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NASA 360 - Production Video …
NASA 360 traveled to Arizona …
10/01/2009
Description NASA 360 traveled to Arizona to cover NASA's analog testing of hardware going to the Moon and beyond. We interviewed several people and covered the LER, ATHLETE, and other various programs being tested in the desert. D-Rats, or Desert Rats was over a period of several days. We produced 3 different segments including a brief overview of the project as seen briefly in the clip provided. NASA 360 examines NASA's past, present and future to show how NASA has improved life on Earth and how NASA is helping develop and inspire technological innovation.
Date 10/01/2009
Creator nasa
Constellation Quarterly Repo …
Included in the production: …
Description Included in the production: Delivery of Ares 1-X rocket segments to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and assembly of that vehicle, preparation of launch pad 39B for the Ares 1-X flight test, time lapse construction of the Lightning Protection System surrounding the launch pad, construction of the Orion Ground Test Article in Louisiana, Orion Post-Landing Recovery Test (PORT) with a full-scale Orion mockup in the ocean off the coast of Florida, a preview of the Pad Abort 1 test with the latest on the Launch Abort System and its components, a look at the Launch Complex at the White Sands Missile Range including the Gantry Steel structure, parachute tests at the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona and other hardware processing. The production also features animations and descriptions of the Ares I launch vehicle, Ares 1-X, Launch Abort System and the Orion spacecraft.
NASA's Mars Orbiter Sees Eff …
Detailed images from the Hig …
2/12/07
NASA Readies Mars Lander for …
Animation of Phoenix Mars La …
7/5/07
Phoenix Mars Lander Operatio …
Footage compilation featurin …
1/11/08
Phoenix Mars Lander Operatio …
Footage compilation featurin …
2/15/08
Phoenix L-3 Press Briefing
Presenters: Fuk Li, Manager, …
5/22/08
Phoenix Mars Lander Sol 1 Su …
Edited footage compilation o …
5/26/08
Phoenix Mars Lander Sol 3 Su …
Edited footage compilation o …
5/28/06
girl scout poetry
Splatter of colors Seen high …
12/16/08
Description Splatter of colors Seen high up from outer space Pretty like a rainbow Natalie, age 8, Illinois ASTER image of Morenci open-pit copper mine in southeast Arizona.
Date 12/16/08
Desert RATS Prepare for the …
NASA researchers test techni …
9/13/07
Title Desert RATS Prepare for the Moon
Date 9/13/07
Description NASA researchers test techniques for lunar exploration in the Arizona desert.
Mars' Moon Deimos
These color-enhanced views o …
3/12/09
Description These color-enhanced views of Deimos, the smaller of the two moons of Mars, were taken on Feb. 21, 2009, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Deimos is about 7.5 miles in diameter. Deimos has a smooth surface due to a blanket of fragmental rock or regolith, except for the most recent impact craters. It is a dark, reddish object, very similar to Mars' other moon, Phobos. These Deimos images combine HiRISE exposures in near-infrared, red and blue-green wavelengths. In the enhanced color, subtle color variations are visible -- redder in the smoothest areas and less red near the fresh impact craters and over ridges of topographic highs. The color variations are probably caused by exposure of surface material to the space environment, which leads to darkening and reddening. Brighter and less-red surface materials have seen less exposure to space due to recent impacts or downslope movement of regolith. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Date 3/12/09
Gullies at the Edge of Hale …
This image from NASA's Mars …
10/6/09
Description This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows gullies near the edge of Hale crater on southern Mars. Martian gullies carved into hill slopes and the walls of impact craters were discovered several years ago. On Earth, gullies usually form through the action of liquid water -- long thought to be absent on the Martian surface. Whether liquid water carves gullies under today's cold and dry conditions on Mars is a major question that planetary scientists are trying to answer. Gullies at this site are especially interesting because scientists recently discovered actively changing examples at similar locations. Images separated by several years showed changes in the appearance of some of these gullies. Today, planetary scientists are using the HiRISE camera on MRO to examine gullies such as the one in this image for change that might provide a clue about whether liquid water occurs on the surface of Mars. The view covers an area about 1 kilometer, or 0.6 mile, across and was taken on Aug. 3, 2009. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Date 10/6/09
Noctis Labyrinthus
Layers in the lower portion …
10/8/09
Description Layers in the lower portion of two neighboring buttes within the Noctis Labyrinthus formation on Mars are visible in this image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Date 10/8/09
Europa
Jupiter's moon Europa has a …
4/28/09
Description Jupiter's moon Europa has a crust made up of blocks, which are thought to have broken apart and 'rafted' into new positions, as shown in the image on the left. These features are the best geologic evidence to date that Europa may have had a subsurface ocean at some time in its past. Combined with the geologic data, the presence of a magnetic field leads scientists to believe an ocean is most likely present at Europa today. In this false color image, reddish-brown areas represent non-ice material resulting from geologic activity. White areas are rays of material ejected during the formation of the Pwyll impact crater. Icy plains are shown in blue tones to distinguish possibly coarse-grained ice (dark blue) from fine-grained ice (light blue). Long, dark lines are ridges and fractures in the crust, some of which are more than 1,850 miles long. These images were obtained by NASA's Galileo spacecraft during Sept. 7, 1996, Dec. 1996 and Feb. 1997 at a distance of 417,489 miles. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Date 4/28/09
Tattooed Mars
This high-resolution picture …
10/26/09
Description This high-resolution picture from the HiRISE camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows twisting dark trails criss-crossing light-colored terrain on the Martian surface. Newly formed trails like these had presented researchers with a tantalizing mystery but are now known to be the work of miniature wind vortices known to occur on the red planet, in other words Martian dust devils. Such spinning columns of rising air heated by the warm surface are also common in dry and desert areas on planet Earth. Typically lasting only a few minutes, dust devils become visible as they pick up loose red-colored dust leaving the darker and heavier sand beneath intact. Ironically, dust devils have been credited with unexpectedly cleaning the solar panels of the Mars rovers. Image Credit: NASA, HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona)
Date 10/26/09
History Revealed
More than 12 billion years o …
01/07/10
Description More than 12 billion years of cosmic history are shown in this panoramic, full-color view of thousands of galaxies. This image, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, was made from mosaics taken in September and October 2009 with the newly installed Wide Field Camera 3 and in 2004 with the Advanced Camera for Surveys and covers a portion of the southern field of a large galaxy census called the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, a deep-sky study by several observatories to trace the evolution of galaxies. The image reveals galaxy shapes that appear increasingly chaotic at each earlier epoch, as galaxies grew through accretion, collisions and mergers, which range from the mature spirals and ellipticals in the foreground, to smaller, fainter, irregularly shaped galaxies, most of which are farther away, and therefore existed farther back in time. These smaller galaxies are considered the building blocks of the larger galaxies we see today. The image shows a rich tapestry of 7,500 galaxies stretching back through most of the universe's history. The closest galaxies seen in the foreground emitted their observed light about a billion years ago. The farthest galaxies, a few of the very faint red specks, are seen as they appeared more than 13 billion years ago, or roughly 650 million years after the Big Bang. This mosaic spans a slice of space that is equal to about a third of the diameter of the full moon (10 arc minutes). Image Credit: NASA, ESA, R. Windhorst, S. Cohen, and M. Mechtley (Arizona State University, Tempe), R. O'Connell (University of Virginia), P. McCarthy (Carnegie Observatories), N. Hathi (University of California, Riverside), R. Ryan (University of California, Davis), and H. Yan (Ohio State University)
Date 01/07/10
Bright Layered Deposits
Martian landforms have been …
01/12/10
Description Martian landforms have been shaped by winds, water, lava flow, seasonal icing and other forces over millennia. This view shows color variations in bright layered deposits on a plateau near Juventae Chasma in the Valles Marineris region of Mars. A brown mantle covers portions of the bright deposits. Researchers have found that these bright layered deposits contain opaline silica and iron sulfates. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Date 01/12/10
Dunes of Mars
Dunes of sand-sized material …
01/21/10
Description Dunes of sand-sized materials have been trapped on the floors of many Martian craters. This is one example, from a crater in Noachis Terra, west of the giant Hellas impact basin. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this view on Dec. 28, 2009. The dunes here are linear, thought to be due to shifting wind directions. In places, each dune is remarkably similar to adjacent dunes, including a reddish (or dust colored) band on northeast-facing slopes. Large angular boulders litter the floor between dunes. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Date 01/21/10
Mars 2003 Rover
This artist's rendering show …
7/27/00
Date 7/27/00
Description This artist's rendering shows a view of NASA's Mars 2003 Rover as it sets off roam the surface of the red planet. The rover is scheduled for launch in June 2003 and will arrive in January 2004, shielded in its landing by an airbag shell. The airbag/lander structure, which has no scientific instruments of its own, is shown to the right in this image, behind the rover. The rover will carry five scientific instruments and rock abrading device. The Panoramic Camera and the Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer are located on the large mast shown on the front of the rover. The camera will be supplied by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and the spectrometer will be supplied by Arizona State University in Tempe. The payload also includes magnetic targets, provided by the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, that will collect magnetic dust for further study by the science instruments. The Rock Abrasion Tool is located on a robotic arm that can be deployed to study rocks and soil.(In this view, the robotic arm is tucked under the front of the rover.) The tool, provided by Honeybee Robotics Ltd., New York, N.Y., will grind away the outer surfaces of rocks, which may be dusty and weathered, allowing the science instruments to determine the nature of rock interiors. The three instruments that will study the abraded rocks are a Mossbauer Spectrometer, provided by the Johannes Gutenberg- University Mainz, Germany, an Alpha-Proton X-ray Spectrometer provided by Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, also in Mainz, Germany, and a Microscopic Imager, supplied by JPL. The payload also includes magnetic targets, provided by the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark, that will collect magnetic dust for further study by the science instruments. In a landing similar to that of the 1997 Mars Pathfinder spacecraft, a parachute will deploy to slow the spacecraft down and airbags will inflate to cushion the landing. Petals of the landing structure will unfold to release the rover, which will drive off to begin its exploration. JPL manages the Mars 2003 Rover for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY is the lead institution for the science payload. #####
Lower Colorado River L & C b …
This space radar image illus …
1/25/96
Date 1/25/96
Description This space radar image illustrates the recent rapid urban development occurring along the lower Colorado River at the Nevada/Arizona state line. Lake Mohave is the dark feature that occupies the river valley in the upper half of the image. The lake is actually a reservoir created behind Davis Dam, the bright white line spanning the river near the center of the image. The dam, completed in 1953, is used both for generating electric power and regulating the river's flow downstream. Straddling the river south of Davis Dam, shown in white and bright green, are the cities of Laughlin, Nevada (west of the river) and Bullhead City, Arizona (east of the river). The runway of the Laughlin, Bullhead City Airport is visible as a dark strip just east of Bullhead City. The area has experienced rapid growth associated with the gambling industry in Laughlin and on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation to the south. The community of Riviera is the bright green area in a large bend of the river in the lower left part of the image. Complex drainage patterns and canyons are the dark lines seen throughout the image. Radar is a useful tool for studying these patterns because of the instrument's sensitivity to roughness, vegetation and subtle topographic differences. This image is 50 kilometers by 35 kilometers (31 miles by 22 miles) and is centered at 35.25 degrees north latitude, 114.67 degrees west longitude. North is toward the upper right. The colors are assigned to different radar frequencies and polarizations as follows: red is L-band, horizontally transmitted and received, green is L-band, horizontally transmitted and vertically received, and blue is C-band, horizontally transmitted and vertically received. The image was acquired by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR- C/X-SAR) on April 13, 1994, onboard the space shuttle Endeavour. SIR-C/X-SAR, a joint mission of the German, Italian and United States space agencies, is part of NASA's Office of Mission to Planet Earth. #####
Jupiter casts a baleful eye …
Description Jupiter casts a baleful eye on wayward Ganymede in this frame, color-composited from narrow angle images taken on November 18 and high-pass filtered and contrast-enhanced to bring out details not readily seen otherwise. The smallest features in this image are 240 km across. Jupiter's `eye', the Great Red Spot, was captured just before disappearing over the eastern limb of the planet. The furrowed eyebrow above and to the left of the Spot is a turbulent wake region caused by westward flow deflected to the north and around the Red Spot. (An animation of ISS images from early October, beautifully illustrating this flow, was released on November 20 and can be viewed below.) Within the band south of the Red Spot are seen a trio of white ovals, small high pressure counter-clockwise rotating regions that are dynamically similar to the Red Spot. The dark filamentary features interspersed between the white ovals are probably cyclonic circulations, similar to those seen by Galileo, and, unlike the ovals, are rotating clockwise. Jupiter's Equatorial Zone stretching across the planet to the north of the Spot appears bright white, with gigantic plume clouds spreading out from the equator both to the northeast and to the southest. in a chevron pattern. This zone looks distinctly different than it did during the Voyager flyby 21 years ago when its color was predominantly brown, and only SW/NE-trending white plumes north of the equator were conspicous against the darker material beneath. The bluish gray regions near the equator, noted in earlier releases, are regions where the clouds have cleared and, except for partial obscuration by thin upper level hazes, we can see to great depth. The darker, brownish North Equatorial belt north of the Equatorial Zone is also quite turbulent. (See accompanying release below.) Ganymede is Jupiter's largest moon, about 50% larger than our own Moon and larger than the planet Mercury. Like the Moon and Mercury, Ganymede has no atmosphere, the visible details seen in this image are different geological terrains on the satellite's surface. Dark areas tend to be older and heavily cratered, the brighter locales are younger and more sparsely cratered. The latter are the famed grooved terrains first seen by Voyager and imaged at high resolution by Galileo. Cassini images of Ganymede and the other Galilean satellites taken near closest approach on December 30 will have resolutions of ~60 km/pixel, four times better than that seen here. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona # # # # #
This 4-panel frame shows a s …
Description This 4-panel frame shows a section of Jupiter's North Equatorial Belt viewed by Cassini at 4 different wavelengths on November 27, when the resolution had improved to 192 km/pixel, surpassing the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera in resolving power. The images have been contrast-enhanced for the purpose of illustration. The upper panel is an image taken in the near-infrared at a wavelength inaccessible to the human eye. The gases in the atmosphere are relatively non-absorbing, allowing sunlight to penetrate deeply into the atmosphere and be reflected back out, thus giving us a direct view of the deeper regions of the troposphere. (On Earth, the troposphere is the portion of the atmosphere closest to the surface, in which most of the atmospheric water vapor resides.) The second panel is taken in the blue at shorter wavelengths detected by the human eye. At these wavelengths, gases in the atmosphere scatter a modest amount of sunlight, so the clouds we see tend to be at somewhat higher altitudes than in the uppermost panel. The third panel shows near-infrared reflected sunlight at a wavelength where the gas methane, an important constituent of Jupiter's atmosphere, absorbs strongly. In this image, dark places are locations of strong absorption (i.e., regions without high-level clouds and consequently large amounts of methane accessible to sunlight), and bright regions are locations with high (upper troposphere) clouds shielding the methane below. The bottom-most panel is an image taken in the ultraviolet. At these very short wavelengths, the clear atmosphere scatters sunlight, and stratospheric hazes absorb sunlight, both very efficiently, making it difficult to see into the troposphere at all. So bright regions are generally free of high stratospheric hazes. The fascinating aspect of these 4 images is the small bright spot that can be seen in the center of each one. Bright spots similar to this were seen in turbulent regions by the Galileo cameras, and they appear to be very energetic convective storms that move heat from the interior of Jupiter to higher altitudes. These storms are expected to penetrate to great heights, and so it is not surprising to see the storm in the first three images, which probe atmospheric altitudes from the lower to the upper troposphere. What is surprising is the appearance of the spot in the ultraviolet image. This may in fact be a `monster' thunderstorm, penetrating all the way into the stratosphere, as do some summer thunderstorms in the midwestern United States. Higher resolution, time-lapse images to be captured in the coming weeks will shed more light on these spectacular features. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Still from high-clouds Jupit …
This image is one of seven f …
12/11/00
Date 12/11/00
Description This image is one of seven from the narrow-angle camera on NASA's Cassini spacecraft assembled as a brief movie of high-altitude cloud movements on Jupiter. It was taken in early October 2000. The images were taken at a wavelength that is absorbed by methane, one chemical in Jupiter's lower clouds. So, dark areas are relatively free of high clouds, and the camera sees through to the methane in a lower level. Bright areas are places with high, thick clouds that shield the methane below. The area shown covers latitudes from 50 degrees north to 50 degrees south and a 100-degree sweep of longitude. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona # # # #
Jupiter Eye to Io
This image taken by NASA's C …
12/11/00
Date 12/11/00
Description This image taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Dec. 1, 2000, shows details of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and other features that were not visible in images taken earlier, when Cassini was farther from Jupiter. The picture is a color composite, with enhanced contrast, taken from a distance of 28.6 million kilometers (17.8 million miles). It has a resolution of 170 kilometers (106 miles) per pixel. Jupiter's closest large moon, Io, is visible at left. The edges of the Red Spot are cloudier with ammonia haze than the spot's center is. The filamentary structure in the center appears to spiral outward toward the edge. NASA's Galileo spacecraft has previously observed the outer edges of the Red Spot to be rotating rapidly counterclockwise, while the inner portion was rotating weakly in the opposite direction. Whether the same is true now will be answered as Cassini gets closer to Jupiter and interior cloud features become sharper. Cassini will make its closest approach to Jupiter, at a distance of about 10 million kilometers (6 million miles), on Dec. 30, 2000. The Red Spot region has changed in one notable way over the years: In images from NASA's Voyager and Galileo spacecraft, the area surrounding the Red Spot is dark, indicating relatively cloud-free conditions. Now, some bright white ammonia clouds have filled in the clearings. This appears to be part of a general brightening of Jupiter's cloud features during the past two decades. Jupiter has four large moons and an array of tiny ones. In this picture, Io is visible. The white and reddish colors on Io's surface are due to the presence of different sulfurous materials while the black areas are due to silicate rocks. Like the other large moons, Io always keeps the same hemisphere facing Jupiter, called the sub-Jupiter hemisphere. The opposite side, much of which we see here, is the anti-Jupiter hemisphere. Io has more than 100 active volcanoes spewing very hot lava and giant plumes of gas and dust. Its biggest plume, Pele, is near the bottom left edge of Io's disk as seen here. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona # # # # #
High Latitude Mottling on Ju …
The familiar banded appearan …
12/18/00
Date 12/18/00
Description The familiar banded appearance of Jupiter at low and middle latitudes gradually gives way to a more mottled appearance at high latitudes in this striking true color image taken Dec. 13, 2000, by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The intricate structures seen in the polar region are clouds of different chemical composition, height and thickness. Clouds are organized by winds, and the mottled appearance in the polar regions suggests more vortex-type motion and winds of less vigor at higher latitudes. The cause of this difference is not understood. One possible contributor is that the horizontal component of the Coriolis force, which arises from the planet's rotation and is responsible for curving the trajectories of ocean currents and winds on Earth, has its greatest effect at high latitudes and vanishes at the equator. This tends to create small, intense vortices at high latitudes on Jupiter. Another possibility may lie in that fact that Jupiter overall emits nearly as much of its own heat as it absorbs from the Sun, and this internal heat flux is very likely greater at the poles. This condition could lead to enhanced convection at the poles and more vortex-type structures. Further analysis of Cassini images, including analysis of sequences taken over a span of time, should help us understand the cause of equator-to-pole differences in cloud organization and evolution. By the time this picture was taken, Cassini had reached close enough to Jupiter to allow the spacecraft to return images with more detail than what's possible with the planetary camera on NASA's Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. The resolution here is 114 kilometers (71 miles) per pixel. This contrast- enhanced, edge-sharpened frame was composited from images take at different wavelengths with Cassini's narrow-angle camera, from a distance of 19 million kilometers (11.8 million miles). The spacecraft was in almost a direct line between the Sun and Jupiter, so the solar illumination on Jupiter is almost full phase. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona # # # # #
Io in Front of Jupiter
Jupiter's four largest satel …
12/20/00
Date 12/20/00
Description Jupiter's four largest satellites, including Io, the golden ornament in front of Jupiter in this image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, have fascinated Earthlings ever since Galileo Galilei discovered them in 1610 in one of his first astronomical uses of the telescope. Images from Cassini that will be released over the next several days capture each of the four Galilean satellites in their orbits around the giant planet. This true-color composite frame, made from narrow angle images taken on Dec. 12, 2000, captures Io and its shadow in transit against the disk of Jupiter. The distance of the spacecraft from Jupiter was 19.5 million kilometers (12.1 million miles). The image scale is 117 kilometers (73 miles) per pixel. The entire body of Io, about the size of Earth's Moon, is periodically flexed as it speeds around Jupiter and feels, as a result of its non-circular orbit, the periodically changing gravitational pull of the planet. The heat arising in Io's interior from this continual flexure makes it the most volcanically active body in the solar system, with more than 100 active volcanoes. The white and reddish colors on its surface are due to the presence of different sulfurous materials. The black areas are silicate rocks. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona # # # # #
Europa, Callisto and Jupiter
One moment in an ancient, or …
12/21/00
Date 12/21/00
Description One moment in an ancient, orbital dance is caught in this color picture taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Dec. 7, 2000, just as two of Jupiter's four major moons, Europa and Callisto, were nearly perfectly aligned with each other and the center of the planet. The distances are deceiving. Europa, seen against Jupiter, is 600,000 kilometers (370,000 miles) above the planet's cloud tops. Callisto, at lower left, is nearly three times that distance from the cloud tops. Europa is a bit smaller than Earth's Moon and has one of the brightest surfaces in the solar system. Callisto is 50 percent bigger -- roughly the size of Saturn's largest satellite, Titan -- and three times darker than Europa. Its brightness had to be enhanced in this picture, relative Europa's and Jupiter's, in order for Callisto to be seen in this image. Europa and Callisto have had very different geologic histories but share some surprising similarities, such as surfaces rich in ice. Callisto has apparently not undergone major internal compositional stratification, but Europa's interior has differentiated into a rocky core and an outer layer of nearly pure ice. Callisto's ancient surface is completely covered by large impact craters: The brightest features seen on Callisto in this image were discovered by the Voyager spacecraft in 1979 to be bright craters, like those on our Moon. In contrast, Europa's young surface is covered by a wild tapestry of ridges, chaotic terrain and only a handful of large craters. Recent data from the magnetometer carried by the Galileo spacecraft, which has been in orbit around Jupiter since 1995, indicate the presence of conducting fluid, most likely salty water, inside both Callisto and Europa. Scientists are eager to discover whether the surface of Saturn's Titan resembles that of Callisto or Europa, or whether it is entirely different, when Cassini finally reaches its destination in 2004. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona #####
Still from Planetwide Movie
This single frame from a col …
12/27/00
Date 12/27/00
Description This single frame from a color movie of Jupiter from NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows what it would look like to unpeel the entire globe of Jupiter, stretch it out on a wall into the form of a rectangular map. The image is a color cylindrical projection of the complete circumference of Jupiter, from 60 degrees south to 60 degrees north. It was produced from six images taken by Cassini's narrow- band camera on Oct. 31, 2000, in each of three filters: red, green and blue. The smallest visible features at the equator are about 600 kilometers (about 370 miles) across. In a map of this type, the most extreme northern and southern latitudes are unnaturally stretched out. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona # # # # #
Satellite Rings
This image sequence, taken b …
12/30/00
Date 12/30/00
Description This image sequence, taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft as it approached Jupiter, shows the motions, over a 16 hour-period, of two satellites embedded in Jupiter's ring. The moon Adrastea is the fainter of the two, and Metis is the brighter. Images such as these will be used to refine the orbits of the two bodies. The composition was made from images taken during a 40-hour sequence of the Jovian ring on December 11, 2000. Cassini is a cooperative mission of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages Cassini for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Univ. of Arizona
High Resolution Globe of Jup …
This true-color simulated vi …
12/30/00
Date 12/30/00
Description This true-color simulated view of Jupiter is composed of 4 images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on December 7, 2000. To illustrate what Jupiter would have looked like if the cameras had a field-of-view large enough to capture the entire planet, the cylindrical map was projected onto a globe. The resolution is about 144 kilometers (89 miles) per pixel. Cassini is a cooperative mission of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages Cassini for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Univ. of Arizona
Eyeing Ganymede
Jupiter casts a baleful eye …
12/5/00
Date 12/5/00
Description Jupiter casts a baleful eye toward the moon Ganymede in this enhanced-contrast image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Jupiter's `eye', the Great Red Spot, was captured just before disappearing around the eastern edge of the planet. The furrowed eyebrow above and to the left of the spot is a turbulent wake region caused by westward flow that has been deflected to the north and around the Red Spot. The smallest features visible are about 240 kilometers (150 miles) across. Within the band south of the Red Spot are a trio of white ovals, high pressure counterclockwise-rotating regions that are dynamically similar to the Red Spot. The dark filamentary features interspersed between white ovals are probably cyclonic circulations and, unlike the ovals, are rotating clockwise. Jupiter's equatorial zone stretching across the planet north of the Spot appears bright white, with gigantic plume clouds spreading out from the equator both to the northeast and to the southeast in a chevron pattern. This zone looks distinctly different than it did during the Voyager flyby 21 years ago. Then, its color was predominantly brown and the only white plumes conspicuous against the darker material beneath them were oriented southwest-to-northeast. Ganymede is Jupiter's largest moon, about 50 percent larger than our own Moon and larger than the planet Mercury. The visible details in this image are different geological terrains. Dark areas tend to be older and heavily cratered, brighter areas are younger and less cratered. Cassini images of Ganymede and Jupiter's other large moons taken near closest approach on Dec. 30 will have resolutions about four times better than that seen here. This image is a color composite of ones taken with different filters by Cassini's narrow-angle camera on Nov. 18, 2000, processed to enhance contrast. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona # # # # #
Himalia, a Small Moon of Jup …
NASA's Cassini spacecraft ca …
1/23/01
Date 1/23/01
Description NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured images of Himalia, the brightest of Jupiter's outer moons, on Dec. 19, 2000, from a distance of 4.4 million kilometers (2.7 million miles). This near-infrared image, with a resolution of about 27 kilometers (17 miles) per pixel, indicates that the side of Himalia facing the spacecraft is roughly 160 kilometers (100 miles) in the up-down direction. Himalia probably has a non- spherical shape. Scientists believe it is a body captured into orbit around Jupiter, most likely an irregularly shaped asteroid. In the main frame, an arrow indicates Himalia. North is up. The inset shows the little moon magnified by a factor of 10, plus a graphic indicating Himalia's size and the direction of lighting (with sunlight coming from the left). Cassini's pictures of Himalia were taken during a brief period when Cassini's attitude was stabilized by thrusters instead of by a steadier reaction- wheel system. No spacecraft or telescope had previously shown any of Jupiter's outer moons as more than a star-like single dot. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona # # # # #
MRPS #80839 (Sol 2) Color mo …
The Sojourner rover and unde …
7/5/97
Date 7/5/97
Description The Sojourner rover and undeployed ramps onboard the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft can be seen in in this image, by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on July 4 (Sol 1). This image has been corrected for the curvature created by parallax. The microrover Sojourner is latched to the petal, and has not yet been deployed. The ramps are a pair of deployable metal reels which will provide a track for the rover as it slowly rolls off the lander, over the spacecraft's deflated airbags, and onto the surface of Mars. Pathfinder scientists will use this image to determine whether it is safe to deploy the ramps. One or both of the ramps will be unfurled, and then scientists will decide whether the rover will use either the forward or backward ramp for its descent. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low- cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator. #####
MRPS #80823 (Sol 1) Airbag r …
This image shows that the Ma …
7/4/97
Date 7/4/97
Description This image shows that the Mars Pathfinder airbags have been successfully retracted, allowing safe deployment of the rover ramps. The Sojourner rover, still in its deployed position, is at center image, and rocks are visible in the background. Mars Pathfinder landed successfully on the surface of Mars today at 10:07 a.m. PDT. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low- cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
MRPS #80881 (Sol 2) 360 degr …
This photomosaic was taken b …
7/5/97
Date 7/5/97
Description This photomosaic was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) camera on July 4, 1997 between 4:00-4:30 p.m. PDT. The foreground is dominated by the lander, newly renamed the Sagan Memorial Station after the late Dr. Carl Sagan. All three petals have been fully deployed. Upon one of the petals is the Sojourner microrover in its stowed position. The metallic cylinders at either end of Sojourner are the rover deployment ramps. Visible at the rear end (right) of the rover is the Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument. Located to the right of the center petal is a dark, circular object and a bright, metallic object. Both are components of the high gain antenna. The black post, bull's-eye rings, and small shaded blocks in the far right portion of the image are components of the calibration targets. Terrain of the Ares Vallis region of Mars is in the background. The sections of soil and the large rocks surrounding the lander will provide the rover with numerous opportunities to employ the APXS. The prominent hills in the background will aid scientists in determining the exact site of the spacecraft. The dark blocks at the lower and upper left of the panorama represent gaps in the data transmission to Earth. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low- cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator. #####
MRPS #81000 (Sol 4) Sojourne …
Sojourner's first analysis o …
7/7/97
Date 7/7/97
Description Sojourner's first analysis of a rock on Mars began on Sol 3 with the study of Barnacle Bill, a nearby rock named for its rough surface. The Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) will be used to determine the elements that make up the rocks and soil on Mars. A full study using the APXS takes approximately ten hours, and can measure all elements except hydrogen at any time of the Martian day or night. The APXS will conduct its studies by bombarding rocks and soil samples with alpha particle radiation - - charged particles equivalent to the nucleus of a helium atom, consisting of two protons and two neutrons. The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) after its deployment on Sol 3. Mars Pathfinder was developed and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
MRPS #81007 (Sol 4) Twin Pea …
The two hills in the distanc …
7/7/97
Date 7/7/97
Description The two hills in the distance, approximately one to two kilometers away, have been dubbed the "Twin Peaks" and are of great interest to Pathfinder scientists as objects of future study. The white areas on the left hill, called the "Ski Run" by scientists, may have been formed by hydrolgic processes. The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) after its deployment on Sol 3. Mars Pathfinder was developed and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
MRPS #81008 (Sol 4) Sojourne …
Sojourner is visible in this …
7/7/97
Date 7/7/97
Description Sojourner is visible in this image, one of the first taken by the deployed Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 3. The rover has moved from this position into one that later facilitated its using the Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument on Barnacle Bill. The APXS, located at the rear of the rover, is not visible in this image. The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) after its deployment on Sol 3. Mars Pathfinder was developed and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
MRPS #81009 (Sol 4) Yogi the …
Yogi, a rock taller than rov …
7/7/97
Date 7/7/97
Description Yogi, a rock taller than rover Sojourner, is the subject of this image, taken by the deployed Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 3. The soil in the foreground will be the location of multiple soil mechanics experiments performed by Sojourner's cleated wheels. Pathfinder scientists will be able to control the force inflicted on the soil beneath the rover's wheels, giving them insight into the soil's mechanical properties. The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) after its deployment on Sol 3. Mars Pathfinder was developed and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
MRPS #80811 (Sol 1) Pathfind …
This is one of the first pic …
7/4/97
Date 7/4/97
Description This is one of the first pictures taken by the camera on the Mars Pathfinder lander shortly after its touchdown at 10:07 AM Pacific Daylight Time on July 4, 1997. The small rover, named Sojourner, is seen in the foreground in its position on a solar panel of the lander. The white material on either side of the rover is part of the deflated airbag system used to absorb the shock of the landing. Between the rover and the horizon is the rock-strewn martian surface. Two hills are seen in the right distance, profiled against the light brown sky. Pathfinder, a low-cost Discovery mission, is the first of a new fleet of spacecraft that are planned to explore Mars over the next ten years. Mars Global Surveyor, already en route, arrives at Mars on September 11 to begin a two year orbital reconnaissance of the planet's composition, topography, and climate. Additional orbiters and landers will follow every 26 months. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator. #####
MRPS #81088 (Sol 5) Sojourne …
The image was taken by the I …
7/8/97
Date 7/8/97
Description The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 4. The rover Sojourner has traveled to an area of soil and several rocks. Its tracks are clearly visible in the soft soil seen in the foreground, and were made in part by the rover's material abrasion experiment. Scientists were able to control the force of the rover's cleated wheels to help determine the physical properties of the soil. In this image, Sojourner is using its Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument to study an area of soil. Sunlight is striking the area from the left, creating shadows under Sojourner and at the right of local rocks. The large rock Yogi can be seen at upper right. Mars Pathfinder is the second in NASA's Discovery program of low- cost spacecraft with highly focused science goals. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, developed and manages the Mars Pathfinder mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator. #####
MRPS #81094 (Sol 5) Sojourne …
Sojourner is visible in this …
7/8/97
Date 7/8/97
Description Sojourner is visible in this color image, one of the first taken by the deployed Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 3. The rover has moved from this position into one that later facilitated its using the Alpha Proton X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument on Barnacle Bill. The APXS, located at the rear of the rover, is not visible in this image. The image was taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) after its deployment on Sol 3. Mars Pathfinder was developed and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator.
MRPS #81126 (Sol 5) Portion …
This image represents the fi …
7/8/97
Date 7/8/97
Description This image represents the first two tiers of a 360-degree color panoram, taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP). The metallic object at far lower left is a portion of the lander's low-gain antenna. At left, the forward ramp is visible near the larger rocks dubbed Wedge, Flat Top, and Half-Dome. The magenta and yellow strips near the center represent portions of missing data. Rover Sojourner is situated on the soil after its successful deployment on Sol 5. To its immediate left is the rock dubbed "Barnacle Bill," and in front of it lies the larger rock dubbed "Yogi." Two additional areas of deflated airbags are at the right-center and right of the panorama. The mast and windsocks at far right is the Atmospheric Structure Instrument/Meteorology Package (ASI/MET). Their upward position indicates little air movement. A shadow of the ASI/MET has been cast upon a rock just in front of it, indicating sunlight is coming from the rear right. Mars Pathfinder was developed and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The IMP was developed by the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory under contract to JPL. Peter Smith is the Principal Investigator. #####
A disc of material -- possib …
Description A disc of material -- possibly a developing solar system -- discovered in 1984 around the nearby star Beta Pictoris has been found to be at least twice as large as originally believed. Drs. Bradford A. Smith of the University of Arizona and Richard J. Terrile of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who first photographed the circumstellar disc, rephotographed the star with improved instruments in February 1985 and found the circumstellar disc to reach more than 1,000 astronomical units (about 100 billion miles) from Beta Pictoris. Their original data showed the disc to reach half that distance. The disc is seen nearly edge- on in this false-color picture. The disc, the diameter of which is at least 20 times larger than that of our solar system, is thought to be comprised of dust- to brick-sized particles. Light from the star was blocked by an instrument called a planetary coronagraph so the faint disc could be photographed. The instrument was used in conjunction with a sensitive charge- coupled device (CCD) detector and the 2.5-meter (100-inch) duPont telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. The observatory is operated by the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C. #####
Colorized View of Zal Region …
This image shows one of many …
5/31/00
Date 5/31/00
Description This image shows one of many intriguing mountains on Jupiter's moon Io. The image was made by combining a recent high- resolution, black and white image with earlier low-resolution color data to provide a high-resolution, color view. NASA's Galileo spacecraft took both images. The 240-kilometer (150-mile) long mountain in the image is south of the volcanic hot spot named Zal. The black and white version of this image was useful for showing the shape of the mountain and the small fans of debris piled against the base of its tall, steep cliffs. However, when colorized the relationship between different types of materials becomes apparent. For example, the bright, red material is believed to contain a compound of sulfur that forms when sulfur is boiled at a high temperature. Active eruptions of molten rock (lava) are the most likely source for the heat. Thus we see red sulfur where lava reaches the surface. Other sulfur compounds cover the yellow areas, and the black areas are fresh silicate lava that has not yet been coated by the yellow sulfurous materials. The green patches are still somewhat mysterious, they appear to form when red sulfur lands on warm lava and the two react in a manner that is still unknown. In this image, it is clear that the red material has blown out of a long crack along the western side of the mountain. Lava has flowed from this crack and filled a depression (caldera). Some of the red sulfur close to the dark caldera appears to have been converted into green material. The fact that lava comes up along the faults that define the sides of the mountains provides important clues to how the mountains form and the state of the interior of Io. Scientists at the University of Arizona speculate that the formation of the mountains on Io may be related to plumes of hot material rising inside the fiery body of Io. North is to the top and the setting sun is shining from the west. The image is centered at about 33 degrees north, 72 degrees west. The high-resolution image was taken on February 22, 2000 by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The image was taken by the Galileo's onboard camera from a range of 33,500 kilometers (20,800 miles) and has a resolution of 335 meters (1,100 feet) per picture element. The color images were taken on July 3, 1999. They have resolutions of 1.3 kilometers (0.81 miles) per picture element and are illuminated from almost directly behind the spacecraft. They were taken at a distance of about 130,000 kilometers (81,000 miles) from Io. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/io/ioimages.html. #####
Ganymede dark terrain at hig …
Impact craters dominate the …
12/16/00
Date 12/16/00
Description Impact craters dominate the surface down to the smallest features visible on the dark terrain of the Nicholson Regio region of Jupiter's moon Ganymede in this image taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. It is the highest resolution view ever obtained of Ganymede's dark terrain. Both the regional-scale image at the bottom and high- resolution image at the top were taken by Galileo during its May 20, 2000, flyby of Ganymede. The latter are the highest resolution images ever obtained of Ganymede's dark terrain, which makes up about one third of Ganymede's surface. Impact cratering is clearly the dominant mechanism of surface modification in this relatively ancient terrain, which is analogous to the cratered highlands of Earth's Moon. Small- scale craters seem to mimic larger-scale craters, as is apparent in the similarities between the high and medium resolution scenes. The bright spots are probably fresh ice-rich ejecta excavated by the most recent impact events. North is to the top of the images and the Sun illuminates the surface from the west. The medium-resolution image, centered at –15 degrees latitude and 337 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 237 by 130 kilometers (147 by 81 miles) at a resolution of 125 meters (410 feet) per picture element. The high-resolution image is at 28 meters (92 feet) per picture element. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo . Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The images were produced by Arizona State University, Tempe, and Brown University, Providence, R.I.. Their websites are at http://europa.la.asu.edu/index.html and http://www.planetary.brown.edu/ . # # # # #
Jupiter's Great Red Spot in …
This true color image of Jup …
10/23/00
Date 10/23/00
Description This true color image of Jupiter, taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, is composed of three images taken in the blue, green and red regions of the spectrum. All images were taken from a distance of 77.6 million kilometers (48.2 million miles) on Oct. 8, 2000. Different chemical compositions of the cloud particles lead to different colors. The cloud patterns reflect different physical conditions -- updrafts and downdrafts -- in which the clouds form. The bluish areas are believed to be regions devoid of clouds and covered by high haze. The Great Red Spot (below and to the right of center) is a giant atmospheric storm as wide as two Earths and over 300 years old, with peripheral winds of 483 kilometers per hour (300 miles per hour). This image shows that it is trailed to the north by a turbulent region, caused by atmospheric flow around the spot. The bright white spots in this region are lightning storms, which were seen by NASA's Galileo spacecraft when it photographed the night side of Jupiter. Cassini will track these lightning storms and measure their lifetimes and motions when it passes Jupiter in late December and looks back on the dark side of the planet. Cassini is currently en route to its ultimate destination, Saturn. The resolution is 466 kilometers (290 miles) per picture element. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona #####
Jupiter and Europa in Near I …
These two images, taken by N …
11/6/00
Date 11/6/00
Description These two images, taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, show Jupiter in a near-infrared wavelength, and catch Europa, one of Jupiter's largest moons, at different phases. Cassini's narrow-angle camera took both images, the upper one from a distance of 69.9 million kilometers (43.4 million miles) on Oct. 17, 2000, and the lower one from a distance of 65.1 million kilometers (40.4 million miles) on Oct. 22, 2000. Both were taken at a wavelength of 727 nanometers, which is in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The camera's 727-nanometer filter accepts only a narrow spectral range centered on a relatively strong absorption feature due to methane gas. In this spectral region, the amount of light reflected by Jupiter's clouds is only half that reflected in a nearby spectral region outside the methane band. The features that are brightest in these images are the highest and thickest clouds, such as the Great Red Spot and the band of clouds girding the equator, as these scatter sunlight back to space before it has a chance to be absorbed by the methane gas in the atmosphere. This stratigraphic effect can be seen even more prominently in an image released on Oct. 23, 2000, taken in the stronger methane band at 889 nanometers, in which the only bright features are the highest hazes over the equator, the poles and the Great Red Spot. By comparing images taken in the 727 nanometer filter with others taken at 889 nanometers and at a weaker methane band at 619 nanometers, researchers will probe the heights and thickness of clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. Europa, a satellite of Jupiter about the size of Earth's Moon, is visible to the left of Jupiter in the upper image, and in front of the planet in the lower image. Another of Jupiter's Galilean satellites, Ganymede, which is larger than the planet Mercury, is to the right in the upper image, with brightness variations visible across its surface. In the upper image, Europa is caught entering Jupiter's shadow, and hence appears as a bright crescent, in the lower image, it is seen about one-and-a-half orbits later, in transit across the face of the planet. Because there is neither methane nor any strong absorber in this spectral region on the surface of Europa, it appears strikingly white and bright compared to Jupiter. Imaging observations of the moons Europa, Io and Ganymede entering and passing through Jupiter's shadow are planned for the two-week period surrounding Cassini's closest approach on Dec. 30, 2000. The purpose of these eclipse observations is to detect and measure the variability of emissions that arise from the interaction of the satellites' tenuous atmospheres with the charged particles trapped in Jupiter's magnetic field. At the times these images were taken, Cassini was about 3.3 degrees above Jupiter's equatorial plane, and the Sun-Jupiter- spacecraft angle was about 20 degrees. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona #####
Still from Red Spot Movie
This image is one of seven f …
11/20/00
Date 11/20/00
Description This image is one of seven from the narrow-angle camera on NASA's Cassini spacecraft assembled as a brief movie of cloud movements on Jupiter. It was taken with a blue filter. The smallest features visible are about 500 kilometers (about 300 miles) across. Small bright clouds appear suddenly to the west of the Great Red Spot. Based on data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft, scientists suspect that these small white features are lightning storms, where falling raindrops create an electrical charge. The lightning storms eventually merge with the Red Spot and surrounding jets, and may be the main energy source for these large-scale features. Imaging observations of the dark side of the planet in the weeks following Cassini's closest approach to Jupiter on Dec. 30, 2000 will search for lightning storms like these. This image was re-projected by cylindrical-map projection of an image taken in the first week of October 2000. It shows an area from 50 degrees north of Jupiter's equator to 50 degrees south, extending 100 degrees east-west, about one quarter of Jupiter's circumference. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona # # # # #
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