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Kennedy Space Center, Florid …
This is an X-band Synthetic …
10/10/94
Date 10/10/94
Description This is an X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar image spanning an area of about 20 kilometers by 40 kilometers (12 miles by 25 miles) of the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. At the top right are cloud-like structures which indicate rain. X-SAR is able to image heavy rainfall. The Atlantic Ocean is at the upper right. The shuttle landing strip is seen at the top left of the image. The Vertical Assembly Building, the Orbiter Processing Facility and other associated buildings are seen as a white area to the right and just above the end of the shuttle strip. The shuttle launch pads are the two white areas near the top center of the image. The Banana River shows up as a large black area running north to south to the right of the image. The Indian River is on the left side of the image. Just above the image center is a cluster of white spots which are the major buildings of the Kennedy Space Center industrial area. This was the location of the reflector array that was constructed to form the letters "KSC" by the KSC payload team. The data for these KSC images were taken on orbit 81 of the space shuttle Endeavour on the fourth day of the SIR-C/X-SAR mission. ----- 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. #####
NASA Connect - MMOU - Optics …
NASA Connect Segment explain …
4/1/00
Description NASA Connect Segment explaining optics and the use of algebra in optics. Describes focal length, reflector telescope, and mirrors.
Date 4/1/00
NASA SCI Files - Arecibo Obs …
NASA Sci Files segment explo …
5/14/03
Description NASA Sci Files segment exploring the Arecibo Observatory, what it does, and where it is located.
Date 5/14/03
Jane Houston Jones and Teles …
Description Jane Houston Jones and Telescope
Full Description Jane Houston Jones shows off her homemade Dobsonian reflector telescope she'll be pointing at Saturn in the coming months. Credit: Morris Jones
Date February 7, 2007
Charon Discovery Image
title Charon Discovery Image
date 06.22.1978
description On 22 June 1978, an astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. was making routine measurements of photographic plates taken with the 1.55-meter (61-inch) Kaj Strand Astrometric Reflector at the USNO Flagstaff Station in Arizona. The purpose of these images was to refine the orbit of the far-flung planet Pluto to help compute a better ephemeris for this distant object. Astronomer James W. Christy had noticed that a number of the images of Pluto appeared elongated, but images of background stars on the same plate did not. Other plates showed the planet as a tiny, round dot. Christy examined a number of Pluto images from the USNO archives, and he noticed the elongations again. Furthermore, the elongations appeared to change position with respect to the stars over time. After eliminating the possibility that the elongations were produced by plate defects and background stars, the only plausible explanation was that they were caused by a previously unknown moon orbiting Pluto at a distance of about 19,600 kilometers (12,100 miles) with a period of just over six days. On 7 July 1978, the discovery was formally announced to the astronomical community and the world by the IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams via IAU Circular 3241. The discovery received the provisional designation "1978 P 1", Christy proposed the name "Charon", after the mythological ferryman who carried souls across the river Acheron, one of the five mythical rivers that surrounded Pluto's underworld. Over the course of the next several years, another USNO astronomer, the late Robert S. Harrington, calculated that Pluto and its newly-found moon would undergo a series of mutual eclipses and occultations, beginning in early 1985. On 17 February 1985 the first successful observation of one of these transits was made at with the 0.9-meter (36-inch) reflector at the University of Texas McDonald Observatory, within 40 minutes of Harrington's predicted time. The IAU Circular announcing these confirming observations was issued on 22 February 1985. With this confirmation, the new moon was officially named Charon. Pluto was discovered at Lowell Observatory in 1930 by the late Clyde W. Tombaugh, an amateur astronomer from Kansas who was hired by the Observatory specifically to photograph the sky with a special camera and search for the planet predicted by the Observatory's founder, Percival Lowell. Lowell had deduced the existence of a "Planet X" by studying small anomalies in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. As it turned out, Pluto's discovery was almost entirely serendipitous, Pluto's tiny mass was far too small to account for the anomalies, which were resolved when Voyager 2 determined more precise masses for Uranus and Neptune. The discovery of Charon has led to a much better understanding of just how tiny Pluto is. Its diameter is about 2274 km (1413 miles), and its mass is 0.25% of the mass of the Earth. Charon has a diameter of about 1172 kilometers (728, miles) and a mass of about 22% that of Pluto. The two worlds circle their common center of mass with a period of 6.387 days and are locked in a "super-synchronous" rotation: observers on Pluto's surface would always see Charon in the same part of the sky relative to their local horizon. Normally Pluto is considered the most distant world in the solar system, but during the period from January 1979 until February 1999 it was actually closer to the Sun than Neptune. It has the most eccentric and inclinced orbit of any of the major planets. This orbit won't bring Pluto back to its discovery position until the year 2178! *Image Credit*: U.S. Naval Observatory
Deep Space Network
title Deep Space Network
description The NASA Deep Space Network - or DSN - is an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe. The network also supports selected Earth-orbiting missions. The DSN currently consists of three deep-space communications facilities placed approximately 120 degrees apart around the world: at Goldstone, in California's Mojave Desert, near Madrid, Spain, and near Canberra, Australia. This strategic placement permits constant observation of spacecraft as the Earth rotates, and helps to make the DSN the largest and most sensitive scientific telecommunications system in the world. NASA's scientific investigation of the Solar System is being accomplished mainly through the use of unmanned automated spacecraft. The DSN provides the vital two-way communications link that guides and controls these planetary explorers, and brings back the images and new scientific information they collect. All DSN antennas are steerable, high-gain, parabolic reflector antennas. The network is managed and operated for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Interplanetary Network Directorate (IND) manages the program within JPL. For more on the Deep Space Network, visit http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn/index.html *Image Credit*: NASA
Aldrin Looks Back at Tranqui …
Title Aldrin Looks Back at Tranquility Base
Full Description Astronaut Edwin E."Buzz" Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module pilot, is photographed during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on the Moon. He has just deployed the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package (EASEP). In the foreground is the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP), beyond it is the Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector (LR-3), in the center background is the United States flag, in the left background is the black and white lunar surface television camera, in the far right background is the Lunar Module "Eagle". Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera.
Date 07/20/1969
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
ECHO Horn Antenna
Title ECHO Horn Antenna
Full Description The Horn reflector antenna at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey was built in 1959 for pioneering work in communication satellites for the NASA ECHO I. The antenna was 50 feet in length and the entire structure weighed about 18 tons. It was comprised of aluminum with a steel base. It was used to detect radio waves that bounced off Project ECHO balloon satellites. The horn was later modified to work with the Telstar Communication Satellite frequencies as a receiver for broadcast signals from the satellite. In 1990 the horn was dedicated to the National Park Service as a National Historic Landmark.
Date 6/62
NASA Center Headquarters
Irwin Loads-up the Rover
Title Irwin Loads-up the Rover
Full Description Apollo 15 Lunar Module pilot James B. Irwin loads-up the "Rover", Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) with tools and equipment in preparation for the first lunar extravehicular activity (EVA-1) at the Hadley-Apennine landing site. A portion of the Lunar Module (LM) "Falcon" is on the left. The undeployed Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector (LR-3) lies atop the LM's Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA). This view is looking slightly West of South. Hadley Delta and the Apennine Front are in the background to the left. St. George crater is approximately 5 kilometers (about 3 statute miles) in the distance behind Irwin's head.
Date 07/31/1971
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Little Joe Launch Vehicle
Title Little Joe Launch Vehicle
Full Description Launching of the Little Joe launch vehicle on October 4, 1959 took place at Wallops Island, Va. This was the first attempt to launch an instrumented capsule with a Little Joe booster. Only the LJ1A and the LJ6 used the space metal/chevron plates as heat reflector shields, as they kept shattering. Little Joe was used to test various components of the Mercury spacecraft, such as the emergency escape rockets.
Date 10/04/1959
NASA Center Langley Research Center
HST WC/PC First Light Image
Title HST WC/PC First Light Image
Mt. St. Helens from Landsat: …
Title Mt. St. Helens from Landsat: 1973 to 1992
Abstract These images show Mt. St. Helens almost a decade before the May 18, 1980, eruption, approximately three years after the eruption, then a pair of images over the following decade, as the landscape recovered. Notice in particular the area northwest of the mountain, past the Toutle River, where forest coverage has recovered somewhat in the past ten years. North is up in all these images. The 1973 Landsat 1 image used MSS bands 7, 5, and 4 (called MSS 4, 2, and 1 on the later Landsat satellites) displayed as red, green, and blue respectively. The other images mapped TM bands 4, 3, and 2 to red, green, and blue. This color combination is often referred to as 'false color infrared' since it has a similar appearance and tone to color infrared photography. Reds represent vegetation (which is a strong reflector of near infrared light), greys are exposed land, and light blues show snow on the peaks of Mt. St. Helens and neighboring Mt. Adams. The Columbia River snakes into view in the lower left corner, just north of Portland, Oregon.
Completed 1999-04-09
Mt. St. Helens from Landsat: …
Title Mt. St. Helens from Landsat: 1973 to 1992
Abstract These images show Mt. St. Helens almost a decade before the May 18, 1980, eruption, approximately three years after the eruption, then a pair of images over the following decade, as the landscape recovered. Notice in particular the area northwest of the mountain, past the Toutle River, where forest coverage has recovered somewhat in the past ten years. North is up in all these images. The 1973 Landsat 1 image used MSS bands 7, 5, and 4 (called MSS 4, 2, and 1 on the later Landsat satellites) displayed as red, green, and blue respectively. The other images mapped TM bands 4, 3, and 2 to red, green, and blue. This color combination is often referred to as 'false color infrared' since it has a similar appearance and tone to color infrared photography. Reds represent vegetation (which is a strong reflector of near infrared light), greys are exposed land, and light blues show snow on the peaks of Mt. St. Helens and neighboring Mt. Adams. The Columbia River snakes into view in the lower left corner, just north of Portland, Oregon.
Completed 1999-04-09
Mt. St. Helens from Landsat: …
Title Mt. St. Helens from Landsat: 1973 to 1992
Abstract These images show Mt. St. Helens almost a decade before the May 18, 1980, eruption, approximately three years after the eruption, then a pair of images over the following decade, as the landscape recovered. Notice in particular the area northwest of the mountain, past the Toutle River, where forest coverage has recovered somewhat in the past ten years. North is up in all these images. The 1973 Landsat 1 image used MSS bands 7, 5, and 4 (called MSS 4, 2, and 1 on the later Landsat satellites) displayed as red, green, and blue respectively. The other images mapped TM bands 4, 3, and 2 to red, green, and blue. This color combination is often referred to as 'false color infrared' since it has a similar appearance and tone to color infrared photography. Reds represent vegetation (which is a strong reflector of near infrared light), greys are exposed land, and light blues show snow on the peaks of Mt. St. Helens and neighboring Mt. Adams. The Columbia River snakes into view in the lower left corner, just north of Portland, Oregon.
Completed 1999-04-09
Mt. St. Helens from Landsat: …
Title Mt. St. Helens from Landsat: 1973 to 1992
Abstract These images show Mt. St. Helens almost a decade before the May 18, 1980, eruption, approximately three years after the eruption, then a pair of images over the following decade, as the landscape recovered. Notice in particular the area northwest of the mountain, past the Toutle River, where forest coverage has recovered somewhat in the past ten years. North is up in all these images. The 1973 Landsat 1 image used MSS bands 7, 5, and 4 (called MSS 4, 2, and 1 on the later Landsat satellites) displayed as red, green, and blue respectively. The other images mapped TM bands 4, 3, and 2 to red, green, and blue. This color combination is often referred to as 'false color infrared' since it has a similar appearance and tone to color infrared photography. Reds represent vegetation (which is a strong reflector of near infrared light), greys are exposed land, and light blues show snow on the peaks of Mt. St. Helens and neighboring Mt. Adams. The Columbia River snakes into view in the lower left corner, just north of Portland, Oregon.
Completed 1999-04-09
Mt. St. Helens from Landsat: …
Title Mt. St. Helens from Landsat: 1973 to 1992
Abstract These images show Mt. St. Helens almost a decade before the May 18, 1980, eruption, approximately three years after the eruption, then a pair of images over the following decade, as the landscape recovered. Notice in particular the area northwest of the mountain, past the Toutle River, where forest coverage has recovered somewhat in the past ten years. North is up in all these images. The 1973 Landsat 1 image used MSS bands 7, 5, and 4 (called MSS 4, 2, and 1 on the later Landsat satellites) displayed as red, green, and blue respectively. The other images mapped TM bands 4, 3, and 2 to red, green, and blue. This color combination is often referred to as 'false color infrared' since it has a similar appearance and tone to color infrared photography. Reds represent vegetation (which is a strong reflector of near infrared light), greys are exposed land, and light blues show snow on the peaks of Mt. St. Helens and neighboring Mt. Adams. The Columbia River snakes into view in the lower left corner, just north of Portland, Oregon.
Completed 1999-04-09
Messier Marathon
Title Messier Marathon
Explanation Gripped by an astronomical spring fever [ http://www.zzotto.com/rfc/CFTrip.htm ], it's once again time for many amateur stargazers to embark on a Messier Marathon [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/marathon/marathon.html ]! The Vernal Equinox [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960922.html ] occurs March 20, marking the first day of Spring for the Northern Hemisphere. It also marks a favorable celestial situation [ http://www.reflector.org/MESSIER.HTM ] for potentially viewing all the objects in 18th century French astronomer Charles Messier's catalog [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/history/biograph.html ] in one glorious dusk to dawn [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/marathon/hall.html ] observing run. This year [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/marathon/mm2000.html ] a bright full moon will interfere with dark skies near the actual equinox, so good nights near new moon for weekend marathoners are March 11/12 and April 1/2. (As an added bonus all the planets [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000310.html ] in the solar system can be viewed on these dates.) Astronomer Paul Gitto has created this masterful Messier Marathon [ http://www.cometman.com/messier.html ] grid with 11 rows and 10 columns of Messier catalog objects [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/history/m-cat.html ]. In numerical order, the grid begins with M1, the Crab Nebula, [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960626.html ] at upper left and [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m102.html ] ends with M110 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m110.html ], a small elliptical galaxy in Andromeda (lower right). Gitto's images were made with a digital camera and a 10-inch diameter reflecting telescope.
Moon Occults Saturn
Title Moon Occults Saturn
Explanation On September 18, 1997, many stargazers in the U. S. [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000708.html ] were able to watch a lovely early morning lunar occultation [ http://www.skypub.com/sights/occultations/occultations.shtml ] as a bright Moon [ http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/lab/MoonLab.html ] passed in front of Saturn. Using a 1.2 meter reflector [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/oir/FLWO/FLWO/48/48.html ], astronomer Kris Stanek had an excellent view of this [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~kstanek/Saturn/ ] dream-like event from the Whipple Observatory [ http://linmax.sao.arizona.edu/help/FLWO/whipple.html ] atop Arizona's Mount Hopkins [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/flwo/visitcenter.html ]. This animated gif image was constructed by Wes Colley from 4 frames taken by Stanek at 35 second intervals as the ringed planet emerged from behind the Moon's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970916.html ] dark limb. While lunar occultations [ http://www.skypub.com/sights/occultations/lunar/ 0101lunarocc.html ] of fairly bright stars and planets are not extremely rare events, their exact timing [ http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/iotandx.htm ] depends critically on the observer's location. For observers in western North America [ http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/0910sat.htm ], the Moon will next occult Saturn on Monday morning, September 10 [ http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/0910sat.htm ].
A Hale-Bopp Triple Crown
Title A Hale-Bopp Triple Crown
Explanation It was truly a busy sky. In one of the more spectacular photos yet submitted to Astronomy Picture of the Day [ http://www.phy.mtu.edu/apod/ ], Don Cooke of Lyme, New Hampshire [ http://www.state.nh.us/soiccnh/lyme.htm ] caught the Sun [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/sol.html ], Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/moon.html ], Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970130.html ], night sky [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970403.html ], Pleiades star cluster [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960903.html ], and Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/comet/ ] all in one frame. The first leg of this "triple crown" exposure was of the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960518.html ], taken at 6:55 pm on April 10th 1997. Through a dark filter, the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/sun.html ] appears as the bright dot on the lower right of the image. A second filtered exposure was then taken after the Sun had set, one hour and 40 minutes later - this time featuring the Moon [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-moon.html ]. The Moon appears as a crescent superimposed on an odd-shaped dark circle protruding into the left of the image. This shadow is actually a silhouette of a driveway reflector mounted on an aluminum rod used to block out the bright moon - so as to allow a third exposure, this time unfiltered, of the background night sky. And what a beautiful sky it is. Highlights include Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970610.html ], on the right, and the Pleiades star cluster [ http://www.seds.org/billa/twn/m45x.html ], near the center. But what, you may wonder, is that bright light near the center of the picture? Don't worry if you can't guess: it's a porch light from a house across the river!
Moon Occults Saturn
Title Moon Occults Saturn
Explanation Many stargazers in the U. S. [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970830.html ] were able to watch a lovely lunar occultation [ http://www.skypub.com/whatsup/lunocc97.html ] early last Thursday morning as a bright Moon passed in front of Saturn [ http://www.skypub.com/whatsup/9709satu.html ]. Using a 1.2 meter reflector [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/oir/FLWO/FLWO/48/48.html ], astronomer Kris Stanek [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~kstanek/index.html ] had an excellent view of this [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~kstanek/Saturn/ ] dream-like event from the Whipple Observatory [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/oir/FLWO/FLWO/whipple.html ] atop Arizona's Mount Hopkins [ http://egret.sao.arizona.edu/mt.html ]. This animated gif image was constructed by Wes Colley [ http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~wes/research/ ] from 4 frames taken by Stanek at 35 second intervals as the ringed planet emerged from behind the Moon's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970916.html ] dark limb. While lunar occultations of fairly bright stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970728.html ] and planets are not extremely rare events, their exact timing [ http://www.sky.net/~robinson/iotandx.htm ] depends critically on the observer's location.
Radio, The Big Ear, And The …
Title Radio, The Big Ear, And The Wow! Signal
Explanation Since the early days of radio and television [ http://www.databahn.net/library/inet/history/ ] we have been freely broadcasting signals into space. For some time now, we have been listening too [ http://www.nrao.edu/intro/ham.connection.html ]. Ohio State University's radio telescope, affectionately known as "The Big Ear" [ http://www.bigear.org/ ], was one of the first and largest listeners. Designed by John Kraus [ http://www.bigear.org/kraus.htm ], OSU's Big Ear (about the size of three football fields) consisted of an immense metal ground plane with two fence-like reflectors (one fixed and one tiltable) and relied on the Earth's rotation [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980912.html ] to help scan the sky. This photo, taken by former Big Ear student volunteer Rick Scott, looks out across the ground plane toward the fixed reflector with the "receiver horns" in the foreground. This May, the final pieces [ http://www.bigear.org/flatdown.htm ] of the Big Ear were torn down, but its explorations of the radio universe [ http://www.bigear.org/past.htm ] will be long remembered. Starting in 1965, the Big Ear was used in an ambitious premier survey of the radio sky [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971214.html ], ultimately finding over 20,000 celestial radio sources [ http://www.nrao.edu/intro/ ]. Changing its focus in the 1970s, it became the first telescope to continuously listen [ http://www.seti-inst.edu/game/ ] for signals from extraterrestrial civilizations. [ http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ ] For an exciting moment [ http://www.seti-inst.edu/phoenix/contact.html ] during August 1977 a very strong and unanticipated signal, dubbed the Wow! Signal [ http://www.bigear.org/wowmenu.htm ], was detected by the Big Ear. But alas, heard only once [ http://www.bigear.org/wow20th.htm ], the cause of the signal could not be determined.
Kitt Peak National Observato …
Title Kitt Peak National Observatory
Explanation At the top of Kitt Peak Mountain near Tucson [ http://www.ci.tucson.az.us/ ], Arizona [ http://www.state.az.us/ ] lies one of the world's great collections of telescopes. As pictured [ http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0411.html ], in the dome at the far left lies the 3.5-meter WIYN Telescope [ http://www.noao.edu/kpno/40th/wiyn.html ], famous recently for tracking distant supernovae. The next major dome to the right houses a 36-inch telescope [ http://www.noao.edu/kpno/40th/small_tel.html ] now used mostly for imaging. Farther to the right beside a thin tower is a 2.1-meter Telescope [ http://www.noao.edu/kpno/40th/2.1m.html ] used currently for imaging and spectroscopy. The unusual triangular building houses the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope [ http://www.noao.edu/kpno/40th/mcpierce.html ]. In front of it lies the Vacuum Tower Telescope [ http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0216.html ] while in back are the Burrell-Schmidt Telescope [ http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0341.html ] and the SARA 0.9-meter automated telescope. At the far right lies one of the world's largest telescopes: the 4-meter Mayall Reflector [ http://www.noao.edu/kpno/40th/4m.html ]. Kitt Peak recently celebrated its 40th year [ http://www.noao.edu/kpno/40th/ ] during which it helped establish the existence of dark matter [ http://www.sciam.com/specialissues/0398cosmos/0398rubin.html ] and the first gravitational lens [ http://vela.astro.ulg.ac.be/themes/extragal/gravlens/bibdat/engl/index.html ]. Kitt Peak National Observatory [ http://www.noao.edu/kpno/ ] is part of the United States' National Optical Astronomical Observatories [ http://www.noao.edu/noao.html ] and is operated under agreement with the National Science Foundation [ http://www.nsf.gov/ ].
Galaxy And Gamma-ray Burst
Title Galaxy And Gamma-ray Burst
Explanation Gamma-ray bursts rule [ http://www.sciam.com/0797issue/0797fishman.html ] the high-energy sky and Saturday another brief, intense flash of gamma-rays [ http://astro.caltech.edu/~jsb/GRB/grb990123.html ] from the cosmos triggered space-based detectors. The orbiting Compton Observatory's BATSE instrument [ http://www.batse.msfc.nasa.gov/ ] quickly relayed the burst's approximate location to fast-slewing, ground-based cameras primed to search for an elusive optical flash. The result -- the GCN coordinated [ http://lheawww.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/gamcosray/legr/bacodine/ gcn_main.html ] ROTSE-I telephoto array [ http://www.umich.edu/~rotse/ ] recorded a breakthrough detection only 22 seconds [ http://laastro.lanl.gov/rotse/grb990123/grb_990123_rotse_data.html ] after the burst trigger. Larger telescopes too captured the burster's optical counterpart and at right is an image identifying the candidate from the 60 inch Palomar reflector [ http://phobos.caltech.edu/observatories/palomar/ public/images/p60.html ]. At left is a prior sky survey image of the region which astonishingly shows a discernible smudge near the same position, likely the burster's host galaxy. The galaxy and bright burst suggest that this is the closest yet localized gamma-ray burst! Still, believed to be the most powerful explosions [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980507.html ] in the Universe, the source of the incredible energy of gamma-ray bursts remains a mystery.
Messier Marathon
Title Messier Marathon
Explanation Gripped by an astronomical spring fever [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/marathon/marathon.html ], this week many amateur stargazers embark on a Messier Marathon [ http://www.reflector.org/MESSIER.HTM ]. The Vernal Equinox [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960922.html ] occurs Saturday, March 20, marking the first day of Spring for the Northern Hemisphere. It also marks a favorable celestial situation for potentially viewing all the objects in 18th century French astronomer Charles Messier's catalog [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/history/biograph.html ] in one glorious dusk to dawn [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/marathon/results.html ] observing run. This year, interference from bright moonlight will be minimal as the the moon is near its dark or new phase. Astronomer Paul Gitto has created this masterful Messier Marathon [ http://www.cometman.com/messier.html ] grid with 11 rows and 10 columns of Messier catalog objects [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/history/m-cat.html ]. In numerical order, the grid begins with M1, the Crab Nebula, [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960626.html ] at upper left and ends with M110 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m110.html ], a small elliptical galaxy in Andromeda (lower right). Gitto's images were made with a digital camera and a 10-inch diameter reflecting telescope.
Gordel van Venus
Title Gordel van Venus
Explanation Scroll right and enjoy this [ http://www.saao.ac.za/~wpk/OOG/album/ belt_of_venus.html ] 180 degree panorama across the South African Astronomical Observatory's [ http://www.saao.ac.za/home/ ] hilltop Sutherland [ http://www.saao.ac.za/observing/visitor-notes/ sutherland/ ] observing station. Featured are SAAO telescope [ http://www.saao.ac.za/facilities/telescopes/ ] domes and buildings, along with the dark, wedge-shaped shadow of planet Earth stretching into the distance, bounded above by the delicately colored antitwilight arch. Visible along the antisunward horizon at sunset [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030822.html ], (or sunrise [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060204.html ]) the pinkish antitwilight arch [ http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/ search?id=antitwilight-arch1 ] is also known as the Belt of Venus. In order, the significant structures from left to right house, the giant SALT 11-meter [ http://www.salt.ac.za/ ] instrument, the internet telescope MONET [ http://monet.uni-goettingen.de/cgi-bin/WebObjects/ MonetPortal ], the 1.9 meter Radcliffe, the 1.0 meter Elizabeth, a 0.75 meter reflector, a 0.5 meter reflector, a garage, YSTAR, BiSON, ACT, IRSF [ http://www.saao.ac.za/~isg/irsf.html ] (open), and a storage building. (Note to SAAO fans: in this east-facing view the planet-hunter SuperWASP [ http://www.superwasp.org/ ] south is hidden behind the IRSF.)
Little Joe (LJ1B) Launch
Title Little Joe (LJ1B) Launch
Description Launching of the LJ1B Little Joe on Oct. 4, 1959 took place at Wallops Island, Va. This was the first attempt to launch an instrumented capsule with a Little Joe booster. Only the LJ1A and the LJ6 used the space metal/chevron plates as heat reflector shields, as they kept shattering. Caption title " ...and ascending skyward on a plume of exhaust." Published in Winds of Change, 75th Anniversary NASA publication, by James Schultz (page 77).
Date 10.04.1959
Little Joe (LJ6) Launch
Title Little Joe (LJ6) Launch
Description Launching of the LJ6 Little Joe on Oct. 4, 1959 took place at Wallops Island, Va. This was the first attempt to launch an instrumented capsule with a Little Joe booster. Only the LJ1A and the LJ6 used the space metal/chevron plates as heat reflector shields, as they kept shattering. Caption title " ...and ascending skyward on a plume of exhaust." Photograph published in Winds of Change, 75th Anniversary NASA publication, page 77, by James Schultz **note - see L60-104 page 77 also.
Date 10.04.1959
Dual Reflector System In Ane …
Title Dual Reflector System In Aneholic Chamber
Description This photograph shows a dual reflector compact range system located in the experimental test range (ETR), Building 1299F, during testing to determine the system performance as a function of frequency.
Date 06.28.1990
Fire in Variable Density Win …
Title Fire in Variable Density Wind Tunnel
Description Fire gutted interior of Variable-Density Tunnel (VDT). On August 1, 1927 a major fire broke out inside the VDT. Clean-up, repair, redesign and reinstallation of equipment took about 8 months. From the Variable Density Tunnel Log Book: "Aug. 1. Computation of the previous tests were in progress in the office and the tank had been pumped up to 20 atmospheres and run to equalize the temperatures about 11:25 a.m. The 20 atmosphere run on the M-6 polished air foil was started and two readings had been taken when sparks were seen to pass in the return passage. Mr. Turner yelled "Fire!" and shut off the drive motor and opened the blow off valve. Through the peep holes it could be seen that the fire had a good start. It soon fogged up inside so that it could no longer be seen. We then waited for the pressure to go down. However, due to the burning inside, the pressure probably continued to rise. We noticed that the blow off pipe was becoming very hot and that smoke was coming out around the propeller shaft. Suddenly (sic) there was a loud bursting noise and every one left the building. This was probably the blowing of the gasket around the blow off valve. Later the top peep hole blew out and the blow off pipe blew out from the valve. The pressure then began to go down and we returned. The building was full of smoke. When the pressure had gone down the blow off was closed. The tank was very hot and the roof of the building somewhat scorched. The office was then partially cleaned up but it was decided to leave the tunnel closed until the next day.""Aug. 2. The tunnel door was opened in the morning and the compressor run to expel the gasses. About noon it was possible to swing back then honeycomb. It was apparent that the damage was very wide spread. All of the woodwork seemed to be charred and the upper part of the balance ring and the propeller tips and glass windows near the test section were melted. The remainder of the day was spent ventilating the tunnel and taking photographs both inside and outside of the tunnel." The 1927 fire was not the first in the VDT as this September 15, 1924 entry from the "Variable Density Tunnel Log Book" indicates: "The final runs on Airfoil 97 at twenty atmospheres was completed past the burble point. Fire broke out before the last point was obtained. The tunnel was running at 315 #/*" at the time. Flames were visible from the drag peep hole, in the window straight ahead filling up the entire window. Switches were immediately pulled and blow off valve opened. Turner did these. Fire dept. was called. When pressure reached 50#/*" obs. lower drag peep hole was broken in and fire hose nozzle directed inside. In the meantime the large door was forced open and entrance beyond the large honeycomb was affected. Fire was now practically out. Turner smashed in window in outer cone and finished the flame with our own small hose. Upon examination, probable cause of the fire was: - Tubular light bulb crushed, terminal wires welded, to reflector, heated and burned the insulation outside of the socket and set fire to surrounding wood. The auxiliary shelf used by Prof. Hempke (about 12 in x 18 in.) was burned badly. Total damage to tunnel consisted in one broken window, one peep hole glass, and a small charred section. Repairs were well underway by evening." Note the abbreviations used in the entry above mean: "315 pounds per square inch" and "50 pounds per square inch". This is how they were written down in the log book. Finally, another fire caused by faulty wire insulation broke out on February 9, 1925 but repairs were swiftly made and the tunnel was back in operation five days later.
Date 08.01.1927
Fire in Variable Density Win …
Title Fire in Variable Density Wind Tunnel
Description Fire gutted interior of Variable-Density Tunnel (VDT). On August 1, 1927 a major fire broke out inside the VDT. Clean-up, repair, redesign and reinstallation of equipment took about 8 months. From the Variable Density Tunnel Log Book: "Aug. 1. Computation of the previous tests were in progress in the office and the tank had been pumped up to 20 atmospheres and run to equalize the temperatures about 11:25 a.m. The 20 atmosphere run on the M-6 polished air foil was started and two readings had been taken when sparks were seen to pass in the return passage. Mr. Turner yelled "Fire!" and shut off the drive motor and opened the blow off valve. Through the peep holes it could be seen that the fire had a good start. It soon fogged up inside so that it could no longer be seen. We then waited for the pressure to go down. However, due to the burning inside, the pressure probably continued to rise. We noticed that the blow off pipe was becoming very hot and that smoke was coming out around the propeller shaft. Suddenly (sic) there was a loud bursting noise and every one left the building. This was probably the blowing of the gasket around the blow off valve. Later the top peep hole blew out and the blow off pipe blew out from the valve. The pressure then began to go down and we returned. The building was full of smoke. When the pressure had gone down the blow off was closed. The tank was very hot and the roof of the building somewhat scorched. The office was then partially cleaned up but it was decided to leave the tunnel closed until the next day.""Aug. 2. The tunnel door was opened in the morning and the compressor run to expel the gasses. About noon it was possible to swing back the honeycomb. It was apparent that the damage was very wide spread. All of the woodwork seemed to be charred and the upper part of the balance ring and the propeller tips and glass windows near the test section were melted. The remainder of the day was spent ventilating the tunnel and taking photographs both inside and outside of the tunnel." The 1927 fire was not the first in the VDT as this September 15, 1924 entry from the "Variable Density Tunnel Log Book" indicates: "The final runs on Airfoil 97 at twenty atmospheres was completed past the burble point. Fire broke out before the last point was obtained. The tunnel was running at 315#/*" at the time. Flames were visible from the drag peep hole, in the window straight ahead filling up the entire window. Switches were immediately pulled and blow off valve opened. Turner did these. Fire dept. was called. When pressure reached 50#/*" obs lower drag peep hole was broken in and fire hose nozzle directed inside. In the meantime the large door was forced open and entrance beyond the large honeycomb was affected. Fire was now practically out. Turner smashed in window in outer cone and finished the flame with our own small hose. Upon examination, probable cause of the fire was: - Tubular light bulb crushed, terminal wires welded to, reflector, heated and burned the insulation outside of the socket and set fire to surrounding wood. The auxiliary shelf used by Prof. Hempke (about 12 in x 18 in.) was burned badly. Total damage to tunnel consisted in one broken window, one peep hole glass, and a small charred section. Repairs were well underway by evening." Note the abbreviations used in the entry above mean: "315 pounds per square inch" and "50 pounds per square inch". This is how they were written down in the log book. Finally, another fire caused by faulty wire insulation broke out on February 9, 1925 but repairs were swiftly made and the tunnel was back in operation five days later.
Date 08.01.1927
Survival equipment for the M …
Title Survival equipment for the Mercury astronauts
Description Survival equipment for the Mercury astronauts including a radar reflector (06767), a life vest (06768), and a life raft (06769).
Date 10.23.1962
Survival equipment for the M …
Title Survival equipment for the Mercury astronauts
Description Survival equipment for the Mercury astronauts including a radar reflector (06767), a life vest (06768), and a life raft (06769).
Date 10.23.1962
Large space structures
Title Large space structures
Description Artistic composition and diagram of mobile transporter assembly of precision segmented reflector for large submillimeter astronomical laboratory.
Date 03.27.1990
Radargrams of Buried Basin f …
title Radargrams of Buried Basin from Two Adjacent Orbits
Description These two radargrams from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) show echoes from an approximately 250-kilometer (155-mile) diameter circular structure below the surface of Mars. The circular structure is interpreted to be a buried impact basin. In two orbits spaced about 50 kilometers (31 miles) apart, MARSIS detected a series of arc-shaped reflectors that have no apparent source in the surface topography or geology. In the lower image, a linear reflector nearly parallel to the surface is seen embedded in the arcs. This reflection may be coming from the floor of the basin. The time delay to the linear reflector suggests a depth of 1.5 to 2.5 kilometers (0.9 to 1.6 miles). MARSIS is an instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. NASA and the Italian Space Agency jointly funded the instrument. Credit: ASI/NASA/ESA/Univ. of Rome/JPL
IAE - Inflatable Antenna Exp …
johnsonspacecentermediaarchi …
Photographic documentation o …
STS077-150-129
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IAE - Inflatable Antenna Exp …
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STS077-150-010
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date 1996-05-20
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IAE - Inflatable Antenna Exp …
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Views of the deployment of t …
STS077-705-016
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date 1996-06-10
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Views of ISS during undockin …
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Views of the International S …
sts092-311-008
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Views of ISS during undockin …
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Views of the International S …
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Views of ISS during undockin …
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sts092-311-019
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Views of ISS during undockin …
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Views of the International S …
sts092-311-011
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IAE - Inflatable Antenna Exp …
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Photographic documentation o …
STS077-150-044
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date 1996-05-20
creator NASA
identifier STS077-150-044
IAE - Inflatable Antenna Exp …
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STS077-705-088
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date 1996-06-10
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