|
|
Lockheed Fire
On August 12, 2009, the Lock
…
8/18/09
| Description |
On August 12, 2009, the Lockheed Fire broke out in the mountains southwest of San Jose, California, and burned through an estimated 2,600 acres of brush and timber by the morning of August 14. The fire was burning about 4 miles northwest of the town of Boulder Creek, and at least 2,000 people had been forced to evacuate their homes. This photo-like image of the fire was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite on August 13. The red outlines mark the location where the sensor detected active fire. A narrow but dense plume of smoke slices across the mouth of Monterey Bay, stretching past the city of Santa Cruz toward Monterey. The landscape of this part of California is one of redwoods and fir trees, and it appears lushly green in this image. But mixed with these forests are tracts of chaparral (landscapes dominated by fire-adapted, drought-tolerant shrubs and grasses) and large stands of highly flammable knobcone pine. Hot, fast-moving fires are a natural part of this landscape, and people's desire to suppress forest fires around their homes in recent decades has allowed some areas to become unnaturally overgrown and primed for wildfire. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey. |
| Date |
8/18/09 |
|
Multi-angle Images of Hudson
…
At left is a true-color imag
…
| Description |
At left is a true-color image from the downward-looking (nadir) camera on the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. The false-color image at right is a composite of red band data taken by the MISR forward 45.6-degree, nadir, and aftward 45.6-degree cameras, displayed in blue, green, and red colors, respectively. Color variations in the left image highlight spectral (true-color) differences, whereas those in the right image highlight differences in angular reflectance properties. The purple areas in the right image are low cloud, and light blue at the edge of the bay is due to increased forward scattering by the fast (smooth) ice. The orange areas are rougher ice, which scatters more light in the backward direction. This example illustrates how multi-angle viewing can distinguish physical structures and textures. Data for all channels are presented in a Space Oblique Mercator map projection to facilitate their co- registration. The images are about 400 km (250 miles) wide with a spatial resolution of about 275 meters (300 yards). North is toward the top. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology. ##### |
|
Nine Frames as Jupiter Turns
This sequence of nine true-c
…
11/6/00
| Date |
11/6/00 |
| Description |
This sequence of nine true-color, narrow-angle images shows the varying appearance of Jupiter as it rotated through more than a complete 360-degree turn. The smallest features seen in this sequence are no bigger than about 380 kilometers (about 236 miles). Rotating more than twice as fast as Earth, Jupiter completes one rotation in about 10 hours. These images were taken on Oct. 22 and 23, 2000. From image to image (proceeding left to right across each row and then down to the next row), cloud features on Jupiter move from left to right before disappearing over the edge onto the nightside of the planet. The most obvious Jovian feature is the Great Red Spot, which can be seen moving onto the dayside in the third frame (below and to the left of the center of the planet). In the fourth frame, taken about 1 hour and 40 minutes later, the Great Red Spot has been carried by the planet's rotation to the east and does not appear again until the final frame, which was taken one complete rotation after the third frame. Unlike weather systems on Earth, which change markedly from day to day, large cloud systems in Jupiter's colder, thicker atmosphere are long-lived, so the two frames taken one rotation apart have a very similar appearance. However, when this sequence of images is eventually animated, strong winds blowing eastward at some latitudes and westward at other latitudes will be readily apparent. The results of such differential motions can be seen even in the still frames shown here. For example, the clouds of the Great Red Spot rotate counterclockwise. The strong westward winds northeast of the Great Red Spot are deflected around the spot and form a wake of turbulent clouds downstream (visible in the fourth image), just as a rock in a rapidly flowing river deflects the fluid around it. The equatorial zone on Jupiter is currently bright white, indicating the presence of clouds much like cirrus clouds on Earth, but made of ammonia instead of water ice. This is very different from Jupiter's appearance 20 years ago, when the equatorial zone was more of a brownish cast similar to the region just to its north. At the northern edge of the equatorial zone, local regions colored a dark grayish-blue are places where the ammonia clouds have cleared allowing a view to deeper levels in Jupiter's atmosphere. Interrupting these relatively clear regions is a series of bright arrow-shaped equatorial plumes. The most obvious one is visible just above and to the right of center in the third and ninth frames. These plumes resemble the `anvil' clouds that accompany common summer thunderstorms on Earth, although the Jovian plumes are much bigger, and their somewhat regular spacing around the planet suggests an association with a planetary-scale wave motion. The southwest-northeast tilt of these plumes suggests that the winds in this region act to help maintain the eastward winds at this latitude. In the dark belt north of the equatorial zone, a turbulent region with a white filamentary cloud is visible in the sixth frame, indicating rapidly changing wind direction. Several white ovals are visible at higher southern latitudes (toward the bottom of the fourth, fifth, and sixth frames, for example). These ovals, like the Great Red Spot, rotate counterclockwise and are similar in some respects to high-pressure systems on Earth. When these images were taken, Cassini was about 3.3 degrees above Jupiter's equatorial plane, and the Sun-Jupiter-spacecraft angle was about 20 degrees. JPL manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPl is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona. ##### |
|
Flattened Crescent
| Description |
Flattened Crescent |
| Full Description |
Saturn's low density and fast rotation combine to give it its characteristic oblate shape. The dramatic crescent seen here demonstrates how the ringed planet is much wider at the equator than at the poles. The rings disappear near center into the darkness of the planet's shadow. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 11, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 163 degrees. Image scale is 169 kilometers (105 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
August 14, 2006 |
|
Northern Bands
| Description |
Northern Bands |
| Full Description |
Titan's fast-rotating atmosphere creates circumpolar bands in the north. The Cassini spacecraft acquired this view of the smoggy moon following a flyby of Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) on March 26, 2007. The image was taken in visible violet light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera at a distance of approximately 275,000 kilometers (171,000 miles) from Titan. Image scale is 33 kilometers (20 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
April 27, 2007 |
|
High Altitude Hints
| Description |
High Altitude Hints |
| Full Description |
The Cassini spacecraft catches a glimpse of features that reveal important clues about processes occurring in Titan's atmosphere. The north polar stratosphere exhibits a banded appearance, as fast-moving clouds whirl around the giant moon. The moon's halo -- its detached, high-altitude global haze layer -- is faintly visible here as well. Planet-sized Titan is 5,150 kilometers (3,200 miles) across. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized ultraviolet light. The image was obtained on May 15, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Titan and at a Sun-Titan-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 25 degrees. Image scale is 15 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit HYPERLINK "http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov" http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at HYPERLINK "http://ciclops.org" http://ciclops.org . *Credit:* NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
June 1, 2007 |
|
New Radiation Belt
| Description |
Here on the Gallery page you can find the very latest images, videos and products from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, including the spectacular launch, spacecraft assembly and the exciting trip to Saturn. |
| Full Description |
The magnetospheric imaging instrument onboard Cassini recently discovered a new radiation belt just above Saturn's cloud tops, up to the inner edge of the D-ring. Before this discovery, it was not anticipated that such a trapped ion population could be sustained inside the rings. This new radiation belt extends around the planet. It was detected by the emission of fast neutral atoms created as its energetic ions interact with gas clouds in the same region. Saturn's radiation belts have numerous "holes" in them, created as the trapped ions collide with moons, dust ring, and gas. With this discovery, the radiation belts are shown to extend far closer to the planet than their previously known inner boundary, which lies just at the outer edge of the main ring system. The new belts are much smaller and much less energetic than the main radiation belts. The main belts extend from about 139,000 kilometers (86,000 miles) from Saturn's center out to about 362,000 (225,000 miles) and contain particles with energies up to tens of mega-electron volts. The new belt extends less than 6,000 kilometers (about 4,000 miles) in thickness, and is not known to contain particles above about 150 kilo-electron Volts total energy. Shown here is an image taken by the magnetospheric imaging instrument on July 1, 2004, from a distance of 24,000 kilometers (14,900 miles) from Saturn's cloud tops. From blue to red the colors represent increasing intensity of the radiation. The location of the moon Titan in the image is shown, but emissions associated with Titan itself are too weak to stand out in the intense emission from the main radiation belt. The magenta lines represent the magnetic field lines that cross the equator just at the inner edge of the D-Ring, where the new-found radiation belt resides. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument was designed, built and is operated by an international team lead by the Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Md. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the instrument team's home page, http://sd-www.jhuapl.edu/CASSINI/index.html . Image Credit: NASA/JPL/APL |
|
| Description |
Here on the Gallery page you can find the very latest images, videos and products from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, including the spectacular launch, spacecraft assembly and the exciting trip to Saturn. |
| Full Description |
This sequence of nine true-color, narrow-angle images shows the varying appearance of Jupiter as it rotated through more than a complete 360-degree turn. The smallest features seen in this sequence are no bigger than about 380 kilometers (about 236 miles). Rotating more than twice as fast as Earth, Jupiter completes one rotation in about 10 hours. These images were taken on Oct. 22 and 23, 2000. From image to image (proceeding left to right across each row and then down to the next row), cloud features on Jupiter move from left to right before disappearing over the edge onto the nightside of the planet. The most obvious Jovian feature is the Great Red Spot, which can be seen moving onto the dayside in the third frame (below and to the left of the center of the planet). In the fourth frame, taken about 1 hour and 40 minutes later, the Great Red Spot has been carried by the planet's rotation to the east and does not appear again until the final frame, which was taken one complete rotation after the third frame. Unlike weather systems on Earth, which change markedly from day to day, large cloud systems in Jupiter's colder, thicker atmosphere are long-lived, so the two frames taken one rotation apart have a very similar appearance. However, when this sequence of images is eventually animated, strong winds blowing eastward at some latitudes and westward at other latitudes will be readily apparent. The results of such differential motions can be seen even in the still frames shown here. For example, the clouds of the Great Red Spot rotate counterclockwise. The strong westward winds northeast of the Great Red Spot are deflected around the spot and form a wake of turbulent clouds downstream (visible in the fourth image), just as a rock in a rapidly flowing river deflects the fluid around it. The equatorial zone on Jupiter is currently bright white, indicating the presence of clouds much like cirrus clouds on Earth, but made of ammonia instead of water ice. This is very different from Jupiter's appearance 20 years ago, when the equatorial zone was more of a brownish cast similar to the region just to its north. At the northern edge of the equatorial zone, local regions colored a dark grayish-blue are places where the ammonia clouds have cleared allowing a view to deeper levels in Jupiter's atmosphere. Interrupting these relatively clear regions is a series of bright arrow-shaped equatorial plumes. The most obvious one is visible just above and to the right of center in the third and ninth frames. These plumes resemble the `anvil' clouds that accompany common summer thunderstorms on Earth, although the Jovian plumes are much bigger, and their somewhat regular spacing around the planet suggests an association with a planetary-scale wave motion. The southwest-northeast tilt of these plumes suggests that the winds in this region act to help maintain the eastward winds at this latitude. In the dark belt north of the equatorial zone, a turbulent, region with a white filamentary cloud is visible in the sixth frame, indicating rapidly changing wind direction. Several white ovals are visible at higher southern latitudes (toward the bottom of the fourth, fifth, and sixth frames, for example). These ovals, like the Great Red Spot, rotate counterclockwise and are similar in some respects to high-pressure systems on Earth. When these images were taken, Cassini was about 3.3 degrees above Jupiter's equatorial plane, and the Sun-Jupiter-spacecraft angle was about 20 degrees. JPL manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPl is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona. (PIA02825A) For higher resolution, click here. |
|
New Radiation Belt
| Description |
Here on the Gallery page you can find the very latest images, videos and products from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, including the spectacular launch, spacecraft assembly and the exciting trip to Saturn. |
| Full Description |
The magnetospheric imaging instrument onboard Cassini recently discovered a new radiation belt just above Saturn's cloud tops, up to the inner edge of the D-ring. Before this discovery, it was not anticipated that such a trapped ion population could be sustained inside the rings. This new radiation belt extends around the planet. It was detected by the emission of fast neutral atoms created as its energetic ions interact with gas clouds in the same region. Saturn's radiation belts have numerous "holes" in them, created as the trapped ions collide with moons, dust ring, and gas. With this discovery, the radiation belts are shown to extend far closer to the planet than their previously known inner boundary, which lies just at the outer edge of the main ring system. The new belts are much smaller and much less energetic than the main radiation belts. The main belts extend from about 139,000 kilometers (86,000 miles) from Saturn's center out to about 362,000 (225,000 miles) and contain particles with energies up to tens of mega-electron volts. The new belt extends less than 6,000 kilometers (about 4,000 miles) in thickness, and is not known to contain particles above about 150 kilo-electron Volts total energy. Shown here is an image taken by the magnetospheric imaging instrument on July 1, 2004, from a distance of 24,000 kilometers (14,900 miles) from Saturn's cloud tops. From blue to red the colors represent increasing intensity of the radiation. The location of the moon Titan in the image is shown, but emissions associated with Titan itself are too weak to stand out in the intense emission from the main radiation belt. The magenta lines represent the magnetic field lines that cross the equator just at the inner edge of the D-Ring, where the new-found radiation belt resides. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument was designed, built and is operated by an international team lead by the Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Md. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the instrument team's home page, http://sd-www.jhuapl.edu/CASSINI/index.html . Image Credit: NASA/JPL/APL |
|
A Privileged View
| Description |
A Privileged View |
| Full Description |
From Saturn orbit, the Cassini spacecraft provides a perspective on the ringed planet that is never seen from Earth. In our skies, Saturn's disk is always nearly fully illuminated by the sun. From this vantage point -- nearly in the ringplane, with the sun over to the right -- the Cassini spacecraft can see both lit and dark hemispheres, with the shadow of the rings on the northern hemisphere. Saturn's low density and fast rotation cause its shape to deviate from spherical to a pronounced oblateness, very apparent here. The image was taken using the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera and a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The image was acquired on Sept. 30, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.4 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 79 degrees. The mage scale is 139 kilometers (86 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . *Credit: *NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
November 11, 2005 |
|
Catch That Crater
| Description |
Catch that Crater |
| Full Description |
In the nick of time, the Cassini spacecraft snapped this image of the eastern rim of Saturn's moon Rhea's bright, ray crater. The impact event appears to have made a prominent bright splotch on the leading hemisphere of Rhea (see Great White Splat). Because Cassini was traveling so fast relative to Rhea as the flyby occurred, the crater would have been out of the camera's field of view in any earlier or later exposure. The crater's total diameter is about 50 kilometers (30 miles), but this rim view shows details of terrains both interior to the crater and outside its rim. The prominent bright scarp, left of the center, is the crater wall, and the crater interior is to the left of the scarp. The exterior of the crater (right of the scarp) is characterized by softly undulating topography and gentle swirl-like patterns that formed during the emplacement of the large crater's continuous blanket of ejecta material. Numerous small craters conspicuously pepper the larger crater's floor and much of the area immediately outside of it. However, in some places, such as terrain in the top portion of the image and the bright crater wall, the terrain appears remarkably free of the small impacts. The localized "shot pattern" and non-uniform distribution of these small craters indicate that they are most likely secondary impacts -- craters formed from fallback material excavated from a nearby primary impact site. Because they exist both inside and outside the large crater in this image, the source impact of the secondary impacts must have happened more recently than the impact event that formed the large crater in this scene. This is one of the highest-resolution images of Rhea's surface obtained during Cassini's very close flyby on Nov. 26, 2005, during which the spacecraft swooped to within 500 kilometers (310 miles) of the large moon. Rhea is 1,528 kilometers (949 miles) across and is Saturn's second largest moon, after planet-sized Titan. The clear filter image was acquired with the wide-angle camera at an altitude of 511 kilometers (317 miles) above Rhea. Image scale is about 34 meters (112 feet) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . *Credit:* NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
December 6, 2005 |
|
Tempest Tossed
| Description |
Tempest Tossed |
| Full Description |
Bright clouds twist and twirl in the fast-moving and turbulent winds in the Saturnian north. Hints of organized jets can also be seen. This view is centered on a region 24 degrees north of Saturn's equator. Shadows cast by the rings cover the bottom of this scene. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 13, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 4.1 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 24 kilometers (15 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
October 3, 2007 |
|
Squashed As It Spins
| Description |
Squashed As It Spins |
| Full Description |
Saturn's density is so low, and its rotation is so fast, that the planet bulges around its waistline as is spins. Saturn is nearly 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) wider at its equator than at its poles, and its oblateness is clearly visible in this view. The view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 2 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Sept. 2, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.9 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 109 kilometers (68 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
October 17, 2007 |
|
Deep Space 1 in Cleanroom
| Title |
Deep Space 1 in Cleanroom |
| Full Description |
Deep Space 1 was launched in October 1998 as part of NASA's New Millennium Program, which is managed by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA. Deep Space 1 used a unique ion drive propulsion system. Unlike the fireworks of most chemical rockets using solid or liquid fuels, the ion drive emits only an eerie blue glow as ionized (electrically charged) atoms of xenon are pushed out of the engine. Xenon is the same gas found in photo flash tubes and many lighthouse bulbs. The almost imperceptible thrust from the system is equivalent to the pressure exerted by a sheet of paper held in the palm of your hand. The ion engine is very slow to pick up speed, but over the long haul it can deliver 10 times as much thrust per pound of fuel as more traditional rockets. Previous ion propulsion systems, like those found on some communications satellites, were not used as the main engines, but only to keep the satellites on track. Deep Space 1 is the first spacecraft to use this important technology as its primary means of propulsion. The importance of ion propulsion is its great efficiency," says Dr. Marc Rayman, project manager for Deep Space 1. "It uses very little propellant, and that means it weighs less so it can use a less expensive launch vehicle and ultimately go much faster than other spacecraft. This opens the solar system to many future exciting missions which otherwise would have been unaffordable or even impossible," added Dr. Rayman. The ion particles travel out at about 68,000 miles per hour. However, Deep Space 1 doesn't move that fast in the other direction, because it is much heavier than the ion particles. By the end of the mission, the ion engine will have changed the spacecraft's speed by about 6,800 mph (over 11,000 kph). The technology is so efficient that it only consumes about 3.5 ounces (100 g) of xenon per day, taking about four days to expend just one pound (0.4 kg). The Deep Space 1 ion engine could have a total operating time of more than 583 days (14,000 hours) by the end of its mission in the fall of 2001. |
| Date |
11/21/1997 |
| NASA Center |
Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
|
The "Rotten Egg" Nebula: A P
…
| Title |
The "Rotten Egg" Nebula: A Planetary Nebula in the Making |
|
Hubble Unveils a Galaxy in L
…
| Title |
Hubble Unveils a Galaxy in Living Color |
|
NASA Space Observatories Gli
…
| Title |
NASA Space Observatories Glimpse Faint Afterglow of Nearby Stellar Explosion |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
|
TRACE Ultraviolet View of Ja
…
| Title |
TRACE Ultraviolet View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
TRACE Ultraviolet View of Ja
…
| Title |
TRACE Ultraviolet View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
TRACE Ultraviolet View of Ja
…
| Title |
TRACE Ultraviolet View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
TRACE Ultraviolet View of Ja
…
| Title |
TRACE Ultraviolet View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
TRACE Ultraviolet View of Ja
…
| Title |
TRACE Ultraviolet View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
January 2005 Solar Flares fr
…
| Title |
January 2005 Solar Flares from SOHO/EIT |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
January 2005 Solar Flares fr
…
| Title |
January 2005 Solar Flares from SOHO/EIT |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
January 2005 Solar Flares fr
…
| Title |
January 2005 Solar Flares from SOHO/EIT |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
RHESSI and TRACE View of Jan
…
| Title |
RHESSI and TRACE View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare |
| Abstract |
RHESSI spacecraft images of gamma-rays (blue) and X-rays (red) thrown off by the hottest part of the flare are shown with UV images from the TRACE spacecraft. The gamma rays are made by energetic protons at the Sun. Scientists were surprised that the gamma rays matched the energy spectrum of protons at Earth: the proton storm may have come directly from the Sun and not from the CME as anticipated. |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
RHESSI and TRACE View of Jan
…
| Title |
RHESSI and TRACE View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare |
| Abstract |
RHESSI spacecraft images of gamma-rays (blue) and X-rays (red) thrown off by the hottest part of the flare are shown with UV images from the TRACE spacecraft. The gamma rays are made by energetic protons at the Sun. Scientists were surprised that the gamma rays matched the energy spectrum of protons at Earth: the proton storm may have come directly from the Sun and not from the CME as anticipated. |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
SOHO/LASCO View of January 2
…
| Title |
SOHO/LASCO View of January 2005 Solar Events |
| Abstract |
The January 20 flare began just before 2 a.m. ET. A storm of energetic protons impacted Earth just 15 minutes later. These views of the flare are from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The proton storm near Earth causes `snow' in the images, obscuring the Sun as radiation swamps the cameras. The structure at the 1:30 position in the SOHO/LASCO/C3 data is the occulting disk pylon. |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
SOHO/LASCO View of January 2
…
| Title |
SOHO/LASCO View of January 2005 Solar Events |
| Abstract |
The January 20 flare began just before 2 a.m. ET. A storm of energetic protons impacted Earth just 15 minutes later. These views of the flare are from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The proton storm near Earth causes `snow' in the images, obscuring the Sun as radiation swamps the cameras. The structure at the 1:30 position in the SOHO/LASCO/C3 data is the occulting disk pylon. |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
SOHO/LASCO View of January 2
…
| Title |
SOHO/LASCO View of January 2005 Solar Events |
| Abstract |
The January 20 flare began just before 2 a.m. ET. A storm of energetic protons impacted Earth just 15 minutes later. These views of the flare are from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The proton storm near Earth causes `snow' in the images, obscuring the Sun as radiation swamps the cameras. The structure at the 1:30 position in the SOHO/LASCO/C3 data is the occulting disk pylon. |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
SOHO/LASCO View of January 2
…
| Title |
SOHO/LASCO View of January 2005 Solar Events |
| Abstract |
The January 20 flare began just before 2 a.m. ET. A storm of energetic protons impacted Earth just 15 minutes later. These views of the flare are from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The proton storm near Earth causes `snow' in the images, obscuring the Sun as radiation swamps the cameras. The structure at the 1:30 position in the SOHO/LASCO/C3 data is the occulting disk pylon. |
| Completed |
2005-05-19 |
|
| Photo Description |
Four of the five surviving X-15 pilots were on hand when astronaut wings were presented to the three NASA pilots who flew the X-15 rocket plane into space in the 1960s, Bill Dana, Joe Walker (deceased) and Jack McKay (deceased). From left, Robert White, Dana, Neil Armstrong, Joe Engle. |
| Project Description |
In a turbulent era of 1960s Cold War confrontations, moon race headlines, and war in southeast Asia, eight military and civilian test pilots flew the radical X-15 rocket plane out of the atmosphere and into the record books, earning astronaut status. Until today, three of those early astronaut test pilots never received official recognition of their lofty membership as astronauts because only the military had astronaut wings to confer on their pilots at that time. Civilian NASA pilots had no such badge. That inequity was rectified on August 23, 2005, when retired NASA pilot Bill Dana, and family members representing deceased pilots John B. McKay and Joseph A. Walker, received civilian astronaut wings acknowledging their flights above 264,000 feet altitude -- 50 miles high. The men were honored in a quiet ceremony at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base in California, site of their achievements. Bill Dana was philosophical about it: NASA pilots didn't wear wings anyway, and the concept of winning special wings was probably more crucial to a military pilot's career ladder, he explained. Dana's first of two flights into space took him 58.13 miles above the Mojave Desert on Nov. 1, 1966 on a mission to collect micrometeorite samples, while also learning about issues of sky brightness at that height. Joe Walker's third X-15 foray into space claimed the unofficial world altitude record of 354,200 feet, or 67.08 miles, on Aug. 22, 1963. Walker's unofficial record also marked the highest altitude to which the X-15 was ever flown. John McKay attained 295,600 feet altitude, or 55.98 miles, on Sept. 28, 1965 during during a flight that investigated several research experiments. The X-15 program used three piloted hypersonic rocket planes to fly as high as 67 miles and as fast as nearly seven times the speed of sound. Volumes of test data gleaned from 199 X-15 missions from 1959 through 1968 helped shape the successful Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle human spaceflight programs. Two retired X-15s are displayed at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C., and the Air Force Museum, Dayton, Ohio. |
| Photo Date |
August 23, 2005 |
|
Protein crystal growth
| Name of Image |
Protein crystal growth |
| Date of Image |
2001-06-06 |
| Full Description |
Atomic force microscopy uses laser technology to reveal a defect, a double-screw dislocation, on the surface of this crystal of canavalin, a major source of dietary protein for humans and domestic animals. When a crystal grows, attachment kinetics and transport kinetics are competing for control of the molecules. As a molecule gets close to the crystal surface, it has to attach properly for the crystal to be usable. NASA has funded investigators to look at those attachment kinetics from a theoretical standpoint and an experimental standpoint. Dr. Alex McPherson of the University of California, Irvine, is one of those investigators. He uses X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy in his laboratory to answer some of the many questions about how protein crystals grow. Atomic force microscopy provides a means of looking at how individual molecules are added to the surface of growing protein crystals. This helps McPherson understand the kinetics of protein crystal growth. McPherson asks, How fast do crystals grow? What are the forces involved? Investigators funded by NASA have clearly shown that such factors as the level of supersaturation and the rate of growth all affect the habit [characteristic arrangement of facets] of the crystal and the defects that occur in the crystal. |
|
Butler 2 Fire, Southern Cali
…
| Title |
Butler 2 Fire, Southern California |
| Description |
Nearly two thousand residents of communities in the San Bernardino Mountains had to evacuate their homes over the weekend of September 15, 2007, when a fast-spreading wildfire raced through the San Bernardino National Forest. According to the USDA Forest Service's Incident Information Website, the Butler 2 Fire was an estimated 15,433 acres and 12 percent contained on September 17. This image of the Butler 2 Fire northwest of Big Bear Lake was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite on Saturday, September 15. The area in which MODIS detected actively burning fire is marked in red. A thick plume of smoke cuts northeast across the Mojave Desert. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_UCSB ] images of the region in additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
|
French Fire in Northern Cali
…
| Title |
French Fire in Northern California |
| Description |
A fast-moving wildfire roared through a small northern California community on August 15, 2004, destroying numerous homes and other buildings and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate. This image of the French Fire (pixels in which fire was detected are colored yellow) was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite on August 15. The fire is burning on either side of Trinity Mountain, and was estimated to have burned just over 9,000 acres as of the morning of August 17. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center |
|
Geysers Fire, Northern Calif
…
| Title |
Geysers Fire, Northern California |
| Description |
A fast-moving wildfire sprang up in northern California near the Geysers, the world's largest geothermal power plant, on Friday, September 3, and rapidly grew to several thousand acres, threatening homes and vineyards. As of Sunday, September 5, the National Interagency Fire Center estimated the fire was just over 6,000 acres. This image of the Geysers Fire shows the blaze on September 4 and 5, 2004. On September 4, the fire was belching out a thick plume of smoke that blew southward over the Pacific Ocean. The next day the smoke was more diffuse, and it lingered over the rugged terrain. The city in the southern part of the images is San Francisco. These images were captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center |
|
Heatwave in the Western Unit
…
| Title |
Heatwave in the Western United States |
| Description |
Extreme heat lingered over much of the western United States in early July 2007. Temperatures soared to triple digits, meeting or breaking records from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Great Falls, Montana, said news reports. The oppressive heat contributed to creating prime fire conditions, so that, when dry thunderstorms (lightning storms accompanied by little or no rain) rolled through on July 7, lightning sparked dozens of fast-moving wildfires. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14358 ] This image, created from data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite from June 26 though July 3, 2007, shows land surface temperatures compared to average temperatures observed during the same period in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Deep red across the Southwest and the Intermountain West indicate that temperatures were much higher than they were in 2000-2002. The Southeast also experienced warmer temperatures. Northern California, Oregon, and Washington appear to be cooler than in previous years, as indicated by the blue tones. The heat wave started mid-way through the week-long period shown in this image. While temperatures may have soared at the end of the period, cooler temperatures earlier in the week dominate the signal. Land surface temperatures from July 4-11 [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14393 ] show that these areas warmed significantly the following week. The Southern Plains are dark blue where temperatures were much cooler than they had been in previous years. During this period, torrential rains drenched the region, causing wide-spread flooding in Texas and Oklahoma [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14363 ] and in Kansas and Missouri. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14383 ] The gray region over Kansas and Oklahoma is an area in which MODIS could not record the land's temperature because of perpetual cloud cover during the week-long period. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Land Processes [ http://modis-land.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
|
Drought in the United States
| Title |
Drought in the United States |
| Description |
This vegetation index image shows patterns of plant growth across the United States for the last ten days of May 2007 compared to average conditions during the same period from 2000 through 2006. A splash of green up the nation's interior points to abundant, fast-growing vegetation, while brown on both coasts indicates more sparse vegetation than average. Early May treated the Midwestern United States from Texas to North Dakota to heavy, even excessive, rain. The rain brought floods [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14265 ], but it also spurred plant growth, as this image shows. Conditions on both the East and West Coasts of the United States are less rosy. Here, drought has limited plant growth, particular in the south. Dark red-brown dominates in southern California in the west and Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina in the east. The dry conditions indicated in this image gave rise to extensive wildfires in California, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14258 ] Georgia, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14282 ] and Florida. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14283 ] The image was made from data collected by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and processed by the Global Inventory Modeling & Mapping Studies (GIMMS [ http://gimms.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) Group at Goddard Space Flight Center. Grey areas indicate that the satellite was unable to collect valid data, probably because of cloud cover throughout the period. For current information about drought conditions in the United States, please see the U.S. Drought Monitor [ http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html ] produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center. NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of USDA FAS and processed by Jennifer Small and Assaf Anyamba, NASA GIMMS Group. |
|
Drought in the United States
| Title |
Drought in the United States |
| Description |
This vegetation index image shows patterns of plant growth across the United States for the last ten days of May 2007 compared to average conditions during the same period from 2000 through 2006. A splash of green up the nation's interior points to abundant, fast-growing vegetation, while brown on both coasts indicates more sparse vegetation than average. Early May treated the Midwestern United States from Texas to North Dakota to heavy, even excessive, rain. The rain brought floods [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14265 ], but it also spurred plant growth, as this image shows. Conditions on both the East and West Coasts of the United States are less rosy. Here, drought has limited plant growth, particular in the south. Dark red-brown dominates in southern California in the west and Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina in the east. The dry conditions indicated in this image gave rise to extensive wildfires in California, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14258 ] Georgia, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14282 ] and Florida. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14283 ] The image was made from data collected by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and processed by the Global Inventory Modeling & Mapping Studies (GIMMS [ http://gimms.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) Group at Goddard Space Flight Center. Grey areas indicate that the satellite was unable to collect valid data, probably because of cloud cover throughout the period. For current information about drought conditions in the United States, please see the U.S. Drought Monitor [ http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html ] produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center. NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of USDA FAS and processed by Jennifer Small and Assaf Anyamba, NASA GIMMS Group. |
|
Heavy Rains in Pacific North
…
| Title |
Heavy Rains in Pacific Northwest |
| Description |
A series of fast-moving storms brought heavy rains, flooding, and mudslides to the Pacific coast in late December 2005. According to news reports, there was one reported fatality as a result of a mudslide. Although the weather pattern in place was not quite a "Pineapple Express," wherein the subtropical jet stream brings moisture from near Hawaii to higher latitudes, it was similar. The storms and moist air were pressed upon the mountains, wringing precipitation from the air. The TRMM-based, near-real-time, Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) rainfall totals are shown here for the period December 22-29, 2005, for the West Coast region. Rainfall totals for the period exceeded 200 millimeters (8 inches, shown in orange) all along the coastal ranges from just inland of Cape Mendocino in northern California all the way north past Mount Olympus in northwestern Washington State. Local amounts exceed 250 millimeters (red-orange areas) inland from Cape Mendocino and over Mount Olympus. The effect of the mountains on precipitation is clearly visible, as the highest totals occurred on the upwind slopes, with much less precipitation on the lee (or downwind) slopes. The train of storms was expected bring additional rains farther south across central California. The TRMM-based, near-real-time, MPA at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center estimates rainfall over the global tropics. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
|
Hurricane Daniel
| Title |
Hurricane Daniel |
| Description |
On July 18, Daniel became the third hurricane to form in the East Pacific during 2006, setting the pace of hurricane formation at about average for the region. It was already the second major hurricane in the East Pacific, which put 2006 well ahead of the pace set in 2005, during which only two major hurricanes formed for the entire season. After intensifying from a tropical depression that was tracking westward across the eastern Pacific away from land, Daniel became a named tropical storm on July 17, 2006, about 1,400 miles south of Baja California. Daniel continued to strengthen and became a minimal hurricane on the afternoon of July 18 (local time). The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) captured these images of Hurricane Daniel on July 19 at 3:29 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (10:29 UTC), just before the storm intensified from Category 1 to a Category 4 storm. The top image shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity (top-down view) within the storm. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, and rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. These rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. Circles of red and green trace out the tight circling bands of rain. This tight banding, along with a nearly complete inner eyewall (innermost green arc), is evidence that Daniel was very well organized with a well-developed circulation. There is also an area of intense rain (dark red) within the eyewall. At the time of this image, the National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ], reported that Daniel was a strong Category 1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds reported at 150 kilometers per hour (92 mph or 80 knots). The lower image is a three-dimensional depiction of the storm from the same overpass. The image was created from data taken by the TRMM Precipitation Radar, which has the ability to look at vertical precipitation structures. The radar reveals an area of deep convection, where water-laden air is rising high and fast, right near Daniel's center. This area shows up as red peaks that are about 15 kilometers high. The peaks are associated with the area of heavy rain within the eyewall in the previous image. The presence of such towers can be a precursor for intensification when they are near the storm's core. This was indeed the case with Daniel, which steadily increased in intensity after these images were taken, reaching Category 4 intensity on July 20, with maximum sustained winds of 220 km/hr (138 mph or 120 knots) as reported by the National Hurricane Center. Daniel was expected to gradually turn to the northwest and weaken over cooler waters. TRMM was placed into service in November of 1997. From its low-earth orbit, TRMM has been providing valuable images and information on tropical cyclones around the Tropics using a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors, including the first precipitation radar in space. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
|
Hurricane Daniel
| Title |
Hurricane Daniel |
| Description |
On July 18, Daniel became the third hurricane to form in the East Pacific during 2006, setting the pace of hurricane formation at about average for the region. It was already the second major hurricane in the East Pacific, which put 2006 well ahead of the pace set in 2005, during which only two major hurricanes formed for the entire season. After intensifying from a tropical depression that was tracking westward across the eastern Pacific away from land, Daniel became a named tropical storm on July 17, 2006, about 1,400 miles south of Baja California. Daniel continued to strengthen and became a minimal hurricane on the afternoon of July 18 (local time). The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) captured these images of Hurricane Daniel on July 19 at 3:29 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (10:29 UTC), just before the storm intensified from Category 1 to a Category 4 storm. The top image shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity (top-down view) within the storm. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, and rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. These rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. Circles of red and green trace out the tight circling bands of rain. This tight banding, along with a nearly complete inner eyewall (innermost green arc), is evidence that Daniel was very well organized with a well-developed circulation. There is also an area of intense rain (dark red) within the eyewall. At the time of this image, the National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ], reported that Daniel was a strong Category 1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds reported at 150 kilometers per hour (92 mph or 80 knots). The lower image is a three-dimensional depiction of the storm from the same overpass. The image was created from data taken by the TRMM Precipitation Radar, which has the ability to look at vertical precipitation structures. The radar reveals an area of deep convection, where water-laden air is rising high and fast, right near Daniel's center. This area shows up as red peaks that are about 15 kilometers high. The peaks are associated with the area of heavy rain within the eyewall in the previous image. The presence of such towers can be a precursor for intensification when they are near the storm's core. This was indeed the case with Daniel, which steadily increased in intensity after these images were taken, reaching Category 4 intensity on July 20, with maximum sustained winds of 220 km/hr (138 mph or 120 knots) as reported by the National Hurricane Center. Daniel was expected to gradually turn to the northwest and weaken over cooler waters. TRMM was placed into service in November of 1997. From its low-earth orbit, TRMM has been providing valuable images and information on tropical cyclones around the Tropics using a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors, including the first precipitation radar in space. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
|
Hurricane Daniel
| Title |
Hurricane Daniel |
| Description |
On July 18, Daniel became the third hurricane to form in the East Pacific during 2006, setting the pace of hurricane formation at about average for the region. It was already the second major hurricane in the East Pacific, which put 2006 well ahead of the pace set in 2005, during which only two major hurricanes formed for the entire season. After intensifying from a tropical depression that was tracking westward across the eastern Pacific away from land, Daniel became a named tropical storm on July 17, 2006, about 1,400 miles south of Baja California. Daniel continued to strengthen and became a minimal hurricane on the afternoon of July 18 (local time). The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) captured these images of Hurricane Daniel on July 19 at 3:29 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (10:29 UTC), just before the storm intensified from Category 1 to a Category 4 storm. The top image shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity (top-down view) within the storm. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, and rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. These rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. Circles of red and green trace out the tight circling bands of rain. This tight banding, along with a nearly complete inner eyewall (innermost green arc), is evidence that Daniel was very well organized with a well-developed circulation. There is also an area of intense rain (dark red) within the eyewall. At the time of this image, the National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ], reported that Daniel was a strong Category 1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds reported at 150 kilometers per hour (92 mph or 80 knots). The lower image is a three-dimensional depiction of the storm from the same overpass. The image was created from data taken by the TRMM Precipitation Radar, which has the ability to look at vertical precipitation structures. The radar reveals an area of deep convection, where water-laden air is rising high and fast, right near Daniel's center. This area shows up as red peaks that are about 15 kilometers high. The peaks are associated with the area of heavy rain within the eyewall in the previous image. The presence of such towers can be a precursor for intensification when they are near the storm's core. This was indeed the case with Daniel, which steadily increased in intensity after these images were taken, reaching Category 4 intensity on July 20, with maximum sustained winds of 220 km/hr (138 mph or 120 knots) as reported by the National Hurricane Center. Daniel was expected to gradually turn to the northwest and weaken over cooler waters. TRMM was placed into service in November of 1997. From its low-earth orbit, TRMM has been providing valuable images and information on tropical cyclones around the Tropics using a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors, including the first precipitation radar in space. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
|
Fire on Santa Catalina Islan
…
| Title |
Fire on Santa Catalina Island |
| Description |
Off the coast of California, a large, fast-moving wildfire was forcing the evacuations of residents and tourists on Santa Catalina Island on May 10, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite captured this image. The areas where MODIS detected actively burning fires are outlined in red. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?AERONET_UCSB ] images of the region in additional resolutions. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
|
Fires Across the Western Uni
…
| Title |
Fires Across the Western United States |
| Description |
Days of record heat made the western United States tinder dry in early July 2007. Numerous wildfires raced across the dry terrain during the weekend of July 7. From Washington to Arizona, firefighters were battling fast-moving wildfires that threatened residences, businesses, gas wells, coal mines, communications equipment, and municipal watersheds. This image of the West was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite on Sunday, July 8. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fires are marked in red. Some of the largest blazes are labeled. Utah's Milford Flat was the largest, according to the July 9 morning report from the National Interagency Fire Center, [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] the blaze was more than 280,000 acres, having grown more than 124,000 acres in the previous 24 hours. The fires have destroyed homes, forced evacuations, shut down trains and highways, and killed several people. Weather conditions were not expected to improve significantly across much of the area for several days, with hot temperatures and dry thunderstorms (lightning and winds, but little rain) likely in many places. Nearly the entire western United States was experiencing some level of drought as of July 3, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. [ http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html ] The drought had reached the "extreme" category in southern California and western Arizona, and ranged from moderate to severe across most of the rest of the Southwest and Great Basin. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1/ ] images of the region in additional resolutions and formats, including an infrared-enhanced version that makes burned terrain appear brick red. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
|
Fires Across Western United
…
| Title |
Fires Across Western United States |
| Description |
Days of record heat made the western United States tinder dry in early July 2007. Numerous wildfires raced across the dry terrain during the weekend of July 7. From Washington to Arizona, firefighters were battling fast-moving wildfires that threatened residences, businesses, gas wells, coal mines, communications equipment, and municipal watersheds. This image of the West was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite on Sunday, July 8. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fires are marked in red. Some of the largest blazes are labeled. Utah's Milford Flat was the largest, according to the July 9 morning report from the National Interagency Fire Center, [ http://www.nifc.gov/information.html ] the blaze was more than 280,000 acres, having grown more than 124,000 acres in the previous 24 hours. The fires have destroyed homes, forced evacuations, shut down trains and highways, and killed several people. Weather conditions were not expected to improve significantly across much of the area for several days, with hot temperatures and dry thunderstorms (lightning and winds, but little rain) likely in many places. Nearly the entire western United States was experiencing some level of drought as of July 3, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. [ http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html ] The drought had reached the "extreme" category in southern California and western Arizona, and ranged from moderate to severe across most of the rest of the Southwest and Great Basin. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA1/ ] images of the region in additional resolutions and formats, including an infrared-enhanced version that makes burned terrain appear brick red. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
|
Fires in California
| Title |
Fires in California |
| Description |
A fast-moving fire north of Los Angeles, California, forced thousands of people from their homes over the weekend of July 17 and 18, 2004. This image of the Foothill Fire was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)on NASA's Aqua satellite on July 18, 2004. The areas where MODIS detected active fire are outlined in red. Image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center |
|
Fires in California
| Title |
Fires in California |
| Description |
Several fast-moving wildfires have been nipping at the margins of Los Angeles in the third week of July 2004. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of the Crown Fire on July 21, 2004. The area outlined in red shows the area in which MODIS detected actively burning fire. The Crown Fire had burned about 8,000 acres along the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in the Angeles National Forest as of July 21. Image by Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC |
|
Fires in Northern Mexico
| Title |
Fires in Northern Mexico |
| Description |
Thick plumes of smoke wafted west over the Pacific Ocean on powerful winds on November 19, 2005. The smoke was pouring from wildfires, marked with red boxes, burning just south of Tijuana, Mexico. Fire is a natural part of the ecosystem in the shrub lands of northern Baja California, particularly in the fall, when hot, dry Santa Ana winds blow from the east. The winds sweep dry air from the Sonora Desert of northern Mexico, Arizona, and New Mexico out over the Pacific Ocean. The winds dry out plants, making them more prone to wildfire. Once a fire starts, the fast-blowing winds can easily fan the flames into an uncontrollable wildfire. In Baja California, such fires are often allowed to burn themselves out. To the north, in the United States, state and federal land management agencies control fires near populated areas more aggressively, stamping out the fires as quickly as possible. However, such tight control may eventually result in larger fires because dead wood, weeds, other fuels accumulate between infrequent burnings. The Santa Ana winds were blowing strongly on November 19, 2005, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired this image. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for Southern California, warning of warm, windy weather that would allow small fires to explode out of control quickly. On November 18, Santa Ana winds gusting past 50 miles per hour drove a rapid-growing fire [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13260 ] in the mountains around Ventura, California. It is likely that similar conditions fueled the fires just south of the border as well. The large image provided above is at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. The team also provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?USA5 ] of the region. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
|
Williams Fire Northeast of L
…
| Title |
Williams Fire Northeast of Los Angeles |
| Description |
In the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles, a fast-moving fire is burning in the Angeles National Forest. The Williams Fire began on Sunday evening, September 22, 2002, and has already affected at least 2,500 acres. Roads into the area are closed to non-residents as firefighters tackle the blaze. Humidity is low, temperatures are high, and fire activity has been labeled extreme, with the fire perimeter increasingly rapidly and flame lengths high. This true-color image of the fire was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA?s Terra satellite on September 23, 2002. The fire perimeter detected by MODIS is marked with a red outline. The ability of MODIS to detect thermal signatures even through smoke is one of its important contributions to fire management strategies. Each day MODIS fire detections and true-color images are used by the National Interagency Fire Center to make decisions about where firefighting resources are most needed across the country. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
|
|
