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Epimetheus Falls Behind
| Description |
Epimetheus Falls Behind |
| Full Description |
Janus and Epimetheus continue to separate, following their orbital swap in January 2006. Until 2010, Janus will remain the innermost of the pair, whose orbits around Saturn are separated by only about 50 kilometers (31 miles) on average. Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles across) appears just right of the bright A ring ansa, or edge, while Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) is seen near upper right. (See The Dancing Moons for a closer view of these dancing moons.) The faint F ring extends across the image, Janus appears directly between its near and far edges. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 16, 2006, at a distance of approximately 3.7 million kilometers (2.3 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 22 kilometers (14 miles) per pixel on Janus and Epimetheus. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . Credit:NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
May 16, 2006 |
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Hubble Finds 'Dorian Gray' G
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| Title |
Hubble Finds 'Dorian Gray' Galaxy |
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The Violent Lives of Galaxie
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| Title |
The Violent Lives of Galaxies: Caught in the Cosmic Dark Matter Web |
| 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. Astronomers are using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to dissect one of the largest structures in the universe as part of a quest to understand the violent lives of galaxies. Hubble is providing indirect evidence of unseen dark matter tugging on galaxies in the crowded, rough-and-tumble environment of a massive supercluster of hundreds of galaxies. Dark matter is an invisible form of matter that accounts for most of the universe's mass. Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys has mapped the invisible dark matter scaffolding of the supercluster Abell 901/902, as well as the detailed structure of individual galaxies embedded in it. The image, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, shows the supercluster. The magenta clumps throughout the image reveal the distribution of dark matter in the cluster. The galaxies lie within the clumps of dark matter. The image was assembled by combining a visible-light image of the supercluster taken with the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope in La Silla, Chile, with a dark matter map derived from Hubble observations. Read more: * The Full Story [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2008/03/full/ ] |
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Hubble Finds 'Dorian Gray' G
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| Title |
Hubble Finds 'Dorian Gray' Galaxy |
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Floods in Malawi and Mozambi
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| Title |
Floods in Malawi and Mozambique |
| Description |
Heavy rain is a part of life in Malawi and Mozambique in December and January. In these southern African countries, the two months fall in the middle of the rainy season, which runs from November to March. Though not quite as predictable as the rain, flash flooding is also common in the river valleys of southern Malawi during the rainy season. In late December 2005 and early January 2006, the rains were far more intense than normal, and true to form, the Shire River ran over its banks, displacing thousands of people, according to news reports. This pair of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) images show what two weeks of heavy rain have done to the region. In the false-color images, both taken by MODIS on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, water is black or dark blue. Clouds are pale blue, and plant-covered land is bright green. Bare earth is pinkish tan. In the two weeks that elapsed between December 20, 2005, lower image, and January 2, 2006, top, the land turned a deep green as plants sprang up. The Shire River, not even visible in December, expanded, soaking the land with a smudge of blue. Disruptive though the floods may be, the rains were a mixed blessing. In 2005, the rains failed during February, and crops suffered [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13273 ]. The ensuing food shortages and hunger caused the government to declare a national disaster in early December. The rich agricultural land surrounding the Shire River was among the regions most severely affected by the drought. The December and early January rains fell just as farmers were planting the primary crop of the year, but continued rainfall will still be needed to guarantee that the harvest will be better in 2006. The large images provided above are at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_NMozambique ] of the region in a variety of resolutions. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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Floods in Malawi and Mozambi
…
| Title |
Floods in Malawi and Mozambique |
| Description |
Heavy rain is a part of life in Malawi and Mozambique in December and January. In these southern African countries, the two months fall in the middle of the rainy season, which runs from November to March. Though not quite as predictable as the rain, flash flooding is also common in the river valleys of southern Malawi during the rainy season. In late December 2005 and early January 2006, the rains were far more intense than normal, and true to form, the Shire River ran over its banks, displacing thousands of people, according to news reports. This pair of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) images show what two weeks of heavy rain have done to the region. In the false-color images, both taken by MODIS on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, water is black or dark blue. Clouds are pale blue, and plant-covered land is bright green. Bare earth is pinkish tan. In the two weeks that elapsed between December 20, 2005, lower image, and January 2, 2006, top, the land turned a deep green as plants sprang up. The Shire River, not even visible in December, expanded, soaking the land with a smudge of blue. Disruptive though the floods may be, the rains were a mixed blessing. In 2005, the rains failed during February, and crops suffered [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13273 ]. The ensuing food shortages and hunger caused the government to declare a national disaster in early December. The rich agricultural land surrounding the Shire River was among the regions most severely affected by the drought. The December and early January rains fell just as farmers were planting the primary crop of the year, but continued rainfall will still be needed to guarantee that the harvest will be better in 2006. The large images provided above are at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_NMozambique ] of the region in a variety of resolutions. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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Grampians National Park, Vic
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| Title |
Grampians National Park, Victoria |
| Description |
In Victoria, Australia, near the southeastern tip of the continent, sandstone mountains rise above the surrounding farmland. A 19th-century surveyor named the mountains after those in his native Scotland: Grampians. In 1984, the mountains were declared a national park. Covering 1,700 square kilometers (656 square miles), the park is home to a variety of plants and animals, many of which live nowhere else. On December 15, 2000, the Landsat 7 satellite captured this image of Grampians National Park and its surroundings in Victoria, Australia. Marked by sharp ridges, the park's sandstone mountains range in color from charcoal gray to reddish tan. Around the park is farmlandtiny rectangles of buff, beige, and brick red. Several bodies of water dot the region. The meandering water body west of the park is bordered by beige, indicative of low water levels. Along the eastern edge of the park is Halls Gap, generally used as a park entrance. East of the park is the town of Ararat. December and January fall within the Australian summer, when extremely hot, dry conditions can spark fires. A little more than five years after Landsat took this picture, a fire [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13316 ] burned nearly half the park. As its native plant species are well-adapted to fire, the vegetation appeared well on its way to recovery 12 months later, as reported on the park Web site. [ http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/resources/mresources/gramps/gramps-fire-pics.htm ] In early January 2007, a much smaller fire broke out near the park's northern end, but was quickly contained. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, residents near the park hoped for a complete ban on campfires throughout the summer to avoid another massive blaze like the January 2006 fire. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by the University of Maryland's Global Land Cover Facility. [ http://www.landcover.org/ ] |
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Drought in East Africa
| Title |
Drought in East Africa |
| Description |
Widespread drought in eastern Africa has withered the grass and other vegetation of northern Tanzania's famous Serengeti Plain in January 2006. The region’s "short rains" season should have begun around October (2005), but by mid-January, had failed to arrive. According to some news reports, the severe drought created great stress among the Serengeti's migrating wildlife, including wildebeest and zebras, as well as less nomadic animals such as giraffes. This pair of images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite shows the parched, brown landscape on January 9, 2006 (top), compared to January 12, 2005 (bottom). The region appears desert-like in 2006 compared to the green vegetation which blanketed the area in 2005. Lakes Eyasi and Manyara (lower right) appear to be completely dry. The conditions shown in this image have been developing over several seasons. In eastern Africa, most areas experience one of two rainfall patterns. Some places have a single "long rains" season that runs from March until November or December. Other areas have two rainy seasons: long rains between March/April and July/August, and "short rains" from October to December or January. In 2005, the long rains were far below normal, and the short rains failed altogether. As a result, rainfall totals for the year were only 20-60 percent of normal, depending on the region, reported the Famine Early Warning Network (FEWS NET). "This drought has resulted in crop failures, pasture degradation, water shortages and has raised serious food security concerns for the region," FEWS NET warned. The drop of water levels in regional water levels also impacted the region's energy supply, which depends largely on hydroelectric power, said news reports. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Drought in East Africa
| Title |
Drought in East Africa |
| Description |
The failure of the short-season rains left large sections of East Africa in severe drought in late 2005 and early 2006. In eastern Africa, most areas experience one of two rainfall patterns. Some places have a single "long rains" season that runs from March until November or December. Other areas have two rainy seasons: long rains between March/April and July/August, and "short rains" from October to December or January. The rains recharge lakes and reservoirs and nurture plants from crops and pasture lands to natural vegetation. For East Africa, 2005 was anything but a normal year. The long rainy season produced little rain, and the short rainy season failed altogether. As a result, rainfall totals for the year were only 20-60 percent of normal, depending on the region, reported the Famine Early Warning Network (FEWS NET). The drought's impact on vegetation can be seen in this vegetation index image, collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) at the end of the short rainy season. The image shows how well plants were growing between December 19 and January 3 compared to average conditions between 2000 and 2004. The prevalence of deep reddish-brown across the image indicates that plants were growing poorly, if at all, in the dry conditions. The drought area shown in this image circles Lake Victoria in a north-south-oriented oval that stretches from southern Sudan and Ethiopia in the north to Tanzania in the south. Grey areas show where clouds covered the area throughout the composite period. The impact of the drought has been severe. "This drought has resulted in crop failures, pasture degradation, water shortages, and has raised serious food security concerns for the region," FEWS NET warned. By the end of January 2006, millions were in need of food aid, particularly pastoralists who depend on rain-fed pasture lands to maintain their livestock. Not all of East Africa has been affected. Kenya (center right) had a bumper harvest in 2005, but little of the crop made its way to the drought-hit pastoral districts of the country. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by Inbal Reshef as part of the Global Agricultural Monitoring Project between NASA, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), and the University of Maryland. More data and information about this joint project is available at Satellite Information for Agricultural Monitoring. [ http://tripwire.geog.umd.edu/usda/ ] |
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Drought in the Southern Unit
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| Title |
Drought in the Southern United States |
| Description |
Rainfall across the United States in the winter of 2005-06 has shown the classic pattern of a La Niña event. La Niña is a climate anomaly (departure from average conditions) that consists of cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) across the central and eastern Pacific and warmer-than-average SSTs over the western Pacific. Changes in the atmospheric circulation occur during La Niña events, as well. These combined ocean-atmosphere changes are likely responsible for the drought in the Southwest, the South, the central Plains, and Florida that has led to several devastating wildfires this season. This image shows where daily rainfall was above and below average in the United States between October 2005 and January 2006 compared to the eight-year average for that time frame. Places where rainfall was above average are in blue and green, while places rainfall was below average are in orange and red. The data are from the Tropical-Rainfall-Measuring-Mission-based, near-real-time, Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The Pacific Northwest (green and blue areas), especially along the coast and over the coastal ranges of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington (blue areas) received more precipitation than usual. Almost the entire rest of the country, barring New England, had below-normal rainfall. The most intense rainfall deficits (orange and red areas) include the area stretching from Texas up through the central Plains and Upper Midwest, as well as the Gulf Coast, most of Florida, and along the southern Atlantic coast. In the Southwest, the rainfall deficit added to the stress of several years of below-average rainfall. Most of Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas, and central Oklahoma have received less than 25 percent of their normal rainfall for the period. The current La Niña is expected to persist for the next several months. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite was launched in November 1997. It measures rainfall over the global tropics using both passive and active sensors, including the first precipitation radar in space. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Heavy Snows in Central Asia
| Title |
Heavy Snows in Central Asia |
| Description |
The bitter cold of winter settled ferociously over the interior of Asia during the first week of 2006. A large mass of Siberian air swept as far south as India and as far east as Japan, enveloping much of Asia with uncommonly low temperatures. In many places, the cold weather was accompanied by crippling snow. Among the most severely affected were the 200,000-plus people stranded in northwestern China when heavy snow fell over the region, reported United Press International. The cold snap also levied a heavy toll on northern India, where an estimated 200 had died of the cold as of January 9, said the BBC. The effect of the cold air on the land can be seen in these land surface temperature images, taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) between January 1 and January 8. Unlike the air temperatures given in weather reports, which tell how cold the air near the Earth is, land surface temperature measurements record how cold the ground is. In these images, land temperatures are represented with color, deep blue being the coldest temperatures and yellow being the warmest. In January 2006 (top), large sections of China were significantly colder than they had been in 2005 (bottom). The Taklimakan Desert formed a warm pink and purple oval surrounded by the cold blue of the Kunlun Shan and Tian Shan mountain ranges in the 2005 image. One year later, the desert is the dark blue of intense cold. To the north of the desert, where most of the people affected by snow in China live, the warmer purple tones that marbled the region in 2005 are gone, replaced with colder blue tones. In both images, areas that were cloudy throughout the eight-day period are gray. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of Z. Wan, MODIS Land Science Team. |
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Heavy Snows in Central Asia
| Title |
Heavy Snows in Central Asia |
| Description |
The bitter cold of winter settled ferociously over the interior of Asia during the first week of 2006. A large mass of Siberian air swept as far south as India and as far east as Japan, enveloping much of Asia with uncommonly low temperatures. In many places, the cold weather was accompanied by crippling snow. Among the most severely affected were the 200,000-plus people stranded in northwestern China when heavy snow fell over the region, reported United Press International. The cold snap also levied a heavy toll on northern India, where an estimated 200 had died of the cold as of January 9, said the BBC. The effect of the cold air on the land can be seen in these land surface temperature images, taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) between January 1 and January 8. Unlike the air temperatures given in weather reports, which tell how cold the air near the Earth is, land surface temperature measurements record how cold the ground is. In these images, land temperatures are represented with color, deep blue being the coldest temperatures and yellow being the warmest. In January 2006 (top), large sections of China were significantly colder than they had been in 2005 (bottom). The Taklimakan Desert formed a warm pink and purple oval surrounded by the cold blue of the Kunlun Shan and Tian Shan mountain ranges in the 2005 image. One year later, the desert is the dark blue of intense cold. To the north of the desert, where most of the people affected by snow in China live, the warmer purple tones that marbled the region in 2005 are gone, replaced with colder blue tones. In both images, areas that were cloudy throughout the eight-day period are gray. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of Z. Wan, MODIS Land Science Team. |
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Heavy Snows in Central Asia
| Title |
Heavy Snows in Central Asia |
| Description |
The bitter cold of winter settled ferociously over the interior of Asia during the first week of 2006. A large mass of Siberian air swept as far south as India and as far east as Japan, enveloping much of Asia with uncommonly low temperatures. In many places, the cold weather was accompanied by crippling snow. Among the most severely affected were the 200,000-plus people stranded in northwestern China when heavy snow fell over the region, reported United Press International. The cold snap also levied a heavy toll on northern India, where an estimated 200 had died of the cold as of January 9, said the BBC. The effect of the cold air on the land can be seen in these land surface temperature images, taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) between January 1 and January 8. Unlike the air temperatures given in weather reports, which tell how cold the air near the Earth is, land surface temperature measurements record how cold the ground is. In these images, land temperatures are represented with color, deep blue being the coldest temperatures and yellow being the warmest. In January 2006 (top), large sections of China were significantly colder than they had been in 2005 (bottom). The Taklimakan Desert formed a warm pink and purple oval surrounded by the cold blue of the Kunlun Shan and Tian Shan mountain ranges in the 2005 image. One year later, the desert is the dark blue of intense cold. To the north of the desert, where most of the people affected by snow in China live, the warmer purple tones that marbled the region in 2005 are gone, replaced with colder blue tones. In both images, areas that were cloudy throughout the eight-day period are gray. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of Z. Wan, MODIS Land Science Team. |
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Heavy Snows in Central Asia
| Title |
Heavy Snows in Central Asia |
| Description |
On October 8, 2005, a large earthquake [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13192 ] shook the mountainous Kashmir region near the border of Pakistan and India. Tens of thousands of people died, and many more were isolated in the mountains by damage to roads and bridges as well as by landslides. Heavy winter snowfall poses an additional threat to millions of survivors made homeless by the quake. In the first week of January 2006, a new snow storm blanketed the mountains of Pakistan, including the region around the epicenter of the quake. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite shows snow highlighting the ridges and ravines in the mountains northeast of the city of Islamabad on January 6. According to news reports on the BBC Website, the snow is hampering aid efforts to some areas, and avalanches triggered by earthquake aftershocks continue to threaten people in some mountainous areas. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Eruption on Augustine Island
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| Title |
Eruption on Augustine Island, Alaska |
| Description |
Alaska's Augustine Volcano continued erupting in late January 2006. According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) [ http://www.avo.alaska.edu ], the volcano entered a state of continuos eruption on January 28. On January 30, a flight over the volcano showed a volcanic plume reaching approximately 4,900 meters (16,000 feet) above sea level and extending 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on January 30, 2006. Although clouds cover much of the region, the volcano's plume can still be seen billowing away toward the northeast. Considered the most active volcano in the eastern Aleutian arc, Augustine experienced its largest historical eruption in 1883 when the volcano's dome collapsed. It erupted again in 1986, producing an avalanche of ash, rock fragments, and gas. Augustine's oldest dated volcanic rocks are more than 40,000 years old. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Extreme Cold in Eurasia
| Title |
Extreme Cold in Eurasia |
| Description |
Extreme cold gripped Russia and much of Eastern Europe throughout January 2006. The cold is apparent in these images, which show the heat being emitted to space from the Earth's surface and atmosphere. Areas that were colder are blue and dark purple, while patches of warmth are yellow. The Clouds and the Earth?s Radiant Energy System (CERES) [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/about/instrument_ceres.php ] sensor flying onboard the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took these images on January 19, 2006 (top), and January 19, 2005 (bottom). Although both images show wintertime cold, the range of intense cold is substantially larger in the image taken in 2006. January 19 was a day of bitter cold for Russia. According to the BBC News, more than 20 people in Russia died from extreme cold in January 2006. Between January 18 and 19, overnight temperatures dropped to minus 30°C (minus 22°F). Energy consumption in Russia soared to 146,000 megawatts, the highest level since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, gas supplies from Russia to other European countries dropped. Images such as these usually show stark differences between the heat being emitted from clouds in the atmosphere and heat being emitted from the land. Clouds are much colder and tend to stand out against the warmer land as they do in the lower half of both images. The clouds are bright blue against the underlying red and yellow of the land. In 2006, the land is so cold that it is difficult to differentiate between land and clouds over Russia. It is likely that the bright blue areas are cloud, while the darker blue and purple areas are land. Image courtesy Erika Geier, FLASHflux/CERES team, NASA Langley Research Center. |
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Extreme Cold in Eurasia
| Title |
Extreme Cold in Eurasia |
| Description |
Extreme cold gripped Russia and much of Eastern Europe throughout January 2006. The cold is apparent in these images, which show the heat being emitted to space from the Earth's surface and atmosphere. Areas that were colder are blue and dark purple, while patches of warmth are yellow. The Clouds and the Earth?s Radiant Energy System (CERES) [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/about/instrument_ceres.php ] sensor flying onboard the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took these images on January 19, 2006 (top), and January 19, 2005 (bottom). Although both images show wintertime cold, the range of intense cold is substantially larger in the image taken in 2006. January 19 was a day of bitter cold for Russia. According to the BBC News, more than 20 people in Russia died from extreme cold in January 2006. Between January 18 and 19, overnight temperatures dropped to minus 30°C (minus 22°F). Energy consumption in Russia soared to 146,000 megawatts, the highest level since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, gas supplies from Russia to other European countries dropped. Images such as these usually show stark differences between the heat being emitted from clouds in the atmosphere and heat being emitted from the land. Clouds are much colder and tend to stand out against the warmer land as they do in the lower half of both images. The clouds are bright blue against the underlying red and yellow of the land. In 2006, the land is so cold that it is difficult to differentiate between land and clouds over Russia. It is likely that the bright blue areas are cloud, while the darker blue and purple areas are land. Image courtesy Erika Geier, FLASHflux/CERES team, NASA Langley Research Center. |
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Snow in Afghanistan
| Title |
Snow in Afghanistan |
| Description |
Snow is not unusual in Afghanistan, in fact, a deep snow pack is necessary if the country is to have water during the dry summer months. But January 2006 hit the Central Asian country harder than normal. Heavy snow and extreme cold destroyed or damaged at least 86 homes and killed 17 people with twice as many more injured, reported the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Much of the damage occurred after a blizzard hit the northernmost provinces particularly hard on January 31. On February 3, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this clear view of Afghanistan covered in snow. In addition to covering the rugged mountains that run down the spine of the country, the snow stretches across the populated northern plains where the damage was reported. Despite the problems the January 2006 storms caused, Afghanistan needs its winter snow. Like the U.S. West, water during the summer comes from the melting snow pack in the mountains. Without the snow, farmers would have no way to irrigate summer crops. The snow is such an essential ingredient to the success of crops in Afghanistan that the Famine Early Warning Network (FEWS NET) monitors snow cover to gauge the potential need for food aid after the next growing season and harvest. MODIS images such as this one help analysts at FEWS NET determine the extent of snow cover in Afghanistan. Knowing how much snow is in the mountains can reveal how much water will be available for crops during the next summer. If insufficient snow falls during the winter, FEWS NET can issue a warning to aid agencies and the government to alert them to the potential crop failure and a possible future need for food aid. The advanced warning gives agencies and the government time to gather the resources needed to respond before the disaster becomes critical. To read more, see Aiding Afghanistan [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Afghanistan/ ] on the Earth Observatory.Daily MODIS images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Afghanistan/2006034 ] of Afghanistan are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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Snow in Turkey
| Title |
Snow in Turkey |
| Description |
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this usual view of Turkey nearly completely covered in snow on January 29, 2006. The Mediterranean nation usually enjoys mild, wet winters, with snow confined to the mountainous interior, but January 2006 brought unusual weather to much of Asia and Europe. A strong jet stream channeled Arctic air south, leaving Europe and Asia in a deep freeze. The cold air also meant that any moisture that fell came in the form of snow. According to news reports, the snow caused havoc on roads throughout Turkey. The large image provided above is at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Snow Storm across the Upper
…
| Title |
Snow Storm across the Upper Midwest |
| Description |
The first snow storm of 2006 dumped several inches of snow across a wide swath of the Midwest, with snowfall totals from four to five inches recorded in Chicago to as much as a foot just north of the city. Beyond the traffic accidents caused by icy roads, the storm was not a remarkable one. It did, however, leave a clear track across the Midwest and the Great Lakes region. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image of the storm on January 21, 2006, a day after the snow fell. The deep blue waters of Lakes Michigan, left, and Huron, right, stand out starkly against the background of white. Remarkably, the lakes show no sign of freezing. At this time in 2005 [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12691 ], the shores of both lakes were fringed with ice. January 2006 has been warmer than average across the United States. Average weekly temperatures in the area shown in this image have ranged from 5 degrees Celsius above average to more than 8.3 degrees Celsius above average, according to the National Climate Data Center [ http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/us-weekly.php?year=2006&month=01&sat=21&submit_form=Submit&_submit_check=1 ]. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC. |
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Fires in Victoria, Australia
| Title |
Fires in Victoria, Australia |
| Description |
Bushfires were burning out of control in several locations in southern Australia in mid-January 2006. Firefighters faced blazes across southern Western Australia, South Australia, and Victoria, which is pictured in this image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite. The image was captured on January 22. Actively burning fires detected by MODIS are outlined in red, and most of the fires are accompanied by long plumes of smoke blowing southeast. The city of Melbourne sit roughly in the center of the scene, wrapped around the northern coast of keyhole-shaped Port Phillip Bay. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Thick Smog over China
| Title |
Thick Smog over China |
| Description |
Skies over China have darkened in the past five decades, thanks to a nine-fold increase fossil-fuel emissions. In January 2006, Yun Qian and collaborators reported this finding in Geophysical Research Letters. According to the Associated Press, Qian stated that pollution absorbs and reflects sunlight, allowing less of it to reach China's urban areas. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying onboard the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on January 27, 2006. In this image, a thick plume of smog makes its way across the Yellow Sea towards Korea. To the east, cloud cover can be discerned by its bright white appearance, compared to the pollution's dingy gray. NASA image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
|
Tropical Cyclone Boloetse
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Boloetse |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Boloetse was winding down on February 5, 2006, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image at 10:45 UTC (1:45 p.m. local time). At this time, Boloetse was heading into the southern Indian Ocean after brushing against the southern end of Madagascar. The cyclone had sustained winds of around 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour), classifying it as a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. This was less intense than the previous day [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13350 ], and forecasters were predicting the storm would continue to diminish in strength as it traveled southeast away from the African coast. Tropical Cyclone Boloetse initially formed in the western Indian Ocean and traveled west, crossing the island of Madagascar as a tropical storm in late January 2006, with moderately strong rains. The storm intensity declined to tropical-depression strength as it crossed the mountainous ridgeline that runs along the eastern shore of Madagascar. However, once the storm system reached the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel, the tropical depression re-organized and built up enough strength to become a tropical cyclone. Once there, the storm reversed direction and headed southeast, taking it across Madagascar once again. It struck a glancing blow over the island's southern tip on February 4, 2006. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
|
Tropical Cyclone Boloetse
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Boloetse |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Boloetse crossed the island of Madagascar as a tropical storm in late January 2006, with moderately strong rains. The storm intensity declined to tropical-depression strength as it crossed the mountainous ridgeline that runs along the eastern shore of Madagascar. However, once the storm system reached the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel, the tropical depression reorganized and built up enough strength to become a tropical cyclone. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite observed Tropical Cyclone Boloetse in the Mozambique Channel on February 3, 2006, at 11:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. local time). At that time, the cyclone was beginning a south and eastward track, and it was predicted to strike a glancing blow along the southwestern corner of Madagascar as it moved back out into the Indian Ocean. The cyclone had sustained winds of around 165 kilometers per hour (105 miles per hour), classifying it as a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Storms of this strength typically cause moderate damage to coastal areas with storm surges around 1.5 to 2 meters (4 to 7 feet). Winds are sufficient to damage temporary structures such as trailers and sheds, and remove roofs from some permanent buildings. The large version of the image has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Other resolutions are also available from the MODIS Rapid Response website. NASA image created by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
|
Tropical Cyclone Boloetse
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Boloetse |
| Description |
Cyclone Boloetse was striking Madagascar for the second time when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired this photo-like image on February 4, 2006, at 07:20 UTC (10:20 a.m. local time). At this time, the cyclone had sustained winds of around 165 kilometers per hour (105 miles per hour), classifying it as a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Tropical Cyclone Boloetse first crossed the island of Madagascar as a tropical storm in late January 2006, with moderately strong rains. The storm intensity declined to tropical-depression strength as it crossed the mountainous ridgeline that runs along the eastern shore of Madagascar. When the storm system reached the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel, the tropical depression re-organized and built up enough strength to become a tropical cyclone. Next, the storm reversed direction and headed southeast, taking it across Madagascar once again. It gave a glancing blow over the island's southern tip on February 4, 2006. The large version of the image has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Other resolutions are also available from the MODIS Rapid Response website. NASA image created by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
|
Tropical Cyclone Clare
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Clare |
| Description |
Residents of Western Australia's Pilbara Coast are accustomed to tropical storms, the Pilbara Coast sees more cyclones than any other part of the Australian coastline. Still, Tropical Cyclone Clare strained some nerves in early January 2006. Although the storm was downgraded from a Category 3 to a Category 2, it prompted hundreds of residents to evacuate the area, and downed some power and telephone lines. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite took this image of Clare at 10:30 a.m. local time on January 10, 2006. Hurricanes in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean are termed cyclones, and their wind direction depends on whether they are north or south of the equator. In the Southern Hemisphere, cyclone winds blow in a clockwise direction. In this image, Clare stretches hundreds of kilometers across as it moves along the Pilbara Coast. At the time this image was taken, Clare was a well-developed storm system with peak sustained winds of around 100 kilometers (60 miles) per hour. The cyclone's center was about 300 kilometers from Port Hedland, the nearest major city. According to a report from ABC.net.au, the storm had winds as high as 200 kilometers per hour when it struck Dampier, a coastal town approximately 200 kilometers southwest of Port Hedland. The storm also dropped 20 centimeters (almost 8 inches) of rain on Dampier, and forecasters expected more rain for the area. Clare was expected to remain a Category 2 storm as it moved inland. As of the morning of January 10, 2006, however, only minor damage was reported. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
|
Floods in Bolivia
| Title |
Floods in Bolivia |
| Description |
Widespread flooding raged across Bolivia during the final week of January 2006 after thunderstorms inundated the country with heavy rain. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image of flooding in the southwestern desert on January 29, 2006. The floods appear to have turned this desert landscape into a sea of mud. In the false-color combination used to create these images, water is normally black or dark blue as Lake Poopó is in the lower image. But the flood water in the top image is pale blue, a sign that is it mixed with mud. Clouds are a brighter shade of blue and the desert landscape is pale tan with brushes of green vegetation. At least 50 people died in floods occurring throughout the country, say news reports. The most severely impacted region [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13334 ] is in the wetlands to the north of the area shown in this image, but La Paz, the nation's capital, has also been affected. La Paz is just beyond the upper left corner of this image and is visible in the large images. The large images show additional flooding around Lake Titicaca, near La Paz. The large images provided above have a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_Bolivia/2006029 ] are available in additional resolutions, including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel, from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
|
Floods in Bolivia
| Title |
Floods in Bolivia |
| Description |
A week of strong thunderstorms in late January 2006 caused widespread destruction across Bolivia. The heavy rains triggered floods, which were clearly visible when the clouds cleared on January 29, to give the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite this view. In the three weeks that elapsed between January 8, when the bottom image was taken, and January 29, when the top image was acquired, the network of rivers and wetlands in central Bolivia filled with water. Water is black or dark blue in these images. According to news reports, 800 families were stranded or lost their homes in the region shown in this image. The area shown here was the most severely impacted, but flooding occurred throughout the South American nation. The large images provided above have a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_Bolivia/2006029 ] are available in additional resolutions, including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel, from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
|
Floods in Bolivia
| Title |
Floods in Bolivia |
| Description |
A week of strong thunderstorms in late January 2006 caused widespread destruction across Bolivia. The heavy rains triggered floods, which were clearly visible when the clouds cleared on January 29, to give the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite this view. In the three weeks that elapsed between January 8, when the bottom image was taken, and January 29, when the top image was acquired, the network of rivers and wetlands in central Bolivia filled with water. Water is black or dark blue in these images. According to news reports, 800 families were stranded or lost their homes in the region shown in this image. The area shown here was the most severely impacted, but flooding occurred throughout the South American nation. The large images provided above have a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_Bolivia/2006029 ] are available in additional resolutions, including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel, from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
|
Floods in Bolivia
| Title |
Floods in Bolivia |
| Description |
Bolivia's worst rainy season in five years started in January 2006, and by April 11, rivers and lakes throughout the country were still swollen with the ongoing rain. The top Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) image, taken by the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on April 11, shows flooding around Lake Poopó in southern Bolivia. In early January, before the rains began (lower image), the lake was smaller, surrounded by shallow salt flats. By April, deep blue water fills the lake to its shores. The waterway connecting Lake Poopó to the smaller lake to its northeast is wide where a small thin line defined it before. According to the Dartmouth Flood Observatory [ http://www.dartmouth.edu/~floods/Archives/2006sum.htm ], 175,000 people were affected by floods throughout the country, and 100,000 were left homeless. In these false-color images, water is dark blue or black, bare land is tan, vegetation is green, and clouds are pale blue. The large images provided above have a resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/fas/?Bolivia/2006101 ] are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team in a variety of resolutions and formats. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
|
Floods in Bolivia
| Title |
Floods in Bolivia |
| Description |
Bolivia's worst rainy season in five years started in January 2006, and by April 11, rivers and lakes throughout the country were still swollen with the ongoing rain. The top Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) image, taken by the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on April 11, shows flooding around Lake Poopó in southern Bolivia. In early January, before the rains began (lower image), the lake was smaller, surrounded by shallow salt flats. By April, deep blue water fills the lake to its shores. The waterway connecting Lake Poopó to the smaller lake to its northeast is wide where a small thin line defined it before. According to the Dartmouth Flood Observatory [ http://www.dartmouth.edu/~floods/Archives/2006sum.htm ], 175,000 people were affected by floods throughout the country, and 100,000 were left homeless. In these false-color images, water is dark blue or black, bare land is tan, vegetation is green, and clouds are pale blue. The large images provided above have a resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/fas/?Bolivia/2006101 ] are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team in a variety of resolutions and formats. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
|
STARDUST Flyby of Comet Wild
…
| Title |
STARDUST Flyby of Comet Wild 2 |
| Explanation |
Flying past a comet [ http://www.nineplanets.org/comets.html ] nucleus is dangerous. On January 2, the robot spacecraft STARDUST [ http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/spacecraft.html ] became one of [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000805.html ] the first [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010926.html ] to plow through the surrounding cloud [ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/comets/coma.html ] of dust and grit to photograph [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040103.html ] the very heart [ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/comets/coma.html ] of a comet. Pictured above [ http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/news/status/040106.html ] is a short movie of the encounter showing unprecedented surface details of the icy center of Comet Wild 2 [ http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast04feb99_1.htm ]. The STARDUST camera pivoted to remain pointed at the nucleus as the spacecraft passed. Heavily shielded [ http://hitf.jsc.nasa.gov/hitfpub/analysis/stardust2.html ] from the onslaught of cometary debris [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011117.html ], STARDUST survived the beating in excellent condition. Surprisingly, although the nucleus appeared to be solid, the the surrounding coma [ http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/faculty/jewitt/coma.html ] appeared to be highly fragmented into several distinct streams of particles. Souvenirs captured by the spacecraft will be ejected [ http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/details.html ] as the spacecraft passes the Earth in January 2006. |
|
Going Wild
| Title |
Going Wild |
| Explanation |
Dynamic jets of gas and dust surround one of the most active [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021019.html ] planetary surfaces in the solar system in this wild-looking picture [ http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news97.html ] of a comet nucleus [ http://www.solarviews.com/eng/edu/comets.htm ]. The comet's designation [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/ cometfact.html ] is 81P/Wild 2 of course (sounds like "vilt 2"), and the picture is a composite of two images recorded by the Stardust spacecraft's [ http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/cool.html ] navigation camera during its January 2nd flyby [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040119.html ]. The composited images consist of a short exposure recording startling surface details of Wild 2's nucleus and a longer exposure, taken 10 seconds later, revealing material streaming from the surface. The left edge of the nucleus appears extremely jagged due to a strong shadow. Pitted and eroded after billions of years of outgassing [ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/comets/ comet_nucleus.html&edu=high ] and meteorite impacts, the nucleus pictured is only about 5 kilometers in diameter, while the jets of dust and gas ultimately leave trails [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000413.html ] millions of kilometers long. Stardust is scheduled to return samples of Wild 2's cometary dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010813.html ], picked up during the flyby, to Earth in January 2006. |
|
GALEX Distributes Local Gala
…
PIA03295
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
GALEX Distributes Local Galactic Treasures at AAS |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
GALEX Poster From sparkling blue rings to dazzling golden disks, Galaxy Evolution Explorer (Galex) scientists are handing out a collection of their finest galactic treasures at the January 2006 American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, D.C. Mined from the mission's Survey of Nearby Galaxies data, these cosmic gems were collected with the telescope's sensitive ultraviolet instruments. The gallery of galaxies has been made into a poster for meeting attendees visiting the mission's booth. Organized from far-ultraviolet to near-ultraviolet bright galaxies, this poster encapsulates the heart of the mission to study how galaxies and star formation rates have changed over the past 10 billion years. Events in space take millions or billions of years to unfold, which means that astronomers can't watch individual galaxies and stars age over time. Luckily, because the physics of light travel dictates that the farther away an object is from Earth, the longer it takes for its light to travel to us, the universe can be thought of as a time machine. By building telescopes sensitive enough to capture objects that are 10 billion light-years away, astronomers can essentially see an object the way it looked 10 billion years ago. Galex astronomers are using this phenomenon to their advantage by taking snapshots of different galaxies at various distances in space. By comparing portraits of numerous objects at various times in the universe's history, the team can begin to piece together the life cycle of stars and galaxies. For the poster, Galex scientists organized 196 different nearby galaxies in bins of increasing ultraviolet color. By placing the various snapshots side by side, astronomers can see how galaxies age differently. When viewed in ultraviolet, active star-forming regions in galaxies can be seen as glittering blue structures, while a soft, golden glow indicates the presence of older stars. The 196 galaxies represented in the poster were selected from more than 1,000 galaxies in the "Ultraviolet Atlas of Nearby Galaxies." So far, the Galex mission has surveyed more than 100 million galaxies. |
|
GALEX Distributes Local Gala
…
PIA03295
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
GALEX Distributes Local Galactic Treasures at AAS |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
GALEX Poster From sparkling blue rings to dazzling golden disks, Galaxy Evolution Explorer (Galex) scientists are handing out a collection of their finest galactic treasures at the January 2006 American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, D.C. Mined from the mission's Survey of Nearby Galaxies data, these cosmic gems were collected with the telescope's sensitive ultraviolet instruments. The gallery of galaxies has been made into a poster for meeting attendees visiting the mission's booth. Organized from far-ultraviolet to near-ultraviolet bright galaxies, this poster encapsulates the heart of the mission to study how galaxies and star formation rates have changed over the past 10 billion years. Events in space take millions or billions of years to unfold, which means that astronomers can't watch individual galaxies and stars age over time. Luckily, because the physics of light travel dictates that the farther away an object is from Earth, the longer it takes for its light to travel to us, the universe can be thought of as a time machine. By building telescopes sensitive enough to capture objects that are 10 billion light-years away, astronomers can essentially see an object the way it looked 10 billion years ago. Galex astronomers are using this phenomenon to their advantage by taking snapshots of different galaxies at various distances in space. By comparing portraits of numerous objects at various times in the universe's history, the team can begin to piece together the life cycle of stars and galaxies. For the poster, Galex scientists organized 196 different nearby galaxies in bins of increasing ultraviolet color. By placing the various snapshots side by side, astronomers can see how galaxies age differently. When viewed in ultraviolet, active star-forming regions in galaxies can be seen as glittering blue structures, while a soft, golden glow indicates the presence of older stars. The 196 galaxies represented in the poster were selected from more than 1,000 galaxies in the "Ultraviolet Atlas of Nearby Galaxies." So far, the Galex mission has surveyed more than 100 million galaxies. |
|
Northern Impact
PIA02009
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Northern Impact |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
19 March 2006 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a partially-buried crater in the north polar region of Mars. The circular feature is surrounded and partly overlain by some of the many, many sand dunes in the area. The steepest slopes on each dune -- their slip faces -- face toward the southeast (lower right), indicating that the dominant winds responsible for sand transport in this region come from the northwest (upper left). In summer, the dunes in this scene would be darker than their surroundings, but in this northern springtime image, the dunes and everything else in the area are covered by carbon dioxide frost. The frost is left over from the winter which ended in January 2006. "Location near": 76.0°N, 82.2°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Spring |
|
Mars at Ls 357°
PIA02150
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars at Ls 357° |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
31 January 2006 This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 357° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 357° occurred in mid-January 2006. The picture shows the south polar region of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°, the start of northern spring and southern autumn. "Season": Northern Winter/Southern Summer |
|
South Polar Autumn
PIA02990
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
South Polar Autumn |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
18 March 2006 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a portion of the south polar residual cap. The darkened edges of the pits and mesas are evidence of the removal - by sublimation -- of frozen carbon dioxide during the recent martian summer. Summer ended and autumn began the day this image was acquired in January 2006. "Location near": 86.8°S, 90.5°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Summer/Autumn |
|
Mars at Ls 357°: Acidalia/Ma
…
PIA03659
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars at Ls 357°: Acidalia/Mare Erythraeum |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
10 January 2006 This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 357° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 357° occurs in mid-January 2006. The picture shows the Acidalia/Mare Erythraeum face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°, the start of northern spring and southern autumn. "Season": Northern Winter/Southern Summer |
|
Secondaries near Cerberus
PIA03655
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Secondaries near Cerberus |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
7 January 2006 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a field of small craters formed by secondary debris thrown from a larger meteoritic impact on the plains south of the Cerberus region. "Location near": 2.3°N, 195.7°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Winter |
|
Nirgal Vallis
PIA03657
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Nirgal Vallis |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
9 January 2006 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the floor and walls of a small portion of Nirgal Vallis. The floor is covered by large windblown ripples. The valley wall near the center right exhibits a group of gullies, formed perhaps by a combination of mass movement and possibly seepage and runoff of groundwater. "Location near": 28.2°S, 42.2°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Summer |
|
Dunes in Brashear
PIA03656
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Dunes in Brashear |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
8 January 2006 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a field of dark sand dunes on the northwestern floor of Brashear Crater. The dunes formed largely from winds that blew from the southeast (lower right). "Location near": 253.7°S, 119.4°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Summer |
|
Mars at Ls 357°: Syrtis Majo
…
PIA03675
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars at Ls 357°: Syrtis Major |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
17 January 2006 This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 357° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 357° occurs in mid-January 2006. The picture shows the Syrtis Major face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°, the start of northern spring and southern autumn. "Season": Northern Winter/Southern Summer |
|
Mars at Ls 357°: Elysium/Mar
…
PIA03696
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars at Ls 357°: Elysium/Mare Cimmerium |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
25 January 2006 This picture is a composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) daily global images acquired at Ls 357° during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks similar, as Ls 357° occurred in mid-January 2006. The picture shows the Elysium/Mare Cimmerium face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted for MOC Picture of the Day. Ls, solar longitude, is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The year begins at Ls 0°, the start of northern spring and southern autumn. "Season": Northern Winter/Southern Summer |
|
Epimetheus Falls Behind
PIA08178
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Epimetheus Falls Behind |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Janus and Epimetheus continue to separate, following their orbital swap in January 2006. Until 2010, Janus will remain the innermost of the pair, whose orbits around Saturn are separated by only about 50 kilometers (31 miles) on average. Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles across) appears just right of the bright A ring ansa, or edge, while Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) is seen near upper right. (See PIA08170 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08170 ] for a closer view of these dancing moons.) The faint F ring extends across the image, Janus appears directly between its near and far edges. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 16, 2006, at a distance of approximately 3.7 million kilometers (2.3 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 22 kilometers (14 miles) per pixel on Janus and Epimetheus. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm [ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov ]. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org [ http://ciclops.org ]. |
|
Bright Soil Near 'McCool': S
…
PIA08012
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
| Title |
Bright Soil Near 'McCool': Salty Deja Vu? |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
While driving eastward toward the northwestern flank of "McCool Hill," the wheels of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit churned up the largest amount of bright soil discovered so far in the mission. This image from Spirit's navigation camera, taken on the rover's 787th Martian day, or sol, of exploration (March 21, 2006), shows the strikingly light tone and large extent of the deposit. A few days earlier, Spirit's wheels unearthed a small patch of light-toned material informally named "Tyrone." In images from Spirit's panoramic camera, "Tyrone" strongly resembled both "Arad" and "Paso Robles," two patches of light-toned soils discovered earlier in the mission. Spirit found "Paso Robles" in 2005 while climbing "Cumberland Ridge" on the western slope of "Husband Hill." In early January 2006, the rover discovered "Arad" on the basin floor just south of "Husband Hill." Spirit's instruments confirmed that those soils had a salty chemistry dominated by iron-bearing sulfates. Spirit's miniature thermal emission spectrometer is analyzing this most recent discovery, and researchers will compare it with those other deposits. These discoveries indicate that light-toned soil deposits might be widely distributed on the flanks and valley floors of the "Columbia Hills" region in Gusev Crater on Mars. The salts may record the past presence of water, as they are easily mobilized and concentrated in liquid solution. |
|
South Polar Autumn
PIA08089
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
South Polar Autumn |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
22 April 2006 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a portion of the south polar residual cap. The darkened edges of the pits and mesas are evidence of the removal -- by sublimation -- of frozen carbon dioxide during the recent martian summer. Summer ended and autumn began in January 2006, shortly before this image was acquired. "Location near": 86.8°S, 90.5°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": upper left "Season": Southern Summer |
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Opportunity's Arm in 'Hover-
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PIA02156
Sol (our sun)
Navigation Camera
| Title |
Opportunity's Arm in 'Hover-Stow' Position |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
In January 2006, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover team adopted a new strategy for carrying Opportunity's robotic arm (the instrument deployment device with its turret of four tools at the end) when the rover is driving. On short drives over smooth terrain, Opportunity now holds the arm in a "hover-stow" position as shown in this image taken by the navigation camera during the rover's 706th Martian day, or sol (Jan. 18, 2006), with elbow forward and the tool turret held above the rover deck. (In this image, the Moessbauer spectrometer is facing upwards, the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer faces to the right and the rock abrasion tool faces to the left). On longer or rougher drives, Opportunity still holds the arm in the original stow position used throughout the mission, tucked underneath the deck. During Opportunity's 654th sol (Nov. 25, 2005), symptoms began appearing that have been diagnosed as a broken wire in the motor windings for the azimuth actuator at the shoulder joint, a motor that moves the arm from side to side. The motor still works when given extra current, but the change in strategy for stowing the arm results from concern that, if the motor were to completely fail with the arm in the original stow position, the arm could no longer be unstowed for use. If that motor were to fail while the arm is in the hover-stow position, the arm could still be manipulated for full use of the tools on the turret. However, the hover-stow position gives less protection to the arm during drives. Concern about protecting the arm during drives led to the compromise strategy of using hover-stow only during short, smooth drives. |
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Second of Two Fresh Impact C
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PIA09024
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Second of Two Fresh Impact Crater Sites With "Before" and "After" Narrow Angle Mars Orbiter Camera Images |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Pictured here is the second of 2 of the 20 new impact craters identified by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) science operations team to have formed between May 1999 and March 2006 that occur at a location that the MOC narrow angle camera imaged previously. This is surprising, given that the narrow angle camera, with its 3 kilometer- (1.9 miles)-wide field of view, has only covered about 5.2% of the martian surface. The other such case is described in an accompanying release, "One of Two Fresh Impact Crater Sites With Before and After Narrow Angle Mars Orbiter Camera Images" (see PIA09023 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09023 ] or MOC2-1614 [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2006/12/06/craters/site11/index.html ]). Figure A: This picture shows the impact site. It is located in Arabia Terra near 25.8°N, 308.0°W. The figure is a composite of sub-frames of MOC images S15-02322, obtained on 22 February 2006, and S17-01393, from 17 April 2006. The largest crater at the center of the impact zone has a diameter of about 16.0 ± 1.7 meters (about 52 feet). Several other smaller craters were formed by this impact event. Figure B: This figure shows how the impact site appeared in a previous MOC narrow angle camera image, R13-00039, on 1 January 2004, before the impact occurred. This is compared with MOC image S15-02322, obtained after the impact. Figure C: This figure shows the impact site as it appeared to the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) [ http://themis.asu.edu/ ] visible camera on 21 December 2005. Most importantly, the crater did not exist on 21 December 2005, but the dark spot the impact produced was seen 42 days later in MOC red wide angle image S14-03311 on 31 January 2006. In other words, the impact occurred between 21 December 2005 and 31 January 2006. It is possible that the crater formed in January 2006, after we began our survey for fresh martian impact craters! The Mars Global Surveyor mission is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif., built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera. For more information about images from the Mars Orbiter Camera, see http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html [ http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html ]. |
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Second of Two Fresh Impact C
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PIA09024
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Second of Two Fresh Impact Crater Sites With "Before" and "After" Narrow Angle Mars Orbiter Camera Images |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Pictured here is the second of 2 of the 20 new impact craters identified by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) science operations team to have formed between May 1999 and March 2006 that occur at a location that the MOC narrow angle camera imaged previously. This is surprising, given that the narrow angle camera, with its 3 kilometer- (1.9 miles)-wide field of view, has only covered about 5.2% of the martian surface. The other such case is described in an accompanying release, "One of Two Fresh Impact Crater Sites With Before and After Narrow Angle Mars Orbiter Camera Images" (see PIA09023 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09023 ] or MOC2-1614 [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2006/12/06/craters/site11/index.html ]). Figure A: This picture shows the impact site. It is located in Arabia Terra near 25.8°N, 308.0°W. The figure is a composite of sub-frames of MOC images S15-02322, obtained on 22 February 2006, and S17-01393, from 17 April 2006. The largest crater at the center of the impact zone has a diameter of about 16.0 ± 1.7 meters (about 52 feet). Several other smaller craters were formed by this impact event. Figure B: This figure shows how the impact site appeared in a previous MOC narrow angle camera image, R13-00039, on 1 January 2004, before the impact occurred. This is compared with MOC image S15-02322, obtained after the impact. Figure C: This figure shows the impact site as it appeared to the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) [ http://themis.asu.edu/ ] visible camera on 21 December 2005. Most importantly, the crater did not exist on 21 December 2005, but the dark spot the impact produced was seen 42 days later in MOC red wide angle image S14-03311 on 31 January 2006. In other words, the impact occurred between 21 December 2005 and 31 January 2006. It is possible that the crater formed in January 2006, after we began our survey for fresh martian impact craters! The Mars Global Surveyor mission is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif., built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera. For more information about images from the Mars Orbiter Camera, see http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html [ http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html ]. |
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