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Total Eclipse of the Sun
On December 3, 2002, people
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6/9/08
| Description |
On December 3, 2002, people in Australia received a rare 32-second celestial show as the moon completely obscured the sun, creating a ring of light. Solar eclipses provide experts an opportunity to study the sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona. This total eclipse was the first to cover Australian shores since 1976. The next is not predicted to occur for several more decades. While people in Australia were observing the solar eclipse, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft also had its eye on the sun. From its unique vantage point in space, scientists have been able to monitor the explosions on the sun that can impact us here on Earth. This image combines a photograph of the solar eclipse (showing the halo-like corona) with data taken by the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope instrument aboard SOHO (showing the green inner regions). Image credit: NASA/ESA Text credit: NASA's Earth Observatory |
| Date |
6/9/08 |
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Martian Moons Transit the Su
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The upper-left of these imag
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6/9/08
| Description |
The upper-left of these images shows the passing, or transit, of the Martian moon Deimos across the sun. This event is similar to solar eclipses seen from Earth in which our moon crosses in front of the sun. The bottom three images show Phobos, Mars's other moon, transiting the sun. The potato-shaped Phobos is roughly 15 miles across, about twice the size of Deimos. Deimos appears so much smaller because it is also a bit more than twice as far away from Mars as Phobos is. The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took images of both moons on different days in March 2004. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell |
| Date |
6/9/08 |
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Ares I Taking Shape
In high bay 4 of the Vehicle
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3/3/09
| Description |
In high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane moves the Ares I-X crew module simulator toward a stand at right, amid other Ares I-X segments stacked around the floor of the bay. </br></br> Ares I-X is the test flight for the Ares I. The flight will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with Ares I. The launch of the 327-foot-tall, full-scale Ares I-X, targeted for July 2009, will be the first in a series of unpiloted rocket launches from Kennedy. When fully developed, the 16-foot diameter crew module will furnish living space and reentry protection for the astronauts. </br> </br> Image credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs</br> Feb. 25, 2009 |
| Date |
3/3/09 |
|
LRO and LCROSS Creators
Two proud "fathers" Dan Andr
…
5/19/09
| Description |
Two proud "fathers" Dan Andrews, LCROSS project manager (left) and Craig Tooley, LRO project manager stand proudly in front of their "babies" LRO (top) and LCROSS (bottom). This image was taken during the LRO/LCROSS photo opportunity at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla., prior to the spacecraft being encapsulated into the payload faring. Credit: NASA/Dan Andrews. |
| Date |
5/19/09 |
|
Astronaut Family Call
Being far from home can feel
…
8/28/09
| Description |
Being far from home can feel lonely at times, but on Aug. 21, Astronaut Timothy Kopra had the opportunity to talk with his sister, Lauri Kopra and her husband, Aaron Mashoian. The video downlink was provided by NASA's Ames Research Center. Kopra is the Expedition 20 flight engineer on the International Space Station and is scheduled to return with STS-128 in early September. |
| Date |
8/28/09 |
|
Mars Exploration Rover Launc
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Edited raw footage compilati
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8/15/03
Hematite Animation of Meridi
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Animated flyover of the Meri
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1/22/04
Opportunity Egress Practice
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MER Egress test in JPL's In-
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1/31/04
The Mars Show
A collection of pans and zoo
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5/15/04
NASA's Mars Team Teaches Old
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Animated route of Spirit's e
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1/2/07
3 Years on Mars: Opportunity
Overview of Mars Exploration
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1/24/07
NASA's Mars Rover Braves Sev
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A series of severe Martian s
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7/20/07
Opportunity Rover Weathers t
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Mars Exploration Rover, Oppo
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7/23/07
As Martian Skies Brighten, R
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NASA's Mars Exploration Rove
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The Road to Apollo
After Mercury came Gemini, t
…
4/6/09
| Description |
After Mercury came Gemini, the project that would put to the test the maneuvers that would be required if Apollo was to be successful. Gemini astronauts would have to practice the rendezvous and docking techniques necessary to link two spacecraft. Langley researchers built the Rendezvous Docking Simulator giving astronauts a routine opportunity to pilot dynamically-controlled scale-model vehicles in an environment that closely paralleled that of space. Credit: NASA |
| Date |
4/6/09 |
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Glenn 2008 Open House Image
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Cleveland native and astrona
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6/13/08
| Description |
Cleveland native and astronaut Carl Walz performed double-duty to attract and inform visitors of the NASA Vision for Exploration and Glenn's role during the 50th Anniversary celebration weekend. Pictured is Walz, joined by Gionvanna Mignosa, Educational Programs Office, in one of the NASA Discovery tents. Walz spoke with many families during the Lewis Field Open House on Saturday. On Friday, he served as the luncheon keynote speaker for the Business Opportunity Forum, where he rallied participants to take part in NASA's vision. Walz is currently serving as director of Advanced Capabilities in the NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. Image Credit: NASA/Imaging Technology Center &rsaquo, Return to Image Feature |
| Date |
6/13/08 |
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NASA Ares 1-X Parachutes Pac
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In the Parachute Refurbishme
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2/12/09
| Description |
In the Parachute Refurbishment Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, senior aero composite technicians pack a colorful main parachute for use on the Ares 1-X rocket test flight. To understand the colossal size of the Ares chutes, imagine a cluster of three brightly colored canopies that cover more than two acres and are 325 feet long from end-to-end. Kevlar makes these new parachutes stronger and lighter than their nylon predecessors. Although the cute is bigger, it still fits into the same-sized container and weighs less. The Ares 1-X launch is targeted for July 2009 from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39B and will provide an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares 1 rocket. |
| Date |
2/12/09 |
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Shuttle Atlantis' Hubble Mis
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The seven-member crew of the
…
2008
| Description |
The seven-member crew of the next shuttle mission practice driving the M-113 armored personnel carrier during a full launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Sept. 22. The crew members of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission each practice driving the M-113 in turn as part of their training on emergency egress procedures. An M-113 will be available to transport the crew to safety in the event of a contingency on the pad before their launch. TCDT provides astronauts and ground crews with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities including equipment familiarization and emergency training. |
| Date |
2008 |
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NASA Visits Washington Natio
…
NASA and the Washington Nati
…
3/1/09
| Description |
NASA and the Washington Nationals teamed up for a day of preseason baseball and exploration education March 1. Hundreds of fans were on hand to watch the Nationals take on the Baltimore Orioles at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Fla. They also had the opportunity to visit a booth at the game where personnel from NASA's Kennedy Space Center answered questions and provided educational material about the agency's space exploration program, aeronautics research and scientific discoveries. |
| Date |
3/1/09 |
|
Spirit and Opportunity: A Ta
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NASA's pair of red planet ro
…
1/12/09
| Title |
Spirit and Opportunity: A Tale of Two Rovers |
| Date |
1/12/09 |
| Description |
NASA's pair of red planet rovers have been at work on Mars for five years, far longer than anyone expected. |
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Axel Rover
In January, JPL will celebra
…
2/4/09
| Title |
Axel Rover |
| Date |
2/4/09 |
| Description |
In January, JPL will celebrate the fifth anniversary of Spirit and Opportunity landing on Mars, and the twin rovers will continue with their newest adventures. |
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Space Odyssey Gift Shop
The Space Odyssey Gift Shop
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5/26/00
| Description |
The Space Odyssey Gift Shop located in StenniSphere at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Miss., offers every visitor the opportunity to go home with "the right stuff" from his or her StenniSphere visit. The gift shop is located just inside the front doors to StenniSphere and offers a wide range of space-related apparel, memorabilia, toys, books, mission patches and more. |
| Date |
5/26/00 |
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Students participate in Cong
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Middle school students were
…
1/1/97
| Description |
Middle school students were offered a unique opportunity at Stennis Space Center to speak real-time through audio and visual means to NASA scientists in Washington D.C., about numerous research projects, such as the Martian meteorite NASA researchers claim contains fossilized proof that life existed on Mars. |
| Date |
1/1/97 |
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Stennis Space Center Day at
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Stennis Space Center Day at
…
1/1/95
| Description |
Stennis Space Center Day at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., was an opportunity to demonstrate to Mississippi legislators the unique capabilities the center offers not only the state, but also the nation. |
| Date |
1/1/95 |
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Astro Camp
Children who attend NASA's s
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1/1/96
| Description |
Children who attend NASA's summer Astro Camp at Stennis Space Center enjoy a week of fun-filled activities. Campers learn what it feels like to be a couple of inches taller in space and treck through an astronaut obstacle course. They also have the opportunity to build their own model rockets, which are then launched on the last day of each camp. Campers also travel on field trips to places such as the Challenger Learning Center at the Louisiana Arts and Science Center in Baton Rouge. Four weeks of Astro Camp are held each year during the summer-two camps for 8- to 10-year-olds and two for 11- to 13-year olds. |
| Date |
1/1/96 |
|
Homecoming
In the 16th night landing at
…
3/26/08
| Description |
In the 16th night landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Endeavour touches down on Runway 15 to end the STS-123 mission's nearly 16-day flight to the International Space Station. The landing was the second opportunity after the first was waved off due to cloud cover over the Shuttle Landing Facility. The STS-123 mission delivered the first segment of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, known as Dextre. Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett |
| Date |
3/26/08 |
|
Cape Verde, Mars
This Mars Exploration Rover
…
4/1/08
| Description |
This Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity Pancam "super resolution" mosaic of the approximately 6 meter (20 foot) high cliff face of the Cape Verde promontory was taken by the rover from inside Victoria Crater, during the rover's descent into Duck Bay. Super-resolution is an imaging technique that utilizes information from multiple pictures of the same target in order to generate an image with a higher resolution than any of the individual images. Cape Verde is a geologically rich outcrop and is teaching scientists about how rocks at Victoria crater were modified since they were deposited long ago. This image complements super resolution mosaics obtained at Cape St. Mary and Cape St. Vincent and is consistent with the hypothesis that Victoria crater is located in the middle of what used to be an ancient sand dune field. This image was acquired on sols 1342 and 1356 (Nov. 2 and 17, 2007). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University |
| Date |
4/1/08 |
|
The Return of Buzz Lightyear
Disney's space ranger Buzz L
…
9/17/09
| Description |
Disney's space ranger Buzz Lightyear returned from space on Sept. 11, aboard space shuttle Discovery's STS-128 mission after 15 months aboard the International Space Station. His time on the orbiting laboratory will celebrated in a ticker-tape parade together with his space station crewmates and former Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin on Oct. 2, at Walt Disney World in Florida. While on the space station, Buzz supported NASA's education outreach program-- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)--by creating a series of fun educational online outreach programs. Following his return, Disney is partnering with NASA to create a new online educational game and an online mission patch competition for school kids across America. NASA will fly the winning patch in space. In addition, NASA plans to announce on Oct. 2, 2009, the details of a new exciting educational competition that will give students the opportunity to design an experiment for the astronauts on the space station. Image Credit: NASA |
| Date |
9/17/09 |
|
Spirit's Robotic Stretch
NASA's Mars Exploration Rove
…
10/22/09
| Description |
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit recorded this forward view of its arm and surroundings during the rover's 2,052nd Martian day, or sol, on Oct. 11, 2009. Bright soil in the left half of the image is loose, fluffy material churned by the rover's left-front wheel as Spirit, driving backwards, approached its current position in April 2009 and the wheel broke through a darker, crusty surface. Spirit used its front hazard-avoidance camera to take this image. The turret of tools at the end of the rover's robotic arm is positioned with the Moessbauer spectrometer up and the rock abrasion tool extending toward the right. Spirit's right-front wheel, visible in this image, has not worked since 2006. It is the least-embedded of the rover's six wheels at the current location, called "Troy." Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, have been working on Mars for more than 58 months in what were originally planned as 3-month missions on Mars. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech |
| Date |
10/22/09 |
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Ares I-X at the Launch Pad
NASA's Ares I-X rocket is se
…
10/27/09
| Description |
NASA's Ares I-X rocket is seen on Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. The flight test of Ares I-X, scheduled for today, Oct. 27, 2009, will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls |
| Date |
10/27/09 |
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Ares I-X Lifts Off
Mission managers watch as NA
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10/28/09
| Description |
Mission managers watch as NASA's Ares I-X rocket launches from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. The flight test will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove flight characteristics, hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls |
| Date |
10/28/09 |
|
Skirting an Obstacle
This view from the navigatio
…
11/12/09
| Description |
This view from the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows tracks left by backing out of a wind-formed ripple after the rover's wheels had started to dig too deeply into the dust and sand of the ripple. The frames combined into this view were taken on the 1,867th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's mission on Mars (April 25, 2009). The scene spans 120 degrees, from southeastward on the left to westward on the right. Two sols earlier, Opportunity drove 310 feet south-southwestward before stopping when the rover detected that its wheels were slipping more than the limit that engineers had set for the drive. That Sol 1865 (April 23, 2009) drive created the tracks that enter this scene from the left and ended with wheels on the left side of the rover partially embedded in the ripple. On Sol 1866, Opportunity began to back away from this potential trap, but moved only about 11 inches. On Sol 1867, the rover backed up 12 feet before taking this picture. Subsequently, Opportunity proceeded on a path avoiding the ripple where the wheel slippage occurred. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about about 40 inches). This view is presented as a cylindrical projection with geometric seam correction. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech |
| Date |
11/12/09 |
|
Rock Garden
This image of a cluster of r
…
01/04/10
| Description |
This image of a cluster of rocks labeled 'Rock Garden' is where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit became embedded in April 2009. The Spirit and Opportunity rovers landed on the Red Planet in January 2004 for what was to be a 90-day mission, but which has lasted 6 Earth years, or 3.2 Mars years. During this time, Spirit has found evidence of a steamy and violent environment on ancient Mars that is quite different from the wet and acidic past documented by Opportunity, which has been operating successfully as it explores halfway around the planet. Spirit used its navigation camera to capture this view of the terrain toward the southeast from the location it reached on the 1,870th Martian day, or sol, on April 7, 2009. Wheels on the western side of the rover broke through the dark, crusty surface into bright, loose, sandy material that was not visible as the rover approached the site. Spirit became stuck in an area near the left of the image's center later in April. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech |
| Date |
01/04/10 |
|
Buzz Lightyear Returns From
…
ED09-0266-34 Disney's space
…
9/16/09
| Description |
ED09-0266-34 Disney's space ranger Buzz Lightyear returned from space on Sept. 11 aboard space shuttle Discovery's STS-128 mission after 15 months aboard the International Space Station. While on the station, Buzz supported NASA's education outreach program «Éœ STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) by creating a series of fun educational online outreach programs. Following his return, Disney is partnering with NASA to create a new online educational game and an online mission patch competition for school kids across America. NASA will fly the winning patch in space. In addition, On Oct. 2 NASA plans to announce details of a new exciting educational competition that will give students the opportunity to design an experiment for astronauts on the space station. September 11, 2009 NASA Photo / Tony Landis |
| Date |
9/16/09 |
|
Deep Space 1 spacecraft
Deep Space 1 (DS1), to be la
…
11/21/97
| Date |
11/21/97 |
| Description |
Deep Space 1 (DS1), to be launched in July 1998, is JPL's next venture into the solar system. Space missions have made many astonishing and impressive discoveries, but often at great expense. Now NASA is charting a new course with the New Millennium Program, seeking to make space exploration less expensive yet even more exciting. DS1, the first of the program's space flights, will test advanced technologies that are important for future affordable space science missions. These include ion propulsion and a host of other exotic systems that eventually will allow NASA to launch many missions per year rather than merely a few per decade. Throughout the flight, the technology payload will be exercised extensively so that subsequent space missions will be able to use the new capabilities with confidence. This bold mission will take risks so that future missions do not have to. During its two-year journey, DS1 will visit asteroid McAuliffe, planet Mars, and comet West-Kohoutek-Ikemura, performing tests of its advanced science instruments during each encounter. Conducting science will prove that the technologies are compatible with the demands of future science missions and will ensure that this rare opportunity to encounter such a variety of fascinating solar system bodies during a short mission is fully exploited. ##### |
|
S-2 BW-4
Prominent dark spokes are vi
…
8/13/81
| Date |
8/13/81 |
| Description |
Prominent dark spokes are visible in the outer half of Saturn’s broad B-ring in this Voyager 2 photograph taken on Aug. 3, 1981 from a range of about 22 million kilometers (14 million miles). The features appear as filamentary markings about 12,000 kilometers (7,S00 miles) long, which rotate around the planet with the motion of particles in the rings. The nature of these features, discovered by Voyager 1, is not totally understood, but scientists believe the spokes may be caused by dust levitated above the ring plane by electric fields, Voyager 2 photography of the rings edge-on, scheduled for Aug. 25, 1981, will provide an opportunity to test that theory. Because the Sun is now illuminating the rings from a higher angle, Voyager 2’s photographs reveal ring structure from a greater distance than that seen by Voyager 1 in its November 1980 encounter. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. |
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Chernobyl, Ukraine B&W, L ba
…
This is an image of the Cher
…
10/3/94
| Date |
10/3/94 |
| Description |
This is an image of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and its surroundings, centered at 51.17 north latitude and 30.15 west longitude. The image was acquired by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on its 16th orbit on October 1, 1994. The area is located on the northern border of the Ukraine Republic and was produced by using the L-band (horizontally transmitted and received) polarization. The differences in the intensity are due to differences in vegetation cover, with brighter areas being indicative of more vegetation. These data were acquired as part of a collaboration between NASA and the National Space Agency of Ukraine in Remote Sensing and Earth Sciences. NASA has included several sites provided by the Ukrainian space agency as targets of opportunity during the second flight of SIR-C/X-SAR. The Ukrainian space agency also plans to conduct airborne surveys of these sites during the mission. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is located toward the top of the image near the Pripyat River. The 12-kilometer (7.44-mile)-long cooling pond is easily distinguishable as an elongated dark shape in the center near the top of the image. The reactor complex is visible as the bright area to the extreme left of the cooling pond and the city of Chernobyl is the bright area just below the cooling pond next to the Pripyat River. The large dark area in the bottom right of the image is the Kiev Reservoir just north of Kiev. Also visible is the Dnieper River, which feeds into the Kiev Reservoir from the top of the image. The Soviet government evacuated 116,000 people within 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) of the Chernobyl reactor after the explosion and fire on April 26, 1986. ----- Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves, allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft und Raumfahrt e.v.(DLR), the major partner in science, operations and data processing of X-SAR. ##### |
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Jupiter Clouds, True Color a
…
These two frames of composit
…
1/23/01
| Date |
1/23/01 |
| Description |
These two frames of composited images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft show the same cloud patterns on Jupiter both in natural color (left) and in a false-color combination (right) selected to show differences in clouds' height. The white spots in the right frame are storms high in the atmosphere. Each frame is a combination of images taken by Cassini's narrow- angle camera through different filters on Dec. 31, 2000, one day after Cassini's closest approach to the planet. The smallest features are roughly 60 kilometers (40 miles) across. The left frame shows the colors Jupiter would have if seen by the naked eye. The right frame is composed of three images. Two were taken through filters centered on regions of the spectrum where the gaseous methane in Jupiter's atmosphere absorbs light, and the third was taken in a red continuum region of the spectrum, where Jupiter has no absorptions. The combination yields an image whose colors denote the height of the clouds. Red regions are deep water clouds, bright blue regions are high haze (like the blue covering the Great Red Spot). Small, bright white spots are energetic lightning storms that have risen to a height where there is no opportunity for absorption of light, so the clouds reflect all light equally. The darkest blue regions , such as the long linear regions bordering the northern part of the equatorial zone, are the very deep `hot spots' from which Jovian thermal emission is free to escape to space. This is the first time that global images of Jupiter in all the methane and appropriate continuum filters have been acquired by a spacecraft. From images like these, the dynamics of the layers within Jupiter's atmosphere will be determined. Cassini 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 mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona # # # # # |
|
Coronet: A Star-Formation Ne
…
| Title |
Coronet: A Star-Formation Neighbor |
| Description |
While perhaps not quite as well known as its star-formation cousin Orion, the Corona Australis region (containing, at its heart, the Coronet cluster) is one of the nearest and most active regions of ongoing star formation. At only about 420 light-years away, the Coronet is over three times closer than the Orion nebula is to Earth. The Coronet contains a loose cluster of a few dozen young stars with a wide range of masses and at various stages of evolution, giving astronomers an opportunity to observe embryonic stars simultaneously in several wavelengths. This composite image shows the Coronet in X-rays from Chandra (purple) and infrared from Spitzer (orange, green, and cyan). The Spitzer image shows young stars plus diffuse emission from dust. Due to the host of young stars in different life stages in the Coronet, astronomers can use these data to pinpoint details of how the youngest stars evolve. |
|
Messier 81
| Title |
Messier 81 |
| Description |
The magnificent spiral arms of the nearby galaxy Messier 81 are highlighted in this NASA Spitzer Space Telescope image. Located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major (which also includes the Big Dipper), this galaxy is easily visible through binoculars or a small telescope. M81 is located at a distance of 12 million light-years. Because of its proximity, M81 provides astronomers with an enticing opportunity to study the anatomy of a spiral galaxy in detail. The unprecedented spatial resolution and sensitivity of Spitzer at infrared wavelengths show a clear separation between the several key constituents of the galaxy: the old stars, the interstellar dust heated by star formation activity, and the embedded sites of massive star formation. The infrared images also permit quantitative measurements of the galaxy's overall dust content, as well as the rate at which new stars are being formed. The infrared image was obtained by Spitzer's infrared array camera. It is a four-color composite of invisible light, showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (yellow) and 8.0 microns (red). Winding outward from the bluish-white central bulge of the galaxy, where old stars predominate and there is little dust, the grand spiral arms are dominated by infrared emission from dust. Dust in the galaxy is bathed by ultraviolet and visible light from the surrounding stars. Upon absorbing an ultraviolet or visible-light photon, a dust grain is heated and re-emits the energy at longer infrared wavelengths. The dust particles, composed of silicates (which are chemically similar to beach sand) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, trace the gas distribution in the galaxy. The well-mixed gas (which is best detected at radio wavelengths) and dust provide a reservoir of raw materials for future star formation. The infrared-bright clumpy knots within the spiral arms denote where massive stars are being born in giant H II (ionized hydrogen) regions. The 8-micron emission traces the regions of active star formation in the galaxy. Studying the locations of these regions with respect to the overall mass distribution and other constituents of the galaxy (e.g., gas) will help identify the conditions and processes needed for star formation. With the Spitzer observations, this information comes to us without complications from absorption by cold dust in the galaxy, which makes interpretation of visible-light features uncertain. The white stars scattered throughout the field of view are foreground stars within our own Milky Way galaxy. |
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NASA Destination Tomorrow -
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NASA Destination Tomorrow Se
…
6/1/03
| Description |
NASA Destination Tomorrow Segment highlighting NASA's contemporary exploration of Mars. |
| Date |
6/1/03 |
|
NASA TV's This Week @NASA, M
…
With a green light from NASA
…
05/07/10
| Description |
With a green light from NASA managers, space shuttle Atlantis and its six-member STS-132 crew is ready to fly May 14.*The first test of the fully integrated Launch Abort System for the Orion crew vehicle was successfully completed at the White Sands Missile Range on May 6.* Guenter Wendt, the first pad leader for NASA's manned space program, died at his home in Merritt Island, Fla., following hospitalization for congestive heart failure and subsequent stroke.* NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites continue to help the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration keep an eye on the recent Gulf oil spill.* At the Dryden Flight Research Center, the newly-dubbed Full-scale Advanced Systems Testbed, or FAST aircraft, has begun flights to demonstrate the workings of its Research Flight Control System.* The team that operates the NASA rovers already on Mars, Spirit and Opportunity, was honored by the Space Ops Organization with its 2010 Award for Outstanding Achievement.* For the second consecutive year, the nasa.gov Website was honored with a People's Voice award in the Government category by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences in its annual Webby Awards competition.* The Rockets to Race Car exhibit has a few more pit stops to make this spring, including the Darlington Raceway, the Charlotte Motor Speedway, and the Kentucky Speedway. |
| Date |
05/07/10 |
|
NASA TV's This Week @NASA, M
…
NASA Chief Technologist Bobb
…
05/21/10
| Description |
NASA Chief Technologist Bobby Braun helped kick off Spinoff Day on Capitol Hill. * A six-member team of aquanauts is testing exploration concepts off Florida's east coast in the difficult and often dangerous work environment of the ocean. * NASA's Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, is the new robotic record-holder for longevity on the Red Planet.* Recent studies sponsored by NASA suggest that Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil may play a role in mitigating bone breakdown. * Astronaut Jeff Williams, Expedition 22 Commander of the International Space Station gave a special presentation at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington about his recent six month mission aboard the complex. * The Jet Propulsion Laboratory held its annual two-day open house for adults and kids alike. * Employees of the Glenn Research Center were visited by members of two space shuttle crews. * More than 200 cyclists took part in the Ames Research Center's second annual Tour de Ames Bicycle Race and Fun Ride. |
| Date |
05/21/10 |
|
NASA TV's This Week at NASA,
…
* Administrator Charlie Bold
…
01/08/2010
| Description |
* Administrator Charlie Bolden joined President Obama at a special White House ceremony honoring educators from across the country for their excellence in mathematics, science teaching and mentoring. The event was part of the President's ''Educate to Innovate'' campaign to boost student achievement in STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering and math. * More than 3,500 astronomers and students gathered in Washington for the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society. This year's hot topics included the discovery of ''hot Jupiters",-- five new exoplanets detected by the Kepler telescope in deep space. These discoveries range in size from Neptune to larger than Jupiter and are known as ''hot Jupiters" because of their mass and extreme temperatures, 2,200 to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, they are far too hot to sustain life. * Space shuttle Endeavour moved from the Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A, signaling the start of STS-130's upcoming mock launch countdown activities. Endeavour's astronauts and ground crews will participate in a launch dress rehearsal, known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, starting Jan. 19. The test provides shuttle crews an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. STS-130 is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station on February 7 at 4:39 a.m. EST. * STS-130 will also take to the ISS a moon rock brought back from the lunar surface 40 years ago during the historic Apollo 11 mission, it'll be accompanied back to space by a small piece of the Earth's highest mountain. That rock was brought back from Mt. Everest last May by former NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski, who'd carried the Apollo lunar sample on his trek up the 29-thousand and 35-foot-high mountain. * STS-129 Mission Specialists Leland Melvin and Bobby Satcher were among the riders of a flower-adorned Space Odyssey float in this year's Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. |
| Date |
01/08/2010 |
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NASA TV's This Week at NASA,
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* With skies overcast skies,
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01/22/2010
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* With skies overcast skies, the next space shuttle crew set down their T-38s at the Kennedy Space Center, eager to begin their launch dress rehearsal, or Terminal Countdown Demonstration test. The crew will fly aboard space shuttle Endeavour bringing the Tranquility node and its cupola for installation on the International Space Station. The STS-130 mission is scheduled to liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, February 7, at 4:39 a.m. Eastern. * The scheduled launch of NASA's new Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, is drawing near. Its prelaunch briefing, conducted at NASA headquarters in Washington and the Kennedy Space Center, gave media a look at SDO's unprecedented mission to study the sun and its dynamic behavior. * JSC: The next International Space Station crew briefed reporters on their upcoming mission. NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson was joined by Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skyorsov and Mikhail Kornlenko to discuss their upcoming Expedition 23 mission. * Members of the STS-129 crew continued their whirlwind tour of NASA centers. Five members of the space shuttle Atlantis crew thanked employees at the Stennis Space Center for their part in a safe STS-129 mission to the International Space Station in November. * The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity this week celebrates six years of exploration and research on the surface of the red planet. * The most powerful camera aboard the NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars will soon be taking photo suggestions from the public. |
| Date |
01/22/2010 |
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NASA TV's This Week at NASA,
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The seven member STS-131 cre
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03/26/10
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The seven member STS-131 crew continues to prep for its April mission to the International Space Station. Flying aboard the space shuttle Discovery the crew will deliver about 13-thousand pounds of supplies to the station. * NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy aircraft, SOFIA completed a two-week series of 'light envelope expansion' test flights. * Brenda Manuel, NASA Associate Administrator for Diversity and Equal Opportunity, was honored by the Society of Women Engineers as this year's recipient of the group's President's Award. A lawyer by training, Manuel was recognized for her longtime encouragement of women to pursue careers in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.* The final support beam for the Ames Research Center's new green building was installed during a special 'Topping Out' celebration. * Former moonwalker, Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin has again captured the nation√¢s attention as a contestant on the ABC television series, 'Dancing with the Stars.' |
| Date |
03/26/10 |
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NASA TV's This Week at NASA,
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Scientists now believe Earth
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04/09/10
| Description |
Scientists now believe Earth's nearest neighbor Venus is more like our planet than they previously thought. New findings based on pictures and infrared imagery captured by the European Space Agency's Venus Express mission and NASA's Magellan spacecraft confirm that Venus is not a cold rock but a dynamic host of active volcanoes like those found in Hawaii. * Opportunity, the Mars Exploration Rover, has reached another milestone in its travels around the Red Planet. The rover has covered more than twelve-and-a-half miles since landing on Mars six years ago. * The first, full-scale, friction stir welded and spun-formed tank dome was unveiled by NASA and its partners at a special ceremony at the Marshall Space Flight Center. * Four members of the STS-130 Endeavour space shuttle crew expressed their appreciation for employees of the Marshall Space Flight Center during a recent visit. The crew thanked employees for supporting the successful February mission to the International Space Station. Among other contributions, Marshall provided the three main engines that powered the crew on their 14-day mission. * Twenty-nine years ago, on April 12, 1981, space shuttle Columbia was launched from the Kennedy Space Center. Commanded by Gemini and Apollo veteran John Young and piloted by first-time flyer Bob Crippen, this first space shuttle mission, STS-1, was also the first U.S. manned orbital space flight since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project almost six years earlier. |
| Date |
04/09/10 |
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The Veils of Titan
| 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 veils of Saturn's most mysterious moon have begun to lift in Cassini's eagerly awaited first glimpse of the surface of Titan, a world where scientists believe organic matter rains from hazy skies and seas of liquid hydrocarbons dot a frigid surface. Surface features previously observed only from Earth-based telescopes are now visible in images of Titan taken in mid-April by Cassini through one of the narrow angle camera's spectral filters specifically designed to penetrate the thick atmosphere. The image scale is 230 kilometers (143 miles) per pixel, and it rivals the best Earth-based images. The two images displayed here show Titan from a vantage point 17 degrees below its equator, yielding a view from 50 degrees north latitude all the way to its south pole. The image on the left was taken four days after the image on the right. Titan rotated 90 degrees in that time. The two images combined cover a region extending halfway around the moon. The observed brightness variations suggest a diverse surface, with variations in average reflectivity on scales of a couple hundred kilometers. The images were taken through a narrow filter centered at 938 nanometers, a spectral region in which the only obstacle to light is the carbon-based, organic haze. Despite the rather long 38-second exposure times, there is no noticeable smear due to spacecraft motion. The images have been magnified 10 times and enhanced in contrast to bring out details. No further processing to remove the effects of the overlying atmosphere has been performed. The superimposed grid over the images illustrates the orientation of Titan -- north is up and rotated 25 degrees to the left -- as well as the geographical regions of the satellite that are illuminated and visible. The yellow curve marks the position of the boundary between day and night on Titan. The enhanced image contrast makes the region within 20 degrees of this day and night division darker than usual. The Sun illuminates Titan from the right at a phase angle of 66 degrees. Because the Sun is in the southern hemisphere as seen from Titan, the north pole is canted relative to the boundary between day and night by 25 degrees. Also shown here is a map of relative surface brightness variations on Titan as measured in images taken in the 1080-nanometer spectral region in 1997 and 1998 by the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer on NASA¿s Hubble Space Telescope. These images have scales of 300 kilometers (186 miles) per pixel. The map colors indicate different surface reflectivities. From darkest to brightest, the color progression is: deep blue (darkest), light blue, green, yellow, red and deep red (brightest). The large, continent-sized, red feature extending from 60 degrees to 150 degrees west longitude is called Xanadu. It is unclear whether Xanadu is a mountain range, giant basin, smooth plain, or a combination of all three. It may be dotted with hydrocarbon lakes but that is also unknown. All that, is presently known is that in Earth-based images, it is the brightest region on Titan. A comparison between the Cassini images and the Hubble map indicates that Xanadu is visible as a bright region in the Cassini image on the right. The dark blue northwest-southeast trending feature from 210 degrees to 250 degrees west longitude, and the bright yellow/green region to the east (right) and southeast of it at minus 50 degrees latitude and 180 to 230 degrees west longitude on the Hubble map, can both be seen in the image on the left. It is noteworthy that the surface is visible to Cassini from its present approach viewing geometry, which is not the most favourable for surface viewing. These early Cassini observations are promising for upcoming imaging sequences of Titan in which the resolution improves by a factor of five over the next two months. These results are encouraging for future, in-orbit observations of Titan that will be acquired from lower, more favorable phase angles. The first opportunity to view small-scale features (2 kilometers or 1.2 miles) on the surface comes during a 350,000 kilometer (217,500 mile) flyby over Titan's south pole on July 2, 2004, only 30 hours after Cassini's insertion into orbit around the ringed planet. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org . Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Goldstone Apple Valley Radio
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Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope |
| Full Description |
A special campaign *GAVRT: Rings In the New Year with Cassini-Huygens* allows students in grades K-12 to take Saturn's temperature at radio wavelengths by remotely controlling a 34-m diameter antenna located at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex. The Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope (GAVRT) Project offers a unique opportunity for students to learn about science through radio astronomy while they are actually participating in authentic science instead of just reading about it . GAVRT is a science education partnership involving NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Lewis Center for Educational Research (LCER). The GAVRT Project currently involves students from 24 U.S. states and has American students in several countries in Asia and Europe through the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA). Teachers use a standards-aligned curriculum that allows students to understand science concepts as they operate the radio telescope. Students have the opportunity for reflective assessment as they hear how NASA scientists have used their observations and as they preliminary analysis their data. To operate the telescope, students connect via the Internet to LCER's Mission Control where trained operators assist the students to conduct remotely controlled radio astronomy observations. Students use computers to record the extremely faint radio waves collected by the radio telescope and analyze real data. In real time the students are able to derive an approximate thermal temperature and compare these values to data that has been corrected by scientists at JPL and other research institutions. Through this process students have the opportunity to become part of a science/education team, participating with scientists in ongoing missions and special observing campaigns. A small part of the radio emission from Saturn comes from lightning bolts or electrons caught in it's magnetic field, but most of the radiation picked up by the GAVRT telescope comes from blackbody emission. Blackbody emission is the radiation given off by all objects because of their thermal energy. The hotter an object, the more blackbody emission it radiates at all frequencies, and hot objects put more of their energy into high frequencies while cooler objects radiate a greater fraction of their output at low frequencies. For example, while the Sun emits plenty of radio waves, it is so hot that the peak of it's radiation comes out as visible light. Saturn is much colder, and hardly emits any visible light (although we can see it by reflected sunlight). Instead, most of Saturn's blackbody radiation is at infrared and radio frequencies. The amount of radiation from Saturn that we can see with the GAVRT telescope depends on Saturn's temperature, how far away it is, the angle at which the rings are shadowing the planet and reflecting radiation, and the chemical composition of the rings and the planetary atmosphere. As these things change, GAVRT observations keep, track of the variations, supplying data to supplement the close-up observations of Cassini. Students' measurements are often included in papers appearing in major scientific journals. Their science efficacy improves as students learn they can make valuable contributions to the world of science. Scientists value the student-produced data and the involvement of the scientists impacts the attitudes and abilities of students in the classroom. |
| Date |
January 14, 2005 |
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Cat Scratches
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Cat Scratches |
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This image is a portion of the swath acquired by the Cassini Titan radar mapper on Feb. 15, 2005, on the mission's second opportunity to image the surface with radar. The frame, measuring about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from top to bottom, shows an area near the northeast corner of the large optically bright region named Xanadu. Running across the image are a series of roughly parallel, mostly east-west dark linear features that join and separate, which are not seen in the previous radar images. They may be formed by the action of eastward-flowing winds, or geologic processes acting on the crust itself. In places they cut through adjacent terrain, while elsewhere the lineaments seem to be interrupted by brighter material, appearing again on the other side. Seams between radar segments are visible as horizontal, sawtooth-shaped lines. Bright material in radar images may be rough or sloped toward the radar (which is observing from the top in this frame). Also, some of what is seen may in fact be below the surface, revealed as the radio waves penetrate overlying, radar-transparent material. 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 radar instrument team is based at JPL, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. *Credit:* NASA/JPL |
| Date |
February 16, 2005 |
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