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Iapetus Thermal Radiation Im …
Description Iapetus Thermal Radiation Image
Full Description This image of the infrared heat radiation from Saturn's moon Iapetus was obtained by the Cassini composite infrared spectrometer instrument 16 hours before Cassini's closest approach to this mysterious moon, on December 31, 2004. The thermal radiation is shown as both a grayscale image, equivalent to what we would see if our eyes were sensitive to infrared wavelengths near 15 microns, and as a color-coded temperature map. A previously-released mosaic obtained by Cassini's imaging camera shortly before the composite infrared spectrometer observation, with similar scale and orientation, is also shown for comparison. Temperatures reach nearly 130 Kelvin (-226 Fahrenheit) at noon on the equator on the dark material that covers most of this side of Iapetus, making high noon on Iapetus's dark side probably the warmest places in the Saturn system. This is much warmer than temperatures on another Saturnian moon, Phoebe, measured by composite infrared spectrometer in June 2004. Those Phoebe temperature measurements peaked near 112 Kelvin (-258 Fahrenheit), because though Phoebe is almost as dark as Iapetus's dark material and absorbs nearly as much sunlight, Phoebe rotates much more quickly (once every 9 hours, compared to 79 days for Iapetus). That means the surface has less time to heat up during the day. Temperatures on Iapetus's bright material are much colder, peaking near 100 Kelvin (-280 Fahrenheit), both because the bright material absorbs less sunlight and because it is further from the equator on this side of Iapetus. Temperatures in the large crater near the center of the disc are slightly different from those in surrounding areas, because sloping surfaces within the crater are warmer where they are tilted towards the Sun and cooler when tilted away from the Sun. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The composite infrared spectrometer team is based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the instrument team's home page, http://cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov/. *Credit*: NASA/JPL/GSFC
Date January 10, 2005
Iapetus Temperature Variatio …
Description Iapetus Temperature Variation Map
Full Description This plot shows how daytime temperatures at low latitudes on the dark material on Saturn's moon Iapetus vary with time of day, from about 130 Kelvin (-226 Fahrenheit) at noon to about 70 Kelvin (-334 Fahrenheit) at sunset. The observations are compared to a "forecast" model (green line) which predicts temperatures based on an assumed value of a parameter called the "thermal inertia. This measures how well the surface can retain heat as conditions change. Rock or solid ice has a high thermal inertia, roughly 2,000,000 as measured in the obscure units used for thermal inertia, meaning that it is good at storing heat and cools down or heats up relatively slowly. On Iapetus, in contrast, temperatures drop precipitously in the afternoon as the Sun sinks towards the horizon, and a very small value of the thermal inertia (30,000 units) is needed in the model to match the data. This means that Iapetus's surface is extremely bad at storing heat, and is thus extremely fluffy, probably due to the pulverizing effect of billions of years of meteorite impacts, though the mysterious process that has darkened this side of Iapetus may also have played a role. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The composite infrared spectrometer team is based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the instrument team's home page, http://cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov/. *Credit*: NASA/JPL/GSFC
Date January 10, 2005
SOHO Watches Saturn and Cass …
Description SOHO Watches Saturn and Cassini Pass Behind the Sun
Full Description In this SOHO image taken July 21, 2005, the Sun is represented by the white circle in the center. Saturn is the bright object to the left of the Sun. Interestingly, the streak accompanying Saturn is not the rings but a distortion caused by Saturn's brightness. Saturn is approaching "superior conjunction," that is, it will be almost directly behind the Sun from Earth -- thus the Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn, will not be able to send or receive transmissions normally. Regular science data collection has been temporarily suspended. As Cassini passes closest by the limb (edge) of the Sun on July 24 PDT, communications will be impossible because of the Sun's radio noise. The spacecraft will regain full communication with Earth on July 27, once again returning Saturn science data. In the meantime, controllers are sending approximately 100 commands per day to test communication status. Cassini radio scientists are taking advantage of this opportunity to study the Sun's corona from its effects on the radio signals that reach Earth. SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite) orbits the Sun parked in one of the five gravitational-neutral spots, called Lagrange Points. This specific spot, called L1, stays in the same place relative to the Sun and the Earth, offering a continuously uninterrupted view of the Sun. Saturn is not in sight again until the evening of July 24. After that date, it will be to the RIGHT of the sun. For more information on "superior conjunction," visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf1-2.html#conj . For more information on the Lagrange Points, visit: http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm/ob_techorbit1.html For more information on SOHO, visit: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/ . Finally, the latest SOHO images are available at: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/c3/1024/latest.gif . Credit: SOHO -- http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/
Date July 22, 2005
SOHO Watches Saturn and Cass …
Description SOHO Watches Saturn and Cassini Pass Behind the Sun
Full Description In this SOHO image taken July 21, 2005, the Sun is represented by the white circle in the center. Saturn is the bright object to the left of the Sun. Interestingly, the streak accompanying Saturn is not the rings but a distortion caused by Saturn's brightness. Saturn is approaching "superior conjunction," that is, it will be almost directly behind the Sun from Earth -- thus the Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn, will not be able to send or receive transmissions normally. Regular science data collection has been temporarily suspended. As Cassini passes closest by the limb (edge) of the Sun on July 24 PDT, communications will be impossible because of the Sun's radio noise. The spacecraft will regain full communication with Earth on July 27, once again returning Saturn science data. In the meantime, controllers are sending approximately 100 commands per day to test communication status. Cassini radio scientists are taking advantage of this opportunity to study the Sun's corona from its effects on the radio signals that reach Earth. SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Satellite) orbits the Sun parked in one of the five gravitational-neutral spots, called Lagrange Points. This specific spot, called L1, stays in the same place relative to the Sun and the Earth, offering a continuously uninterrupted view of the Sun. Saturn is not in sight again until the evening of July 24. After that date, it will be to the RIGHT of the sun. For more information on "superior conjunction," visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf1-2.html#conj . For more information on the Lagrange Points, visit: http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_mm/ob_techorbit1.html For more information on SOHO, visit: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/ . Finally, the latest SOHO images are available at: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/c3/1024/latest.gif . Credit: SOHO -- http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/
Date July 22, 2005
Enceladus Temperature Map
Description Enceladus Temperature Map
Full Description This image shows the surprise that startled Cassini scientists on the composite infrared spectrometer team when they got their first look at the infrared (heat) radiation from the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. There is a dramatic warm spot centered on the pole that is probably a sign of internal heat leaking out of the icy moon. The data were taken during the spacecraft's third flyby of this intriguing moon on July 14, 2005. Based on data from previous flybys, which did not show the south pole well, team members expected that the south pole would be very cold, as shown in the left panel. Enceladus is one of the coldest places in the Saturn system because its extremely bright surface reflects 80 percent of the sunlight that hits it, so only 20 percent is available to heat the surface. As on Earth, the poles should be even colder than the equator because the sun shines at such an oblique angle there. The right hand panel shows a global temperature image made from measurements of Enceladus' heat radiation at wavelengths between 9 and 16.5 microns. Cassini made the observation from a distance of 84,000 kilometers (52,000 miles) on the approach to Enceladus, and the image shows details as small as 25 kilometers (16 miles). Equatorial temperatures are much as expected, topping out at about 80 degrees Kelvin (-315 degrees Fahrenheit), but the south pole is occupied by a well-defined warm region reaching 85 Kelvin (-305 degrees Fahrenheit). That is 15 degrees Kelvin (27 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than expected. The composite infrared spectrometer data further suggest that small areas of the pole are at even higher temperatures, well over 110 degrees Kelvin (-261 degrees Fahrenheit). Evaporation of this relatively warm ice probably generates the cloud of water vapor detected above Enceladus' south pole by several other Cassini instruments. The south polar temperatures are very difficult to explain if sunlight is the only energy source heating the surface, though exotic sunlight-trapping mechanisms have not yet been completely ruled out. It therefore seems likely that portions of the polar region are warmed by heat escaping from the interior of the moon. This would make Enceladus only the third solid body in the solar system, after Earth and Jupiter's volcanic moon Io, where hot spots powered by internal heat have been detected. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The composite infrared spectrometer team is based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The composite infrared spectrometer team homepage is, http://cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ . Credit: NASA/JPL/GSFC
Date July 29, 2005
Slower Spinning Rings #1
Description Slower Spinning Rings #1
Full Description The Cassini composite infrared spectrometer obtained temperature maps of Saturn's main rings (A, B and C) that showed ring temperatures decreasing with increasing solar phase angle (the change of the sun-spacecraft-ring angle) on both the lit and unlit sides of the rings. Temperature changes throughout Saturn's main rings, as measured by the instrument, indicate that Saturn ring particles spin slowly compared to their orbital periods of 6 to 14 hours. They may spin several times per orbit to less than one time per orbit. Scans are shown for the lit and unlit rings, at relatively low (less than 60-degree) and high (more than 130-degree) phase angles. Each scan was painted on the rings at the correct ring orientation, creating a false color image. Warmer temperatures about minus 262 degrees Fahrenheit (110 Kelvin) are shown in red and cooler temperatures about minus 343 degrees (65 K) are shown in blue. Other colors indicate temperatures between minus 343 degrees and minus 262 degrees (65 K and 110 K). The scans of the lit rings are shown in the two panels on the left and scans of the unlit rings are shown in the two panels on the right. The thermal characteristics of each main ring vary noticeably with phase angle. Radial scans of the A, B and C rings show a decrease in temperature with increasing phase angle for both the lit and unlit sides of the rings. The C ring and Cassini Division exhibit the largest change in temperature. The temperature of the lit C ring decreases by about 22 degrees (12 Kelvin) between low and high phase angles. A similar contrast is present for the unlit side of the C ring. The C ring and Cassini Division are darker than the A and B rings so they can absorb more heat from the Sun. The lit B ring shows a temperature contrast of approximately 18 degrees (10 K) while the unlit B ring shows very little thermal contrast. Very little sunlight may make it through the thick B ring to its unlit side. The lit A ring is particularly interesting because the magnitude of the thermal contrast decreases with increasing radial distance from Saturn. The outer A ring shows only a small temperature change with phase angle, possibly because it contains smaller, or more rapidly rotating ring particles, which would have more uniform temperatures with phase angle. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The composite infrared spectrometer team is based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the instrument team's home page, http://cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov/. Credit: NASA/JPL/GSFC
Date September 5, 2005
Slower Spinning Rings #2
Description Slower Spinning Rings #2
Full Description Temperature changes mapped with Cassini's composite and infrared spectrometer throughout Saturn's main rings show the ring temperatures decreasing with the increase of the Sun-spacecraft-ring angle (called phase angle) on both the lit and unlit sides of the rings. These temperature changes indicate that the ring particles spin slowly compared to their orbital periods of 6 to 14 hours. They may spin several times per orbit to less than one time per orbit. Four scans are shown for the lit and unlit rings, at relatively low (less than 60 degrees) and high (more than 130 degrees) phase angles. Warmer temperatures about minus 262 degrees Fahrenheit (110 Kelvin) are shown in red and cooler temperatures about minus 343 degrees (65 K) are shown in blue. Other colors indicate temperatures between minus 343 degrees and minus 262 degrees (65 K and 110 K). The top two scans are for the lit rings and the bottom two scans are for the unlit rings. The change in ring temperature between each scan can be seen clearly. The thermal characteristics of each main ring vary noticeably with phase angle. Radial scans of the A, B and C rings show a decrease in temperature with increasing phase angle for both the lit and unlit sides of the rings. The C ring and Cassini Division exhibit the largest change in temperature. The temperature of the lit C ring decreases by about 22 degrees (12 Kelvin) between low and high phase angles. A similar contrast is present for the unlit side of the C ring. The C ring and Cassini Division are darker than the A and B rings so they can absorb more heat from the Sun. The lit B ring shows a temperature contrast of approximately 18 degrees (10 K) while the unlit B ring shows very little thermal contrast. Very little sunlight may make it through the thick B ring to its unlit side. The lit A ring is particularly interesting because the magnitude of the thermal contrast decreases with increasing radial distance from Saturn. The outer A ring shows only a small temperature change with phase angle, possibly because it contains smaller, or more rapidly rotating ring particles, which would have more uniform temperatures with phase angle. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The composite infrared spectrometer team is based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the instrument team's home page, http://cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
Date September 5, 2005
Iapetus Temperature Map
Description Iapetus Temperature Map
Full Description This temperature map of Saturn's moon Iapetus is constructed from observations of Iapetus's infrared heat radiation taken with the Cassini composite infrared spectrometer instrument during the Dec. 31, 2004 flyby. The orange asterisk marks the point on Iapetus where the Sun is directly overhead. Temperatures reach nearly 130 Kelvin (-226 Fahrenheit) at noon on the equator on the dark material that covers most of this side of Iapetus, making high noon on Iapetus's dark side probably the warmest places in the Saturn system. This is much warmer than temperatures on the moon Phoebe measured by the composite infrared spectrometer in June 2004, which peaked near 112 Kelvin (-258 Fahrenheit). That's because, although Phoebe is almost as dark as Iapetus's dark material and absorbs nearly as much sunlight, Phoebe rotates much more quickly (once every 9 hours, compared to 79 days for Iapetus). That means the surface has less time to heat up during the day. Temperatures on Iapetus' bright material are much colder, peaking near 100 Kelvin (-280 Fahrenheit), both because the bright material absorbs less sunlight and because it is further from the equator on this side of Iapetus. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The composite infrared spectrometer team is based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the instrument team's home page, http://cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov/. *Credit*: NASA/JPL/GSFC
Date January 10, 2005
NASA Space Observatories Gli …
Title NASA Space Observatories Glimpse Faint Afterglow of Nearby Stellar Explosion
General Information What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ]
The Carina Nebula: Star Birt …
Title The Carina Nebula: Star Birth in the Extreme
General Information What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. In celebration of the 17th anniversary of the launch and deployment of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers is releasing one of the largest panoramic images ever taken with Hubble's cameras. READ: Junior version of this article Amazing Space Learn about this story in the Star Witness, a science newspaper available on our sister site, Amazing Space. [ http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/news/archive/2007/02/ ] It is a 50-light-year-wide view of the central region of the Carina Nebula where a maelstrom of star birth &#151, and death &#151, is taking place. This image is a mosaic of the Carina Nebula assembled from 48 frames taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The Hubble images were taken in the light of neutral hydrogen during March and July 2005. Color information was added with data taken in December 2001 and March 2003 at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Red corresponds to sulfur, green to hydrogen, and blue to oxygen emission.
Saturn's Auroras Defy Scient …
Title Saturn's Auroras Defy Scientists' Expectations
Saturn's Auroras Defy Scient …
Title Saturn's Auroras Defy Scientists' Expectations
Saturn's Auroras Defy Scient …
Title Saturn's Auroras Defy Scientists' Expectations
Saturn's Auroras Defy Scient …
Title Saturn's Auroras Defy Scientists' Expectations
Saturn's Auroras Defy Scient …
Title Saturn's Auroras Defy Scientists' Expectations
Saturn's Auroras Defy Scient …
Title Saturn's Auroras Defy Scientists' Expectations
Elusive Planet Reshapes a Ri …
Title Elusive Planet Reshapes a Ring Around Neighboring Star
Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk …
Title Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk of Blue Stars Around Black Hole
TRACE Ultraviolet View of Ja …
Title TRACE Ultraviolet View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare
Completed 2005-05-19
TRACE Ultraviolet View of Ja …
Title TRACE Ultraviolet View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare
Completed 2005-05-19
TRACE Ultraviolet View of Ja …
Title TRACE Ultraviolet View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare
Completed 2005-05-19
TRACE Ultraviolet View of Ja …
Title TRACE Ultraviolet View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare
Completed 2005-05-19
TRACE Ultraviolet View of Ja …
Title TRACE Ultraviolet View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare
Completed 2005-05-19
January 2005 Solar Flares fr …
Title January 2005 Solar Flares from SOHO/EIT
Completed 2005-05-19
January 2005 Solar Flares fr …
Title January 2005 Solar Flares from SOHO/EIT
Completed 2005-05-19
January 2005 Solar Flares fr …
Title January 2005 Solar Flares from SOHO/EIT
Completed 2005-05-19
RHESSI and TRACE View of Jan …
Title RHESSI and TRACE View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare
Abstract RHESSI spacecraft images of gamma-rays (blue) and X-rays (red) thrown off by the hottest part of the flare are shown with UV images from the TRACE spacecraft. The gamma rays are made by energetic protons at the Sun. Scientists were surprised that the gamma rays matched the energy spectrum of protons at Earth: the proton storm may have come directly from the Sun and not from the CME as anticipated.
Completed 2005-05-19
RHESSI and TRACE View of Jan …
Title RHESSI and TRACE View of January 20, 2005 Solar Flare
Abstract RHESSI spacecraft images of gamma-rays (blue) and X-rays (red) thrown off by the hottest part of the flare are shown with UV images from the TRACE spacecraft. The gamma rays are made by energetic protons at the Sun. Scientists were surprised that the gamma rays matched the energy spectrum of protons at Earth: the proton storm may have come directly from the Sun and not from the CME as anticipated.
Completed 2005-05-19
MAP '05 Models Hurricane Kat …
Title MAP '05 Models Hurricane Katrina's Winds from August 23, 2005 through August 31, 2005
Abstract During the summer of 2005, the Earth-Sun Exploration Division of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center(GSFC) brought together resources from NASA to study tropical cyclones. The MAP '05 Project, so named for its affiliation with NASA's Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction (MAP) program, applies NASA's advanced satellite remote sensing technologies and earth system modeling capabilities to improve our understanding of tropical cyclones that develop in and move across the Atlantic basin. MAP '05 implemented the most recent version of the NASA/Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) fifth-generation global atmospheric model and the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) analysis system under development as a collaboration between NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at GSFC. This animation displays MAP '05's wind analysis data for every 6 hour interval from August 23 through August 31, 2005.
Completed 2006-05-30
MAP '05 Models Hurricane Kat …
Title MAP '05 Models Hurricane Katrina's Winds from August 23, 2005 through August 31, 2005
Abstract During the summer of 2005, the Earth-Sun Exploration Division of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center(GSFC) brought together resources from NASA to study tropical cyclones. The MAP '05 Project, so named for its affiliation with NASA's Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction (MAP) program, applies NASA's advanced satellite remote sensing technologies and earth system modeling capabilities to improve our understanding of tropical cyclones that develop in and move across the Atlantic basin. MAP '05 implemented the most recent version of the NASA/Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) fifth-generation global atmospheric model and the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) analysis system under development as a collaboration between NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at GSFC. This animation displays MAP '05's wind analysis data for every 6 hour interval from August 23 through August 31, 2005.
Completed 2006-05-30
MAP '05 Models Hurricane Kat …
Title MAP '05 Models Hurricane Katrina's Winds from August 23, 2005 through August 31, 2005
Abstract During the summer of 2005, the Earth-Sun Exploration Division of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center(GSFC) brought together resources from NASA to study tropical cyclones. The MAP '05 Project, so named for its affiliation with NASA's Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction (MAP) program, applies NASA's advanced satellite remote sensing technologies and earth system modeling capabilities to improve our understanding of tropical cyclones that develop in and move across the Atlantic basin. MAP '05 implemented the most recent version of the NASA/Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) fifth-generation global atmospheric model and the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) analysis system under development as a collaboration between NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at GSFC. This animation displays MAP '05's wind analysis data for every 6 hour interval from August 23 through August 31, 2005.
Completed 2006-05-30
MAP '05 Models Hurricane Kat …
Title MAP '05 Models Hurricane Katrina's Winds from August 23, 2005 through August 31, 2005
Abstract During the summer of 2005, the Earth-Sun Exploration Division of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center(GSFC) brought together resources from NASA to study tropical cyclones. The MAP '05 Project, so named for its affiliation with NASA's Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction (MAP) program, applies NASA's advanced satellite remote sensing technologies and earth system modeling capabilities to improve our understanding of tropical cyclones that develop in and move across the Atlantic basin. MAP '05 implemented the most recent version of the NASA/Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) fifth-generation global atmospheric model and the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) analysis system under development as a collaboration between NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at GSFC. This animation displays MAP '05's wind analysis data for every 6 hour interval from August 23 through August 31, 2005.
Completed 2006-05-30
MAP '05 Models Hurricane Kat …
Title MAP '05 Models Hurricane Katrina's Winds from August 23, 2005 through August 31, 2005
Abstract During the summer of 2005, the Earth-Sun Exploration Division of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center(GSFC) brought together resources from NASA to study tropical cyclones. The MAP '05 Project, so named for its affiliation with NASA's Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction (MAP) program, applies NASA's advanced satellite remote sensing technologies and earth system modeling capabilities to improve our understanding of tropical cyclones that develop in and move across the Atlantic basin. MAP '05 implemented the most recent version of the NASA/Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) fifth-generation global atmospheric model and the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) analysis system under development as a collaboration between NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at GSFC. This animation displays MAP '05's wind analysis data for every 6 hour interval from August 23 through August 31, 2005.
Completed 2006-05-30
MAP '05 Models Hurricane Kat …
Title MAP '05 Models Hurricane Katrina's Winds from August 23, 2005 through August 31, 2005
Abstract During the summer of 2005, the Earth-Sun Exploration Division of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center(GSFC) brought together resources from NASA to study tropical cyclones. The MAP '05 Project, so named for its affiliation with NASA's Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction (MAP) program, applies NASA's advanced satellite remote sensing technologies and earth system modeling capabilities to improve our understanding of tropical cyclones that develop in and move across the Atlantic basin. MAP '05 implemented the most recent version of the NASA/Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) fifth-generation global atmospheric model and the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) analysis system under development as a collaboration between NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at GSFC. This animation displays MAP '05's wind analysis data for every 6 hour interval from August 23 through August 31, 2005.
Completed 2006-05-30
MAP '05 Models Hurricane Kat …
Title MAP '05 Models Hurricane Katrina's Winds from August 23, 2005 through August 31, 2005
Abstract During the summer of 2005, the Earth-Sun Exploration Division of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center(GSFC) brought together resources from NASA to study tropical cyclones. The MAP '05 Project, so named for its affiliation with NASA's Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction (MAP) program, applies NASA's advanced satellite remote sensing technologies and earth system modeling capabilities to improve our understanding of tropical cyclones that develop in and move across the Atlantic basin. MAP '05 implemented the most recent version of the NASA/Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) fifth-generation global atmospheric model and the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) analysis system under development as a collaboration between NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at GSFC. This animation displays MAP '05's wind analysis data for every 6 hour interval from August 23 through August 31, 2005.
Completed 2006-05-30
Sea Surface Temperature, 200 …
Title Sea Surface Temperature, 2005 (WMS)
Abstract The temperature of the surface of the world's oceans provides a clear indication of the state of the Earth's climate and weather. In this visualization sequence covering the period from January to June, 2005, the most obvious effects are the north-south movement of warm regions across the equator due to the seasonal movement of the sun and the seasonal advance and retreat of the sea ice near the North and South poles. It is also possible to see the Gulf Stream, the warm river of water that parallels the east coast of the United States before heading towards northern Europe, in this data.
Completed 2005-07-11
MAP '05 Models Hurricane Kat …
Title MAP '05 Models Hurricane Katrina's Winds on August 29, 2005
Abstract During the summer of 2005 the Earth-Sun Exploration Division of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center(GSFC) brought together resources from NASA to study tropical cyclones. The MAP '05 Project, so named for its affiliation with NASA's Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction (MAP) program, applies NASA's advanced satellite remote sensing technologies and earth system modeling capabilities to improve our understanding of tropical cyclones that develop in and move across the Atlantic basin. MAP '05 implemented the most recent version of the NASA/Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) fifth-generation global atmospheric model and the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) analysis system under development as a collaboration between NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at GSFC. This animation generates a white static flow fields from the MAP '05 wind analysis data.
Completed 2006-05-30
Connections: Terrestrial Gam …
Title Connections: Terrestrial Gamma Flashes and Lightning?
Abstract The RHESSI instrument not only views the Sun but can detect gamma-rays from sources on Earth as well.
Completed 2005-02-10
Connections: Terrestrial Gam …
Title Connections: Terrestrial Gamma Flashes and Lightning?
Abstract The RHESSI instrument not only views the Sun but can detect gamma-rays from sources on Earth as well.
Completed 2005-02-10
Connections: Terrestrial Gam …
Title Connections: Terrestrial Gamma Flashes and Lightning?
Abstract The RHESSI instrument not only views the Sun but can detect gamma-rays from sources on Earth as well.
Completed 2005-02-10
Connections: Terrestrial Gam …
Title Connections: Terrestrial Gamma Flashes and Lightning?
Abstract The RHESSI instrument not only views the Sun but can detect gamma-rays from sources on Earth as well.
Completed 2005-02-10
SOHO/LASCO View of January 2 …
Title SOHO/LASCO View of January 2005 Solar Events
Abstract The January 20 flare began just before 2 a.m. ET. A storm of energetic protons impacted Earth just 15 minutes later. These views of the flare are from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The proton storm near Earth causes `snow' in the images, obscuring the Sun as radiation swamps the cameras. The structure at the 1:30 position in the SOHO/LASCO/C3 data is the occulting disk pylon.
Completed 2005-05-19
SOHO/LASCO View of January 2 …
Title SOHO/LASCO View of January 2005 Solar Events
Abstract The January 20 flare began just before 2 a.m. ET. A storm of energetic protons impacted Earth just 15 minutes later. These views of the flare are from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The proton storm near Earth causes `snow' in the images, obscuring the Sun as radiation swamps the cameras. The structure at the 1:30 position in the SOHO/LASCO/C3 data is the occulting disk pylon.
Completed 2005-05-19
SOHO/LASCO View of January 2 …
Title SOHO/LASCO View of January 2005 Solar Events
Abstract The January 20 flare began just before 2 a.m. ET. A storm of energetic protons impacted Earth just 15 minutes later. These views of the flare are from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The proton storm near Earth causes `snow' in the images, obscuring the Sun as radiation swamps the cameras. The structure at the 1:30 position in the SOHO/LASCO/C3 data is the occulting disk pylon.
Completed 2005-05-19
SOHO/LASCO View of January 2 …
Title SOHO/LASCO View of January 2005 Solar Events
Abstract The January 20 flare began just before 2 a.m. ET. A storm of energetic protons impacted Earth just 15 minutes later. These views of the flare are from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The proton storm near Earth causes `snow' in the images, obscuring the Sun as radiation swamps the cameras. The structure at the 1:30 position in the SOHO/LASCO/C3 data is the occulting disk pylon.
Completed 2005-05-19
2005 Ozone Hole
Title 2005 Ozone Hole
Description The year 2005 marks the twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the ozone hole and the first full year that NASA's Aura satellite has provided detailed images of the hole. Aura was launched in 2004 to monitor the Earth's atmosphere, including the health of the delicate ozone layer. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument on Aura collected the data used to create this image on September 11, 2005, when the ozone hole covered 27 million square kilometers—its peak size for the season. Deep blue shows where ozone levels were low enough to be considered part of the ozone hole. New research shows that the ozone layer may be slower in recovering than previously thought. Ozone is a highly reactive colorless gas that contains three oxygen atoms. Near the surface of the Earth, ozone is hazardous to human health, causing problems like lung irritation, but high in the atmosphere, ozone acts as a crucial shield that absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The ozone hole is not an actual hole, but a place in the atmosphere where the protective layer of ozone has worn thin. In 1985, Joseph Farman, Brian Gardiner, and Jonathan Shanklin discovered in the ozone hole over Antarctica. In the following two years, scientists confirmed that human-produced chemicals, chlorofluorocarbons, used in refrigeration and propellant devices, were causing the hole. Chlorofluorocarbons contain high levels of chlorine, which breaks free from the larger molecules in the bitter cold and darkness of Antarctic and Arctic winter. Through a series of chemical reactions, the free chlorine becomes a two-atom molecule of chlorine gas. When sunlight returns, the chlorine gas disintegrates into separate chlorine atoms, which catalyze the destruction of atmospheric ozone. Though the production of chlorofluorocarbons was restricted in 1987, reservoirs of the chemicals in existing refrigerators and air conditioners are still emitting ozone-depleting chemicals into the atmosphere at higher levels than predicted, new measurements show. The extra chemicals may delay the recovery of the ozone hole until about 2065. Previous models predicted a recovery of the ozone layer by 2050. These results were announced on December 6, 2005, at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. To read more, see Ozone Hole: Prospects for Recovery [ http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2005/ozone_recovery.html ] on the NASA Goddard News web page. To read more about the ozone hole and NASA's mission to study it, check out Ozone Hole Watch [ http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts/hole.html ]. The site also contains daily images of the ozone hole as measured by Aura's Ozone Monitoring Instrument. NASA image and animations courtesy GSFC Ozone Processing Team, [ http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] based on data provided by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument [ http://www.knmi.nl/omi/publ-en/news/index.html ] (OMI)
2005 Ozone Hole
Title 2005 Ozone Hole
Description The year 2005 marks the twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the ozone hole and the first full year that NASA's Aura satellite has provided detailed images of the hole. Aura was launched in 2004 to monitor the Earth's atmosphere, including the health of the delicate ozone layer. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument on Aura collected the data used to create this image on September 11, 2005, when the ozone hole covered 27 million square kilometers—its peak size for the season. Deep blue shows where ozone levels were low enough to be considered part of the ozone hole. New research shows that the ozone layer may be slower in recovering than previously thought. Ozone is a highly reactive colorless gas that contains three oxygen atoms. Near the surface of the Earth, ozone is hazardous to human health, causing problems like lung irritation, but high in the atmosphere, ozone acts as a crucial shield that absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The ozone hole is not an actual hole, but a place in the atmosphere where the protective layer of ozone has worn thin. In 1985, Joseph Farman, Brian Gardiner, and Jonathan Shanklin discovered in the ozone hole over Antarctica. In the following two years, scientists confirmed that human-produced chemicals, chlorofluorocarbons, used in refrigeration and propellant devices, were causing the hole. Chlorofluorocarbons contain high levels of chlorine, which breaks free from the larger molecules in the bitter cold and darkness of Antarctic and Arctic winter. Through a series of chemical reactions, the free chlorine becomes a two-atom molecule of chlorine gas. When sunlight returns, the chlorine gas disintegrates into separate chlorine atoms, which catalyze the destruction of atmospheric ozone. Though the production of chlorofluorocarbons was restricted in 1987, reservoirs of the chemicals in existing refrigerators and air conditioners are still emitting ozone-depleting chemicals into the atmosphere at higher levels than predicted, new measurements show. The extra chemicals may delay the recovery of the ozone hole until about 2065. Previous models predicted a recovery of the ozone layer by 2050. These results were announced on December 6, 2005, at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. To read more, see Ozone Hole: Prospects for Recovery [ http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2005/ozone_recovery.html ] on the NASA Goddard News web page. To read more about the ozone hole and NASA's mission to study it, check out Ozone Hole Watch [ http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts/hole.html ]. The site also contains daily images of the ozone hole as measured by Aura's Ozone Monitoring Instrument. NASA image and animations courtesy GSFC Ozone Processing Team, [ http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] based on data provided by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument [ http://www.knmi.nl/omi/publ-en/news/index.html ] (OMI)
2005 Ozone Hole
Title 2005 Ozone Hole
Description The year 2005 marks the twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the ozone hole and the first full year that NASA's Aura satellite has provided detailed images of the hole. Aura was launched in 2004 to monitor the Earth's atmosphere, including the health of the delicate ozone layer. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument on Aura collected the data used to create this image on September 11, 2005, when the ozone hole covered 27 million square kilometers—its peak size for the season. Deep blue shows where ozone levels were low enough to be considered part of the ozone hole. New research shows that the ozone layer may be slower in recovering than previously thought. Ozone is a highly reactive colorless gas that contains three oxygen atoms. Near the surface of the Earth, ozone is hazardous to human health, causing problems like lung irritation, but high in the atmosphere, ozone acts as a crucial shield that absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The ozone hole is not an actual hole, but a place in the atmosphere where the protective layer of ozone has worn thin. In 1985, Joseph Farman, Brian Gardiner, and Jonathan Shanklin discovered in the ozone hole over Antarctica. In the following two years, scientists confirmed that human-produced chemicals, chlorofluorocarbons, used in refrigeration and propellant devices, were causing the hole. Chlorofluorocarbons contain high levels of chlorine, which breaks free from the larger molecules in the bitter cold and darkness of Antarctic and Arctic winter. Through a series of chemical reactions, the free chlorine becomes a two-atom molecule of chlorine gas. When sunlight returns, the chlorine gas disintegrates into separate chlorine atoms, which catalyze the destruction of atmospheric ozone. Though the production of chlorofluorocarbons was restricted in 1987, reservoirs of the chemicals in existing refrigerators and air conditioners are still emitting ozone-depleting chemicals into the atmosphere at higher levels than predicted, new measurements show. The extra chemicals may delay the recovery of the ozone hole until about 2065. Previous models predicted a recovery of the ozone layer by 2050. These results were announced on December 6, 2005, at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. To read more, see Ozone Hole: Prospects for Recovery [ http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2005/ozone_recovery.html ] on the NASA Goddard News web page. To read more about the ozone hole and NASA's mission to study it, check out Ozone Hole Watch [ http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts/hole.html ]. The site also contains daily images of the ozone hole as measured by Aura's Ozone Monitoring Instrument. NASA image and animations courtesy GSFC Ozone Processing Team, [ http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] based on data provided by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument [ http://www.knmi.nl/omi/publ-en/news/index.html ] (OMI)
Forest Fire Smoke Surroundin …
Title Forest Fire Smoke Surrounding Mt. McKinley
Description This view of Mt McKinley (Denali)—the highest point in North America (6,194 meters, 20,230 feet)—looks as if it were taken from an aircraft. In fact, an astronaut onboard the International Space Station took advantage of cloud-free skies and a powerful 800-millimeter lens to photograph this peak while the spacecraft was over the Gulf of Alaska, 800 miles to the south of the mountain. The powerful lenses are difficult to use, requiring motion compensation by the astronaut, so these kinds of detailed images of horizon detail are seldom taken. The rising sun casts long shadows across the Kahiltna Glacier that angles down from Denali (left). In addition to the blueness inherent in all images taken at great distance (the atmosphere scatters blue light more than it does other colors), this image also shows unusually dense atmospheric haze at lower altitudes: all the valleys in the foreground appear murky. The explanation is dramatically portrayed in a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image taken on the same day, Sunday, August 14, from the Terra satellite. On that day, an enormous smoke pall hung over central Alaska, all the major mountain ranges protruded above the smoke layer, which was held close to the surface by high atmospheric pressure. The smoke came from more than 100 forest fires burning in the summer heat of Alaska. The MODIS image shows that the smoke on August 14 was far thicker to the north of the Alaska Range where Denali is. The Space Station image shows this denser smoke settled between the Alaska Range and the distant horizon of the Kuskokwim Mountains, 80 miles to the north. Astronaut photograph ISS011-E-11806 [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS011&roll=E&frame=11806 ] was acquired August 14, 2005, with a Kodak 760C digital camera fitted with an 800 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Group, Johnson Space Center. The International Space Station Program [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/home/index.html ] supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. [ http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ ]
Haze over the Philippine Sea
Title Haze over the Philippine Sea
Description The Anatahan Volcano [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12822 ] has extended its reach over 2,220 kilometers (1,380 miles) west to blanket the Philippine Sea with a river of white haze. The volcano erupted explosively on April 6, 2005, sending as much as 50 million cubic meters of ash into the atmosphere?its largest eruption in recorded history. The haze seen here is not a product of ash however, it is a soupy fog made from tiny drops of sulfuric acid suspended in the atmosphere. This volcanic fog, called ?vog,? forms when sulfur dioxide emitted during the eruption combines with water molecules in the atmosphere to create sulfuric acid. It is not yet known how much sulfur dioxide exploded from Anatahan on April 6, or how much leaked from the volcano before and after that eruption, but the haze of sulfuric acid has now traveled to the Philippine Sea. In addition to causing eye and respiratory irritation, vog can have a big impact on climate. As this image shows, the haze is bright and reflects sunlight back into space. This decreases the amount of energy that reaches the Earth?s surface, which lowers temperatures. Large volcanic eruptions such as Pinatubo in 1991, Krakatau in 1883, or Mt. Tambora in 1815 can send enough sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere to lower temperatures around the globe, and since the tiny acid droplets remain in the atmosphere for an extended period of time, the effect can last as long as a year or two. This image of the vog over the Philippine Sea was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on April 20, 2005. A river of haze flows from the east in the lower right corner of the image, then snakes its way north over the water. The Philippines is immediately west of the haze, though Mindanao, the southern island of the country, appears to be covered with vog. To the left of the haze, the sun is reflecting from the smooth surface of the ocean. The effect is a silvery mirror called sunglint that extends down a narrow strip of the image where the sun?s angle was just right to reflect light directly into the sensor. The large image provided above has a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team.
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