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Earth of Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
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In-flight Video Captured by
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| Name of Image |
In-flight Video Captured by External Tank Camera System |
| Date of Image |
2005-07-26 |
| Full Description |
In this July 26, 2005 video, Earth slowly fades into the background as the STS-114 Space Shuttle Discovery climbs into space until the External Tank (ET) separates from the orbiter. An External Tank ET Camera System featuring a Sony XC-999 model camera provided never before seen footage of the launch and tank separation. The camera was installed in the ET LO2 Feedline Fairing. From this position, the camera had a 40% field of view with a 3.5 mm lens. The field of view showed some of the Bipod area, a portion of the LH2 tank and Intertank flange area, and some of the bottom of the shuttle orbiter. Contained in an electronic box, the battery pack and transmitter were mounted on top of the Solid Rocker Booster (SRB) crossbeam inside the ET. The battery pack included 20 Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries (similar to cordless phone battery packs) totaling 28 volts DC and could supply about 70 minutes of video. Located 95 degrees apart on the exterior of the Intertank opposite orbiter side, there were 2 blade S-Band antennas about 2 1/2 inches long that transmitted a 10 watt signal to the ground stations. The camera turned on approximately 10 minutes prior to launch and operated for 15 minutes following liftoff. The complete camera system weighs about 32 pounds. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Johnson Space Center (JSC), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and Kennedy Space Center (KSC) participated in the design, development, and testing of the ET camera system. |
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Forest Fire Smoke Surroundin
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| Title |
Forest Fire Smoke Surrounding Mt. McKinley |
| Description |
This view of Mt McKinley (Denali)—the highest point in North America (6,194 meters, 20,230 feet)—looks as if it were taken from an aircraft. In fact, an astronaut onboard the International Space Station took advantage of cloud-free skies and a powerful 800-millimeter lens to photograph this peak while the spacecraft was over the Gulf of Alaska, 800 miles to the south of the mountain. The powerful lenses are difficult to use, requiring motion compensation by the astronaut, so these kinds of detailed images of horizon detail are seldom taken. The rising sun casts long shadows across the Kahiltna Glacier that angles down from Denali (left). In addition to the blueness inherent in all images taken at great distance (the atmosphere scatters blue light more than it does other colors), this image also shows unusually dense atmospheric haze at lower altitudes: all the valleys in the foreground appear murky. The explanation is dramatically portrayed in a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image taken on the same day, Sunday, August 14, from the Terra satellite. On that day, an enormous smoke pall hung over central Alaska, all the major mountain ranges protruded above the smoke layer, which was held close to the surface by high atmospheric pressure. The smoke came from more than 100 forest fires burning in the summer heat of Alaska. The MODIS image shows that the smoke on August 14 was far thicker to the north of the Alaska Range where Denali is. The Space Station image shows this denser smoke settled between the Alaska Range and the distant horizon of the Kuskokwim Mountains, 80 miles to the north. Astronaut photograph ISS011-E-11806 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS011&roll=E&frame=11806 ] was acquired August 14, 2005, with a Kodak 760C digital camera fitted with an 800 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Group, Johnson Space Center. 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/ ] |
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Central Africa Dust Storm
| Title |
Central Africa Dust Storm |
| Description |
This image was taken from the International Space Station on March 8, 2004, from a position about 1400 kilometers off the coast of Mauritania (about 600 kilometers west of the Cape Verde Islands). Looking northwest, this image shows the dusty Saharan airmass in the lower third of the view, with clear air beyond a marked northeast-trending boundary. The dust, which originated in Central Africa, is blowing west southwest, parallel to the front?a common trajectory during northern winters. The width of the dust column was about 1800 kilometers, of which only 200 kilometers is seen here. The MODIS sensor composite for the same date shows the dust nearly reaching South America. Astronaut photograph ISS008-E-18202 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS008&roll=E&frame=18202 ] was taken from the International Space Station on November 26, 2003, with a Kodak DCS760 digital camera equipped with a 35 mm lens. 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/ ]. Image courtesy the Earth Observations Laboratory, Johnson Space Center |
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Central Africa Dust Storm
| Title |
Central Africa Dust Storm |
| Description |
This image was taken from the International Space Station on March 8, 2004, from a position about 1400 kilometers off the coast of Mauritania (about 600 kilometers west of the Cape Verde Islands). Looking northwest, this image shows the dusty Saharan airmass in the lower third of the view, with clear air beyond a marked northeast-trending boundary. The dust, which originated in Central Africa, is blowing west southwest, parallel to the front?a common trajectory during northern winters. The width of the dust column was about 1800 kilometers, of which only 200 kilometers is seen here. The MODIS sensor composite for the same date shows the dust nearly reaching South America. Astronaut photograph ISS008-E-18202 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS008&roll=E&frame=18202 ] was taken from the International Space Station on November 26, 2003, with a Kodak DCS760 digital camera equipped with a 35 mm lens. 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/ ]. Image courtesy the Earth Observations Laboratory, Johnson Space Center |
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Day Fire in Southern Califor
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| Title |
Day Fire in Southern California |
| Description |
While the outline of a fire may be hidden by thick smoke in a photo-like, "natural-color" image, "false-color" images that use visible as well as short-wave or near-infrared light observed by remote-sensing instruments can reveal details on the ground. This pair of images shows the Day Fire in southern California northwest of Los Angeles on September 19, 2006. The images are based on data collected by an aircraft-based sensor called MASTER, [ http://masterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] a simulator for two sensors on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite. (NASA uses airborne simulators to cross-check the accuracy of satellite data.) In the natural-color version (bottom), dingy white smoke hangs over most of the scene, hiding the outline of the fire. But in the infrared-enhanced version (top), the actively burning areas around the perimeter of the blaze are obvious as glowing pink and yellow spots, while the smoke fades into a transparent blue. Unburned vegetation appears green, while the burned area appears in shades of brown and gold. The MASTER instrument simulates the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] and the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) sensors on Terra. The instrument can be mounted on several different aircraft, including NASA's ER-2 [ http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-046-DFRC.html ] and WB-57 [ http://jsc-aircraft-ops.jsc.nasa.gov/wb57/index.html ] airplanes. NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by the ER-2/MASTER team. |
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Day Fire in Southern Califor
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| Title |
Day Fire in Southern California |
| Description |
While the outline of a fire may be hidden by thick smoke in a photo-like, "natural-color" image, "false-color" images that use visible as well as short-wave or near-infrared light observed by remote-sensing instruments can reveal details on the ground. This pair of images shows the Day Fire in southern California northwest of Los Angeles on September 19, 2006. The images are based on data collected by an aircraft-based sensor called MASTER, [ http://masterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] a simulator for two sensors on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite. (NASA uses airborne simulators to cross-check the accuracy of satellite data.) In the natural-color version (bottom), dingy white smoke hangs over most of the scene, hiding the outline of the fire. But in the infrared-enhanced version (top), the actively burning areas around the perimeter of the blaze are obvious as glowing pink and yellow spots, while the smoke fades into a transparent blue. Unburned vegetation appears green, while the burned area appears in shades of brown and gold. The MASTER instrument simulates the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] and the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) sensors on Terra. The instrument can be mounted on several different aircraft, including NASA's ER-2 [ http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-046-DFRC.html ] and WB-57 [ http://jsc-aircraft-ops.jsc.nasa.gov/wb57/index.html ] airplanes. NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by the ER-2/MASTER team. |
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Iceberg Melt, Near South Geo
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| Title |
Iceberg Melt, Near South Georgia |
| Description |
Astronauts on board the International Space Station took this detailed view of melt water pooled on the surface of iceberg A-39D, an iceberg measuring 2 km wide by 11 km long and currently drifting near South Georgia Island. The different intensities of blue are interpreted as different water depths. From the orientation of the iceberg, the deepest water (darkest blue) lies at the westernmost end of the iceberg. The water pools have formed from snowmelt—late January is the peak of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. This iceberg was part of the original A-38 iceberg [ http://nsidc.org/icebergs/a38/ ] that calved from the Ronne Ice Shelf in October 1998. Originally the ice was between 200 and 350 meters thick. This piece of that iceberg is now probably about 150 meters thick, with around 15 m sticking up above the surface of the water. The top photograph was taken by astronauts looking south over the south Atlantic Ocean from the International Space Station on January 22, 2004. Above, an accompanying oblique view shows all three large remnant pieces [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16434 ] of A-38 close to South Georgia Island. More melt water had formed on the surface of the iceberg when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) captured two additional images on February 7 [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004038-0207/SouthGeorgia.A2004038.1720 ] and February 9, 2004. The false-color image [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004038-0207/SouthGeorgia.A2004038.1720.721 ] from February 7 shows the entire top of the iceberg covered in a dark blue pool of liquid water in contrast to the bright blue ice. Both photographs were taken from the International Space Station using a Kodak DCS760 digital camera and a 400-mm lens on January 6, 2004. ISS008-E-12555 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS008&roll=E&frame=12555 ] was taken first, and ISS008-E-12564 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS008&roll=E&frame=12564 ] was taken 2 minutes and 37 seconds later. Information provided by Ted Scambos, National Snow and Ice Data Center, image 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/ ] |
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Iceberg Melt, Near South Geo
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| Title |
Iceberg Melt, Near South Georgia |
| Description |
Astronauts on board the International Space Station took this detailed view of melt water pooled on the surface of iceberg A-39D, an iceberg measuring 2 km wide by 11 km long and currently drifting near South Georgia Island. The different intensities of blue are interpreted as different water depths. From the orientation of the iceberg, the deepest water (darkest blue) lies at the westernmost end of the iceberg. The water pools have formed from snowmelt—late January is the peak of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. This iceberg was part of the original A-38 iceberg [ http://nsidc.org/icebergs/a38/ ] that calved from the Ronne Ice Shelf in October 1998. Originally the ice was between 200 and 350 meters thick. This piece of that iceberg is now probably about 150 meters thick, with around 15 m sticking up above the surface of the water. The top photograph was taken by astronauts looking south over the south Atlantic Ocean from the International Space Station on January 22, 2004. Above, an accompanying oblique view shows all three large remnant pieces [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16434 ] of A-38 close to South Georgia Island. More melt water had formed on the surface of the iceberg when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) captured two additional images on February 7 [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004038-0207/SouthGeorgia.A2004038.1720 ] and February 9, 2004. The false-color image [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004038-0207/SouthGeorgia.A2004038.1720.721 ] from February 7 shows the entire top of the iceberg covered in a dark blue pool of liquid water in contrast to the bright blue ice. Both photographs were taken from the International Space Station using a Kodak DCS760 digital camera and a 400-mm lens on January 6, 2004. ISS008-E-12555 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS008&roll=E&frame=12555 ] was taken first, and ISS008-E-12564 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS008&roll=E&frame=12564 ] was taken 2 minutes and 37 seconds later. Information provided by Ted Scambos, National Snow and Ice Data Center, image 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/ ] |
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Iceberg Melt, Near South Geo
…
| Title |
Iceberg Melt, Near South Georgia |
| Description |
Astronauts on board the International Space Station took this detailed view of melt water pooled on the surface of iceberg A-39D, an iceberg measuring 2 km wide by 11 km long and currently drifting near South Georgia Island. The different intensities of blue are interpreted as different water depths. From the orientation of the iceberg, the deepest water (darkest blue) lies at the westernmost end of the iceberg. The water pools have formed from snowmelt—late January is the peak of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. This iceberg was part of the original A-38 iceberg [ http://nsidc.org/icebergs/a38/ ] that calved from the Ronne Ice Shelf in October 1998. Originally the ice was between 200 and 350 meters thick. This piece of that iceberg is now probably about 150 meters thick, with around 15 m sticking up above the surface of the water. The top photograph was taken by astronauts looking south over the south Atlantic Ocean from the International Space Station on January 22, 2004. Above, an accompanying oblique view shows all three large remnant pieces [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16434 ] of A-38 close to South Georgia Island. More melt water had formed on the surface of the iceberg when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) captured two additional images on February 7 [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004038-0207/SouthGeorgia.A2004038.1720 ] and February 9, 2004. The false-color image [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004038-0207/SouthGeorgia.A2004038.1720.721 ] from February 7 shows the entire top of the iceberg covered in a dark blue pool of liquid water in contrast to the bright blue ice. Both photographs were taken from the International Space Station using a Kodak DCS760 digital camera and a 400-mm lens on January 6, 2004. ISS008-E-12555 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS008&roll=E&frame=12555 ] was taken first, and ISS008-E-12564 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS008&roll=E&frame=12564 ] was taken 2 minutes and 37 seconds later. Information provided by Ted Scambos, National Snow and Ice Data Center, image 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/ ] |
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Smoke from fires in Idaho an
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| Title |
Smoke from fires in Idaho and Montana |
| Description |
On August 13, 2007, while docked to the International Space Station (ISS), the crew members of Shuttle Mission STS-118 and ISS Expedition 15 reported seeing the smoke plumes from wide-spread fires [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3? img_id=14443 ] across Idaho and Montana. The crew photographed and downlinked images of isolated plumes (top image) and regional views of the smoke (bottom image) from different perspectives. Strong westerly winds were driving the smoke eastward. The close-up view shows the WH Complex Fire in southern Montana, which was burning in Gallatin National Forest. As of Friday, August 17, the National Interagency Fire Center [ http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info.html ] estimated its size as 25,400 acres, and it was only 5 percent contained. The rugged topography that makes firefighting in the area so difficult is highlighted by shadows created by the oblique (from the side) perspective from which the astronauts took the photo. The plume has topography of its own, some plumes towering above others, casting dark shadows. The regional view was taken looking westward toward the horizon. It shows fires not only in Montana, but also fires to the south in Wyoming, and to the northwest in Idaho. South (to the left) of the WH Complex Fire are the Columbine 1 Fire in Yellowstone National Park (18,500 acres and 0 percent contained), and the Hardscrabble Fire in Bridger-Teton National Forest (3,074 acres and 40 percent contained). An even broader regional view of the extent of the fires was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] sensor onboard NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite on August 12, 2007, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3? img_id=17738 ] the day before these images were taken by astronauts onboard the ISS. Featured astronaut photographs ISS015-E-22274 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ scripts/sseop/photo.pl? mission=ISS015&roll=E&frame=22274&QueryResultsFile=118730112526521.tsv ] and ISS015-E-22276 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/ photo.pl? mission=ISS015&roll=E&frame=22276&QueryResultsFile=118730112526521.tsv ] were acquired by the ISS 15 crew [ http://www.nasa.gov/ mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/index.html ]on August 13, 2007, with a Nikon D2X digital camera using a 24–120 mm lens at 95 and 40 mm focal length respectively. They are 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/ ] |
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The Compton Gamma Ray Observ
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| Title |
The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory |
| Explanation |
The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory [ http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cossc/descriptions/cgro.html ] (CGRO) was the most massive instrument ever launched by a NASA Space Shuttle [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/index.html ] in 1991 and continues to revolutionize gamma-ray astronomy [ http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/gamma/gamma.html ]. Before Compton loses more stabilizing gyroscopes, NASA is considering [ http://cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/01/14/satellite.deorbit/index.html ] firing onboard rockets to bring it on a controlled reentry into the ocean. This orbiting observatory sees the sky in gamma-ray photons [ http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cossc/descriptions/espec1.html ] - light so blue humans can't see it. These photons are blocked by the Earth's atmosphere from reaching the Earth's surface. Results from CGRO, pictured above [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS37/10064038.htm ], have shown the entire universe to be a violent and rapidly changing place - when viewed in gamma-rays. Astronomers using CGRO data continue to make monumental discoveries [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-abs_connect?&text=CGRO&query_type=PAPERS ], including identifying mysterious gamma-ray bursts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/cossc/apod_search?gamma+ray+burst ] that uniquely illuminate the early universe, discovery of a whole new class of QSOs [ http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cossc/descriptions/egret_blazars.html ], and discovery of objects so strange [ http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cossc/descriptions/egret_src.html ] that astronomers can't yet figure out what they are. |
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Stereo Saturn
| Title |
Stereo Saturn |
| Explanation |
Get out your red/blue glasses [ http://img.arc.nasa.gov/archive/desert96/redblue.html ] and launch [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971016.html ] yourself into this stereo [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/research/stereo_atlas/SS3D.HTM ] picture of Saturn! The picture is actually composed from two images recorded weeks apart by the Voyager 2 spacecraft [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager_fs.html ] during its visit to [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/voyager.html ] the Saturnian System in August of 1981. Traveling at about 35,000 miles per hour, the spacecraft's changing viewpoint from one image to the next produced this exaggerated but pleasing stereo effect [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970404.html ]. Saturn is the second largest planet [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/saturn.html ] in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Its spectacular ring system [ http://ringmaster.arc.nasa.gov/saturn/saturn.html ] is so wide that it would span the space between the Earth and Moon. Although they look solid here, Saturn's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000129.html ] rings consist of individually orbiting bits of ice and rock ranging in size from grains of sand to barn-sized boulders. |
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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! |
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Blue Marble 2000
| Title |
Blue Marble 2000 |
| Explanation |
This newly released [ http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rsd/bluemarble/index.html ] digital portrait of our planet is reminiscent of the Apollo-era [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/ap11ann/ introduction.htm ] pictures of the "big blue marble" Earth [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/AS17/10075945.htm ] from space. To create it [ http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rsd/bluemarble/caption.html ], researchers at Goddard Space Flight Center's Laboratory for Atmospheres [ http://dao.gsfc.nasa.gov/lab/lab_brochure.html ] combined data from [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961006.html ] a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES [ http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ ]), the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981007.html ]), and the Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES [ http://poes2.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) with a USGS [ http://pubs.usgs.gov/circular/c1050/index.htm ] elevation model of Earth's topography [ http://www.usgs.gov/education/teacher/ what-do-maps-show/WDMS4.html ]. Stunningly detailed [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000131.html ], the planet's western hemisphere is cast so that heavy vegetation is green and sparse vegetation is yellow, while the heights of mountains and depths of valleys have been exaggerated by 50 times to make vertical relief visible. Hurricane Linda [ http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rsd/images/Linda.html ] is the dramatic storm off North America's west coast. And what about the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990910.html ]? The lunar image was reconstructed from GOES data and artistically [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970509.html ] rescaled for this visualization [ http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/rsd/ ]. |
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A Bubbling Galaxy Center
| Title |
A Bubbling Galaxy Center |
| Explanation |
What's happening in the center of this galaxy? Close inspection of the center of NGC 4438 [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/2000/21/fastfacts.html ], as visible in this recently released representative-color image [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/2000/21/index.html ] by the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://www.stsci.edu/hst/ ], reveals an unusual bubble of hot gas, colored in red. Astronomers [ http://www.iau.org ] speculate that this strange bubble was created by a massive central black hole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970405.html ] that resides there. As gas swirls around the black hole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/rjn_bht.html ], gravity [ http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/General_relativity.html ] and friction [ http://www.cord.edu/dept/physics/p128/lecture99_12.html ] pull it in and heat it up. Some of the hot gas then falls into the black hole [ http://cfpa.berkeley.edu/BHfaq.html ], but not all - some gas gets so hot it shoots out the poles in fast jets [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000321.html ]. When these jets [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991129.html ] impact nearby material, they heat it up and cause the detected glow. Galaxy NGC 4438 [ http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~maltmann/n4438info.html ] resides about 50 million light years [ http://www.treasure-troves.com/astro/Light-Year.html ] from Earth [ http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/ ], and the pictured central bubble [ http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/bubbles/bubbles.html ] measures about 800 light-years across. |
|
The Last Moon Shot
| Title |
The Last Moon Shot |
| Explanation |
In 1865 Jules Verne [ http://www.interlog.com/~anash/najvs.html ] predicted the invention of a space capsule that could carry people. In his science fiction story "From the Earth to the Moon" [ http://JV.Gilead.org.il/pg/moon/ ], he outlined his vision of a cannon in Florida so powerful that it could shoot a "Projectile-Vehicle" [ http://www.nasm.edu/galleries/gal109/NEWHTF/ITM6201.HTM ] carrying three adventurers to the Moon [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/ ap11ann/eagle.html ]. Over 100 years later, NASA [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/history.html ], guided by Wernher Von Braun [ http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/vonbraun/index.html ]'s vision, produced the Saturn V rocket [ http://www.apollosaturn.com/ ]. From a spaceport in Florida [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/ksc.html ], this rocket turned Verne's fiction into fact, launching 9 Apollo Lunar missions and allowing 12 astronauts to walk on the Moon [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ ]. Pictured [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/AS17/10075937.htm ] is the last moon shot, Apollo 17 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo17info.html ], awaiting a night launch in December of 1972. Spotlights play on the rocket and launch pad while the full Moon looms [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/moon.html ] in the background. Humans have not walked on [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ apollo.epilog.html ] on the lunar surface since. [ http://ilewg.jsc.nasa.gov/ ] |
|
A Continuous Eruption on Jup
…
| Title |
A Continuous Eruption on Jupiter's Moon Io |
| Explanation |
A volcano on Jupiter's moon Io [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/io.html ] has been photographed recently during an ongoing eruption. Hot glowing lava is visible on the left on this representative-color image [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA02550 ]. A glowing landscape of plateaus and valleys covered in sulfur [ http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/elements/16.html ] and silicate rock [ http://windows.ivv.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/tour_def/glossary/silicate_rock.html ] surrounds the active volcano [ http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/planet_volcano/Io/Overview.html ]. Many features including several of the dark spots [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971110.html ] have evolved between February 2000, when the robot spacecraft Galileo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/spacecraft.html ] currently orbiting Jupiter [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/jupiter.html ] took this picture, and November 1999. Io [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/research/outerp/io.html ] is slightly larger than Earth's Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991108.html ] and is the closest large moon to Jupiter [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter.html ]. The above image [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA02550 ] shows a region about 250 kilometers across. How the internal structure of Io [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1990Icar...85..309R ] creates these active volcanoes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961027.html ] remains under investigation. |
|
Ultraviolet Earth from the M
…
| Title |
Ultraviolet Earth from the Moon |
| Explanation |
Here's a switch: the above picture is of the " Earth " taken from a " lunar " observatory! [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960608.html ] This false color picture [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/AS16/10075878.htm ] shows how the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/earth.html ] glows in ultraviolet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html#uv ] (UV) light. UV light is so blue humans can't see it. Very little UV light [ http://titan.srrb.noaa.gov/UV/ ] is transmitted through the Earth's atmosphere but what sunlight does make it through can cause a sunburn [ http://uhs.bsd.uchicago.edu/uhs/infoline/sunburn.htm ]. The Far UV Camera / Spectrograph [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo16/A16_Experiments_UVC.html ] deployed and left on the Moon by the crew of Apollo 16 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000319.html ] took the above picture. The part of the Earth facing the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/sun.html ] reflects much UV light, but perhaps more interesting is the side facing away from the Sun. Here bands of UV emission [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l2/emspectrum.html ] are also apparent. These bands [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970402.html ] are the result of aurorae [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_ts?aurora ] and are caused by charged particles [ http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/Intro.html ] expelled by the Sun. |
|
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! |
|
Mir Dreams
| Title |
Mir Dreams |
| Explanation |
This dream-like image of Mir [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/mir/ ] was recorded by astronauts as the Space Shuttle Atlantis [ http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/Rockets/ShuttleNames.asp ] approached the Russian space station prior to docking during the STS-76 mission [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-76/ index.html ]. Sporting spindly appendages and solar panels, Mir resembles a whimsical flying insect hovering about 350 kilometers above New Zealand's [ http://www.rasnz.org.nz/index.htm ] South Island and the city of Nelson [ http://webnz.com/nelsonarts/foundations.html ], near Cook Strait [ http://www.south-pole.com/p0000071.htm ]. In late March 1996, Atlantis shuttled astronaut Shannon W. Lucid [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lucid.html ] to Mir for a five month visit, increasing Mir's occupancy from 2 to 3. It returned to pick Lucid up and drop off astronaut John Blaha [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/blaha.html ] during the STS-79 mission [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-79/mission-sts-79.html ] in August of that year. Since becoming operational in 1986, Mir has [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/mir/mirvis.html ] been visited by over 100 spacefarers from the nations of planet Earth including, Russia, the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Austria, Kazakhstan and Slovakia. After joint Shuttle-Mir [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/shuttle-mir/ ] training missions in support of the International Space Station [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/index.html ], continuous occupation of Mir ended in August 1999. Mir is still in orbit and its operation is now being pursued by commercial interests [ http://www.mirstation.com/index.html ]. |
|
A Bucket-Wheel Excavator on
…
| Title |
A Bucket-Wheel Excavator on Earth |
| Explanation |
Please wait while one of the largest mobile machines in the world crosses the road. The machine pictured above is a bucket-wheel excavator [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucket-wheel_excavator ] used in modern surface mining [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_mining ]. Machines like this [ http://www.tk-mining.com/Data/WebEditor/produkte/BWE.pdf ] have given humanity the ability to mine minerals and change [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountaintop_removal ] the face of planet Earth in new and dramatic ways. Some open pit mines, for example, are visible from orbit [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/EarthObservatory/ToquepalaCopperMine,SouthernPeru.htm ]. The largest excavators [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagger_288 ] are over 200 meters long and 100 meters high, now dwarfing the huge NASA Crawler [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020304.html ] that transports [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060708.html ] space shuttles to the launch pads. Bucket-wheel excavators [ http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Humor/Workshop/Trencher.htm ] can dig a hole the length of a football field to over 25 meters deep in a single day. They [ http://www.tk-mining.com/produkte_listee.asp?Kategorie=67# ] may take a while to cross a road, though, with a top speed under one kilometer per hour. |
|
The Equal Night
| Title |
The Equal Night |
| Explanation |
Yesterday the Sun crossed [ http://www-spof.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Sseason.htm ] the celestial equator heading south, marking the Equinox -- the first day of Autumn in the northern hemisphere and Spring in the south [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000826.html ]. Equinox means "equal night" and with the Sun on the celestial equator [ http://www.physics.csbsju.edu/astro/CS/CSintro.html ], Earthlings will experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. For those in the northern hemisphere, the days [ http://www.nsta.org/programs/sst/aws/unit2.htm ] will continue to grow shorter with the Sun marching [ http://www.lalc.k12.ca.us/laep/smart/Sunrise/k3les1.html ] lower in the sky as winter approaches. A few weeks after the Autumnal Equinox of 1994, the Crew of the Shuttle Endeavor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950807.html ] recorded this image [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS68/20172510.htm ] of the Sun poised [ http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime-images.html ] above the Earth's limb. Glare illuminates Endeavor's vertical tail (pointing toward the Earth) along with radar equipment [ http://southport.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] in the payload bay. |
|
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. |
|
The Averted Side Of The Moon
| Title |
The Averted Side Of The Moon |
| Explanation |
This vintage 60-kopek stamp celebrates a dramatic achievement. On the 7th of October, 1959 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunartimeline.html ] (7/X/1959), the Soviet interplanetary station which has come to be called "Luna 3" [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/database/www-nmc?59-008A ] successfully photographed the far side [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981008.html ] of the moon giving denizens of planet Earth their first ever view [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950914.html ] of this hidden [ http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/dark_side.html ] hemisphere [ http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/moon_spin.html ]. Lacking the digital image technology [ http://willmclaughlin.astrodigitals.com/ ] familiar now, Luna 3 took the pictures on 35mm film which was automatically developed on board. The pictures were then scanned and the signal transmitted [ http://www.users.wineasy.se/svengrahn/trackind/ jodrell/jodrole1.htm#luna3fars ] to Earth days later in what was perhaps also the first interplanetary fax. In all, seventeen pictures [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/database/www-nmc?59-008A-01 ] were received providing enough coverage and resolution to construct a far side map and identify a few major features. Depicted on [ http://vesuvius.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/stamps.html ] the stamp are regions dubbed the Sea of Moscow, the Soviet Mountains, the Bay of Astronauts, and the Sea of Dreams. |
|
Apollo 17 Panorama: Astronau
…
| Title |
Apollo 17 Panorama: Astronaut Running |
| Explanation |
What would it be like to explore the surface of another world? In 1972 during the Apollo 17 [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17j.html ] mission, astronaut Harrison Schmitt [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/schmitt-hh.html ] found out first hand. In this case, the world was Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001127.html ]'s own Moon [ http://www.nineplanets.org/luna.html ]. In this recently compiled panorama of lunar photographs originally taken by astronaut Eugene Cernan [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/cernan-ea.html ], the magnificent desolation [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001209.html ] of the barren Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981031.html ] is apparent. Visible above and by scrolling right are lunar rocks [ http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/moon/moon_surface.html ] in the foreground, lunar mountains [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980705.html ] in the background, some small craters, a lunar rover [ http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/space_level2/apollo15_rover.html ], and astronaut Schmidt on his way back to the rover. A few days after this image [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.sta1.html#1222614 ] was taken, humanity left the Moon [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon ] and has yet to return. |
|
The First Lunar Observatory
| Title |
The First Lunar Observatory |
| Explanation |
The first, and so far only, lunar astronomical observatory [ http://snoopy.gsfc.nasa.gov/~lunartel/lunar1.html ] was deployed by the Apollo 16 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960607.html ] crew in 1972. The Far Ultraviolet Camera / Spectrograph [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/tmp/1972-031C-10.html ] used a 3-inch diameter Schmidt telescope to photograph the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000701.html ], nebulae [ http://nineplanets.org/twn/ ], star clusters [ http://www.allthesky.com/clusters/clusters.html ], and the Large Magellanic Cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000222.html ]. The tripod mounted astronomical equipment is seen above [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/AS16/10075848.htm ], placed in the shadow of the Lunar Module [ http://www.nasm.edu/galleries/attm/nojs/ a11.am.lm.1.html ] (right) so it would not overheat. Also in the shadow is astronaut Charles Duke with the lunar rover [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990701.html ] in the background. The Far Ultraviolet Camera [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo16/ A16_Experiments_UVC.html ] took pictures in ultraviolet light which would normally be blocked by the Earth's atmosphere. It was created by George Carruthers (NRL [ http://nrl.navy.mil/ ]), had a field of view of twenty degrees, and could detect stars having visual magnitude [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/universe/MAG.HTML ] brighter than eleven. One hundred seventy-eight images were recorded in a film cartridge which the astronauts returned to Earth. The observatory still stands on the Moon [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/lunar_missions.html ] today. |
|
Upgrading the International
…
| Title |
Upgrading the International Space Station |
| Explanation |
The International Space Station [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/index.htm ] (ISS) will be the largest human-made object ever to orbit [ http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/orbv.html ] the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010204.html ]. The station [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/orbit_assembly.htm ] is so large that it could not be launched [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010723.html ] all at once -- it is being built piecemeal [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/assembly/ndxpage1.html ] with large sections added continually by flights of the Space Shuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990411.html ]. To function, the ISS needs trusses [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/its.html ] to keep it rigid and to route electricity [ http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/static.html ] and liquid coolants. These trusses [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/assembly/elements/its/ ] are huge, extending over 15 meters long, and with masses over 10,000 kilograms. Pictured above [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-116/html/s116e05983.html ] earlier this month, astronauts [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/astronauts/wannabe.html ] Robert L. Curbeam [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/curbeam.html ] (USA) and Christer Fuglesang [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/fuglesan.html ] (Sweden) work to attach a new truss segment [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts116/news/STS-116-07.html ] to the ISS and begin to upgrade the power grid. |
|
Apollo 12: Self-Portrait
| Title |
Apollo 12: Self-Portrait |
| Explanation |
Is it art? In November of 1969, Apollo 12 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990408.html ] astronaut-photographer Charles "Pete" Conrad [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990715.html ] recorded this masterpiece [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/AS12/10075421.htm ] while documenting colleague Alan Bean's lunar soil collection activities on the Oceanus Procellarum [ http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/planet_volcano/ lunar/mare/mlm.html ]. The image is dramatic and stark [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960420.html ]. Bean is faceless. The harsh environment of the Moon's Ocean of Storms is echoed in his helmet's perfectly composed reflection of Conrad and the lunar horizon [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ ]. Works of photojournalists originally intent on recording the human condition on planet Earth, such as Lewis W. Hine's [ http://www.geh.org/fm/lwhprints/htmlsrc2/ index.html ] images from New York City in the early 20th century, or Margaret Bourke-White's [ http://lkwdpl.org/wihohio/bour-mar.htm ] magazine photography are widely regarded as art. Similarly many documentary astronomy and space images [ http://www.nasa.gov/cool.html ] can be appreciated for their artistic and esthetic appeal. |
|
Moonset, Planet Earth
| Title |
Moonset, Planet Earth |
| Explanation |
During the Astro-1 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990220.html ] astronomy mission of December, 1990, Space Shuttle [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/index.html ] astronauts photographed this stunning [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970509.html ] view of the setting full moon above the Earth's limb. In the foreground, towering clouds of condensing water vapor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980530.html ] mark the extent of the troposphere, the lowest layer of the planet's life-sustaining atmosphere [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/space/ atmosphere.html ]. Strongly scattering blue sunlight, the upper atmospheric layer, the stratosphere, fades dramatically to the black background of space. Moon [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/moon.html ] and clouds are [ http://climate.gsfc.nasa.gov/~cahalan/FractalClouds/ Types/Types.htmd/TXT.html ] strong visual elements of many well known portraits of planet Earth [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ ], including Ansel Adams' famous "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico" [ http://www.geh.org/taschen/htmlsrc15/ m197400820001_ful.html#topofimage ], photographed in 1941. |
|
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. |
|
Mystery Over Australia
| Title |
Mystery Over Australia |
| Explanation |
Place your cursor on this stunning view through dark skies over western Australia to highlight wonders of the southern Milky Way [ http://canopus.physik.uni-potsdam.de/~axm/ photo.cgi?Image=images/1998-02_03 ] -- including the famous Southern Cross [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/cru/ ], the dark Coal Sack [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/ngc/ coalsack.html ] Nebula, and bright reddish emission regions surrounding massive star Eta Carinae [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap051015.html ]. Recorded Tuesday at about 2 am, the thirty minute long color film exposure [ http://www.naturespeak.com.au/ Southern%20Cross_Phenomenon.php ] also captured a bright but mysterious object that moved slowly across the sky for over an hour. Widely seen [ http://www.myastrospace.com/forums/ ], the object began as a small point and expanded as it tracked toward the North (left), resulting in a comet-like [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070118.html ] appearance in this picture. What was it? Reports are [ http://spaceweather.com/ ] now identifying the mystery glow with a plume from the explosion of [ http://members.ozemail.com.au/~loomberah/themis.htm ] a malfunctioned Russian rocket stage partially filled with fuel. The rocket stage was marooned in Earth orbit after a failed communication satellite launch [ http://www.spaceflightnow.com/proton/arabsat4a/ ] almost a year ago on February 28, 2006. A substantial amount of debris [ http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/photogallery/ beehives.html ] from the breakup can be tracked. |
|
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. |
|
Apollo 17's Moonship
| Title |
Apollo 17's Moonship |
| Explanation |
Awkward and angular looking, Apollo 17's lunar module Challenger [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/database/www-nmc?72-096C ] was designed for flight [ http://users.specdata.com/home/pullo/lm_mis1.htm ] in the vacuum of space. This sharp picture from the command module America [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/database/www-nmc?72-096A ], shows Challenger's ascent stage in lunar orbit. Small reaction control thrusters are at the sides of the moonship with the bell of the ascent rocket engine itself underneath. The hatch allowing access to the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17main.html ] is visible in the front and a round radar antenna appears at the top. This spaceship performed gracefully, landing on the moon and returning the Apollo astronauts to the orbiting command module in December of 1972 - but where is Challenger now? [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apolloloc.html ] Its descent stage remains at the Apollo 17 landing site, Taurus-Littrow [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo17/A17_lsite.html ]. The ascent stage was intentionally crashed nearby after being jettisoned from the command module prior to the astronauts' return [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.homeward.html ] to planet Earth. Apollo 17's mission [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970504.html ] was the sixth and last time astronauts have landed on the moon. |
|
Aurora Astern
| Title |
Aurora Astern |
| Explanation |
Sailing [ http://freespace.virgin.net/chris.jones/ccsu1.htm ] upside down, 115 nautical miles [ http://www.seewise.com/or/faqtxt/a3.html ] above Earth, the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour [ http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/ endeavour.html ] made this spectacular time exposure of the southern aurora (aurora australis) in October of 1994. Aurora [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/ ], also known as the northern and southern lights, appear as luminous bands or streamers of light which can extend to altitudes of 200 miles. They are typically visible from the Earth's surface at high latitudes and are triggered by high energy particles from the Sun [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/ y2000/ast07jun_1m.htm ]. The delicate colors are caused by energetic electrons colliding with oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the upper atmosphere. In this picture [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/ STS68/20169118.htm ], the rear structure of the shuttle Endeavour is in the foreground with the vertical tail fin pointed toward Earth. Star trails [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000715.html ] are the short streaks above Earth's horizon. |
|
A Blue Crescent Moon from Sp
…
| Title |
A Blue Crescent Moon from Space |
| Explanation |
What's happening to the Moon? Drifting around the Earth in 2006 July, astronauts from the International Space Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060920.html ] (ISS) captured a crescent Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060618.html ] floating far beyond the horizon. The captured above image [ http://eobadmin.gsfc.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17542 ] is interesting because part of the Moon appears blue [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040731.html ], and because part of the moon appears missing. Both effects are created by the Earth's atmosphere [ http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/earth/atmosphere.html ]. Air molecules [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecules ] more efficiently scatter increasingly blue light, making the clear day sky blue [ http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/BlueSky/blue_sky.html ] for ground observers, and the horizon blue for astronauts. Besides reflecting sunlight, these atmospheric molecules [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air ] also deflect moonlight, making the lower part of the moon appear to fade away. As one looks higher in the photograph [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS013&roll=E&frame=54329 ], the increasingly thin atmosphere appears to fade to black [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000913.html ]. |
|
A Supply Ship Approaches the
…
| Title |
A Supply Ship Approaches the Space Station |
| Explanation |
Looking out a window of the International Space Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060920.html ] brings breathtaking views. Visible vistas include a vast and colorful Earth, a deep dark sky, and an occasional spaceship sent to visit the station. Visible on September 20 of last year was a Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_TMA-9 ] carrying not only supplies but also three new astronauts. A few days before this picture [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-13/html/iss013e82934.html ] was taken, the U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so8axV56ujY ] had just departed. The three new approaching astronauts were American Michael E. Lopez-Alegria [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_interview_lopez-alegria.html ], Russian Mikhail Tyurin [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_interview_tyurin.html ], and Iranian-American Anousheh Ansari [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anousheh_Ansari ]. Ms. Ansari visited the International Space Station (ISS) briefly as a paying spaceflight participant for the Federal Space Agency [ http://www.roscosmos.ru/index.asp?Lang=ENG ] of Russia, and wrote a popular blog [ http://spaceblog.xprize.org/ ] about her experiences. Lopez-Alegria would lead the ISS crew dubbed Expedition 14 [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/index.html ], which included the flight engineer and Soyuz pilot Tyurin, flight engineer American Sunita Williams [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_interview_williams.html ], and flight engineer German Thomas Reiter [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/reiter-t.html ]. Tyurin returned [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html ] to the Earth with Lopez-Alegria this past week. |
|
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 ]. |
|
Strange Orange Soil on the M
…
| Title |
Strange Orange Soil on the Moon |
| Explanation |
How did orange soil appear on the Moon? This mystery began [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010523.html http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a17/a17.sta4.html ] when astronaut Harrison Schmidt [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010523.html http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.crew.html#jackbio ] noticed the off-color patch near Apollo 17 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001209.html ]'s Taurus-Littrow [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo17/A17_lsite.html ] landing site in 1972. Schmidt and fellow astronaut Eugene Cernan [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.crew.html#genebio ] scooped up some of the unusual orange soil [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a17/a17.sta4.html ] for detailed inspection back on Earth. Pictured above [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/AS17/10076006.htm ] is a return sample shown greatly magnified, with its discovery location shown in the inset [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/AS17/10075960.htm ]. The orange soil [ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/expmoon/Apollo17/A17_sampact.html ] contains particles less than 0.1 millimeter across, some of the smallest particles yet found on the Moon [ http://www.nasm.edu/galleries/attm/wl.so.1.html ]. Lunar geologists now think that the orange soil [ http://www.solarviews.com/cap/moon/moondust.htm ] was created during an ancient fire-fountain [ http://www.solarviews.com/cap/volc/fountain.htm ]. Detailed chemical and dating analyses indicate [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1996LPI....27..303D ] that during an explosive volcanic eruption 3.64 billion years ago, small drops [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000322.html ] of molten rock cooled rapidly into the nearly spherical colored grains. The origin of some of the unusual elements found in the soil [ http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/lunar/lunar.htm ], however, remains unknown. |
|
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. |
|
Apollo 17's Lunar Rover
| Title |
Apollo 17's Lunar Rover |
| Explanation |
In December of 1972, Apollo 17 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001209.html ] astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent about 75 hours exploring [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17j.html ] the Moon's Taurus-Littrow valley [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo17/A17_lsite.html ] while colleague Ronald Evans orbited overhead. Cernan and Schmitt were the last humans to walk or ride on the Moon - aided in their explorations [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010523.html ] by a Lunar Roving Vehicle [ http://www-sn.jsc.nasa.gov/PlanetaryMissions/EXLibrary/docs/ ApolloCat/Part1/LRV.htm ]. The skeletal-looking lunar rover was [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ lrvhand.html ] just over 10 feet long, 6 feet wide and easily carried astronauts, equipment, and rock samples in the Moon's [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html ] low gravity (about 1/6 Earth's). In this picture [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/images17.html ], Cernan stands at the back of the rover which carried the two astronauts in lawn-chair style seats. An umbrella-shaped high gain antenna and TV camera are mounted in the front. Powered by four 1/4 horsepower electric motors, one for each wheel [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990501.html ], this rover was driven a total of about 18 miles across the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/frame.html ]. Its estimated top speed was a blazing 8 miles per hour. |
|
To Fly Free in Space
| Title |
To Fly Free in Space |
| Explanation |
At about 100 meters from the cargo bay of the space shuttle Challenger, Bruce McCandless II was further out than anyone had ever been before. Guided by a Manned Maneuvering Unit [ http://www.astronautix.com/craft/shulemmu.htm ] (MMU), astronaut McCandless, pictured above [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001087.html ], was floating free in space. McCandless [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mccandless-b.html ] and fellow NASA astronaut [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/index.html ] Robert Stewart [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/stewart-rl.html ] were the first to experience such an "untether [ http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wtether.html ]ed space walk [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990801.html ]" during Space Shuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990411.html ] mission 41-B [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-41-B ] in 1984 [ http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/ ]. The MMU [ http://galacticvoyager.com/pat/mmu/ ] works by shooting jets of nitrogen [ http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/7.html ] and has since been used to help deploy and retrieve satellites. With a mass over 140 kilograms, an MMU is heavy on Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070325.html ], but, like everything, is weightless when drifting in orbit. The MMU was replaced with the SAFER [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011002.html ] backpack propulsion unit. |
|
A Flying Astronaut Over Eart
…
| Title |
A Flying Astronaut Over Earth |
| Explanation |
What would it be like to fly free over the seas and clouds of Earth? In 1994 astronaut Mark Lee [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lee.html ] found out when he tested the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) system for NASA [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/ ]. SAFER [ http://archive.larc.nasa.gov/shemesh/Lfm97/slides/lfm97-bldsafer-slides/P003.html ] is a backpack propulsion unit [ http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/teachers/suited/6work.html ] that incorporates small nitrogen [ http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/7.html ] thrusters controlled by hand and moderated by computer. Pictured [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001040.html ], Lee jets about the bay of Space Shuttle Discovery [ http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/discovery.html ], over 200 kilometers above Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001127.html ] in the first untethered space walk [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990801.html ] in ten years. Lee was not in danger -- the shuttle could have been used to retrieve him. SAFER [ http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts092/video/001019safer1_qt.html ], smaller than the Manned Maneuvering Unit [ http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/211.web.stuff/Adamczak/mmu.htm ], is designed as a backup system to help astronauts [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/ ] in the unlikely event that they become too separated from their work outside the International Space Station [ http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/ ]. |
|
Space Station and Space Shut
…
| Title |
Space Station and Space Shuttle: Backyard View |
| Explanation |
Knowing when and where [ http://www.heavens-above.com/ ] to look, many enthusiastic sky gazers have been able to spot the International Space Station (ISS) as a bright star streaking [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001214.html ] through the twilight. But with a digital camera and a small telescope, recognizable images are possible [ http://www.hobbyspace.com/SatWatching/ ] too. Astronomer Ricardo Borba offers this example [ http://www.borba.com/iss/ ] of the Space Shuttle Discovery [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010320.html ] docked with the ISS [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010228.html ], recorded this August from his backyard in Ottawa, Canada. Operating a digital video camera on an 8 inch reflecting telescope, Borba tracked the Earth-orbiting pair by hand. Unwanted telescope motion and atmospheric blurring [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000725.html ] caused most of the video frames to be indistinct, still the single best frame (left) from his video sequence is amazingly sharp. For comparison, he constructed a computer generated image (right) showing the approximate orientation of the Shuttle/ISS docking configuration based on virtual 3D models [ http://vesuvius.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/sehvrml.html ] available on the web [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/vrml/station/ ]. |
|
Earth at Twilight
| Title |
Earth at Twilight |
| Explanation |
No sudden, sharp boundary marks the passage of day into night [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061001.html ] in this gorgeous view [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/ photo.pl?mission=ISS002&roll=E&frame=7377 ] of ocean and clouds over our fair planet Earth [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/BlueMarble/ ]. Instead, the shadow line or terminator [ http://sci.gallaudet.edu/daylight.html ] is diffuse and shows the gradual transition to darkness we experience as twilight. With the Sun illuminating the scene from the right, the cloud tops reflect gently reddened sunlight filtered [ http://webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/14B.html ] through the dusty troposphere, the lowest layer of the planet's nurturing atmosphere [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/space/ atmosphere.html ]. A clear high altitude layer, visible along the dayside's upper edge, scatters blue [ http://webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/14.html ] sunlight and fades into the blackness of space. This picture actually [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030324.html ] is a single digital photograph taken in June of 2001 from the International Space Station orbiting at [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021103.html ] an altitude of 211 nautical miles [ http://www.gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/units/sea.htm ]. |
|
Lunar Dust and Duct Tape
| Title |
Lunar Dust and Duct Tape |
| Explanation |
Why is the Moon dusty [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/Apollo17/ A17_Experiments_SMI.html ]? On Earth, rocks are weathered by wind and water, creating soil and sand. On the Moon, the long history of micrometeorite [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/solar/eng/edu/ micromet.htm ] bombardment has blasted away at the rocky surface [ http://www-curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/lunar/ lunar.htm ] creating a layer of powdery lunar soil or regolith [ http://elvis.neep.wisc.edu/~neep602/9301/ 9301.html ]. This lunar regolith could be a scientific [ http://elvis.neep.wisc.edu/~neep602/FALL97/LEC19/ lecture19.html ] and industrial [ http://elvis.neep.wisc.edu/~neep602/FALL97/LEC20/ lecture20.html ] bonanza. But for the Apollo astronauts and their equipment [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/Apollo17/ A17_science.html ], the pervasive, fine, gritty dust was definitely a problem. On the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ ] in December 1972, Apollo 17 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970905.html ] astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan needed to repair one of their lunar rover's fenders in an effort [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ a17/a17.eva2prep.html ] to keep the "rooster tails" of dust away from themselves and their gear. This picture reveals [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/AS17/ 10075959.htm ] the wheel and fender of their dust covered rover along with [ http://www.clavius.org/rover2.html ] the ingenious application of spare maps, clamps, and a grey strip of "duct tape". |
|
Orbiting Astronaut Reflects
…
| Title |
Orbiting Astronaut Reflects Earth |
| Explanation |
Astronaut self-portraits [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060121.html ] can be particularly interesting. Visible in the above picture [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/ sts-118/html/iss015e22561.html ], working in from the outer borders, are the edges of the reflecting helmet of a space suit [ http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-suit.htm ], modules of the International Space Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070625.html ] (ISS), the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070325.html ], the arms of Expedition 15 [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/ expedition15/index.html ] astronaut Clay Anderson [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/ expedition15/exp15_interview_anderson.html ], and the digital camera used to snap the image. This picture [ http://www.digg.com/space/Could_this_be_the_best_self_shot_ever_PIC ] was taken during the shuttle orbiter Endeavour [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Endeavour ]'s mission to expand the space station last August. The large curvature of the Earth [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition16/journal_peggy_whitson_7.html ] appearing in the visor reflection [ http://mirrorproject.com/ ] is not the true curvature of our spherical Earth, but rather an artifact of the curve of the space helmet. Earth's horizon appears only slightly curved [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap071127.html ] when viewed from the height of the ISS -- approximately 400 kilometers. The next space shuttle mission [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html ] to the space station is currently expected to take place next month and includes the installation of the scientific Columbus Laboratory [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_laboratory ]. |
|
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 ]. |
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Himalayan Horizon From Space
| Title |
Himalayan Horizon From Space |
| Explanation |
This stunning aerial view [ http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/viewrecord?7837 ] shows the rugged snow covered peaks of [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/education/Everest/ ] a Himalayan mountain range in Nepal. The seventh-highest peak on the planet [ http://www.math.ufl.edu/~metzler/Frame/ Outdoor/Data/asia.html ], Dhaulagiri, is the high point on the horizon at the left while in the foreground lies the southern Tibetan Plateau of China. But, contrary to appearances, this picture wasn't taken from an airliner [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010129.html ] cruising at 30,000 feet. Instead it was taken with a 35mm camera and telephoto lens by the Expedition 1 crew [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp1/ index.html ] aboard the International Space Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011012.html ] -- orbiting 200 nautical miles [ http://www.seewise.com/or/faqtxt/a3.html ] above the Earth. The Himalayan mountains [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/ images.php3?img_id=4704 ] were created by crustal plate tectonics [ http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/ dynamic.html ] on planet Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001002.html ] some 70 million years ago, as the Indian plate began a collision with the Eurasian plate. Himalayan uplift still continues today at a rate of a few millimeters per year. |
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Apollo 17's Moonship
| Title |
Apollo 17's Moonship |
| Explanation |
Awkward and angular looking, Apollo 17's lunar module Challenger [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/tmp/1972-096A.html ] was designed for flight [ http://users.specdata.com/home/pullo/lm_mis1.htm ] in the vacuum of space. This sharp picture from the command module America [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/tmp/1972-096C.html ], shows Challenger's ascent stage in lunar orbit. Small reaction control thrusters are at the sides of the moonship with the bell of the ascent rocket engine itself underneath. The hatch allowing access to the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17main.html ] is visible in the front and a round radar antenna appears at the top. This spaceship performed gracefully, landing on the moon and returning the Apollo astronauts to the orbiting command module in December of 1972 - but where is Challenger now? [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ apolloloc.html ] Its descent stage remains [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/Apollo/ ls_17_5aa.html ] at the Apollo 17 landing site [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/Apollo/ landing_sites.html ], Taurus-Littrow [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo17/ A17_lsite.html ]. The ascent stage was intentionally crashed nearby after being jettisoned from the command module prior to the astronauts' return [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.homeward.html ] to planet Earth. Apollo 17's mission [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970504.html ] was the sixth and last time astronauts have landed on the moon. "Editor's note:" Eric Jones, Apollo Lunar Surface Journal [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/ frame.html ] editor, comments, "If you look at the [... large, dark] triangular window, you'll see a bright rectangular area - which is the rendezvous window - beneath it, a bright arc. After much discussion, my team of volunteers and I concluded that the bright arc is the top of [mission commander] Gene Cernan's bubble helmet lit by sunlight ..." |
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Shuttle Engine Blast
| Title |
Shuttle Engine Blast |
| Explanation |
The Space Shuttle Discovery [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950808.html ]'s orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engine firing [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/STS51I/10062237.htm ] produced this dramatic flare as it cruised "upside down" in low Earth orbit. Discovery [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/ discovery.html ] was named for a ship commanded by Captain James Cook RN [ http://www.south-pole.com/p0000071.htm ], the 18th Century English astronomer and navigator. Cook's voyages [ http://pacific.vita.org/pacific/cook/ ] of discovery established new standards in scientific exploration and brought extensive knowledge of the Pacific regions, including Australia, New Zealand, and the Hawaiian Island [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980725.html ] archipelago to Europeans. The Space Shuttle [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/ index.html ] Endeavor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950807.html ], also named after one of Cook's ships, is the newest of NASA's four-orbiter shuttle fleet [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/ orbiters.html ]. |
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