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JSC1834_ISS_Animation_Resour
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INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
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2000
| Description |
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) ANIMATION RESOURCE REEL - JUNE 2000 JSC1834 (2000) 22 3/4 Minutes This video resource reel contains the latest animation of the International Space Station. The tape begins with a sequence illustrating a space shuttle docking with the complete station, and then continues with station fly-around views and scenes showing key elements of construction of the station. Also contains detailed animation of the Zvezda Service Module, shown first launching into space on a Proton rocket, activating solar arrays and then being docked to by the space station. Also included: animation of the first station crew arriving, the space station robot arm, solar arrays tracking the sun, and close-up views of modules representing the different participating countries. The video concludes with a step-by-step animation depicting the assembly of the station (Rev E assembly sequence). |
| Date |
2000 |
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High Latitude Mottling on Ju
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The familiar banded appearan
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12/18/00
| Date |
12/18/00 |
| Description |
The familiar banded appearance of Jupiter at low and middle latitudes gradually gives way to a more mottled appearance at high latitudes in this striking true color image taken Dec. 13, 2000, by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The intricate structures seen in the polar region are clouds of different chemical composition, height and thickness. Clouds are organized by winds, and the mottled appearance in the polar regions suggests more vortex-type motion and winds of less vigor at higher latitudes. The cause of this difference is not understood. One possible contributor is that the horizontal component of the Coriolis force, which arises from the planet's rotation and is responsible for curving the trajectories of ocean currents and winds on Earth, has its greatest effect at high latitudes and vanishes at the equator. This tends to create small, intense vortices at high latitudes on Jupiter. Another possibility may lie in that fact that Jupiter overall emits nearly as much of its own heat as it absorbs from the Sun, and this internal heat flux is very likely greater at the poles. This condition could lead to enhanced convection at the poles and more vortex-type structures. Further analysis of Cassini images, including analysis of sequences taken over a span of time, should help us understand the cause of equator-to-pole differences in cloud organization and evolution. By the time this picture was taken, Cassini had reached close enough to Jupiter to allow the spacecraft to return images with more detail than what's possible with the planetary camera on NASA's Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. The resolution here is 114 kilometers (71 miles) per pixel. This contrast- enhanced, edge-sharpened frame was composited from images take at different wavelengths with Cassini's narrow-angle camera, from a distance of 19 million kilometers (11.8 million miles). The spacecraft was in almost a direct line between the Sun and Jupiter, so the solar illumination on Jupiter is almost full phase. 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 # # # # # |
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Hawaiian Islands MISR
This Multiangle Imaging Spec
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12/8/00
| Date |
12/8/00 |
| Description |
This Multiangle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer (MISR) image of five Hawaiian Islands was acquired by the instrument's vertical- viewing (nadir) camera on June 3, 2000. The image shows the islands of Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Kahoolawe. The prevailing Pacific trade winds bring higher levels of rainfall to the eastern slopes of the islands, leading to a greater abundance of vegetation on the windward coasts. The small change in observation angle across the nadir camera's field-of- view causes the right-hand portion of the image to be more affected by Sun glint, making the ocean surface appear brighter. Oahu is the westernmost of the islands seen in this image. Waikiki Beach and the city of Honolulu are located on the southern shore, to the west of Diamond Head caldera. MISR is one of several Earth-observing instruments on the Terra satellite, launched in December 1999. The Terra spacecraft, the flagship of a fleet of satellites dedicated to understanding our global environment, is part of NASA's Earth Sciences Enterprise, a long-term research program dedicated to understanding how human-induced and natural changes affect our world. More information about MISR is available at online at http://www- misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ . Image credit: NASA/GSFC/JPL, MISR Team. ##### |
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Jupiter small satellite mont
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A montage of images of the s
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4/24/00
| Date |
4/24/00 |
| Description |
A montage of images of the small inner moons of Jupiter from the camera onboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft shows the best views obtained of these moons during Galileo's 11th orbit around the giant planet in November 1997. At that point, Galileo was completing its first two years in Jupiter orbit -- known as the Galileo "prime mission" -- and was about to embark on a successful two-year extension, called the Galileo Europa Mission. The top two images show the moon Thebe. Thebe rotated by approximately 50 degrees between the time these two images were taken, so that the same prominent impact crater is seen in both views, this crater, which has been given the provisional name Zethus, is near the point on Thebe that faces permanently away from Jupiter. The next two images show the moon Amalthea, they were taken with the Sun directly behind the observer, an alignment that emphasizes patterns of intrinsically bright or dark surface material. The third image from the top is a view of Amalthea's leading side, the side of the moon that "leads" as Amalthea moves in its orbit around Jupiter. This image looks "noisy" because it was obtained serendipitously during an observation of the Jovian satellite Io (Amalthea and Io shared the same camera frame but the image was exposed for bright Io rather than for the much darker Amalthea). The fourth image from the top emphasizes prominent "spots" of relatively bright material that are located near the point on Amalthea that faces permanently away from Jupiter. The bottom image is a view of the tiny moon Metis. In all the images, north is approximately up, and the moons are shown in their correct relative sizes. The images are, from top to bottom: Thebe taken on November 7, 1997 at a range of 504,000 kilometers (about 313,000 miles), Thebe on November 7, 1997 at a range of 548,000 kilometers (about 340,000 miles), Amalthea on November 6, 1997 at a range of about 650,000 kilometers (about 404,000 miles), Amalthea on November 7, 1997 at a range of 475,000 kilometers (about 295,000 miles), Metis on November 7, 1997 at a range of 637,000 kilometers (about 396,000 miles). # # # # # |
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Highest resolution of lava f
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Lava flows similar to those
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4/19/00
| Date |
4/19/00 |
| Description |
Lava flows similar to those found in Hawaii are seen in the black and white image at top, taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. It is one of the highest resolution images (7 meters or 23 feet per picture element) ever obtained of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io. The two horizontal black stripes are places where data were lost during transmission to Earth. The image shows the textures of lava flows on the floor of the caldera Chaac, which is shown in false color at lower resolution (185 meters or 607 feet per pixel element) in the bottom image. Calderas are depressions caused by collapse during volcanic eruptions. The one shown here is approximately 100 kilometers (63 miles) long and 30 kilometers (19 miles) across. Using shadow lengths from the new high-resolution observations, the northeastern (upper right) scarp, or line of cliffs, has been estimated to be 2.8 kilometers (9200 feet) high. The lava flows are similar in texture to lava flows within the caldera at Hawaii's Kilauea volcano. This suggests that the floor of Chaac has been covered by a combination of lava flows and lava lakes. The light-colored material surrounding the caldera may be composed of sulfur-dioxide frost or some other sulfur-rich material on the surface of Io. Galileo scientists believe that the greenish color on the caldera floor is a form of contaminated sulfur created when sulfur-rich material escaping from volcanic vents reacts chemically with warm lava flows. The high- resolution view shows numerous lava flows. The darkest flows are thought to be the most recent because they have not been covered by the sulfurous materials which coat most of Io's surface. The top image was acquired by Galileo on February 22, 2000. It was taken at a distance of 600 kilometers (370 miles) and is centered at 11.9 degrees north latitude and 157.6 degrees west longitude. North is to the top, and the Sun illuminates the surface from the right. The color image was created by combining a black and white image taken on February 22, 2000 at a distance of 18,800 kilometers (11,700 miles) from Io with lower-resolution (1.3 kilometers or 0.81 miles per picture element) color images taken on July 3, 1999 at a distance of 130,000 kilometers (81,000 miles). The image is centered at 11.6 degrees north latitude and 157.7 degrees west longitude. North is to the top and the Sun illuminates the surface from the left. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/io/ioimages.html . ##### |
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Rifting at Hi'iaka Patera, I
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NASA's Galileo spacecraft ac
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5/18/00
| Date |
5/18/00 |
| Description |
NASA's Galileo spacecraft acquired the images in this mosaic of Hi'iaka Patera (the irregularly shaped, dark depression at the center of the image) and two nearby mountains on November 25, 1999 during its 25th orbit. The sharp peak at the top of the image is about 11 kilometers (about 36,300 feet) high, and the two elongated plateaus to the west and south of the caldera are both about 3.5 kilometers (11,500 feet) high. The ridges on the northwestern mountain are often seen on Ionian mountains and are thought to be formed as surface material slides downslope due to gravity. At low resolution, many of the dark features, called pateras, appear to be calderas -- depressions formed by collapse into an empty magma chamber. However, higher resolution images such as this one suggest a different origin. In the case of Hi'iaka, the northern and southern margins of the pateras have very similar shapes which appear to fit together. This may indicate that the crust has been pulled apart here and the resulting depression has subsequently been covered by dark lava flows. Furthermore, the two mountains bordering Hi'iaka Patera also appear to fit together. However, the similar shapes and heights of the pateras' margins and mountains could be coincidental. Galileo scientists are currently investigating whether mountains and pateras are related to each other and what could cause the surface of Io to rift apart in such a manner. North is to the top of the mosaic and the sun is illuminating the surface from the left. The resolution is 260 meters (about 280 yards) per picture element. Galileo took the images at a distance of 26,000 kilometers (16,000 miles) from Io. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/io/ioimages.html . ##### |
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Eruption at Tvashtar Catena,
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NASA's Galileo spacecraft ca
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5/18/00
| Date |
5/18/00 |
| Description |
NASA's Galileo spacecraft caught this volcanic eruption in action on Jupiter's moon Io on November 25, 1999. This mosaic shows Tvashtar Catena, a chain of calderas, in enhanced color. It combines low resolution (1.3 kilometers, or .8 miles, per picture element) color images of Io taken on July 3, 1999 with the much higher resolution (180 meters, or 197 yards, per picture element) black and white images taken in November. The molten lava was hot enough, and therefore bright enough, to saturate, or overexpose, Galileo's camera (original image is inset in lower right corner). The bright lava curtain (a chain of lava fountains) and surface flows shown in the color image were assembled as an interpretive drawing by Galileo scientists, based on their knowledge of how the camera behaves when saturated. The lava appears to be producing fountains to heights of up to 1.5 kilometers (5,000 feet) above the surface. Several other lava flows can be seen on the floors of the calderas. The darkest flows are probably the most recent. The elongated caldera in the center of the image is almost surrounded by a mesa that is about 1 kilometer (.6 miles) high. In places the mesa's margins are scalloped, which is typical of an erosional process called sapping. This occurs when fluid escapes from the base of a cliff, causing the material above it to collapse. On Earth, sapping is caused by springs of groundwater. Similar features on Mars are one of the key pieces of evidence that water flowed on Mars' surface in the past. On Io, the fluid is believed to be sulfur dioxide, which should vaporize almost instantaneously when it reaches the near vacuum at Io's surface, blasting away material at the base of the cliffs. North is to the top of the image and the Sun illuminates the surface from the lower left. The high resolution black and white image was taken at a distance of 17,000 kilometers (11,000 miles). The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/io/ioimages.html . ##### |
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Ongoing Volcanic Eruption at
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An active volcanic eruption
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5/31/00
| Date |
5/31/00 |
| Description |
An active volcanic eruption on Jupiter's moon Io was captured in this image taken on February 22, 2000 by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Tvashtar Catena, a chain of giant volcanic calderas centered at 60 degrees north, 120 degrees west, was the location of an energetic eruption caught in action in November 1999. A dark, "L"shaped lava flow to the left of the center in this more recent image marks the location of the November eruption. White and orange areas on the left side of the picture show newly erupted hot lava, seen in this false color image because of infrared emission. The two small bright spots are sites where molten rock is exposed to the surface at the toes of lava flows. The larger orange and yellow ribbon is a cooling lava flow that is more than more than 60 kilometers (37 miles) long. Dark, diffuse deposits surrounding the active lava flows were not there during the November 1999 flyby of Io. This color mosaic was created by combining images taken in the near-infrared, clear, and violet filters from Galileo's camera. The range of wavelengths is slightly more than that of the human eye. The mosaic has been processed to enhance subtle color variations. The bright orange, yellow, and white areas at the left of the mosaic use images in two more infrared filters to show temperature variations, orange being the coolest and white the hottest material. This picture is about 250 kilometers (about 155 miles) across. North is toward the top and illumination from the Sun is from the west (left). The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/io/ioimages.html . ##### |
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An Ionian Caldera Up Close
Detail of one of the caldera
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5/31/00
| Date |
5/31/00 |
| Description |
Detail of one of the calderas, or collapsed volcanic craters, on Jupiter's moon Io, is seen in these images acquired on February 22, 2000 by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Taken from a distance of 700 to 800 kilometers (roughly 400 to 500 miles). The five partial images on the right comprise all of the data that could be returned from an eight-image mosaic. These are the highest resolution images of lava flows ever obtained from Io. The resolution of the close-up images varies from 7 to 8 meters (about 23 to 26 feet) per picture element. The boxes in the image to the left are approximate locations of the five partial images. They are shown superimposed on a lower resolution image of the entire Chaac caldera. The high-resolution snapshots highlight areas from both the southern and northern rims as well as areas on the floor of the caldera. They reveal fascinating similarities and differences between calderas on Io and Earth. Most puzzling is the texture of the material above the caldera rim. The plains surrounding Chaac are covered with alternating dark and light patches. The process that forms this surface is a complete mystery. By comparison, scientists analyzing the images say the floor of the caldera is amazingly familiar. The interwoven domes and pits form a surface essentially identical to many terrestrial calderas that erupt fluid lavas. For example, the similarity to the caldera on top of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii is striking. The southernmost Chaac image shows several raised plateaus and a deep, dark pit about 400 meters (about 440 yards) across. Although the Kilauea caldera is 10 times smaller than the Chaac caldera, the 1959 Kilauea eruption formed similar features to Chaac when a small volcanic crater was filled by erupting lava. The Hawaiian lava formed a pond that crusted over and then partially drained back down into the ground. Pieces of the pond crust that were left behind formed a perched plateau, and the hole the lava drained back into formed a deep pit. Scientists presume the same thing happened at Chaac in the recent past. The high-resolution images were taken at a distance of about 700- 800 kilometers (400-500 miles) and are centered around 12 degrees north latitude and 158 degrees west longitude. North is to the top and the sun illuminates the surface from the right. The lower resolution image was also taken on February 22, 2000 but from a distance of 18,800 kilometers (11,700 miles) from Io. The image is centered at 11.6 degrees north latitude and 157.7 degrees west longitude. North is to the top and the Sun illuminates the surface from the left. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/io/ioimages.html . ##### |
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Stereo Images of Tvashtar Ca
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This stereo image illustrate
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5/31/00
| Date |
5/31/00 |
| Description |
This stereo image illustrates the topography of the Tvashtar Catena region on Jupiter's moon Io. It was created by combining two different views of Tvashtar taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft on November 25, 1999 (shown in red) and February 22, 2000 (shown in blue). A raised plateau surrounds the volcanic depression, or caldera, in the center of the image. To the northeast of the main caldera, the plateau's inner and outer margins are scalloped, which may indicate that a process called sapping is eroding them. Sapping occurs when fluid escapes from the base of a cliff, causing the material above it to collapse. Smaller calderas have formed in the floor of the main caldera. This nesting of calderas is also observed on Earth, at Kilauea in Hawaii. (The two bright red regions toward the upper left of this image, which are roughly triangular in shape, are the areas where the earlier image was overexposed by the brightness of hot lava fountains). Galileo scientists are in the process of generating topographic maps from these images. Such maps will reveal the heights and slopes of different landforms in this region, which will help scientists determine the strength and other properties, of Io's surface materials. They will also be useful in understanding the processes of uplift and erosion on Io. The picture is centered at 59 degrees north latitude and 121 degrees west longitude. North is to the top of the picture and the Sun illuminates the surface from the lower left. The observations used to make the stereo image were made at ranges of 18,000 and 34,500 kilometers (11,400 and 21,600 miles) from Io. The resolution of the stereo image is about 320 meters (350 yards) per picture element. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/io/ioimages.html . ##### |
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Colorized View of Zal Region
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This image shows one of many
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5/31/00
| Date |
5/31/00 |
| Description |
This image shows one of many intriguing mountains on Jupiter's moon Io. The image was made by combining a recent high- resolution, black and white image with earlier low-resolution color data to provide a high-resolution, color view. NASA's Galileo spacecraft took both images. The 240-kilometer (150-mile) long mountain in the image is south of the volcanic hot spot named Zal. The black and white version of this image was useful for showing the shape of the mountain and the small fans of debris piled against the base of its tall, steep cliffs. However, when colorized the relationship between different types of materials becomes apparent. For example, the bright, red material is believed to contain a compound of sulfur that forms when sulfur is boiled at a high temperature. Active eruptions of molten rock (lava) are the most likely source for the heat. Thus we see red sulfur where lava reaches the surface. Other sulfur compounds cover the yellow areas, and the black areas are fresh silicate lava that has not yet been coated by the yellow sulfurous materials. The green patches are still somewhat mysterious, they appear to form when red sulfur lands on warm lava and the two react in a manner that is still unknown. In this image, it is clear that the red material has blown out of a long crack along the western side of the mountain. Lava has flowed from this crack and filled a depression (caldera). Some of the red sulfur close to the dark caldera appears to have been converted into green material. The fact that lava comes up along the faults that define the sides of the mountains provides important clues to how the mountains form and the state of the interior of Io. Scientists at the University of Arizona speculate that the formation of the mountains on Io may be related to plumes of hot material rising inside the fiery body of Io. North is to the top and the setting sun is shining from the west. The image is centered at about 33 degrees north, 72 degrees west. The high-resolution image was taken on February 22, 2000 by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The image was taken by the Galileo's onboard camera from a range of 33,500 kilometers (20,800 miles) and has a resolution of 335 meters (1,100 feet) per picture element. The color images were taken on July 3, 1999. They have resolutions of 1.3 kilometers (0.81 miles) per picture element and are illuminated from almost directly behind the spacecraft. They were taken at a distance of about 130,000 kilometers (81,000 miles) from Io. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/io/ioimages.html. ##### |
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Shamshu Mons and Patera, Io
This mosaic of images taken
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5/31/00
| Date |
5/31/00 |
| Description |
This mosaic of images taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft on February 22, 2000 shows three mountains and two lava-filled depressions in the Shamshu region of Jupiter's moon Io. The dark oval feature on the left side of the image is a depression that has been resurfaced by lava flows. The rough terrain northeast of the depression is Shamshu Mons. A 10-kilometer (6-mile) wide canyon oriented in northeast to southwest direction cuts this mountain. The northwestern edge of the mountain has been scalloped by erosion, and it appears that the material has flowed along the canyon floor. Portions of two more mountains can be seen on the right side of the image. The depression between these mountains is Shamshu Patera, a volcanic hotspot. The dark patches within it are recent and active lava flows. The northernmost edge of Shamshu Patera appears to be cutting into the mountain to its northeast. North is to the top of the picture and the Sun illuminates the surface from the west. This mosaic has a resolution of about 345 meters (1,130 feet) per picture element and covers an area approximately 390 by 380 kilometers (240 by 235 miles) at its maximum dimensions. It is centered at about 9 degrees south latitude and 68 degrees west longitude. The images that make up this mosaic were acquired at a range of 34,500 kilometers (21,400 miles) by Galileo's onboard camera. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/io/ioimages.html . ##### |
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Ganymede dark terrain at hig
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Impact craters dominate the
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12/16/00
| Date |
12/16/00 |
| Description |
Impact craters dominate the surface down to the smallest features visible on the dark terrain of the Nicholson Regio region of Jupiter's moon Ganymede in this image taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. It is the highest resolution view ever obtained of Ganymede's dark terrain. Both the regional-scale image at the bottom and high- resolution image at the top were taken by Galileo during its May 20, 2000, flyby of Ganymede. The latter are the highest resolution images ever obtained of Ganymede's dark terrain, which makes up about one third of Ganymede's surface. Impact cratering is clearly the dominant mechanism of surface modification in this relatively ancient terrain, which is analogous to the cratered highlands of Earth's Moon. Small- scale craters seem to mimic larger-scale craters, as is apparent in the similarities between the high and medium resolution scenes. The bright spots are probably fresh ice-rich ejecta excavated by the most recent impact events. North is to the top of the images and the Sun illuminates the surface from the west. The medium-resolution image, centered at –15 degrees latitude and 337 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 237 by 130 kilometers (147 by 81 miles) at a resolution of 125 meters (410 feet) per picture element. The high-resolution image is at 28 meters (92 feet) per picture element. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The images were produced by Arizona State University, Tempe, and Brown University, Providence, R.I.. Their websites are at http://europa.la.asu.edu/index.html and http://www.planetary.brown.edu/ . # # # # # |
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Region of Ganymede with mix
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The area of Nicholson Regio
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12/16/00
| Date |
12/16/00 |
| Description |
The area of Nicholson Regio and Arbela Sulcus illustrates many of the diverse terrain types on Jupiter's moon Ganymede, as seen in this image taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The bright terrain of Arbela Sulcus is the youngest terrain here, slicing north-south across the image. It is finely striated, and relatively lightly cratered. To the east (right) is the oldest terrain in this area, rolling and relatively densely cratered Nicholson Regio. To the west (left) is a region of highly deformed grooved terrain, intermediate in relative age. In this area of grooved terrain, stretching and normal faulting of Nicholson Regio has deformed it beyond recognition. North is to the top of the picture and the Sun illuminates the surface from the west. The image, centered at -15 degrees latitude and 347 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 89 by 26 kilometers (55 by 16 miles). The resolution is 34 meters (112 feet) per picture element. The images were taken on May 20, 2000, at a range of 3,350 kilometers (2,082 miles). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. This image was produced by DLR (German Aerospace Center), Berlin, and Brown University, Providence, R.I., http://solarsystem.dlr.de/ and http://www.planetary.brown.edu/ . # # # # # |
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Regional view of bright and
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This view of the Nicholson R
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12/16/00
| Date |
12/16/00 |
| Description |
This view of the Nicholson Regio/Arbela Sulcus region on Jupiter's moon Ganymede, taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft, shows the stark contrast between the smooth bright terrain and the surrounding highly fractured dark terrain. This observation was designed in part to distinguish between different models for how Arbela Sulcus and other groove lanes on Ganymede were formed. The volcanic model suggests that a relatively clean, water-rich lava filled a tectonic depression, then cooled to create a smooth surface. Tectonic models suggest that focused faulting and deformation of older dark terrain destroyed the pre-existing texture, which was brightened by exposure of underlying, clean ice. Analysis of these photos suggests a third and unexpected possibility: Arbela Sulcus may be similar to some bands on another of Jupiter's moons, Europa, formed by tectonic crustal spreading and renewal. North is to the upper left of the picture and the Sun illuminates the surface from the west. The image, centered at – 14 degrees latitude and 347 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 258 by 116 kilometers (160 by 72 miles). The resolution is 133 meters (436 feet) per picture element. The images were taken on May 20, 2000, at a range of 13,100 kilometers (8,140 miles). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. This image was produced by DLR (German Aerospace Center), Berlin, and Brown University, Providence, R.I., http://solarsystem.dlr.de/ and http://www.planetary.brown.edu/ . # # # # # |
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Ganymede feature resembling
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This frame compares a high-r
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12/16/00
| Date |
12/16/00 |
| Description |
This frame compares a high-resolution view of Arbela Sulcus on Jupiter's moon Ganymede (top) with the gray band Thynia Linea on another Jovian moon, Europa (bottom), shown to the same scale. Both images are from NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Arbela Sulcus is one of the smoothest lanes of bright terrain identified on Ganymede, but subtle striations are apparent here along its length. This section of Arbela contrasts markedly from highly fractured terrain to its west and dark terrain to its east. On Europa, gray bands such as Thynia Linea have formed by tectonic crustal spreading and renewal. Such bands have sliced through and completely separated pre-existing features in the surrounding bright, ridged plains. The younger prominent double ridge Delphi Flexus cuts across Thynia Linea. The scarcity of craters on Europa attests to the relative youth of its surface compared to Ganymede's. Unusual for Ganymede, it is possible that Arbela Sulcus has formed by complete separation of Ganymede's icy crust, like bands on Europa. Tests of this idea come from detailed comparisons of their internal shapes and the relationships to the surrounding structures. In the Ganymede image, north is to the top of the picture and the Sun illuminates the surface from the west. The image, centered at -15 degrees latitude and 347 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 34 by 26 kilometers (21 by 16 miles). The resolution is 34 meters (112 feet) per picture element. The image was taken on May 20, 2000, at a range of 3,370 kilometers (2,094 miles). In the Europa image, north is to the upper-right of the picture and the Sun illuminates the surface from the northwest. The image, centered at -66 degrees latitude and 161 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 44 by 46 kilometers (27 by 29 miles). The resolution is 45 meters (147 feet) per picture element. The image was taken on September 26, 1998, at a range of 3,817 kilometers (2,371 miles). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. This image was produced by DLR (German Aerospace Center), Berlin, and Brown University, Providence, R.I., http://solarsystem.dlr.de/ and http://www.planetary.brown.edu/ . # # # # # |
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Comparison of Ganymede and E
…
This image, taken by NASA's
…
12/16/00
| Date |
12/16/00 |
| Description |
This image, taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft, shows a same-scale comparison between Arbela Sulcus on Jupiter's moon Ganymede (left) and an unnamed band on another Jovian moon, Europa (right). Arbela Sulcus is one of the smoothest lanes of bright terrain identified on Ganymede, and shows very subtle striations along its length. Arbela contrasts markedly from the surrounding heavily cratered dark terrain. On Europa, dark bands have formed by tectonic crustal spreading and renewal. Bands have sliced through and completely separated pre-existing features in the surrounding bright ridged plains. The scarcity of craters on Europa illustrates the relative youth of its surface compared to Ganymede's. Unusual for Ganymede, it is possible that Arbela Sulcus has formed by complete separation of Ganymede's icy crust, like bands on Europa. Prominent fractures on either side of Arbela appear to have been offset by about 65 kilometers (about 40 miles) along the length of the area of furrows and ridges, suggesting that strike-slip faulting was important in the formation of Arbela Sulcus. In the Ganymede image, north is to the upper left of the picture and the Sun illuminates the surface from the west. The image, centered at -14 degrees latitude and 347 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 258 by 116 kilometers (160 by 72 miles.) The resolution is 133 meters (436 feet) per picture element. The images were taken on May 20, 2000, at a range of 13,100 kilometers (8,100 miles). In the Europa image, north is to the left of the picture and the Sun illuminates the surface from the east. The image, centered at -7 degrees latitude and 236 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 275 by 424 kilometers (171 by 263 miles.) The resolution is 220 meters (about 720 feet) per picture element (re-sampled here to 133 meters, or 436 feet). The images were taken on Nov. 6, 1997, at a range of 21,500 kilometers (13,360 miles). The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . Images were produced by Brown University, Providence, R.I., http://www.planetary.brown.edu/, DLR (German Aerospace Center) Berlin, http://solarsystem.dlr.de , and University of Arizona, Tempe, http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/. # # # # # |
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Perspective view of Arbela S
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This view of Arbela Sulcus,
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12/16/00
| Date |
12/16/00 |
| Description |
This view of Arbela Sulcus, a 24-kilometer-wide (15-mile- wide) region of furrows and ridges on Jupiter's moon Ganymede, shows its relationship to the dark terrain surrounding it. NASA's Galileo spacecraft took these pictures during its May 20, 2000, flyby of Ganymede. Arbela Sulcus lies overall slightly lower than the dark terrain of Nicholson Regio, a 3,700 kilometers (3,300 mile) area in the southern hemisphere. However, along the eastern margin (bottom), a portion of the dark terrain (probably an ancient degraded impact crater) lies even lower than Arbela Sulcus. Scientists did not find bright icy material on Arbela Sulcus, indicating that this ridgy area was not created by watery volcanic activity. Instead, they found fine striations covering the surface, along with a series of broader highs and lows that resemble piano keys. This suggests that the movement of underlying tectonic plates deformed the surface. Combining images from two observations taken from different viewing perspectives provides stereo topographic information, giving valuable clues as to the geologic history of a region. North is to the right of the image. The Sun illuminates the surface from the west. The image, centered at –15 degrees latitude and 347 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 89 by 26 kilometers (55 by 16 miles). The image resolution is 70 meters (230 feet) per picture element. The images were taken on May 20, 2000, at a range of 3,350 kilometers (2,100 miles). The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo . The images were produced by German Aerospace Center (DLR), http://solarsystem.dlr.de/ Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . # # # # # |
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Bright-Dark terrain boundary
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The ancient, dark terrain of
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12/16/00
| Date |
12/16/00 |
| Description |
The ancient, dark terrain of Nicholson Regio (left) shows many large impact craters, and zones of fractures oriented generally parallel to the boundary between the dark and bright regions of Jupiter's moon Ganymede. In contrast, the bright terrain of Harpagia Sulcus (right) is less cratered and relatively smooth. The nature of the boundary between ancient, dark terrain and younger, bright terrain, the two principal terrain types on Ganymede, was explored by NASA's Galileo spacecraft on May 20, 2000. Subtle parallel ridges and grooves show that Harpagia Sulcus's land has been smoothed out over the years by tectonic processes. North is to the top of the picture. The Sun illuminates the surface from the left. The image, centered at -14 degrees latitude and 319 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 213 by 97 kilometers (132 by 60 miles.) The resolution is 121 meters (about 250 feet) per picture element. The images were taken on May 20, 2000, at a range of 11,800 kilometers (about 7,300 miles). The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . This image was produced by DLR (German Aerospace Center), Berlin, http://solarsystem.dlr.de/ . ####### |
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Bright-Dark terrain boundary
…
The boundary between the bri
…
12/16/00
| Date |
12/16/00 |
| Description |
The boundary between the bright terrain of Harpagia Sulcus (right) and dark terrain of Nicholson Regio (left) areas of Jupiter's moon Ganymede springs out when viewed through red/blue 3-D glasses, in this image taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft as it flew by Ganymede on May 20, 2000. Details of the rough, ancient, heavily cratered dark terrain of Nicholson Regio are in stark contrast to the very smooth, bright, young terrain of Harpagia Sulcus. In the center lies the transition to the boundary between these two regions, providing evidence that extensional faulting marks the boundary. A series of steep slopes deform the dark terrain close to the boundary. In the bright terrain, a deep trough and flanking ridge delimit the boundary. North is to the top of the picture. The Sun illuminates the surface from the left. The imaged region, centered at –14 degrees latitude and 319 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 25 by 10 kilometers (15.5 by 6 miles.) The resolutions of the two data sets are 20 meters (66 feet) per picture element and 121 meters (397 feet) per picture element. The higher resolution images were taken at a range of 2,000 kilometers (about 1,200 miles). The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo . The image was produced by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), http://solarsystem.dlr.de and Brown University, http://www.planetary.brown.edu/ . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . # # # # # |
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Bright-dark boundary and top
…
These images, taken by NASA'
…
12/16/00
| Date |
12/16/00 |
| Description |
These images, taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft on its May 20, 2000, flyby of Jupiter's moon Ganymede, illustrate the boundary and different elevations between the dark, ancient terrain of Nicholson Regio (left) and bright, younger terrain of Harpagia Sulcus (right.) The bottom image is a wide view of the boundary, and the top image is an enlargement of the colorized strip. An important goal of Galileo's Ganymede encounter was to understand the nature of the boundary between ancient, dark terrain and younger, bright terrain. The camera was aimed at the boundary to obtain both very high-resolution images (top) and medium-resolution context images (bottom). Color-coded elevations are indicated relative to the average elevation of the sampled area, with high elevation marked in red, and low in blue. Combining the two image mosaics allows scientists to derive a detailed description of the region from the overlap. The data shows that there are approximately 200 meters (about 650 feet) of topographic relief within the bright terrain here, and a deep depression marks the boundary between bright and dark terrains. North is to the top of the pictures. The Sun illuminates the surface from the left. The larger image, centered at –14 degrees latitude and 319 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 213 by 97 kilometers (132 by 60 miles.) The resolution of the high-resolution image is 20 meters (about 65 feet) per picture element, and the context image is at 121 meters (397 feet) per picture element. The higher resolution image was taken at a range of 2000 kilometers (over 1,200 miles). The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo . The images were produced by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) http://solarsystem.dlr.de/ , and Brown University, http://www.planetary.brown.edu/ . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . # # # # # |
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Caldera-like depression on G
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The shallow, scalloped depre
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12/16/00
| Date |
12/16/00 |
| Description |
The shallow, scalloped depression in the center of this picture from NASA's Galileo spacecraft is a caldera-like feature 5 to 20 kilometers (3 to 12 miles) wide on Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede. Calderas are surface depressions formed by collapse above a subsurface concentration of molten material. Some shallow depressions in bright, smooth areas of Ganymede have some overall similarities to calderas on Earth and on Jupiter's moon Io. On Ganymede, caldera-like depressions may serve as sources of bright, volcanic flows of liquid water and slush, an idea supported by a Ganymede photo obtained by Galileo during its seventh orbit and available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi- bin/PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA01614 . In the more recent image here, from Galileo's 28th orbit, a tall scarp marks the western boundary of a caldera-like feature. The western scarp is aligned similarly to older tectonic grooves visible in the image, suggesting the feature has collapsed along older lines of weakness. The interior is mottled in appearance, yet smooth compared to most of Ganymede's bright terrain seen at high resolution. The eastern boundary of the caldera-like feature is cut by younger, grooved terrain. Small impact craters pepper the scene, but the lack of a raised rim argues against an impact origin for the caldera-like feature itself. Instead, water-rich icy lava may have once flowed out of it toward the east. If so, later tectonism could have erased any telltale evidence of volcanic flow fronts. Direct evidence for icy volcanism on Ganymede continues to be elusive. North is to the top of the picture and the Sun illuminates the surface from the left. The image, centered at -24 degrees latitude and 318 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 162 by 119 kilometers (101 by 74 miles). The resolution is 43 meters (141 feet) per picture element. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. This image was produced by Brown University, Providence, R.I., http://www.planetary.brown.edu/ . # # # # # |
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Not-so-smooth bright terrain
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The highest-resolution image
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12/16/00
| Date |
12/16/00 |
| Description |
The highest-resolution images ever obtained of Jupiter's moon Ganymede show that even smooth-looking terrain has been deformed at a fine scale. The high-resolution image taken of the bright Harpagia Sulcus area by NASA's Galileo spacecraft during a May 20, 2000, flyby of Ganymede shows features as small as 16 meters (52 feet). This area was selected for a closer look because, in images taken by NASA's Voyager spacecraft about 20 years earlier, it looked as flat as a hockey rink. It appears smooth even in a medium-resolution Galileo image (at 116 meters or 380 feet per pixel) that is superimposed over a Voyager image in the top portion of this frame. But the closeup shot revealed that, instead of a hockey rink, the area has ups and downs that would be challenging for a cross-country skier. North is to the top of the picture and the Sun illuminates the surface from the left. The medium-resolution image mosaic is centered at -16 degrees latitude and 310 degrees longitude, and covers an area approximately 282 by 144 kilometers (175 by 89 miles). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. This image was produced by DLR (German Aerospace Center), Berlin, and Brown University, Providence, R.I., http://solarsystem.dlr.de/ and http://www.planetary.brown.edu/ . # # # # # |
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Stair-step scarps in dark te
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NASA's Galileo spacecraft to
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12/16/00
| Date |
12/16/00 |
| Description |
NASA's Galileo spacecraft took this image of dark terrain within Nicholson Regio, near the border with Harpagia Sulcus on Jupiter's moon Ganymede. The ancient, heavily cratered dark terrain is faulted by a series of scarps. The faulted blocks form a series of 'stair-steps' like a tilted stack of books. On Earth, similar types of features form when tectonic faulting breaks the crust and the intervening blocks are pulled apart and rotate. This image supports the notion that the boundary between bright and dark terrain is created by that type of extensional faulting. North is to the right of the picture and the Sun illuminates the surface from the west (top). The image is centered at -14 degrees latitude and 320 degrees longitude, and covers an area approximately 16 by 15 kilometers (10 by 9 miles). The resolution is 20 meters (66 feet) per picture element. The image was taken on May 20, 2000, at a range of 2,090 kilometers (1,299 miles). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. This image was produced by Brown University, Providence, R.I., http://www.planetary.brown.edu/ . # # # # # |
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| Description |
Jupiter Aurora |
| Full Description |
Solar Wind and Aurora at Jupiter March 8, 2001 For higher resolution image, click here. NASA's Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft recently provided scientists an opportunity to watch whether changes in Jupiter's glowing auroras correspond in timing to fluctuations in the solar wind reaching Jupiter. While Cassini passed near Jupiter in December 2000 and January 2001, the Hubble telescope obtained ultraviolet images of the ring-shaped aurora near Jupiter's north pole. The auroras, comparable to Earth's northern lights, are glows caused when charged particles steered by the planet's magnetic field excite gases high in the atmosphere. They give an indication of conditions in the invisible magnetic field. The Hubble images were taken at times when instruments on Cassini were measuring the solar wind approaching Jupiter. The solar wind is a fluctuating stream of particles speeding away from the Sun. The Cassini measurements allowed scientists to extrapolate the properties of the solar wind even closer to Jupiter, where it interacts with the planet's magnetic field. One example of these sets of data is presented in this pair of images. An image of Jupiter's northern aurora, taken by Hubble on Dec. 16, 2000, shows the aurora as a white loop against a blue background in the top frame. The bottom frame presents information that Cassini's plasma spectrometer and magnetometer instruments collected about the solar wind reaching Jupiter at the same time. It gives measurements of the solar wind's speed, density, pressure and magnetic-field direction. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). It is managed for NASA by the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. Cassini, on course to reach Saturn in 2004, is a cooperative mission of NASA, ESA and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages Cassini for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. More information about the studies of Jupiter while Cassini passed it available online at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jupiterflyby . Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Michigan |
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Cassini Jupiter Portrait
| Description |
Here on the Gallery page you can find the very latest images, videos and products from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, including the spectacular launch, spacecraft assembly and the exciting trip to Saturn. |
| Full Description |
This true color mosaic of Jupiter was constructed from images taken by the narrow angle camera onboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft on December 29, 2000, during its closest approach to the giant planet at a distance of approximately 10 million kilometers (6.2 million miles). It is the most detailed global color portrait of Jupiter ever produced, the smallest visible features are approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) across. The mosaic is composed of 27 images: nine images were required to cover the entire planet in a tic-tac-toe pattern, and each of those locations was imaged in red, green, and blue to provide true color. Although Cassini's camera can see more colors than humans can, Jupiter's colors in this new view look very close to the way the human eye would see them. Everything visible on the planet is a cloud. The parallel reddish-brown and white bands, the white ovals, and the large Great Red Spot persist over many years despite the intense turbulence visible in the atmosphere. The most energetic features are the small, bright clouds to the left of the Great Red Spot and in similar locations in the northern half of the planet. These clouds grow and disappear over a few days and generate lightning. Streaks form as clouds are sheared apart by Jupiter's intense jet streams that run parallel to the colored bands. The prominent dark band in the northern half of the planet is the location of Jupiter's fastest jet stream, with eastward winds of 480 kilometers (300 miles) per hour. Jupiter's diameter is eleven times that of Earth, so the smallest storms on this mosaic are comparable in size to the largest hurricanes on Earth. Unlike Earth, where only water condenses to form clouds, Jupiter's clouds are made of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and water. The updrafts and downdrafts bring different mixtures of these substances up from below, leading to clouds at different heights. The brown and orange colors may be due to trace chemicals dredged up from deeper levels of the atmosphere, or they may be byproducts of chemical reactions driven by ultraviolet light from the Sun. Bluish areas, such as the small features just north and south of the equator, are areas of reduced cloud cover, where one can see deeper. For more information, see the Cassini Project home page, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. 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 mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Rings and More Rings
| Description |
Rings and More Rings |
| Full Description |
This dramatic view of Saturn's rings draped by the shadow of Saturn, shows brightness variations that correspond to differences in the concentration of the ring particles as they orbit the planet. The planet's western limb is visible in the upper right corner. Three of Saturn¿s moons can be seen here: Bright Enceladus (499 kilometers, or 310 miles across) is visible near lower right, Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles across) appears at center left, and interior to the F ring, near the top of the image, is Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across). The F ring, the outermost ring shown here, displays several knot-like features near the left side of the image. The image was taken in visible light by the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on July 3, 2004, from a distance of 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles) from Saturn, at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of about 108 degrees. This is the first processed wide angle camera image to be released since Cassini's encounter with Jupiter in 2000. The image scale is 87 kilometers (54 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the 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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Tvashtar Catena, Io
| title |
Tvashtar Catena, Io |
| date |
02.22.2000 |
| description |
An active volcanic eruption on Jupiter's moon Io was captured in this image taken on Feb. 22, 2000 by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Tvashtar Catena, a chain of giant volcanic calderas centered at 60 degrees north, 120 degrees west, was the location of an energetic eruption caught in action in November 1999. A dark, "L"-shaped lava flow to the left of the center in this more recent image marks the location of the November eruption. White and orange areas on the left side of the picture show newly erupted hot lava, seen in this false color image because of infrared emission. The two small bright spots are sites where molten rock is exposed to the surface at the toes of lava flows. The larger orange and yellow ribbon is a cooling lava flow that is more than more than 60 kilometers (37 miles) long. Dark, diffuse deposits surrounding the active lava flows were not there during the November 1999 flyby of Io. This color mosaic was created by combining images taken in the near-infrared, clear, and violet filters from Galileo's camera. The range of wavelengths is slightly more than that of the human eye. The mosaic has been processed to enhance subtle color variations. The bright orange, yellow, and white areas at the left of the mosaic use images in two more infrared filters to show temperature variations, orange being the coolest and white the hottest material. This picture is about 250 kilometers (about 155 miles) across. North is toward the top and illumination from the Sun is from the west (left). *Image Credit*: NASA |
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An Eruption on Io
| title |
An Eruption on Io |
| date |
02.26.2007 |
| description |
The first images returned to Earth by New Horizons during its close encounter with Jupiter feature the Galilean moon Io, snapped with the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) at 0840 UTC on February 26, while the moon was 2.5 million miles (4 million kilometers) from the spacecraft. Io is intensely heated by its tidal interaction with Jupiter and is thus extremely volcanically active. That activity is evident in these images, which reveal an enormous dust plume, more than 150 miles high, erupting from the volcano Tvashtar. The plume appears as an umbrella-shaped feature of the edge of Io's disk in the 11 o'clock position in the right image, which is a long-exposure (20-millisecond) frame designed specifically to look for plumes like this. The bright spots at 2 o'clock are high mountains catching the setting sun, beyond them the night side of Io can be seen, faintly illuminated by light reflected from Jupiter itself. The left image is a shorter exposure -- 3 milliseconds -- designed to look at surface features. In this frame, the Tvashtar volcano shows as a dark spot, also at 11 o'clock, surrounded by a large dark ring, where an area larger than Texas has been covered by fallout from the giant eruption. This is the clearest view yet of a plume from Tvashtar, one of Io's most active volcanoes. Ground-based telescopes and the Galileo Jupiter orbiter first spotted volcanic heat radiation from Tvashtar in November 1999, and the Cassini spacecraft saw a large plume when it flew past Jupiter in December 2000. The Keck telescope in Hawaii picked up renewed heat radiation from Tvashtar in spring 2006, and just two weeks ago the Hubble Space Telescope saw the Tvashtar plume in ultraviolet images designed to support the New Horizons flyby. Most of those images will be stored onboard the spacecraft for downlink to Earth in March and April. Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute |
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Jupiter Portrait
| title |
Jupiter Portrait |
| description |
This true color mosaic of Jupiter was constructed from images taken by the narrow angle camera onboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft on December 29, 2000, during its closest approach to the giant planet at a distance of approximately 10 million kilometers (6.2 million miles). It is the most detailed global color portrait of Jupiter ever produced, the smallest visible features are approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) across. The mosaic is composed of 27 images: nine images were required to cover the entire planet in a tic-tac-toe pattern, and each of those locations was imaged in red, green, and blue to provide true color. Although Cassini's camera can see more colors than humans can, Jupiter's colors in this new view look very close to the way the human eye would see them. Everything visible on the planet is a cloud. The parallel reddish-brown and white bands, the white ovals, and the large Great Red Spot persist over many years despite the intense turbulence visible in the atmosphere. The most energetic features are the small, bright clouds to the left of the Great Red Spot and in similar locations in the northern half of the planet. These clouds grow and disappear over a few days and generate lightning. Streaks form as clouds are sheared apart by Jupiter's intense jet streams that run parallel to the colored bands. The prominent dark band in the northern half of the planet is the location of Jupiter's fastest jet stream, with eastward winds of 480 kilometers (300 miles) per hour. Jupiter's diameter is eleven times that of Earth, so the smallest storms on this mosaic are comparable in size to the largest hurricanes on Earth. Unlike Earth, where only water condenses to form clouds, Jupiter's clouds are made of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and water. The updrafts and downdrafts bring different mixtures of these substances up from below, leading to clouds at different heights. The brown and orange colors may be due to trace chemicals dredged up from deeper levels of the atmosphere, or they may be byproducts of chemical reactions driven by ultraviolet light from the Sun. Bluish areas, such as the small features just north and south of the equator, are areas of reduced cloud cover, where one can see deeper. For more information, see the Cassini Project home page, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. A high-resolution TIFF version of this image is available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04866. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
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Hubble Optical Image of Satu
…
| Name |
Hubble Optical Image of Saturn |
|
Zeta Orionis: Chandra Observ
…
| Name |
Zeta Orionis: Chandra Observes That Massive Stars Are More Sun-Like Than Believed |
| Category |
Normal Stars & Star Clusters |
| Release Date |
October 18, 2000 |
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44i Bootis: The Terrible Two
…
| Name |
44i Bootis: The Terrible Twos: What Might Happen If Our Sun Had A Twin |
| Category |
Normal Stars & Star Clusters |
| Release Date |
November 21, 2001 |
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Proxima Centauri: The Neares
…
| Name |
Proxima Centauri: The Nearest Star to the Sun |
| Category |
White Dwarf Stars & Normal Stars |
| Release Date |
November 9, 2004 |
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Schematic showing comet LINE
…
| Name |
Schematic showing comet LINEAR orbit. |
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Original Chandra Image of Co
…
| Name |
Original Chandra Image of Comet C/1999 S4 From July 2000. |
|
Peering into the Heart of th
…
| Title |
Peering into the Heart of the Crab Nebula |
| Full Description |
In the year 1054 A.D., Chinese astronomers were startled by the appearance of a new star, so bright that it was visible in broad daylight for several weeks. Today, the Crab Nebula is visible at the site of the "Guest Star." Located about 6,500 light-years from Earth, the Crab Nebula is the remnant of a star that began its life with about 10 times the mass of our own Sun. Its life ended on July 4, 1054 when it exploded as a supernova. In this image, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has zoomed in on the center of the Crab to reveal its structure with unprecedented detail. The Crab Nebula data were obtained by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 in 1995. Images taken with five different color filters have been combined to construct this new false-color picture. Resembling an abstract painting by Jackson Pollack, the image shows ragged shards of gas that are expanding away from the explosion site at over 3 million miles per hour. The core of the star has survived the explosion as a pulsar, visible in the Hubble image as the lower of the two moderately bright stars to the upper left of center. The pulsar is a neutron star that spins on its axis 30 times a second. It heats its surroundings, creating the ghostly diffuse bluish-green glowing gas cloud in its vicinity, including a blue arc just to its right. The colorful network of filaments is the material from the outer layers of the star that was expelled during the explosion. The picture is somewhat deceptive in that the filaments appear to be close to the pulsar. In reality, the yellowish green filaments toward the bottom of the image are closer to us, and approaching at some 300 miles per second. The orange and pink filaments toward the top of the picture include material behind the pulsar, rushing away from us at similar speeds. The various colors in the picture arise from different chemical elements in the expanding gas, including hydrogen (orange), nitrogen (red), sulfur (pink), and oxygen (green). The shades of color represent variations in the temperature and density of the gas, as well as changes in the elemental composition. Kris Davidson (U. Minn.) led the research team of William P. Blair (JHU), Robert A. Fesen (Dartmouth), Alan Uomoto (JHU), Gordon M. MacAlpine (U. Mich.), and Richard B.C. Henry (U. Okla.) in the collection of the HST data. The Hubble Heritage Team created the color image from black and white data processed by Dr. Blair. |
| Date |
06/01/2000 |
| NASA Center |
Hubble Space Telescope Center |
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Fireworks of Star Formation
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| Title |
Fireworks of Star Formation Light Up a Galaxy |
| Full Description |
Located some 13 million light-years from Earth, NGC 4214 is currently forming clusters of new stars from its interstellar gas and dust. In this Hubble image, we can see a sequence of steps in the formation and evolution of stars and star clusters. The picture was created from exposures taken in several color filters with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. NGC 4214 contains a multitude of faint stars covering most of the frame, but the picture is dominated by filigreed clouds of glowing gas surrounding bright stellar clusters. The youngest of these star clusters are located at the lower right of the picture, where they appear as about half a dozen bright clumps of glowing gas. Young, hot stars have a whitish to bluish color in the Hubble image, because of their high surface temperatures, ranging from 10,000 up to about 50,000 degrees Celsius. The radiation and wind forces from the young stars literally blow bubbles in the gas. Over millions of years, the bubbles increase in size as the stars inside them grow older. Moving to the lower left from the youngest clusters, we find an older star cluster, around which a gas bubble has inflated to the point that there is an obvious cavity around the central cluster. The most spectacular feature in the Hubble picture lies near the center of NGC 4214. This object is a cluster of hundreds of massive blue stars, each of them more than 10,000 times brighter than our own Sun. A vast heart-shaped bubble, inflated by the combined stellar winds and radiation pressure, surrounds the cluster. The expansion of the bubble is augmented as the most massive stars in the center reach the ends of their lives and explode as supernovae. The principal astronomers are: John MacKenty, Jesus Maiz-Apellaniz (Space Telescope Science Institute), Colin Norman (Johns Hopkins University), Nolan Walborn (Space Telescope Science Institute), Richard Burg (Johns Hopkins University), Richard Griffiths (Carnegie Mellon University), and Rosemary Wyse (Johns Hopkins University). |
| Date |
01/06/2000 |
| NASA Center |
Hubble Space Telescope Center |
|
Galactic Silhouettes
| Title |
Galactic Silhouettes |
| Full Description |
This new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and its Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) shows the unique galaxy pair called NGC 3314. Through an extraordinary chance alignment, a face-on spiral galaxy lies precisely in front of another larger spiral. This line-up provides us with the rare chance to visualize dark material within the front galaxy, seen only because it is silhouetted against the object behind it. Dust lying in the spiral arms of the foreground galaxy stands out where it absorbs light from the more distant galaxy. This silhouetting shows us where the interstellar dust clouds are located, and how much light they absorb. The outer spiral arms of the front galaxy appear to change from bright to dark, as they are projected first against deep space, and then against the bright background of the other galaxy. NGC 3314 lies about 140 million light-years from Earth, in the direction of the southern hemisphere constellation Hydra. The bright blue stars forming a pinwheel shape near the center of the front galaxy have formed recently from interstellar gas and dust. A small, red patch near the center of the image is the bright nucleus of the background galaxy, NGC 3314b. It is reddened for the same reason the setting sun looks red. When light passes through a volume containing small particles (molecules in the Earth's atmosphere or interstellar dust particles in galaxies), its color becomes redder. The Hubble Heritage color image of NGC 3314 was constructed from archival images taken with WFPC2 in April 1999 by Drs. William Keel and Ray White III (University of Alabama) in blue and infrared light, combined with new images obtained by the Heritage team in March 2000 using blue, green and red filters. |
| Date |
05/11/2000 |
| NASA Center |
Hubble Space Telescope Center |
|
Hubble Reopens Eye on the Un
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| Title |
Hubble Reopens Eye on the Universe |
| Full Description |
In its first glimpse of the heavens following the successful December 1999 servicing mission, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured a majestic view of a planetary nebula, the glowing remains of a dying, Sun-like star. This stellar relic, first spied by William Herschel in 1787, is nicknamed the "Eskimo" Nebula (NGC 2392) because, when viewed through ground-based telescopes, it resembles a face surrounded by a fur parka. In this Hubble telescope image, the "parka" is really a disk of material embellished with a ring of comet-shaped objects, with their tails streaming away from the central, dying star. The Eskimo's "face" also contains some fascinating details. Although this bright central region resembles a ball of twine, it is, in reality, a bubble of material being blown into space by the central star's intense "wind" of high-speed material. In this photo, one bubble lies in front of the other, obscuring part of the second lobe. Scientists believe that a ring of dense material around the star's equator, ejected during its red giant phase, created the nebula's shape. The bubbles are not smooth like balloons but have filaments of denser matter. Each bubble is about 1 light-year long and about half a light-year wide. Scientists are still puzzled about the origin of the comet-shaped features in the "parka." One possible explanation is that these objects formed from a collision of slow-and fast-moving gases. The Eskimo Nebula is about 5,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Gemini. The picture was taken Jan. 10 and 11, 2000, with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The nebula's glowing gases produce the colors in this image: nitrogen (red), hydrogen (green), oxygen (blue), and helium (violet). |
| Date |
01/24/2000 |
| NASA Center |
Hubble Space Telescope Center |
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Light and Shadow in the Cari
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| Title |
Light and Shadow in the Carina Nebula |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Beta Pictoris Disk Hides Gia
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| Title |
Beta Pictoris Disk Hides Giant Elliptical Ring System |
| General Information |
What is an American Astronomical Society Meeting release? A major news announcement issued at an American Astronomical Society meeting, the premier astronomy conference. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Fireworks of Star Formation
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| Title |
Fireworks of Star Formation Light up a Galaxy |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Reopens Its Eye on th
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| Title |
Hubble Reopens Its Eye on the Universe |
| General Information |
What is an Early Release Observation? A photograph of a celestial object that demonstrates the performance of a new Hubble camera. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Reopens Its Eye on th
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| Title |
Hubble Reopens Its Eye on the Universe |
| General Information |
What is an Early Release Observation? A photograph of a celestial object that demonstrates the performance of a new Hubble camera. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Spies Brown Dwarfs in
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| Title |
Hubble Spies Brown Dwarfs in Nearby Stellar Nursery |
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A Dying Star in Globular Clu
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| Title |
A Dying Star in Globular Cluster M15 |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Discovers Missing Pie
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| Title |
Hubble Discovers Missing Pieces of Comet Linear |
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NGC 4013: A Galaxy on the Ed
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| Title |
NGC 4013: A Galaxy on the Edge |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Massive Infant Stars Rock th
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| Title |
Massive Infant Stars Rock their Cradle |
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