do well to land.
Aurora from Space
Title Aurora from Space
Explanation From the ground, spectacular auroras seem to dance [ http://science.nasa.gov/spaceweather/aurora/ gallery_01mar03.html ] high above. But the International Space Station (ISS [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050827.html ]) orbits at nearly the same height as many auroras [ http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/ auroras/ ], sometimes passing over [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010210.html ] them, and sometimes right through them. Still, the auroral electron [ http://www.aip.org/history/electron/ ] and proton [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/lament.html ] streams pose no direct danger to the ISS [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/ ]. In 2003, ISS Science Officer Don Pettit [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/pettit.html ] captured the green aurora, pictured above [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/ 24mar_noseprints.htm ] in a digitally sharpened image. From orbit [ http://science.nasa.gov/temp/StationLoc.html ], Pettit reported [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp6/ spacechronicles.html ] that changing auroras [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/ ] appeared to crawl around like giant green amoebas [ http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artsep01/ amoeba.html ]. Over 300 kilometers below, the Manicouagan Impact Crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001213.html ] can be seen in northern Canada, planet Earth.
Lunar Module photographed ag …
Title Lunar Module photographed against lunarscape during Apollo 15 EVA
Description The Lunar Module (LM) "Falcon" is photographed against the barren lunarscape during the Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Hadley-Apennine landing site. This view is looking southeast. The Apennine Front is in the left background, and Hadley Delta is in the right background. The object next to the flag is the Solar Wind Composition experiment. Last Crater is to the right of the LM. Note bootprints and tracks of the Lunar Roving Vehicle. The light spherical object at the top is a reflection in the lens of the camera.
Date 07.31.1971
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