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Descent Through Clouds to Su
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| 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 short animation is made up from a sequence of images taken by the Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer (DISR) instrument on board ESA's Huygens probe, during its successful descent to Titan on Jan. 14, 2005. It shows what a passenger riding on Huygens would have seen. The sequence starts from an altitude of 152 kilometers (about 95 miles) and initially only shows a hazy view looking into thick cloud. As the probe descends, ground features can be discerned and Huygens emerges from the clouds at around 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) altitude. The ground features seem to rotate as Huygens spins slowly under its parachute. The DISR consists of a downward-looking High Resolution Imager (HRI), a Medium Resolution Imager (MRI), which looks out at an angle, and a Side Looking Imager (SLI). For this animation, most images used were captured by the HRI and MRI. Once on the ground, the final landing scene was captured by the SLI. The Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer is one of two NASA instruments on the probe. 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 and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Descent Imager/Spectral team is based at the University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz. *Credit:* ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona |
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Thirteen Seconds After Impac
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| Title |
Thirteen Seconds After Impact |
| Explanation |
Fireworks came early on July 4th [ http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul04.html ] when, at 1:52am EDT, the Deep Impact [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html ] spacecraft's probe smashed into the surface of Comet Tempel 1's nucleus at ten kilometers per "second". The well-targeted impactor probe was vaporized as it blasted out an expanding cloud of material, seen here 13 seconds [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02123 ] after the collision. The image is part of a stunning series [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02125 ] of frames documenting the event from the high resolution camera onboard the flyby spacecraft [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/flyby.html ]. Tempel 1's potato-shaped nucleus is approximately 5 kilometers across as seen from this perspective. Cameras onboard the impactor probe [ http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/impactor.html ] were also able to image the nucleus and impact site up-close ... until about 3 seconds before the impact. Of course, telescopes nearer to planet Earth followed the event [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/ releases/2005/17/ ], detecting a significant brightening of comet Tempel 1 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050512.html ]. |
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Descent Through Clouds to Su
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PIA07234
Saturn
Descent Imager/Spectral Radi
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| Title |
Descent Through Clouds to Surface |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This short animation is made up from a sequence of images taken by the Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer (DISR) instrument on board ESA's Huygens probe, during its successful descent to Titan on Jan. 14, 2005. It shows what a passenger riding on Huygens would have seen. The sequence starts from an altitude of 152 kilometers (about 95 miles) and initially only shows a hazy view looking into thick cloud. As the probe descends, ground features can be discerned and Huygens emerges from the clouds at around 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) altitude. The ground features seem to rotate as Huygens spins slowly under its parachute. The DISR consists of a downward-looking High Resolution Imager (HRI), a Medium Resolution Imager (MRI), which looks out at an angle, and a Side Looking Imager (SLI). For this animation, most images used were captured by the HRI and MRI. Once on the ground, the final landing scene was captured by the SLI. The Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer is one of two NASA instruments on the probe. 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 and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Descent Imager/Spectral team is based at the University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov ]. For more information about the Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer visit http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~kholso/ [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07234 http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~kholso/ ]. |
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Gone in a Flash
PIA02123
Sol (our sun)
High Resolution Imager (HRI)
| Title |
Gone in a Flash |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image shows the initial ejecta that resulted when NASA's Deep Impact probe collided with comet Tempel 1 at 10:52 p.m. Pacific time, July 3 (1:52 a.m. Eastern time, July 4). It was taken by the spacecraft's high-resolution camera 13 seconds after impact. The image has been digitally processed to better show the comet's nucleus. |
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Tempel 1 Nucleus
PIA02119
Sol (our sun)
High Resolution Imager (HRI)
| Title |
Tempel 1 Nucleus |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image from NASA TV shows the nucleus of comet Tempel 1 from Deep Impact's flyby's high-resolution imager. |
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Tempel 1 Composite Map
PIA02142
Sol (our sun)
High Resolution Imager (HRI)
| Title |
Tempel 1 Composite Map |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Annotated image ofTempel 1 Composite Map This composite image was built up from scaling all images to 5 meters/pixel, and aligning images to fixed points. Each image at closer range, replaced equivalent locations observed at a greater distance. The impact site has the highest resolution because images were acquired until about 4 sec from impact or a few meters from the surface. Arrows a and b point to large, smooth regions. The impact site is indicated by the third large arrow. Small arrows highlight a scarp that is bright due to illumination angle, which shows the smooth area to be elevated above the extremely rough terrain. The scale bar is 1 km and the two arrows above the nucleus point to the sun and the rotational axis of the nucleus. Celestial north is near the rotational pole. |
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Tempel 1 Composite Map
PIA02142
Sol (our sun)
High Resolution Imager (HRI)
| Title |
Tempel 1 Composite Map |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Annotated image ofTempel 1 Composite Map This composite image was built up from scaling all images to 5 meters/pixel, and aligning images to fixed points. Each image at closer range, replaced equivalent locations observed at a greater distance. The impact site has the highest resolution because images were acquired until about 4 sec from impact or a few meters from the surface. Arrows a and b point to large, smooth regions. The impact site is indicated by the third large arrow. Small arrows highlight a scarp that is bright due to illumination angle, which shows the smooth area to be elevated above the extremely rough terrain. The scale bar is 1 km and the two arrows above the nucleus point to the sun and the rotational axis of the nucleus. Celestial north is near the rotational pole. |
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Capturing the Flash
PIA02134
Sol (our sun)
High Resolution Imager (HRI)
| Title |
Capturing the Flash |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Quick Time Movie for PIA02134 High Resolution Impact This movie taken by Deep Impact's flyby spacecraft shows the flash that occurred when comet Tempel 1 ran over the spacecraft's probe. It was taken by the flyby craft's high-resolution camera over a period of about 40 seconds. The image has been digitally processed to enhance the view of the comet's nucleus. |
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Tempel Fades into Night
PIA02140
Sol (our sun)
High Resolution Imager (HRI)
| Title |
Tempel Fades into Night |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
"" Quick Time Movie for PIA02140 Tempel Fades into Night This movie is made up of images taken by Deep Impact's flyby spacecraft after it turned around to capture last shots of a receding comet Tempel 1. Earlier, the mission's probe had smashed into the surface of Tempel 1, kicking up the fan-shaped plume of dust seen here behind the comet. These pictures were taken by the flyby craft's high-resolution camera over a period beginning 50 minutes after impact, and ending about 12 hours after impact. Impact occurred at 10:52 p.m. Pacific time, July 3, 2005. |
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Tempel Alive with Light
PIA02137
Sol (our sun)
High Resolution Imager (HRI)
| Title |
Tempel Alive with Light |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This spectacular image of comet Tempel 1 was taken 67 seconds after it obliterated Deep Impact's impactor spacecraft. The image was taken by the high-resolution camera on the mission's flyby craft. Scattered light from the collision saturated the camera's detector, creating the bright splash seen here. Linear spokes of light radiate away from the impact site, while reflected sunlight illuminates most of the comet surface. The image reveals topographic features, including ridges, scalloped edges and possibly impact craters formed long ago. |
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Looking Back at a Job Well D
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PIA02133
Sol (our sun)
High Resolution Imager (HRI)
| Title |
Looking Back at a Job Well Done |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image shows the view from Deep Impact's flyby spacecraft as it turned back to look at comet Tempel 1. Fifty minutes earlier, the spacecraft's probe was run over by the comet. That collision kicked up plumes of ejected material, seen here streaming away from the back side of the comet. This image was taken by the flyby craft's high-resolution camera. |
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First Contact
PIA02141
Sol (our sun)
High Resolution Imager (HRI)
| Title |
First Contact |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The image depicts the first moments after Deep Impact's probe interfaced with comet Tempel 1. The illuminated -- and possibly incandescent -- debris is expanding from the impact site. The rough-hewn edges at the top and bottom of the flash are a result of light given off at impact saturating some of the pixels in the camera's imager. The pixels "bleed" excess electronic charge onto adjacent pixels in the same column. This image was taken by Deep Impact's high-resolution camera. |
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Sunny Side of a Comet
PIA02132
Sol (our sun)
High Resolution Imager (HRI)
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| Title |
Sunny Side of a Comet |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Figure 1: Temperature Map This image composite shows comet Tempel 1 in visible (left) and infrared (right) light (figure 1). The infrared picture highlights the warm, or sunlit, side of the comet, where NASA's Deep Impact probe later hit. These data were acquired about six minutes before impact. The visible image was taken by the medium-resolution camera on the mission's flyby spacecraft, and the infrared data were acquired by the flyby craft's infrared spectrometer. |
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Sunny Side of a Comet
PIA02132
Sol (our sun)
High Resolution Imager (HRI)
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| Title |
Sunny Side of a Comet |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Figure 1: Temperature Map This image composite shows comet Tempel 1 in visible (left) and infrared (right) light (figure 1). The infrared picture highlights the warm, or sunlit, side of the comet, where NASA's Deep Impact probe later hit. These data were acquired about six minutes before impact. The visible image was taken by the medium-resolution camera on the mission's flyby spacecraft, and the infrared data were acquired by the flyby craft's infrared spectrometer. |
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Comet Tempel's Silhouette
PIA02139
Sol (our sun)
High Resolution Imager (HRI)
| Title |
Comet Tempel's Silhouette |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This false-color image shows comet Tempel 1 about 50 minutes after Deep Impact's probe smashed into its surface. The impact site is located on the far side of the comet in this view. The image was taken by the mission's flyby spacecraft as it turned back to face the comet for one last photo opportunity. The colors represent brightness, with white indicating the brightest materials and black showing the faintest materials. This brightness is a measure of reflected sunlight. Because the sunlit portion of the comet is brighter, it appears white. The comet's nucleus is silhouetted against the light reflected from surrounding dust. The large plume of dust that was kicked up upon impact can be seen as the colorful, drop-shaped object. This plume was very bright, indicating that the comet's surface material must be very fine, like talcum powder. The blue speck in the upper left corner is a star. This picture was taken by Deep Impact's high-resolution camera. |
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