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Saturn's Radio Rotation
Description Radio waves produced near the poles of Saturn have been monitored by Cassini's Radio and Plasma Wave Science instrument (RPWS) since 2003.
Full Description Radio waves produced near the poles of Saturn have been monitored by Cassini's Radio and Plasma Wave Science instrument (RPWS) since 2003. A team of European scientists have analysed several years of Cassini RPWS data to study the variations of Saturn's radio clock, or its large fluctuations, at a 1-2 percent level, over weeks to months. They have found that the variation in the solar wind speed near Saturn is probably responsible for the poor stability of the planet's radio clock. interestingly, the solar wind speed does not vary randomly, but instead, follows a saw-tooth pattern, first building up in speed and then suddenly slowing down, and causing thus apparent rotation period fluctuations. Credits: Inset - NASA/ESA/JPL/University of Iowa/ Obs. de Paris Lesia (P. Zarka), Background - Magnetosphere: NASA, the Sun: ESA/NASA SOHO
Date December 12, 2007
N81 in the Small Magellanic …
Title N81 in the Small Magellanic Cloud
Full Description A NASA Hubble Space Telescope "family portrait" of young, ultra-bright stars nested in their embryonic cloud of glowing gases. The celestial maternity ward, called N81, is located 200,000 light-years away in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a small irregular satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. Hubble's exquisite resolution allows astronomers to pinpoint 50 separate stars tightly packed in the nebula's core within a 10 light- year diameter - slightly more than twice the distance between earth and the nearest star to our sun. The closest pair of stars is only 1/3 of a light-year apart (0.3 arcseconds in the sky). This furious rate of mass loss from these super-hot stars is evident in the Hubble picture that reveals dramatic shapes sculpted in the nebula's wall of glowing gases by violent stellar winds and shock waves. A pair of bright stars in the center of the nebula is pouring out most of the ultraviolet radiation to make the nebula glow. Just above them, a small dark knot is all that is left of the cold cloud of molecular hydrogen and dust the stars were born from. Dark absorption lanes of residual dust trisect the nebula. The nebula offers a unique opportunity for a close-up glimpse at the firestorm' accompanying the birth of extremely massive stars, each blazing with the brilliance of 300,000 of our suns. Such galactic fireworks were much more common billions of years ago in the early universe, when most star formation took place. The "natural- color" view was assembled from separate images taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, in ultraviolet light and two narrow emission lines of ionized Hydrogen (H-alpha, H-beta).
Date 09/24/1997
NASA Center Hubble Space Telescope Center
Nearby Massive Star Cluster …
Title Nearby Massive Star Cluster Yields Insights into Early Universe
Massive Infant Stars Rock th …
Title Massive Infant Stars Rock their Cradle
A Butterfly-Shaped "Papillon …
Title A Butterfly-Shaped "Papillon" Nebula Yields Secrets of Massive Star Birth
Hubble Hunts Down Binary Obj …
Title Hubble Hunts Down Binary Objects at the Fringe of Our Solar System
Hubble Hunts Down Binary Obj …
Title Hubble Hunts Down Binary Objects at the Fringe of Our Solar System
Hubble Hunts Down Binary Obj …
Title Hubble Hunts Down Binary Objects at the Fringe of Our Solar System
Hubble Hunts Down Binary Obj …
Title Hubble Hunts Down Binary Objects at the Fringe of Our Solar System
Hubble Hunts Down Binary Obj …
Title Hubble Hunts Down Binary Objects at the Fringe of Our Solar System
Hubble Hunts Down Binary Obj …
Title Hubble Hunts Down Binary Objects at the Fringe of Our Solar System
Hubble Hunts Down Binary Obj …
Title Hubble Hunts Down Binary Objects at the Fringe of Our Solar System
Hubble Peeks into a Stellar …
Title Hubble Peeks into a Stellar Nursery in a Nearby 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 ]
Hubble Hunts Down Binary Obj …
Title Hubble Hunts Down Binary Objects at the Fringe of Our Solar System
Hubble Hunts Down Binary Obj …
Title Hubble Hunts Down Binary Objects at the Fringe of Our Solar System
Hubble Hunts Down Binary Obj …
Title Hubble Hunts Down Binary Objects at the Fringe of Our Solar System
Too Close for Comfort: Hubbl …
Title Too Close for Comfort: Hubble Discovers an Evaporating Planet
Too Close for Comfort: Hubbl …
Title Too Close for Comfort: Hubble Discovers an Evaporating Planet
Too Close for Comfort: Hubbl …
Title Too Close for Comfort: Hubble Discovers an Evaporating Planet
Astronomers Find Smallest Ex …
Title Astronomers Find Smallest Extrasolar Planet Yet Around Normal Star
Oxygen and Carbon Found in A …
Title Oxygen and Carbon Found in Atmosphere of an Extrasolar Planet
General Information What is a News Nugget? News Nuggets are bulletins from the world of astronomy. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has detected, for the first time ever, the presence of oxygen and carbon in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2004/44/text/ ]
An unprecedented chart shows …
Description An unprecedented chart shows the true direction and apparent speed of a breeze of atoms, mainly hydrogen, that comes from the stars and blows right through the Solar System. In the solar spacecraft SOHO, built by the European Space Agency, the SWAN instrument detects a characteristic ultraviolet glow filling the sky, coming from the hydrogen atoms. Small shifts in the ultraviolet wavelength reveal the speed of the breeze. On a map of the whole sky, the windspeed is shown in relation to the direction from the Sun. A high negative velocity shown in purple depicts the incoming breeze, while in the orange parts of the chart the interstellar atoms are on their way out of the Solar System. In intermediate sectors they are moving sideways in relation to the Sun, so the radial speed is close to zero. White holes in the image are stars in the Milky Way emitting the same ultraviolet wavelength. An analysis based on two years of observations with SWAN defines the direction of the interstellar breeze more accurately than ever before. The source lies in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus, close to Scorpius, and the night side of the Earth faces the breeze directly on 3 June each year. The SWAN instrument was provided for SOHO by the CNRS Service d'A[e/]ronomie at Verri[e\]res near Paris and the Finnish Meteorological Institute in Helsinki. SWAN has already charted the destruction (ionization) of interstellar hydrogen atoms by the impact of the solar wind coming from the Sun. Downwind of the Sun, they are almost entirely destroyed. That explains the difference in apparent windspeed, incoming and outgoing. The outgoing atoms detected in this study are far away, and have survived by giving the Sun a wide berth. They give a truer measure of the windspeed than the incoming atoms, which are accelerated by the Sun's gravity. Built in Europe for the European Space Agency, SOHO carries twelve sets of instruments provided by European and American investigators and it was despatched into space on 2 December 1995 by a NASA launcher. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA. Credits: Main image: SOHO (ESA & NASA) and SWAN Consortium Star image: DSS/STScI/NASA
Photo Description The sun begins to break through the clouds over NASA's two 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on the NASA Dryden ramp after a rain shower in February 2001.
Project Description NASA uses two modified Boeing 747 jetliners, originally manufactured for commercial use, as Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). One is a 747-100 model, while the other is designated a 747-100SR (short range). The two aircraft are identical in appearance and in their performance as Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The 747 series of aircraft are four-engine intercontinental-range swept-wing "jumbo jets" that entered commercial service in 1969. The SCAs are used to ferry space shuttle orbiters from landing sites back to the launch complex at the Kennedy Space Center, and also to and from other locations too distant for the orbiters to be delivered by ground transportation. The orbiters are placed atop the SCAs by Mate-Demate Devices, large gantry-like structures which hoist the orbiters off the ground for post-flight servicing, and then mate them with the SCAs for ferry flights. Features which distinguish the two SCAs from standard 747 jetliners are: - Three struts, with associated interior structural strengthening, protruding from the top of the fuselage (two aft, one forward) on which the orbiter is attached - Two additional vertical stabilizers, one on each end of the standard horizontal stabilizer, to enhance directional stability - Removal of all interior furnishings and equipment aft of the forward No. 1 doors - Instrumentation used by SCA flight crews and engineers to monitor orbiter electrical loads during the ferry flights and also during pre- and post-ferry flight operations. The two SCAs are under the operational control of NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex. NASA 905 NASA 905 was the first SCA. It was obtained from American Airlines in 1974. Shortly after it was accepted by NASA it was flown in a series of wake vortex research flights at the Dryden Flight Research Center in a study to seek ways of reducing turbulence produced by large aircraft. Pilots flying as much as several miles behind large aircraft have encountered wake turbulence that have caused control problems. The NASA study helped the Federal Aviation Administration modify flight procedures for commercial aircraft during airport approaches and departures. Following the wake vortex studies, NASA 905 was modified by Boeing to its present SCA configuration and the aircraft was returned to Dryden for its role in the 1977 Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests (ALT). This series of eight captive and five free flights with the orbiter prototype Enterprise, in addition to ground taxi tests, validated the aircraft's performance as an SCA, in addition to verifying the glide and landing characteristics of the orbiter configuration -- paving the way for orbital flights. A flight crew escape system, consisting of an exit tunnel extending from the flight deck to a hatch in the bottom of the fuselage, was installed during the modifications. The system also included a pyrotechnic system to activate the hatch release and cabin window release mechanisms. The flight crew, escape system was removed from the NASA 905 following the successful completion of the ALT program. NASA 905 was the only SCA used by the space shuttle program until November 1990, when NASA 911 was delivered as an SCA. Along with ferrying Enterprise and the flight-rated orbiters between the launch and landing sites and other locations, NASA 905 also ferried Enterprise to Europe for display in England and at the Paris Air Show. NASA 911 The second SCA is designated NASA 911. It was obtained by NASA from Japan Airlines (JAL) in 1989. It was also modified by Boeing Corporation. It was delivered to NASA 20 November 1990.
Photo Date February 13, 2001
N81: Star Cradle in the SMC
Title N81: Star Cradle in the SMC
Explanation This dramatic Hubble Space Telescope image captures [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/2000/30/index.html ] the birth of a cluster of massive stars. The newborn stars are seen just as they emerge from their natal nebula. Only 12 light-years across, the nebula is cataloged as N81 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980727.html ] and lies some 200,000 light-years away within a neighboring galaxy known as the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000430.html ]). Other nebulae which surround massive star clusters can be a thousand or more [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980411.html ] light-years across. But, prior to the Hubble observations, it was unknown whether N81 [ http://wwwusr.obspm.fr/~heydari/projects/N81/ ] and similar [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990729.html ], compact emission nebulae [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/emission_nebulae.html ] were cradles of single stars or star clusters. In the case of N81 [ http://cdsads.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query? bibcode=1999A%26A...344..848H&db_key=AST&high=36b839a2bf00472 ], the Hubble data clearly reveal multiple hot stars, some nearly 300,000 times as luminous as the Sun. The colorful image emphasizes [ http://heritage.stsci.edu/public/2000oct5/ n81table.html ] graceful arcs of dark interstellar dust and fluorescing gas sculpted by the young stars' energetic winds and radiation.
Eclipse and Ecliptic
Title Eclipse and Ecliptic
Explanation When [ http://www.inconstantmoon.com/cyc_phas.htm ] a Full Moon lies near the ecliptic there can be a lunar eclipse [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_eclipse ]. That cosmic alignment is well illustrated in this composite of eclipse images [ http://spaceweather.com/eclipses/ gallery_03mar07_page6.htm ] recorded last Saturday near Paris, France. The projection of the ecliptic plane [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050503.html ], the plane of planet Earth's orbit around the Sun, is traced by the long blue line running diagonally through the picture. At a small angle to the ecliptic, along the Moon's orbit, are a series of images from the eclipse itself following the Moon [ http://www.phy6.org/stargaze/Shipprc2.htm ] as it moves (down and left) through Earth's shadow [ http://www.pixheaven.net/photo_us.php?nom=070303_shadow ]. A small blue circle centered on the ecliptic outlines the extent of the dark region of the shadow or umbra [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060909.html ]. Above, the principal stars of Leo [ http://www.coldwater.k12.mi.us/lms/planetarium/myth/ leo.html ] are highlighted, while at the far right lies another celestial wanderer that stays close to the ecliptic - Saturn [ http://www.lpod.org/?m=20070305 ].
An Airplane in Front of the …
Title An Airplane in Front of the Sun
Explanation Sometimes, good planes come to those who wait. Experienced solar photographer Thierry Lagault [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010129.html http://perso.club-internet.fr/legault/ ] had noticed planes crossing in front of the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/sun.html ] from his home in suburban Paris [ http://www.paris-france.org/ ]. He then got the idea for the above photograph, but had to wait through many near misses. About two weeks ago, he got his wish: a jet crossed directly in front of the Sun when his solar imaging equipment was set up. The resulting image, shown above, was taken in a specific color of red light called Hydrogen-Alpha [ http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/light/absorption.html ], and the picture's contrast has been digitally enhanced. Dark prominences [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000403.html ] can be seen lacing the Sun's busy surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970127.html ]. The airplane is an MD-11 [ http://www.boeing.com/commercial/md-11family/ ].
Comet Hale-Bopp Fades
Title Comet Hale-Bopp Fades
Explanation Comet Hale-Bopp has faded in the past few weeks. For Hale-Bopp [ http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/comet/ ], promised as the Great Comet of 1997, this was a bit of a disappointment -- but not entirely unexpected. Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960729.html ] continues to approach the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960916.html ] - making the comet itself brighten, but now the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960819.html ] is moving away from it - making the comet appear to dim. Experts disagree on just how bright Hale-Bopp [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/hale_bopp_info.html ] will become. Optimists hope it will eventually outshine Comet Hyakutake [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/hyakutake.html ], but some pessimists now expect no better than 3rd magnitude - hardly visible from well-lit cities [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960617.html ]. Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://www.eso.org/comet-hale-bopp/ ] still appears to be, however, a very large comet, and is sure to show much activity as it nears the Sun. The comet should reach peak brightness in March 1997. [ http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/comets/ephemjpl3.html ] This image [ http://www.eso.org/comet-hale-bopp/comet-hale-bopp-summary-sep13-96-rw.html ] was taken on August 18th and shows gas shed from the nucleus of the comet.
Sylvia, Romulus and Remus
Title Sylvia, Romulus and Remus
Explanation Discovered in 1866, main belt asteroid [ http://www.nineplanets.org/asteroids.html ] 87 Sylvia lies 3.5 AU from the Sun, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Also shown in recent years to be one in a growing list of double asteroids [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001101.html ], new observations during August and October 2004 made at the Paranal [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050817.html ] Observatory convincingly demonstrate that 87 Sylvia in fact has two moonlets - the first known triple asteroid system [ http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2005/ pr-21-05.html ]. At the center of this composite of the image data, potato-shaped 87 Sylvia itself is about 380 kilometers wide. The data show [ http://www.obspm.fr/actual/nouvelle/aug05/sylvia.en.shtml ] inner moon, Remus, orbiting Sylvia at a distance of about 710 kilometers once every 33 hours, while outer moon Romulus orbits at 1360 kilometers in 87.6 hours. Tiny Remus and Romulus are 7 and 18 kilometers across respectively. Because 87 Sylvia was named after Rhea Silvia [ http://www.pantheon.org/articles/r/rhea_silvia.html ], the mythical mother of the founders of Rome, the discoverers [ http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/08/ 10_sylvia.shtml ] proposed Romulus and Remus as fitting names [ http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2005/ pr-21-05_p2.html ] for the two moonlets. The triple system is thought to be the not uncommon result of collisions producing low density, rubble pile [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~bottke/rubble/rub.html ] asteroids that are loose aggregations of debris.
ASTER Paris
PIA02660
Sol (our sun)
ASTER
Title ASTER Paris
Original Caption Released with Image The Eiffel Tower and its shadow can be seen next to the Seine in the left middle of this ASTER image of Paris. Based on the length of the shadow and the solar elevation angle of 59 degrees, we can calculate its height as 324 meters (1,054 feet), compared to its actual height of 303 meters (985 feet). Acquired on July 23, 2000, this image covers an area 23 kilometers (15 miles) wide and 20 kilometers (13 miles) long in three bands of the reflected visible and infrared wavelength region. Known as the City of Light, Paris has been extolled for centuries as one of the great cities of the world. Its location on the Seine River, at a strategic crossroads of land and river routes, has been the key to its expansion since the Parisii tribe first settled here in the 3rd century B.C. Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. Dr. Anne Kahle at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, is the U.S. science team leader, Moshe Pniel of JPL is the project manager. ASTER is the only high-resolution imaging sensor on Terra. The primary goal of the ASTER mission is to obtain high-resolution image data in 14 channels over the entire land surface, as well as black and white stereo images. With revisit time of between 4 and 16 days, ASTER will provide the capability for repeat coverage of changing areas on Earth's surface. Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. Dr. Anne Kahle at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, is the U.S. science team leader, Moshe Pniel of JPL is the project manager. ASTER is the only high-resolution imaging sensor on Terra. The primary goal of the ASTER mission is to obtain high-resolution image data in 14 channels over the entire land surface, as well as black and white stereo images. With revisit time of between 4 and 16 days, ASTER will provide the capability for repeat coverage of changing areas on Earth's surface. The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER will provide scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping and monitoring dynamic conditions and temporal change. Examples of applications include monitoring glacial advances and retreats, potentially active volcanoes, thermal pollution, and coral reef degradation, identifying crop stress, determining cloud morphology and physical properties;, evaluating wetlands, mapping surface temperature of soils and geology, and measuring surface heat balance.
Neptune's "Hot" South Pole
PIA09927
Sol (our sun)
Mid-infrared Camera/Spectrom …
Title Neptune's "Hot" South Pole
Original Caption Released with Image These thermal images show a "hot" south pole on the planet Neptune. These warmer temperatures provide an avenue for methane to escape out of the deep atmosphere. The images were obtained with the Very Large Telescope in Chile, using an imager/spectrometer for mid-infrared wavelengths on Sept. 1 and 2, 2006. The telescope is operated by the European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (known as ESO). Scientists say Neptune's south pole is "hotter" than anywhere else on the planet by about 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit). The average temperature on Neptune is about minus 200 degrees Celsius (minus 392 degrees Fahrenheit). The upper left image samples temperatures near the top of Neptune's troposphere (near 100 millibar pressure, which is one-tenth the Earth atmospheric pressure at sea level). The hottest temperatures are indicated at the lower part of the image, at Neptune's south pole (see the graphic at the upper right). The lower two images, taken 6.3 hours apart, sample temperatures at higher altitudes in Neptune's stratosphere. They do show generally warmer temperatures near, but not at, the south pole. They also show a distinct warm area which can be seen in the lower left image and rotated completely around the back of the planet and returned to the earth-facing hemisphere in the lower right image.
France, Shaded Relief and Co …
PIA03393
Sol (our sun)
C-Band Interferometric Radar
Title France, Shaded Relief and Colored Height
Original Caption Released with Image This image of France was generated with data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). For this broad view the resolution of the data was reduced to 6 arcseconds (about 185 meters north-south and 127 meters east-west), resampled to a Mercator projection, and the French border outlined. Even at this decreased resolution the variety of landforms comprising the country is readily apparent. The upper central part of this scene is dominated by the Paris Basin, which consists of a layered sequence of sedimentary rocks. Fertile soils over much of the area make good agricultural land. The Normandie coast to the upper left is characterized by high, chalk cliffs, while the Brittany coast (the peninsula to the left) is highly indented where deep valleys were drowned by the sea, and the Biscay coast to the southwest is marked by flat, sandy beaches. To the south, the Pyrenees form a natural border between France and Spain, and the south-central part of the country is dominated by the ancient Massif Central. Subject to volcanism that has only subsided in the last 10,000 years, these central mountains are separated from the Alps by the north-south trending Rhone River Basin. Two visualization methods were combined to produce the image: shading and color coding of topographic height. The shade image was derived by computing topographic slope in the northwest-southeast direction, so that northwest slopes appear bright and southeast slopes appear dark. Color coding is directly related to topographic height, with green at the lower elevations, rising through yellow and tan, to white at the highest elevations. Elevation data used in this image were acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on Feb. 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect 3-D measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter (approximately 200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between NASA, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise,Washington, D.C. Location: 42 to 51.5 degrees North latitude, 5.5 West to 8 degrees East longitude Orientation: North toward the top, Mercator projection Image Data: shaded and colored SRTM elevation model Original Data Resolution: SRTM 1 arcsecond (about 30 meters or 98 feet) Date Acquired: February 2000
Venice, Italy & the Alps fro …
PIA00546
Sol (our sun)
Electronic Still Camera
Title Venice, Italy & the Alps from the Shuttle KidSat Camera
Original Caption Released with Image Earth and Space Science., This KidSat image spans the region of Venetia from the city of Venice, Italy, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea north to the snow-capped Alps. Venice appears in the lower left part of the image, and the Alps appear in the lower right. This image is 97.78 km long by 146.31 km wide and is centered at 45.56 degrees north latitude, 11.48 degrees east longitude. Due to shuttle orientation, north is located at approximately ten o'clock in this image. It was taken by the KidSat electronic still camera, using a 50 mm lens, from the Space Shuttle Atlantis at an altitude of 264.57 km. The image was requested by the Buist Academy Student Mission Operations Center in Charleston, South Carolina. The students will use the image in their classrooms to study the rivers and channels of Venice and to compare the cities of Venice and Paris, France. Venice's Grand Canal is barely visible in the image. Venice was one of the centers of science, knowledge and art during the Renaissance, as well as a major trade center for goods from Asia. Located near fishing and forest resources, it was first settled by a variety of people that included war refugees from Troy and immigrants from what are now the Slavic nations. The first settlement, consisting mostly of wood buildings, was destroyed after a massive sea quake, little remains of the original city. Settlements spread to encompass the islands in the mouth of the river Brenta and now cover a total 117 islands. In the nearby Alps are several waterfalls which, since 1977, have been the site of many ice climbing missions. KidSat gives students across the country a chance to view and learn about Earth using and commanding their own instruments in space. The KidSat project is a result of the effort and collaboration of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University's Institute for Academic Advancement of Youth and the University of California, San Diego. Kidsat includes a payload of digital still and video cameras that fly on the Space Shuttle. Students operate these cameras from their classrooms, sending instructions to the Kidsat Mission Control Center at UC San Diego via the Internet to photograph specific regions of Earth they wish to study. Image data are sent to the Kidsat Data System at JPL during the mission and these images are accessible in the classroom in near-real time, again using the Internet. At JPL, students on the exploration team research the images. The KidSat project allows students to explore Earth from space and learn about its past and its fragile, ever-changing environment. Images and student results will be posted on the KidSat home page. Interested public school districts, teachers, and students may view the images and information provided by students during the mission via this World Wide Web site: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat pilot program is sponsored by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education, with support from the Offices of Space Flight, Mission to Planet
Alba Patera
PIA03774
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys …
Title Alba Patera
Original Caption Released with Image (Released 22 April 2002) The Science This image, centered near 46.5 N and 119.3 W (240.7 E), is on the northwestern flank of a large, broad shield volcano called Alba Patera. This region of Mars has a number of unique valley features that at first glance look dendritic much in the same pattern that rivers and tributaries form on Earth. A closer look reveals that the valleys are quite discontinuous and must form through a different process than surface runoff of liquid water that is common on Earth. A number of processes might have taken place at some point in the Martian past to form these features. Some of the broad valley features bear some resemblance to karst topography, where material is removed underground by melting or dissolving in groundwater causing the collapse of the surface above it. The long narrow valleys resemble surfaces where groundwater sapping has occurred. Sapping happens when groundwater reaches the surface and causes headward erosion, forming long valleys with fewer tributaries than is seen with valleys formed by surface water runoff. The volcano itself might have been a source of heat and energy, which played a role in producing surfaces that indicate an active groundwater system. The Story Fluid, oozing lava poured somewhat lazily over this area long ago. It happened perhaps thousands of times, over hundreds of thousands of Martian years, creating the nearly smooth, plaster-of-Paris-looking terrain seen today. (Small craters also dent the area, though they may deceive you and look like raised bumps instead. That's just a trick of the eye and the lighting - tilt your head to your left shoulder, and you should see the craters pit the surface as expected.) The lava flows came from a Martian "shield" volcano named Alba Patera. Shield volcanoes get their name from their appearance: from above, they look like large battle shields lying face up to the sky as if a giant, geological warrior had lain them down. Perhaps one did if you think of a volcano as a "geologic warrior," that is. These volcanoes aren't too fierce, however. Because of the gentle layering of lava over time, they don't stand tall and angry against the horizon, but instead have relatively gentle slopes and are spread out over large areas. (On Earth, the Hawaiian Islands are examples of shield volcanoes, but you can't see much of their expanse, since they rise almost three miles from the ocean floor before popping out above the water's surface.) What's most interesting in this picture are all of the branching features that lightly texture the terrain. The patterns may look like those caused by rivers here on Earth, but geologists say that no surface streams on Mars were responsible. That's no disappointment, however, to those who'd like to find water on Mars, because there are still intriguing water-related possibilities here. Some of the broad valley features in this image look like karsts, a terrain found on Earth in Karst, a limestone area on the Adriatic, Sea in modern-day Croatia, and in other world regions including France, China, the American Midwest, Kentucky, and Florida. Karst terrain on Earth is barren land with all kinds of caves, sinkholes, and underground rivers that excavate the subsurface, causing the surface above it to collapse. So, perhaps it's like that in this region on Mars as well. Future Martian spelunkers should be excited, because most caves on Earth are in karst areas. Other suggestions of water here are some long, narrow valleys that resemble Earth surfaces where groundwater has sapped away the terrain. Sapping occurs when groundwater erodes slopes, creating valleys. Water action can be concentrated at valley heads, leading to what is called their "headward growth." That may be what has happened here on Alba Patera as well. All of these features suggest the action of liquid water, but Mars is so cold, you might wonder if any water would have to be as frozen as the world it is on. Well . . . that depends! Remember that this area is part of a volcano, and volcanoes can put out enough heat and energy below the surface to keep water warm enough to flow - if not now, then at least in the past when the volcano was more active.
Alba Patera
PIA03774
Sol (our sun)
Thermal Emission Imaging Sys …
Title Alba Patera
Original Caption Released with Image (Released 22 April 2002) The Science This image, centered near 46.5 N and 119.3 W (240.7 E), is on the northwestern flank of a large, broad shield volcano called Alba Patera. This region of Mars has a number of unique valley features that at first glance look dendritic much in the same pattern that rivers and tributaries form on Earth. A closer look reveals that the valleys are quite discontinuous and must form through a different process than surface runoff of liquid water that is common on Earth. A number of processes might have taken place at some point in the Martian past to form these features. Some of the broad valley features bear some resemblance to karst topography, where material is removed underground by melting or dissolving in groundwater causing the collapse of the surface above it. The long narrow valleys resemble surfaces where groundwater sapping has occurred. Sapping happens when groundwater reaches the surface and causes headward erosion, forming long valleys with fewer tributaries than is seen with valleys formed by surface water runoff. The volcano itself might have been a source of heat and energy, which played a role in producing surfaces that indicate an active groundwater system. The Story Fluid, oozing lava poured somewhat lazily over this area long ago. It happened perhaps thousands of times, over hundreds of thousands of Martian years, creating the nearly smooth, plaster-of-Paris-looking terrain seen today. (Small craters also dent the area, though they may deceive you and look like raised bumps instead. That's just a trick of the eye and the lighting - tilt your head to your left shoulder, and you should see the craters pit the surface as expected.) The lava flows came from a Martian "shield" volcano named Alba Patera. Shield volcanoes get their name from their appearance: from above, they look like large battle shields lying face up to the sky as if a giant, geological warrior had lain them down. Perhaps one did if you think of a volcano as a "geologic warrior," that is. These volcanoes aren't too fierce, however. Because of the gentle layering of lava over time, they don't stand tall and angry against the horizon, but instead have relatively gentle slopes and are spread out over large areas. (On Earth, the Hawaiian Islands are examples of shield volcanoes, but you can't see much of their expanse, since they rise almost three miles from the ocean floor before popping out above the water's surface.) What's most interesting in this picture are all of the branching features that lightly texture the terrain. The patterns may look like those caused by rivers here on Earth, but geologists say that no surface streams on Mars were responsible. That's no disappointment, however, to those who'd like to find water on Mars, because there are still intriguing water-related possibilities here. Some of the broad valley features in this image look like karsts, a terrain found on Earth in Karst, a limestone area on the Adriatic, Sea in modern-day Croatia, and in other world regions including France, China, the American Midwest, Kentucky, and Florida. Karst terrain on Earth is barren land with all kinds of caves, sinkholes, and underground rivers that excavate the subsurface, causing the surface above it to collapse. So, perhaps it's like that in this region on Mars as well. Future Martian spelunkers should be excited, because most caves on Earth are in karst areas. Other suggestions of water here are some long, narrow valleys that resemble Earth surfaces where groundwater has sapped away the terrain. Sapping occurs when groundwater erodes slopes, creating valleys. Water action can be concentrated at valley heads, leading to what is called their "headward growth." That may be what has happened here on Alba Patera as well. All of these features suggest the action of liquid water, but Mars is so cold, you might wonder if any water would have to be as frozen as the world it is on. Well . . . that depends! Remember that this area is part of a volcano, and volcanoes can put out enough heat and energy below the surface to keep water warm enough to flow - if not now, then at least in the past when the volcano was more active.
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