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Crab Nebula Supernova Remnan …
Title Crab Nebula Supernova Remnant (IRAC-MIPS Image)
Description The Crab Nebula is the shattered remnant of a massive star that ended its life in a massive supernova explosion. Nearly a thousand years old, the supernova was noted in the constellation of Taurus by Chinese astronomers in the year 1054 AD. This view of the supernova remnant obtained by the Spitzer Space Telescope shows the infrared view of this complex object. The blue region traces the cloud of energetic electrons trapped within the star's magnetic field, emitting so-called "synchrotron" radiation. The yellow-red features follow the well-known filamentary structures that permeate this nebula. Though they are known to contain hot gasses, their exact nature is still a mystery that astronomers are examining. The energetic cloud of electrons are driven by a rapidly rotating neutron star, or pulsar, at its core. The nebula is about 6,500 light-years away from the Earth, and is 5 light-years across. This false-color image presents images from Spitzer's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS) at 3.6 (blue), 8.0 (green), 24 (red) microns.
Crab Nebula Supernova Remnan …
Title Crab Nebula Supernova Remnant (IRAC Image)
Description The Crab Nebula is the shattered remnant of a massive star that ended its life in a massive supernova explosion. Nearly a thousand years old, the supernova was noted in the constellation of Taurus by Chinese astronomers in the year 1054 AD. This view of the supernova remnant obtained by the Spitzer Space Telescope shows the infrared view of this complex object. The blue-white region traces the cloud of energetic electrons trapped within the star's magnetic field, emitting so-called "synchrotron" radiation. The red features follow the well-known filamentary structures that permeate this nebula. Though they are known to contain hot gasses, their exact nature is still a mystery that astronomers are examining. The energetic cloud of electrons are driven by a rapidly rotating neutron star, or pulsar, at its core. The nebula is about 6,500 light-years away from the Earth, and is 5 light-years across. This false-color image presents images from Spitzer's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) at 3.6 (blue), 4.5 (green), and 8.0 (red) microns.
The Spirit of Halloween Live …
Title The Spirit of Halloween Lives On as a Dead Star Creates Celestial Havoc
Description According to the folklore of the Celts and other ancient cultures, Halloween marked the midpoint between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice on the astronomical calendar, a spooky night when spirits of the dead spread havoc upon their return to Earth. Nowadays, Halloween is primarily a time for children to dress in costume and demand treats, but the original spirit of Halloween lives on in the sky in the guise of the Crab Nebula. A star's spectacular death in the constellation Taurus was observed on Earth as the supernova of 1054 A.D. Now, almost a thousand years later, a superdense neutron star left behind by the stellar death is spewing out a blizzard of extremely high-energy particles into the expanding debris field known as the Crab Nebula. This composite image uses data from three of NASA's Great Observatories. The Chandra X-ray image is shown in light blue, the Hubble Space Telescope optical images are in green and dark blue, and the Spitzer Space Telescope's infrared image is in red. The size of the X-ray image is smaller than the others because ultrahigh-energy X-ray emitting electrons radiate away their energy more quickly than the lower-energy electrons emitting optical and infrared light. The neutron star, which has the mass equivalent to the sun crammed into a rapidly spinning ball of neutrons twelve miles across, is the bright white dot in the center of the image.
The Seven Sisters Pose for S …
Title The Seven Sisters Pose for Spitzer
Description The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades star cluster, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings. Greek mythology holds that the flock of stars was transformed into celestial doves by Zeus to save them from a pursuant Orion. The 19th-century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described them as "glittering like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid." The star cluster was born when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, about 100 million years ago. It is significantly younger than our 5-billion-year-old sun. The brightest members of the cluster, also the highest-mass stars, are known in Greek mythology as two parents, Atlas and Pleione, and their seven daughters, Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Celaeno and Asterope. There are thousands of additional lower-mass members, including many stars like our sun. Some scientists believe that our sun grew up in a crowded region like the Pleiades, before migrating to its present, more isolated home. The new infrared image from Spitzer highlights the "tangled silver braid" mentioned in the poem by Tennyson. This spider-web-like network of filaments, colored yellow, green and red in this view, is made up of dust associated with the cloud through which the cluster is traveling. The densest portion of the cloud appears in yellow and red, and the more diffuse outskirts are shown in green hues. One of the parent stars, Atlas, can be seen at the bottom, while six of the sisters are visible at top. Additional stars in the cluster are sprinkled throughout the picture in blue. The Spitzer data also reveal never-before-seen brown dwarfs, or "failed stars," and disks of planetary debris (not pictured). John Stauffer of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission says Spitzer's infrared vision allows astronomers to better study the cooler, lower-mass stars in the region, which are much fainter when viewed in optical light. Stauffer, who admits to being biased because the Pleiades is his favorite astronomical object, says the cluster is the perfect laboratory for understanding the evolution of stars. This image is made up of data taken by Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer and its infrared array camera. Light with a wavelength of 4.5 microns is blue, light of 8 microns is green, and light of 24 microns is red.
The Seven Sisters Pose for S …
Title The Seven Sisters Pose for Spitzer
Description The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades star cluster, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings. Greek mythology holds that the flock of stars was transformed into celestial doves by Zeus to save them from a pursuant Orion. The 19th-century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described them as "glittering like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid." The star cluster was born when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, about 100 million years ago. It is significantly younger than our 5-billion-year-old sun. The brightest members of the cluster, also the highest-mass stars, are known in Greek mythology as two parents, Atlas and Pleione, and their seven daughters, Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Celaeno and Asterope. There are thousands of additional lower-mass members, including many stars like our sun. Some scientists believe that our sun grew up in a crowded region like the Pleiades, before migrating to its present, more isolated home. The new infrared image from Spitzer highlights the "tangled silver braid" mentioned in the poem by Tennyson. This spider-web-like network of filaments, colored yellow, green and red in this view, is made up of dust associated with the cloud through which the cluster is traveling. The densest portion of the cloud appears in yellow and red, and the more diffuse outskirts are shown in green hues. One of the parent stars, Atlas, can be seen at the bottom, while six of the sisters are visible at top. Additional stars in the cluster are sprinkled throughout the picture in blue. The Spitzer data also reveal never-before-seen brown dwarfs, or "failed stars," and disks of planetary debris (not pictured). John Stauffer of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission says Spitzer's infrared vision allows astronomers to better study the cooler, lower-mass stars in the region, which are much fainter when viewed in optical light. Stauffer, who admits to being biased because the Pleiades is his favorite astronomical object, says the cluster is the perfect laboratory for understanding the evolution of stars. This image is made up of data taken by Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer and its infrared array camera. Light with a wavelength of 4.5 microns is blue, light of 8 microns is green, and light of 24 microns is red.
Pink Pleiades
Title Pink Pleiades
Description The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades star cluster, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings. Greek mythology holds that the flock of stars was transformed into celestial doves by Zeus to save them from a pursuant Orion. The 19th-century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described them as "glittering like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid." The star cluster was born when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, about 100 million years ago. It is significantly younger than our 5-billion-year-old sun. The brightest members of the cluster, also the highest-mass stars, are known in Greek mythology as two parents, Atlas and Pleione, and their seven daughters, Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Celaeno and Asterope. There are thousands of additional lower-mass members, including many stars like our sun. Some scientists believe that our sun grew up in a crowded region like the Pleiades, before migrating to its present, more isolated home. The new infrared image from Spitzer highlights the "tangled silver braid" mentioned in the poem by Tennyson. This spider-web-like network of filaments, colored red in this view, is made up of dust associated with the cloud through which the cluster is traveling. One of the parent stars, Atlas, can be seen at the bottom, while six of the sisters are visible at top. Additional stars in the cluster are sprinkled throughout the picture in blue. The Spitzer data also reveal never-before-seen brown dwarfs, or "failed stars," and disks of planetary debris (not pictured). John Stauffer of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission says Spitzer's infrared vision allows astronomers to better study the cooler, lower-mass stars in the region, which are much fainter when viewed in optical light. Stauffer, who admits to being biased because the Pleiades is his favorite astronomical object, says the cluster is the perfect laboratory for understanding the evolution of stars. This image shows infrared light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Light with wavelengths of 8 and 5.8 microns is red and orange, light of 4.5 microns is green, and light of 3.6 microns is blue.
Pink Pleiades
Title Pink Pleiades
Description The Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades star cluster, seem to float on a bed of feathers in a new infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Clouds of dust sweep around the stars, swaddling them in a cushiony veil. The Pleiades, located more than 400 light-years away in the Taurus constellation, are the subject of many legends and writings. Greek mythology holds that the flock of stars was transformed into celestial doves by Zeus to save them from a pursuant Orion. The 19th-century poet Alfred Lord Tennyson described them as "glittering like a swarm of fireflies tangled in a silver braid." The star cluster was born when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, about 100 million years ago. It is significantly younger than our 5-billion-year-old sun. The brightest members of the cluster, also the highest-mass stars, are known in Greek mythology as two parents, Atlas and Pleione, and their seven daughters, Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Celaeno and Asterope. There are thousands of additional lower-mass members, including many stars like our sun. Some scientists believe that our sun grew up in a crowded region like the Pleiades, before migrating to its present, more isolated home. The new infrared image from Spitzer highlights the "tangled silver braid" mentioned in the poem by Tennyson. This spider-web-like network of filaments, colored red in this view, is made up of dust associated with the cloud through which the cluster is traveling. One of the parent stars, Atlas, can be seen at the bottom, while six of the sisters are visible at top. Additional stars in the cluster are sprinkled throughout the picture in blue. The Spitzer data also reveal never-before-seen brown dwarfs, or "failed stars," and disks of planetary debris (not pictured). John Stauffer of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope mission says Spitzer's infrared vision allows astronomers to better study the cooler, lower-mass stars in the region, which are much fainter when viewed in optical light. Stauffer, who admits to being biased because the Pleiades is his favorite astronomical object, says the cluster is the perfect laboratory for understanding the evolution of stars. This image shows infrared light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Light with wavelengths of 8 and 5.8 microns is red and orange, light of 4.5 microns is green, and light of 3.6 microns is blue.
Crab Nebula Movie: Space Mov …
Name Crab Nebula Movie: Space Movie Reveals Shocking Secrets of the Crab Pulsar
Category Supernovas & Supernova Remnants
Release Date September 19, 2002
Schmitt with Flag and Earth …
Title Schmitt with Flag and Earth Above
Full Description Geologist-Astronaut Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 Lunar Module pilot, is photographed next to the American Flag during extravehicular activity (EVA) of NASA's final lunar landing mission in the Apollo series. The photo was taken at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. The highest part of the flag appears to point toward our planet earth in the distant background.
Date 12/13/1972
NASA Center Johnson Space Center
Hubble Observes the Fire and …
Title Hubble Observes the Fire and Fury of a Stellar Birth
Astronomers Track Down Aster …
Title Astronomers Track Down Asteroids in Hubble Archive
Hubble Takes First Image of …
Title Hubble Takes First Image of a Possible Planet around Another Star and Finds a Runaway World
General Information What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. The Hubble telescope has given astronomers their first direct look at what is possibly a planet outside our solar system &#151, one apparently that has been ejected into deep space by its parent stars. The discovery further challenges conventional theories about the birth and evolution of planets, and offers new insights into the formation of our own solar system. Located within a star-forming region in the constellation Taurus, the object, called TMR-1C, appears to lie at the end of a strange filament of light, suggesting it has apparently been flung away from the vicinity of a newly forming pair of binary stars. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1998/19/text/ ]
Astronomers Track Down Aster …
Title Astronomers Track Down Asteroids in Hubble Archive
Hubble Takes First Image of …
Title Hubble Takes First Image of a Possible Planet around Another Star and Finds a Runaway World
General Information What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. The Hubble telescope has given astronomers their first direct look at what is possibly a planet outside our solar system &#151, one apparently that has been ejected into deep space by its parent stars. The discovery further challenges conventional theories about the birth and evolution of planets, and offers new insights into the formation of our own solar system. Located within a star-forming region in the constellation Taurus, the object, called TMR-1C, appears to lie at the end of a strange filament of light, suggesting it has apparently been flung away from the vicinity of a newly forming pair of binary stars. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1998/19/text/ ]
Movies from Hubble Show the …
Title Movies from Hubble Show the Changing Faces of Infant Stars
Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage …
Title Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage for Planet Birth in New Hubble Images
General Information What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. Dramatic pictures of eerie disks of dust encircling young stars are giving astronomers a new look at what may be the early formative stages of planetary systems. Although these pictures from the Hubble telescope don't show planets, the edge-on disks seen by the telescope provide some of the clearest views to date of potential planetary construction zones, say researchers. The images also offer a peek at what happened 4.5 billion years ago when the Earth and other planets in our solar system began to condense out of a pancake-shaped disk of dust and gas centered on the young Sun. These images were taken by Hubble's infrared camera. All of the objects in these pictures are extremely young stars, buried in the centers of these pictures. The wisps of material surrounding the young stars are glowing from reflected starlight. Read more: * Release Text [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/05/text/ ]
Intergalactic 'Pipeline' Fun …
Title Intergalactic 'Pipeline' Funnels Matter Between Colliding Galaxies
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 ]
Movies from Hubble Show the …
Title Movies from Hubble Show the Changing Faces of Infant Stars
Space Movie Reveals Shocking …
Title Space Movie Reveals Shocking Secrets of the Crab Pulsar
General Information What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. Back to top [ #top ]
Space Movie Reveals Shocking …
Title Space Movie Reveals Shocking Secrets of the Crab Pulsar
General Information What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. Back to top [ #top ]
Space Movie Reveals Shocking …
Title Space Movie Reveals Shocking Secrets of the Crab Pulsar
General Information What is a Space Science Update? Major Hubble discoveries on NASA television ... Astronomers explain their Hubble discoveries at a press conference, called a Space Science Update (SSU), broadcast on NASA television. The SSU includes a question and answer session with members of the media. Back to top [ #top ]
NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss …
Title NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources
NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss …
Title NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources
NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss …
Title NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources
NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss …
Title NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources
NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss …
Title NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources
Hubble Refines Distance to P …
Title Hubble Refines Distance to Pleiades Star Cluster
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 ]
NASA's Hubble Looks for Poss …
Title NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources
The Apollo 17 Insignia
Name of Image The Apollo 17 Insignia
Date of Image 1972-01-01
Full Description This is the Apollo 17 insignia or logo. The seventh and last manned lunar landing and return to Earth mission, the Apollo 17, carried a crew of three astronauts: Harrison H. Schmitt, Lunar Module pilot, Eugene A. Cernan, mission commander, and Ronald E. Evans, Command Module pilot. Apollo 17 lifted off on December 7, 1972 from the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC). Scientific objectives of the mission included geological surveying and sampling of materials and surface features in a preselected area of the Taurus-Littrow region, deploying and activating surface experiments, and conducting in-flight experiments and photographic tasks during lunar orbit and transearth coast (TEC). The objectives included deployed experiments such as the Apollo lunar surface experiment package (ALSEP) with a Heat Flow experiment, Lunar seismic profiling (LSP), Lunar surface gravimeter (LSG), Lunar atmospheric composition experiment (LACE) and Lunar ejecta and meteorites (LEAM). The mission also included Lunar Sampling and Lunar Orbital experiments. Biomedical experiments included the Biostack II and the BIOCORE experiments. The mission marked the longest Apollo mission, 504 hours, and the longest lunar surface stay time, 75 hours, which allowed the astronauts to conduct an extensive geological investigation. They collected 257 pounds (117 kilograms) of lunar samples with the use of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) designed Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The mission ended on December 19, 1972.
Lunar Roving Vehicle Parked …
Name of Image Lunar Roving Vehicle Parked Beside Boulder on Lunar Surface
Date of Image 1972-12-13
Full Description In this Apollo 17 onboard photo, a Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is parked beside a huge boulder near the Valley of Tourus-Litttrow on the lunar surface. The seventh and last manned lunar landing and return to Earth mission, the Apollo 17, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Mission Commander Eugene A. Cernan, Lunar Module pilot Harrison H. Schmitt, and Command Module pilot Ronald E. Evans, lifted off on December 7, 1972 from the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC). Scientific objectives of the Apollo 17 mission included geological surveying and sampling of materials and surface features in a preselected area of the Taurus-Littrow region, deploying and activating surface experiments, and conducting in-flight experiments and photographic tasks during lunar orbit and transearth coast (TEC). These objectives included: Deployed experiments such as the Apollo lunar surface experiment package (ALSEP) with a Heat Flow experiment, Lunar seismic profiling (LSP), Lunar surface gravimeter (LSG), Lunar atmospheric composition experiment (LACE) and Lunar ejecta and meteorites (LEAM). The mission also included Lunar Sampling and Lunar orbital experiments. Biomedical experiments included the Biostack II Experiment and the BIOCORE experiment. The mission marked the longest Apollo mission, 504 hours, and the longest lunar surface stay time, 75 hours, which allowed the astronauts to conduct an extensive geological investigation. They collected 257 pounds (117 kilograms) of lunar samples with the use of the Marshall Space Flight Center developed LRV. The mission ended on December 19, 1972
Apollo 17 Astronaut Harrison …
Name of Image Apollo 17 Astronaut Harrison Schmitt Collects Lunar Rock Samples
Date of Image 1972-12-13
Full Description In this Apollo 17 onboard photo, Lunar Module pilot Harrison H. Schmitt collects rock samples from a huge boulder near the Valley of Tourus-Littrow on the lunar surface. The seventh and last manned lunar landing and return to Earth mission, the Apollo 17, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Schmitt, Mission Commander Eugene A. Cernan, and Command Module pilot Ronald E. Evans, lifted off on December 7, 1972 from the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC). Scientific objectives of the Apollo 17 mission included geological surveying and sampling of materials and surface features in a preselected area of the Taurus-Littrow region, deploying and activating surface experiments, and conducting in-flight experiments and photographic tasks during lunar orbit and transearth coast (TEC). These objectives included: Deployed experiments such as the Apollo lunar surface experiment package (ALSEP) with a Heat Flow experiment, Lunar seismic profiling (LSP), Lunar surface gravimeter (LSG), Lunar atmospheric composition experiment (LACE) and Lunar ejecta and meteorites (LEAM). The mission also included Lunar Sampling and Lunar orbital experiments. Biomedical experiments included the Biostack II Experiment and the BIOCORE experiment. The mission marked the longest Apollo mission, 504 hours, and the longest lunar surface stay time, 75 hours, which allowed the astronauts to conduct an extensive geological investigation. They collected 257 pounds (117 kilograms) of lunar samples with the use of the Marshall Space Flight Center designed Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The mission ended on December 19, 1972
Apollo 17 Astronaut Cernan A …
Name of Image Apollo 17 Astronaut Cernan Adjusts U.S. Flag on Lunar Surface
Date of Image 1972-12-12
Full Description In this Apollo 17 onboard photo, Mission Commander Eugene A. Cernan adjusts the U.S. flag deployed upon the Moon. The seventh and last manned lunar landing and return to Earth mission, the Apollo 17, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Cernan, Lunar Module pilot Harrison H. Schmitt, and Command Module pilot Ronald E. Evans, lifted off on December 7, 1972 from the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC). Scientific objectives of the Apollo 17 mission included geological surveying and sampling of materials and surface features in a preselected area of the Taurus-Littrow region, deploying and activating surface experiments, and conducting in-flight experiments and photographic tasks during lunar orbit and transearth coast (TEC). These objectives included: Deployed experiments such as the Apollo lunar surface experiment package (ALSEP) with a Heat Flow experiment, Lunar seismic profiling (LSP), Lunar surface gravimeter (LSG), Lunar atmospheric composition experiment (LACE) and Lunar ejecta and meteorites (LEAM). The mission also included Lunar Sampling and Lunar orbital experiments. Biomedical experiments included the Biostack II Experiment and the BIOCORE experiment. The mission marked the longest Apollo mission, 504 hours, and the longest lunar surface stay time, 75 hours, which allowed the astronauts to conduct an extensive geological investigation. They collected 257 pounds (117 kilograms) of lunar samples with the use of the Marshall Space Flight Center developed LRV. The mission ended on December 19, 1972
Apollo 17 Astronaut Evans Re …
Name of Image Apollo 17 Astronaut Evans Retrieves Film Canister During Space Walk
Date of Image 1972-12-14
Full Description In this Apollo 17 onboard photo, Command Module pilot Ronald E. Evans retrieved the film canister of the mapping cameras on the day after Apollo 17 left lunar orbit. His space walk lasted an hour. The seventh and last manned lunar landing and return to Earth mission, the Apollo 17, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Evans, Mission Commander Eugene A. Cernan, and Lunar Module pilot Harrison H. Schmitt, lifted off on December 7, 1972 from the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC). Scientific objectives of the Apollo 17 mission included geological surveying and sampling of materials and surface features in a preselected area of the Taurus-Littrow region, deploying and activating surface experiments, and conducting in-flight experiments and photographic tasks during lunar orbit and transearth coast (TEC). These objectives included: Deployed experiments such as the Apollo lunar surface experiment package (ALSEP) with a Heat Flow experiment, Lunar seismic profiling (LSP), Lunar surface gravimeter (LSG), Lunar atmospheric composition experiment (LACE) and Lunar ejecta and meteorites (LEAM). The mission also included Lunar Sampling and Lunar orbital experiments. Biomedical experiments included the Biostack II Experiment and the BIOCORE experiment. The mission marked the longest Apollo mission, 504 hours, and the longest lunar surface stay time, 75 hours, which allowed the astronauts to conduct an extensive geological investigation. They collected 257 pounds (117 kilograms) of lunar samples with the use of the Marshall Space Flight Center designed Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The mission ended on December 19, 1972
Montage of Apollo Crew Patch …
Name of Image Montage of Apollo Crew Patches
Date of Image 1979-05-01
Full Description This montage depicts the flight crew patches for the manned Apollo 7 thru Apollo 17 missions. The Apollo 7 through 10 missions were basically manned test flights that paved the way for lunar landing missions. Primary objectives met included the demonstration of the Command Service Module (CSM) crew performance, crew/space vehicle/mission support facilities performance and testing during a manned CSM mission, CSM rendezvous capability, translunar injection demonstration, the first manned Apollo docking, the first Apollo Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA), performance of the first manned flight of the lunar module (LM), the CSM-LM docking in translunar trajectory, LM undocking in lunar orbit, LM staging in lunar orbit, and manned LM-CSM docking in lunar orbit. Apollo 11 through 17 were lunar landing missions with the exception of Apollo 13 which was forced to circle the moon without landing due to an onboard explosion. The craft was,however, able to return to Earth safely. Apollo 11 was the first manned lunar landing mission and performed the first lunar surface EVA. Landing site was the Sea of Tranquility. A message for mankind was delivered, the U.S. flag was planted, experiments were set up and 47 pounds of lunar surface material was collected for analysis back on Earth. Apollo 12, the 2nd manned lunar landing mission landed in the Ocean of Storms and retrieved parts of the unmanned Surveyor 3, which had landed on the Moon in April 1967. The Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) was deployed, and 75 pounds of lunar material was gathered. Apollo 14, the 3rd lunar landing mission landed in Fra Mauro. ALSEP and other instruments were deployed, and 94 pounds of lunar materials were gathered, using a hand cart for first time to transport rocks. Apollo 15, the 4th lunar landing mission landed in the Hadley-Apennine region. With the first use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), the crew was bale to gather 169 pounds of lunar material. Apollo 16, the 5th lunar landing mission, landed in the Descartes Highlands for the first study of highlands area. Selected surface experiments were deployed, the ultraviolet camera/spectrograph was used for first time on the Moon, and the LRV was used for second time for a collection of 213 pounds of lunar material. The Apollo program came to a close with Apollo 17, the 6th and final manned lunar landing mission that landed in the Taurus-Littrow highlands and valley area. This mission hosted the first scientist-astronaut, Schmitt, to land on the Moon. The 6th automated research station was set up, and 243 ponds of lunar material was gathered using the LRV.
Apollo 17 Astronaut and Unit …
Name of Image Apollo 17 Astronaut and United States Flag on Lunar Surface
Date of Image 1972-12-12
Full Description This is an Apollo 17 Astronaut standing upon the lunar surface with the United States flag in the background. The seventh and last manned lunar landing and return to Earth mission, the Apollo 17, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Mission Commander Eugene A. Cernan, Lunar Module pilot Harrison H. Schmitt, and Command Module pilot Ronald E. Evans lifted off on December 7, 1972 from the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC). Scientific objectives of the Apollo 17 mission included geological surveying and sampling of materials and surface features in a preselected area of the Taurus-Littrow region, deploying and activating surface experiments, and conducting in-flight experiments and photographic tasks during lunar orbit and transearth coast (TEC). These objectives included: Deployed experiments such as the Apollo lunar surface experiment package (ALSEP) with a Heat Flow experiment, Lunar seismic profiling (LSP), Lunar surface gravimeter (LSG), Lunar atmospheric composition experiment (LACE) and Lunar ejecta and meteorites (LEAM). The mission also included Lunar Sampling and Lunar orbital experiments. Biomedical experiments included the Biostack II Experiment and the BIOCORE experiment. The mission marked the longest Apollo mission, 504 hours, and the longest lunar surface stay time, 75 hours, which allowed the astronauts to conduct an extensive geological investigation. They collected 257 pounds (117 kilograms) of lunar samples with the use of the Marshall Space Flight Center designed Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The mission ended on December 19, 1972
Apollo 17 View of Lunar Surf …
Name of Image Apollo 17 View of Lunar Surface
Date of Image 1972-12-13
Full Description This view of the Lunar surface was taken during the Apollo 17 mission. The seventh and last manned lunar landing and return to Earth mission, the Apollo 17, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Mission Commander Eugene A. Cernan, Lunar Module pilot Harrison H. Schmitt, and Command Module pilot Ronald E. Evans, lifted off on December 7, 1972 from the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC). Scientific objectives of the Apollo 17 mission included geological surveying and sampling of materials and surface features in a preselected area of the Taurus-Littrow region, deploying and activating surface experiments, and conducting in-flight experiments and photographic tasks during lunar orbit and transearth coast (TEC). These objectives included: Deployed experiments such as the Apollo lunar surface experiment package (ALSEP) with a Heat Flow experiment, Lunar seismic profiling (LSP), Lunar surface gravimeter (LSG), Lunar atmospheric composition experiment (LACE) and Lunar ejecta and meteorites (LEAM). The mission also included Lunar Sampling and Lunar orbital experiments. Biomedical experiments included the Biostack II Experiment and the BIOCORE experiment. The mission marked the longest Apollo mission, 504 hours, and the longest lunar surface stay time, 75 hours, which allowed the astronauts to conduct an extensive geological investigation. They collected 257 pounds (117 kilograms) of lunar samples with the use of the Marshall Space Flight Center designed Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The mission ended on December 19, 1972.
September Sky
Title September Sky
Explanation Star clusters, planets, and a red giant posed for this portrait of the night [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000708.html ] sky from rural Jasper County, Iowa, USA. Astrophotographer [ http://geocities.com/stanzman_2001/ ] Stan Richard recorded the four minute time exposure looking east around midnight on September 3rd at Ashton-Wildwood Park. To avoid star trails [ http://pages.prodigy.net/pam.orman/JoeTrails.html ], his camera was mounted on a barndoor-style [ http://casa.colorado.edu/~rachford/widefield/ barndoor.html ] tracker to compensate for the Earth's rotation [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000715.html ]. Can you identify his celestial subjects? (Click on the image for a labeled version.) The Pleiades [ http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/articles/p/ pleiades.html ] and Hyades [ http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/articles/h/hyades.html ], the closest open or galactic star clusters [ http://www.seds.org/messier/open.html ] to the Sun, should be recognizable to beginning stargazers [ http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]. Of course gas giant Jupiter [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter.html ] rules as the brightest object in the picture and the largest planet in the Solar System, but second largest planet Saturn [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/Kids/stories/ ] is also visible nearby. For sheer size cool red giant star Aldebaran [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/aldebaran.html ] is more impressive though, spanning about forty times the diameter of the Sun. Sixty light-years away and yellowish in this picture, Aldebaran is known as Alpha Tauri, the brightest star in Taurus [ http://aibn47.astro.uni-bonn.de/~gallery/constellations/ taurus/ ], the Bull.
Apollo 17's Moonship
Title Apollo 17's Moonship
Explanation Awkward and angular looking, Apollo 17's lunar module Challenger [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/database/www-nmc?72-096C ] was designed for flight [ http://users.specdata.com/home/pullo/lm_mis1.htm ] in the vacuum of space. This sharp picture from the command module America [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/database/www-nmc?72-096A ], shows Challenger's ascent stage in lunar orbit. Small reaction control thrusters are at the sides of the moonship with the bell of the ascent rocket engine itself underneath. The hatch allowing access to the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17main.html ] is visible in the front and a round radar antenna appears at the top. This spaceship performed gracefully, landing on the moon and returning the Apollo astronauts to the orbiting command module in December of 1972 - but where is Challenger now? [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apolloloc.html ] Its descent stage remains at the Apollo 17 landing site, Taurus-Littrow [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo17/A17_lsite.html ]. The ascent stage was intentionally crashed nearby after being jettisoned from the command module prior to the astronauts' return [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.homeward.html ] to planet Earth. Apollo 17's mission [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970504.html ] was the sixth and last time astronauts have landed on the moon.
Stars and the Solstice Sun
Title Stars and the Solstice Sun
Explanation If you could turn off the atmosphere's [ http://webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/ 14B.html ] ability to scatter overwhelming sunlight, today's daytime sky might look something like this ... with the Sun surrounded by the stars of the constellations Taurus and Gemini. Of course, today is the Solstice [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice ]. Traveling along the ecliptic plane [ http://www.phy6.org/stargaze/Secliptc.htm ], the Sun is at its northernmost position in planet Earth's sky, marking the astronomical [ http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/ badseasons.html ] beginning of summer [ http://shakespeare.mit.edu/midsummer/ ] in the north. Accurate for the exact time of today's Solstice, this composite image also [ http://www.astropix.com/HTML/SHOWCASE/SOLSTICE.HTM ] shows the Sun at the proper scale (about the angular size [ http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/scale.html ] of the Full Moon). Open star cluster M35 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060419.html ] is to the Sun's left, and the other two bright stars in view are Mu and Eta [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040408.html ] Geminorum. Digitally superimposed on a nighttime image of the stars, the Sun itself is a composite of a picture taken through a solar filter and a series of images of the solar corona recorded during the solar eclipse [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980311.html ] of February 26, 1998 by Andreas Gada.
Strange Orange Soil on the M …
Title Strange Orange Soil on the Moon
Explanation How did orange soil appear on the Moon? This mystery began [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010523.html http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a17/a17.sta4.html ] when astronaut Harrison Schmidt [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010523.html http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.crew.html#jackbio ] noticed the off-color patch near Apollo 17 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001209.html ]'s Taurus-Littrow [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo17/A17_lsite.html ] landing site in 1972. Schmidt and fellow astronaut Eugene Cernan [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.crew.html#genebio ] scooped up some of the unusual orange soil [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a17/a17.sta4.html ] for detailed inspection back on Earth. Pictured above [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/AS17/10076006.htm ] is a return sample shown greatly magnified, with its discovery location shown in the inset [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/AS17/10075960.htm ]. The orange soil [ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/expmoon/Apollo17/A17_sampact.html ] contains particles less than 0.1 millimeter across, some of the smallest particles yet found on the Moon [ http://www.nasm.edu/galleries/attm/wl.so.1.html ]. Lunar geologists now think that the orange soil [ http://www.solarviews.com/cap/moon/moondust.htm ] was created during an ancient fire-fountain [ http://www.solarviews.com/cap/volc/fountain.htm ]. Detailed chemical and dating analyses indicate [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1996LPI....27..303D ] that during an explosive volcanic eruption 3.64 billion years ago, small drops [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000322.html ] of molten rock cooled rapidly into the nearly spherical colored grains. The origin of some of the unusual elements found in the soil [ http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/lunar/lunar.htm ], however, remains unknown.
Moonless Perseid Sky
Title Moonless Perseid Sky
Explanation Last weekend, dark, moonless night skies brought many sightings of Perseid meteors [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/ 11jul_greatperseids.htm ] to skygazers all over [ http://spaceweather.com/meteors/gallery_12aug07.htm ] planet Earth. Early Sunday morning astronomer John Chumack's camera captured this Perseid [ http://meteorshowersonline.com/perseids.html ] meteor streak with a flare near the end of its track over Yellow Springs, Ohio. The single, four minute long exposure looks toward the constellation of Taurus and the eastern horizon. The meteor streak points back to the annual meteor [ http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?meteor_streams ] shower's radiant [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070812.html ] in Perseus off the upper left corner of the picture. Of course [ http://spaceweather.com/meteors/perseids/images2007/ skymap_north.gif ], the view includes the well-known Pleiades [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/pleiades-p.html ] Star cluster (near top center) with a bright yellowish planet Mars below it. Also seen with a yellowish tint but not quite as bright as Mars, the giant star Aldebaran [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/aldebaran.html ] anchors the V-shaped Hyades [ http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/hyades-p.html ] star cluster left of center, above the trees.
Apollo 17's Lunar Rover
Title Apollo 17's Lunar Rover
Explanation In December of 1972, Apollo 17 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001209.html ] astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent about 75 hours exploring [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17j.html ] the Moon's Taurus-Littrow valley [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo17/A17_lsite.html ] while colleague Ronald Evans orbited overhead. Cernan and Schmitt were the last humans to walk or ride on the Moon - aided in their explorations [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010523.html ] by a Lunar Roving Vehicle [ http://www-sn.jsc.nasa.gov/PlanetaryMissions/EXLibrary/docs/ ApolloCat/Part1/LRV.htm ]. The skeletal-looking lunar rover was [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ lrvhand.html ] just over 10 feet long, 6 feet wide and easily carried astronauts, equipment, and rock samples in the Moon's [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html ] low gravity (about 1/6 Earth's). In this picture [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/images17.html ], Cernan stands at the back of the rover which carried the two astronauts in lawn-chair style seats. An umbrella-shaped high gain antenna and TV camera are mounted in the front. Powered by four 1/4 horsepower electric motors, one for each wheel [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990501.html ], this rover was driven a total of about 18 miles across the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/frame.html ]. Its estimated top speed was a blazing 8 miles per hour.
Pioneer 10: The First 7 Bill …
Title Pioneer 10: The First 7 Billion Miles
Explanation "Q:" What was made by humans and is 7.3 billion miles away? "A:" Pioneer 10 -- and 1997 was the 25th anniversary [ http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/pioneer10/ ] of its launch. Almost 11 light-hours distant, Pioneer 10 is presently [ http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/ PNStat.html ] about twice as far from the Sun as Pluto, and bound for interstellar space [ http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/ path.html ] at 28,000 miles per hour. The distinction of being the first human artifact to venture beyond the known planets [ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/cosmic/solar_system.html ] of the Solar System is just one in a long list of firsts for this spacefaring ambassador [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960630.html ], including, the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt and explore the outer Solar System [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961214.html ], the first spacecraft to visit Jupiter [ http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/galileo_probe/index.html ], and the first to use a planet's gravity to change [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf4-1.htm#gravity ] its course and to reach solar-system-escape velocity. Pioneer 10's mission [ http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/pioneer10/mission/ index.html ] is nearing an end. Now exploring the distant reaches of the heliosphere [ http://earth.agu.org/revgeophys/neugeb01/neugeb01.html ] it will soon run out of sufficient electrical power to operate science instruments. However, the 570 lb. spacecraft [ ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1997/97-031.txt ] will continue to coast and in 300,000 years or so it will pass within about 3 light years of nearby star [ http://cassfos02.ucsd.edu/public/nearest.html ] Ross 248. Ross 248 is a faint red dwarf just over 10 light years distant in the constellation Taurus. (Note: In 1998 Voyager 1 [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager.html ], launched 5 years later but traveling faster than Pioneer 10, became humanity's most distant spacecraft.)
Apollo 17's Moonship
Title Apollo 17's Moonship
Explanation Awkward and angular looking, Apollo 17's lunar module Challenger [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/tmp/1972-096A.html ] was designed for flight [ http://users.specdata.com/home/pullo/lm_mis1.htm ] in the vacuum of space. This sharp picture from the command module America [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/tmp/1972-096C.html ], shows Challenger's ascent stage in lunar orbit. Small reaction control thrusters are at the sides of the moonship with the bell of the ascent rocket engine itself underneath. The hatch allowing access to the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17main.html ] is visible in the front and a round radar antenna appears at the top. This spaceship performed gracefully, landing on the moon and returning the Apollo astronauts to the orbiting command module in December of 1972 - but where is Challenger now? [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ apolloloc.html ] Its descent stage remains [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/Apollo/ ls_17_5aa.html ] at the Apollo 17 landing site [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/Apollo/ landing_sites.html ], Taurus-Littrow [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo17/ A17_lsite.html ]. The ascent stage was intentionally crashed nearby after being jettisoned from the command module prior to the astronauts' return [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.homeward.html ] to planet Earth. Apollo 17's mission [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970504.html ] was the sixth and last time astronauts have landed on the moon. "Editor's note:" Eric Jones, Apollo Lunar Surface Journal [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/ frame.html ] editor, comments, "If you look at the [... large, dark] triangular window, you'll see a bright rectangular area - which is the rendezvous window - beneath it, a bright arc. After much discussion, my team of volunteers and I concluded that the bright arc is the top of [mission commander] Gene Cernan's bubble helmet lit by sunlight ..."
Lunar Module at Taurus-Littr …
Title Lunar Module at Taurus-Littrow
Explanation Can the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://hubblesite.org/ ] take a picture that shows the Apollo lunar modules [ http://users.specdata.com/home/pullo/lm_mis1.htm ] on the Moon? With its 2.4 meter diameter mirror [ http://hubblesite.org/sci.d.tech/nuts_.and._bolts/optics/ ], the smallest object that the Hubble can resolve [ http://astrosun.tn.cornell.edu/courses/astro201/ purpose.htm ] at the Moon's distance [ http://www.nineplanets.org/luna.html ] of around 400,000 kilometers is about 80 meters across. So, from low Earth orbit even Hubble's sharp vision can not image the Apollo lunar module descent stages, at most a few meters across, left behind [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981213.html ] at the lunar landing sites [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ apolloland.html ]. A space telescope over ten times the size of Hubble could ... or a much smaller telescope in close lunar orbit. In fact, this picture does just resolve Apollo 17's Lunar Module, Challenger [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020105.html ], and its shadow on the cratered floor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020128.html ] of the Taurus-Littrow valley in the Moon's Mare [ http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/lunarform/ maria.html ] Serenitatis. It was taken in 1972 from the Apollo 17 Command Module, America [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/tmp/ 1972-096A.html ], orbiting about 100 kilometers above the Moon's surface and covers an area about 1.1 kilometers wide. Using a web site [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/Apollo/ landing_sites.html ] created by Dan Durda of Southwest Research Institute, armchair astronauts can explore orbital views of this and the 5 other Apollo [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/apollo.html ] lunar landing sites.
Semeis 147: Supernova Remnan …
Title Semeis 147: Supernova Remnant
Explanation It's easy to get lost following the intricate filaments in this stunningly detailed image [ http://www.galaxyimages.com/s147.html ] of faint supernova remnant [ http://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/ supernovas.html ] Simeis 147. Seen towards the constellation Taurus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020118.html ] it covers nearly 3 degrees (6 full moons) on the sky corresponding to a width of 150 light-years at the stellar debris cloud's estimated distance of 3,000 light-years. On three separate nights in December 2001 and January 2002 astronomer [ http://www.galaxyimages.com/ ] Steve Mandel accumulated a total of over eight hours of exposure time to compose this image. He used an astronomical CCD camera, telephoto lens, and his specially designed adapter to allow such wide-field digital imaging [ http://www.galaxyimages.com/gallery.html ]. He also used a narrow H-alpha [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020822.html ] filter to transmit only the the light from recombining hydrogen atoms in the expanding nebulosity, defining the regions of shocked, glowing gas [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000426.html ]. This supernova remnant has an apparent age of about 100,000 years (light from the original explosion first reached Earth 100,000 years ago) but it is not the only aftermath [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011026.html ] of the massive stellar explosion. The cosmic catastrophe also left behind [ http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/pspm/ arecibo/s147/s147.html ] a spinning neutron star or pulsar, all that remains [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/96/22/pulsars.html ] of the star's dense core.
The Crab that Played with th …
Title The Crab that Played with the Planet
Explanation Wandering [ http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Things/ saturn.html ] through the constellation Taurus, Saturn made [ http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/13dec_saturn.htm ] its closest approach to planet Earth last month, tilting its lovely rings toward appreciative skygazers while rising high in midnight skies. On January 4th and 5th, Saturn also crossed in front of the high and far-off [ http://www.boop.org/jan/justso/crab.htm ] Crab Nebula (M1), a cosmic cloud of debris from a stellar explosion and first on the list of astronomer Charles Messier's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960626.html ] celestial sights. But Saturn and the Crab [ http://www.marcush.net/astronomy/m1.html ] made poor playmates, as light from the bright planet overwhelmed the the diffuse nebula, all but hiding the Crab during the transit [ http://www.surveyor.in-berlin.de/himmel/ indexe.html#saturn ]. Taken on January 2nd, a few days before their closest encounter, this composite digital image illustrates the problem. The subtle nebula [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m001.html ] is just visible at the right, while on the left, light from a drastically over-exposed Saturn overflows its pixels. Composited into the image is a correctly exposed picture of ringed Saturn [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021104.html ] with the Saturnian moons labeled. The well-exposed Saturn image was also taken on January 2nd, but captured with an exposure lasting only a fraction of a second, in contrast with the tens of seconds of exposure time required to reveal the Crab.
Bright Meteor, Dark Sky
Title Bright Meteor, Dark Sky
Explanation Has Orion the Hunter acquired a new weapon? If you turn your head sideways (counterclockwise) you might notice the familiar constellation of Orion [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Orion.html ], particularly the three consecutive bright stars that make up Orion's belt [ http://www.adler.uchicago.edu/ISE/ORION4.HTM ]. But in addition to the stars that compose his sword [ http://www.adler.uchicago.edu/ISE/ORION4.HTM ], Orion [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/OrionStory.html ] appears to have added some sort of futuristic light-saber, possibly in an attempt to finally track down Taurus the Bull [ http://astro.gmu.edu/constellation/TAU.html ]. Actually, the bright streak is a meteor from the Perseid Meteor Shower [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970811.html ], a shower that put on an impressive display last Tuesday morning, when this photograph was taken. This meteor [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/meteorites.html ] was likely a small icy pebble shed years ago from Comet Swift-Tuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960219.html ] that evaporated as it entered Earth's atmosphere [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/space/atmosphere.html ].
Apollo 17's Lunar Rover
Title Apollo 17's Lunar Rover
Explanation In December of 1972, Apollo 17 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031109.html ] astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent about 75 hours exploring [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17j.html ] the Moon's Taurus-Littrow valley [ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/expmoon/Apollo17/ A17_lsite.html ] while colleague Ronald Evans orbited overhead [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020628.html ]. Cernan and Schmitt were the last humans to walk or ride on the Moon - aided in their explorations [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010523.html ] by a Lunar Roving Vehicle [ http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/HumanExplore/Exploration/ EXLibrary/docs/ApolloCat/Part1/LRV.htm ]. The skeletal-looking lunar rover was [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ lrvhand.html ] just over 10 feet long, 6 feet wide and easily carried astronauts, equipment, and rock samples in the Moon's [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html ] low gravity (about 1/6 Earth's). In this picture [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/images17.html ], Cernan stands at the back of the rover which carried the two astronauts in lawn-chair style seats. An umbrella-shaped high gain antenna and TV camera are mounted in the front. Powered by four 1/4 horsepower electric motors, one for each wheel [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040417.html ], this rover was driven a total of about 18 miles across the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/frame.html ]. Its estimated top speed was a blazing 8 miles per hour.
Canaries Sky
Title Canaries Sky
Explanation This gorgeous view of [ http://www.mclink.it/personal/MC7872/deepvoid/deepskyen.htm ] stars, nebulae, and the Milky Way comes from the dark night sky [ http://www.mclink.it/personal/MC7872/deepvoid/index.html ] above the lovely island of La Palma in the Canaries archipelago [ http://www.ing.iac.es/lapalma/history.html ]. The picture was made by a group of experienced astrophotographers who traveled there to take advantage of the ideal observing conditions [ http://www.ing.iac.es/ ] near La Palma's Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos [ http://www.ing.iac.es/orm/orm.html ]. Skygazers can easily pick out several of their favorite astronomical objects [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980214.html ] in this wide angle time exposure which covers about 40 degrees on winter the sky. Faint stars along the plane of our Galaxy compose the delicate, luminous band of the Milky Way [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980226.html ] stretching across the image from the bottom left. The familiar constellation [ http://www.adler.uchicago.edu/ISE/menu.html ] of Orion [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970817.html ] the hunter is also easy to find, with glowing nebulae [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980127.html ] highlighting [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980201.html ] the hunter's belt and sword. Orion's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961202.html ] famous red giant star Betelgeuse [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970216.html ], near picture center, has a yellowish cast and Rigel is [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980209.html ] the bright star in Orion at lower right. Brilliant white Sirius [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960902.html ], near the bottom, is the brightest star in the picture (and in Earth's night sky). Sirius, is part of the constellation Canis Major [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/ constellations/Canis_Major.html ] (Big Dog). Across the Milky Way, above and to the left of Sirius, is slightly less brilliant Procyon, brightest star of Canis Minor [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/ constellations/Canis_Minor.html ]. A V-shaped group [ http://www.adler.uchicago.edu/ISE/HYAPLEIA.HTM ] of yellowish stars at the upper right, part of Taurus the bull [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/ constellations/Taurus.html ], is dominated by the red giant Aldebaran [ http://www.bo.astro.it/copernic/alde-eng.html ].
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