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Mystery Solved: High-Energy
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| Title |
Mystery Solved: High-Energy Fireworks Linked to Massive Star Cluster |
| General Information |
What is an American Astronomical Society Meeting release? A major news announcement issued at an American Astronomical Society meeting, the premier astronomy conference. Call it the Bermuda Triangle of our Milky Way Galaxy: a tiny patch of sky that has been known for years to be the source of the mysterious blasts of X-rays and gamma rays. Now, a team of astronomers, led by Don Figer of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., has solved the mystery by identifying one of the most massive star clusters in the galaxy. The little-known cluster, which has not been catalogued, is about 20 times more massive than typical star clusters in our galaxy, and appears to be the source of the powerful outbursts. Supporting evidence for the hefty weight of this cluster is the presence of 14 red supergiants, hefty stars that have reached the end of their lives. They bloat up to about 100 times their normal size before exploding as supernovae. This image shows the star-studded region surrounding the massive star cluster. The bluish cluster is inside the white box. A close-up of the cluster can be seen in the inset photo. Read more: * The Full Story [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/03/full/ ] |
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Mystery Solved: High-Energy
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| Title |
Mystery Solved: High-Energy Fireworks Linked to Massive Star Cluster |
| General Information |
What is an American Astronomical Society Meeting release? A major news announcement issued at an American Astronomical Society meeting, the premier astronomy conference. Call it the Bermuda Triangle of our Milky Way Galaxy: a tiny patch of sky that has been known for years to be the source of the mysterious blasts of X-rays and gamma rays. Now, a team of astronomers, led by Don Figer of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., has solved the mystery by identifying one of the most massive star clusters in the galaxy. The little-known cluster, which has not been catalogued, is about 20 times more massive than typical star clusters in our galaxy, and appears to be the source of the powerful outbursts. Supporting evidence for the hefty weight of this cluster is the presence of 14 red supergiants, hefty stars that have reached the end of their lives. They bloat up to about 100 times their normal size before exploding as supernovae. This image shows the star-studded region surrounding the massive star cluster. The bluish cluster is inside the white box. A close-up of the cluster can be seen in the inset photo. Read more: * The Full Story [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/03/full/ ] |
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Hubble's Largest Galaxy Port
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Hubble's Largest Galaxy Portrait Offers a New High-Definition View |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Giant galaxies weren?t assembled in a day. Neither was this Hubble Space Telescope image of the face-on spiral galaxy Messier 101 (M101). It is the largest and most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy that has ever been released from Hubble. The galaxy?s portrait is actually composed of 51 individual exposures taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 in March 1994, September 1994, June 1999, November 2002, and January 2003. The newly composed image also includes elements from images from ground-based photos. |
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Hubble's Largest Galaxy Port
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| Title |
Hubble's Largest Galaxy Portrait Offers a New High-Definition View |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Giant galaxies weren?t assembled in a day. Neither was this Hubble Space Telescope image of the face-on spiral galaxy Messier 101 (M101). It is the largest and most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy that has ever been released from Hubble. The galaxy?s portrait is actually composed of 51 individual exposures taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 in March 1994, September 1994, June 1999, November 2002, and January 2003. The newly composed image also includes elements from images from ground-based photos. |
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Mystery Solved: High-Energy
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| Title |
Mystery Solved: High-Energy Fireworks Linked to Massive Star Cluster |
| General Information |
What is an American Astronomical Society Meeting release? A major news announcement issued at an American Astronomical Society meeting, the premier astronomy conference. Call it the Bermuda Triangle of our Milky Way Galaxy: a tiny patch of sky that has been known for years to be the source of the mysterious blasts of X-rays and gamma rays. Now, a team of astronomers, led by Don Figer of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., has solved the mystery by identifying one of the most massive star clusters in the galaxy. The little-known cluster, which has not been catalogued, is about 20 times more massive than typical star clusters in our galaxy, and appears to be the source of the powerful outbursts. Supporting evidence for the hefty weight of this cluster is the presence of 14 red supergiants, hefty stars that have reached the end of their lives. They bloat up to about 100 times their normal size before exploding as supernovae. This image shows the star-studded region surrounding the massive star cluster. The bluish cluster is inside the white box. A close-up of the cluster can be seen in the inset photo. Read more: * The Full Story [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/03/full/ ] |
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Astronomers Use Innovative T
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Astronomers Use Innovative Technique to Find Extrasolar Planet |
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Hubble Illuminates Cluster o
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| Title |
Hubble Illuminates Cluster of Diverse Galaxies |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the diverse collection of galaxies in a galaxy cluster called Abell S0740, located more than 450 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. The giant elliptical galaxy ESO 325-G004 looms large at the cluster's center. This galaxy is as massive as 100 billion suns. Hubble resolves thousands of globular star clusters orbiting ESO 325-G004. Globular clusters are compact groups of hundreds of thousands of stars that are gravitationally bound together. At the galaxy's distance they appear as pinpoints of light contained within the diffuse halo. Other elliptical and spiral galaxies appear in the image. The photo was made from images taken using Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in January 2005 and February 2006. |
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The Carina Nebula: Star Birt
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| Title |
The Carina Nebula: Star Birth in the Extreme |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. In celebration of the 17th anniversary of the launch and deployment of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers is releasing one of the largest panoramic images ever taken with Hubble's cameras. READ: Junior version of this article Amazing Space Learn about this story in the Star Witness, a science newspaper available on our sister site, Amazing Space. [ http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/news/archive/2007/02/ ] It is a 50-light-year-wide view of the central region of the Carina Nebula where a maelstrom of star birth —, and death —, is taking place. This image is a mosaic of the Carina Nebula assembled from 48 frames taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The Hubble images were taken in the light of neutral hydrogen during March and July 2005. Color information was added with data taken in December 2001 and March 2003 at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Red corresponds to sulfur, green to hydrogen, and blue to oxygen emission. |
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The Carina Nebula: Star Birt
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| Title |
The Carina Nebula: Star Birth in the Extreme |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. In celebration of the 17th anniversary of the launch and deployment of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers is releasing one of the largest panoramic images ever taken with Hubble's cameras. READ: Junior version of this article Amazing Space Learn about this story in the Star Witness, a science newspaper available on our sister site, Amazing Space. [ http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/news/archive/2007/02/ ] It is a 50-light-year-wide view of the central region of the Carina Nebula where a maelstrom of star birth —, and death —, is taking place. This image is a mosaic of the Carina Nebula assembled from 48 frames taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The Hubble images were taken in the light of neutral hydrogen during March and July 2005. Color information was added with data taken in December 2001 and March 2003 at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Red corresponds to sulfur, green to hydrogen, and blue to oxygen emission. |
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The Carina Nebula: Star Birt
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| Title |
The Carina Nebula: Star Birth in the Extreme |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. In celebration of the 17th anniversary of the launch and deployment of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers is releasing one of the largest panoramic images ever taken with Hubble's cameras. READ: Junior version of this article Amazing Space Learn about this story in the Star Witness, a science newspaper available on our sister site, Amazing Space. [ http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/news/archive/2007/02/ ] It is a 50-light-year-wide view of the central region of the Carina Nebula where a maelstrom of star birth —, and death —, is taking place. This image is a mosaic of the Carina Nebula assembled from 48 frames taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The Hubble images were taken in the light of neutral hydrogen during March and July 2005. Color information was added with data taken in December 2001 and March 2003 at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Red corresponds to sulfur, green to hydrogen, and blue to oxygen emission. |
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Astronomers Find Highly Elli
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Astronomers Find Highly Elliptical Disk Around Young Star |
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Hubble Finds Double Einstein
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Hubble Finds Double Einstein Ring |
| 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. The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a never-before-seen optical alignment in space: a pair of glowing rings, one nestled inside the other like a bull's-eye pattern. The double-ring pattern is caused by the complex bending of light from two distant galaxies strung directly behind a foreground massive galaxy, like three beads on a string. This very rare phenomenon can offer insight into dark matter, dark energy, the nature of distant galaxies, and even the curvature of the universe. The phenomenon, called gravitational lensing, occurs when a massive galaxy in the foreground bends the light rays from a distant galaxy behind it, in much the same way as a magnifying glass would. When both galaxies are exactly lined up, the light forms a circle, called an "Einstein ring," around the foreground galaxy. If another background galaxy lies precisely on the same sightline, a second, larger ring will appear. The massive foreground galaxy is almost perfectly aligned in the sky with two background galaxies at different distances. The foreground galaxy is 3 billion light-years away. The inner ring and outer ring are comprised of multiple images of two galaxies at a distance of 6 billion and approximately 11 billion light-years. The odds of seeing such a special alignment are estimated to be 1 in 10,000. Read more: * The Full Story [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2008/04/full/ ] |
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Hubble Finds Double Einstein
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| Title |
Hubble Finds Double Einstein Ring |
| 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. The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a never-before-seen optical alignment in space: a pair of glowing rings, one nestled inside the other like a bull's-eye pattern. The double-ring pattern is caused by the complex bending of light from two distant galaxies strung directly behind a foreground massive galaxy, like three beads on a string. This very rare phenomenon can offer insight into dark matter, dark energy, the nature of distant galaxies, and even the curvature of the universe. The phenomenon, called gravitational lensing, occurs when a massive galaxy in the foreground bends the light rays from a distant galaxy behind it, in much the same way as a magnifying glass would. When both galaxies are exactly lined up, the light forms a circle, called an "Einstein ring," around the foreground galaxy. If another background galaxy lies precisely on the same sightline, a second, larger ring will appear. The massive foreground galaxy is almost perfectly aligned in the sky with two background galaxies at different distances. The foreground galaxy is 3 billion light-years away. The inner ring and outer ring are comprised of multiple images of two galaxies at a distance of 6 billion and approximately 11 billion light-years. The odds of seeing such a special alignment are estimated to be 1 in 10,000. Read more: * The Full Story [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2008/04/full/ ] |
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Hubble Finds Double Einstein
…
| Title |
Hubble Finds Double Einstein Ring |
| 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. The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a never-before-seen optical alignment in space: a pair of glowing rings, one nestled inside the other like a bull's-eye pattern. The double-ring pattern is caused by the complex bending of light from two distant galaxies strung directly behind a foreground massive galaxy, like three beads on a string. This very rare phenomenon can offer insight into dark matter, dark energy, the nature of distant galaxies, and even the curvature of the universe. The phenomenon, called gravitational lensing, occurs when a massive galaxy in the foreground bends the light rays from a distant galaxy behind it, in much the same way as a magnifying glass would. When both galaxies are exactly lined up, the light forms a circle, called an "Einstein ring," around the foreground galaxy. If another background galaxy lies precisely on the same sightline, a second, larger ring will appear. The massive foreground galaxy is almost perfectly aligned in the sky with two background galaxies at different distances. The foreground galaxy is 3 billion light-years away. The inner ring and outer ring are comprised of multiple images of two galaxies at a distance of 6 billion and approximately 11 billion light-years. The odds of seeing such a special alignment are estimated to be 1 in 10,000. Read more: * The Full Story [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2008/04/full/ ] |
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Mystery Solved: High-Energy
…
| Title |
Mystery Solved: High-Energy Fireworks Linked to Massive Star Cluster |
| General Information |
What is an American Astronomical Society Meeting release? A major news announcement issued at an American Astronomical Society meeting, the premier astronomy conference. Call it the Bermuda Triangle of our Milky Way Galaxy: a tiny patch of sky that has been known for years to be the source of the mysterious blasts of X-rays and gamma rays. Now, a team of astronomers, led by Don Figer of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., has solved the mystery by identifying one of the most massive star clusters in the galaxy. The little-known cluster, which has not been catalogued, is about 20 times more massive than typical star clusters in our galaxy, and appears to be the source of the powerful outbursts. Supporting evidence for the hefty weight of this cluster is the presence of 14 red supergiants, hefty stars that have reached the end of their lives. They bloat up to about 100 times their normal size before exploding as supernovae. This image shows the star-studded region surrounding the massive star cluster. The bluish cluster is inside the white box. A close-up of the cluster can be seen in the inset photo. Read more: * The Full Story [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/03/full/ ] |
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Astronomers Use Innovative T
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| Title |
Astronomers Use Innovative Technique to Find Extrasolar Planet |
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Hubble Finds Evidence for Da
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| Title |
Hubble Finds Evidence for Dark Energy in the Young Universe |
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Hubble Finds Evidence for Da
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| Title |
Hubble Finds Evidence for Dark Energy in the Young Universe |
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Hubble Finds Evidence for Da
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| Title |
Hubble Finds Evidence for Dark Energy in the Young Universe |
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Hubble Finds Evidence for Da
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| Title |
Hubble Finds Evidence for Dark Energy in the Young Universe |
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Hubble Finds Evidence for Da
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| Title |
Hubble Finds Evidence for Dark Energy in the Young Universe |
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Hubble Illuminates Cluster o
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| Title |
Hubble Illuminates Cluster of Diverse Galaxies |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the diverse collection of galaxies in a galaxy cluster called Abell S0740, located more than 450 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. The giant elliptical galaxy ESO 325-G004 looms large at the cluster's center. This galaxy is as massive as 100 billion suns. Hubble resolves thousands of globular star clusters orbiting ESO 325-G004. Globular clusters are compact groups of hundreds of thousands of stars that are gravitationally bound together. At the galaxy's distance they appear as pinpoints of light contained within the diffuse halo. Other elliptical and spiral galaxies appear in the image. The photo was made from images taken using Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in January 2005 and February 2006. |
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Astronomers Use Hubble and K
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| Title |
Astronomers Use Hubble and Keck to Identify Dwarf Galaxy |
| General Information |
What is a News Nugget? News Nuggets are bulletins from the world of astronomy. A team of astronomers at the University of California at Santa Barbara report that they have resolved a dwarf galaxy 6 billion light-years away. Weighing only 1/100 as much as our Milky Way Galaxy, the dwarf is much smaller than anything studied before in any detail at this distance. They report in the Dec. 20 issue of the Astrophysical Journal that the galaxy looks very similar to one of the dwarf galaxies in the Virgo cluster, which is located only 60 million light-years away. "We believe we may have identified the progenitors of local dwarf galaxies," says Tommaso Treu. "We see them as clearly as we would see dwarfs in the Virgo cluster using ground-based telescopes. The sharp view of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, and the laser guide stars adaptive optics system on the W.M. Keck Telescope, were aimed at a natural lens in space, called a gravitational lens, to study the dwarf. The researchers took advantage of the fact that the distant dwarf galaxy lies behind a massive foreground galaxy that bends light rays much as a glass lens does. This gravitational lensing amplifies the image of the much farther dwarf galaxy, making it appear 10 times brighter and 10 times larger than it would normally be seen by either Hubble or Keck. |
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Astronomers Use Hubble and K
…
| Title |
Astronomers Use Hubble and Keck to Identify Dwarf Galaxy |
| General Information |
What is a News Nugget? News Nuggets are bulletins from the world of astronomy. A team of astronomers at the University of California at Santa Barbara report that they have resolved a dwarf galaxy 6 billion light-years away. Weighing only 1/100 as much as our Milky Way Galaxy, the dwarf is much smaller than anything studied before in any detail at this distance. They report in the Dec. 20 issue of the Astrophysical Journal that the galaxy looks very similar to one of the dwarf galaxies in the Virgo cluster, which is located only 60 million light-years away. "We believe we may have identified the progenitors of local dwarf galaxies," says Tommaso Treu. "We see them as clearly as we would see dwarfs in the Virgo cluster using ground-based telescopes. The sharp view of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, and the laser guide stars adaptive optics system on the W.M. Keck Telescope, were aimed at a natural lens in space, called a gravitational lens, to study the dwarf. The researchers took advantage of the fact that the distant dwarf galaxy lies behind a massive foreground galaxy that bends light rays much as a glass lens does. This gravitational lensing amplifies the image of the much farther dwarf galaxy, making it appear 10 times brighter and 10 times larger than it would normally be seen by either Hubble or Keck. |
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Heavy Rains in Hawaii
| Title |
Heavy Rains in Hawaii |
| Description |
In March 2006, Hawaii suffered heavy rains, flooding, and severe weather. A series of storms (upper-level low pressure centers) north and west of the islands drew warm moist air up from the tropics. When this flow of moist tropical air passed over Hawaii, the island chain's steep mountains acted as a wringer, releasing torrential rain from the air. As a result, the islands received record-setting rain throughout March 2006. On Kauai, Mount Waialeale (one of the wettest places on earth) set an all-time monthly record of 93.71 inches of rain. Part of the reason for all of the rainfall is the current La Niña. During La Niña conditions, Hawaii is expected to have above-average rainfall totals. The image above is based on data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center monitors rainfall over the global Tropics. The above image shows MPA rainfall anomalies between February 19 and April 1, 2006, for the northern East Pacific. Hawaii and the surrounding area had higher-than-average rainfall (green areas) in general, and the western half of the state received much more rain than normal (blue areas). The large-format image also shows a coherent pattern of above-average rainfall anomalies that extend to the West Coast (green streaks) and culminate in well-above-average rainfall (blue areas) over northern California. These trends are consistent with a La Niña pattern. The TRMM satellite was launched in November 1997 to measure rainfall over the tropics. It is equipped with 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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Hurricane Bud
| Title |
Hurricane Bud |
| Description |
Hurricane Bud formed in the eastern Pacific on July 10, 2006, off the Pacific coast of Mexico. The tropical depression gathered power and size rapidly as it traveled northwest over the next several days, roughly parallel to, but well away from, the Mexican coast. The tropical depression was upgraded to tropical storm status and given the name Bud around midnight (local time) on July 11, and Bud was upgraded again to hurricane status only a few hours later. After a brief hiccup when it lost power and slipped back to tropical storm status, Bud intensified over subsequent days, reaching Category Three status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] by the morning of July 13. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on July 12, 2006, at 12:55 p.m. local time (18:55 UTC). The hurricane was quite compact, but had a well-defined spiral structure and a distinct eye. Sustained winds in the storm system were estimated to be around 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour) around the time the image was captured, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] NASA image by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC. |
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Hurricane Carlotta
| Title |
Hurricane Carlotta |
| Description |
Hurricane Carlotta formed in the eastern Pacific on July 11, 2006, off the Pacific coast of Mexico. The tropical depression gradually gathered power and size as it traveled northwest over the next several days, roughly parallel to, but well away from, the Mexican coast. The tropical depression was upgraded to tropical storm status and given the name Carlotta on July 12, and the storm was upgraded again to hurricane status the morning of the next day. Forecasts as of July 13 predicted that Carlotta would continue to intensify and track west to northwest without making landfall or posing any significant threat to land. The track of the hurricane roughly mimics that of Hurricane Bud nearby, which formed a day earlier and was also tracking west out to sea. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on July 12, 2006, at 2:20 p.m. local time (20:20 UTC). The tropical storm had a developing spiral structure in this image, hinting that its intensity was climbing towards the hurricane status it achieved some 12 hours later. Sustained winds in the storm system were estimated to be around 100 kilometers per hour (55 miles per hour) around the time the image was captured, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] NASA image by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Daniel
| Title |
Hurricane Daniel |
| Description |
Hurricane Daniel formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean on July 16, 2006, off the Mexican coast south of Baja California. The tropical depression strengthened to storm status in the next day, and as the fourth storm in the Eastern Pacific, was named Daniel. By early morning on July 18, winds in the storm reached 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour), bringing Daniel to hurricane strength, just as the previous three storms of the Eastern Pacific had already done in 2006. Like most hurricanes that form in this region, Daniel tracked out into the Pacific farther away from land. It headed west-northwest, where there is little in the way of barriers to its gathering strength, but also little prospect for it to strike inhabited areas. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on July 18, 2006, at 2:10 p.m. local time (21:10 UTC). Daniel has a very well-defined spiral shape and active thunderstorm systems close to the eyewall. At the time the Aqua satellite passed overhead, Daniel had a closed eye: the center of the storm still had cloud cover. Open-eye hurricanes are generally well-developed and powerful systems, a status that Daniel had not yet achieved, though forecasts called for the hurricane to continue to grow in size and strength over the next few days. Sustained winds in the storm system were estimated to be around 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour) around the time the image was captured, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] very similar to its strength earlier in the day when it first achieved hurricane status. By July 20, though, the apparent pause in the storm's gathering power was long over, and sustained winds were reported to be 200 km/hr (125 mph). NASA image by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC. |
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Hurricane Daniel
| Title |
Hurricane Daniel |
| Description |
With winds near 240 kilometers per hour (150 miles per hour or 130 knots), Hurricane Daniel was a powerful and dangerous storm when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on July 21, 2006, over the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Daniel has tightly spiraling clouds that circle an open eye with near-perfect symmetry: hallmarks of a well-organized storm. At the time, 2:55 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (21:55 UTC), Daniel was a strong Category 4 storm, its winds just a few knots short of a Category 5 storm. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center [ http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc/tcpages/DANIEL.php ] predicted that the storm would move slowly northwest, gradually degrading into a tropical storm before hitting the island of Hawaii on July 28. The large image provided above has a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2006202-0721/Daniel.A2006202.2155 ] including the sensor's maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel, from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Hurricane Ernesto
| Title |
Hurricane Ernesto |
| Description |
Hurricane Ernesto formed in the eastern Caribbean Sea on August 24, 2006. Within a day, it had become organized enough to be classified as a tropical storm and get named as the fifth storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Ernesto. Ernesto built in power gradually as it moved westward and slightly north through the Caribbean Sea, just reaching hurricane strength on August 27 as it neared Hispaniola, the island on which the nations of Haiti and Dominican Republic are located. Ernesto was the first storm of the 2006 Atlantic season to reach hurricane strength. The storm's interaction with land robbed it of enough power to diminish it back to "tropical storm" status. Forecasts as of August 28 anticipate that Ernesto will remain at tropical storm status until after it crosses Cuba. If predictions made on August 28 hold true, the storm will travel most of the length of Cuba, then cross the Straits of Florida, possibly regaining enough power to become a hurricane again before coming ashore in southern Florida. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on August 27, 2006, at 11:50 a.m. local time (15:50 UTC). At the time of this image, Hurricane Ernesto was a well-developed storm system, but its interactions with Hispaniola had started to distort the hurricane enough to rob it of a well-defined eye. According to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Ernesto had sustained peak winds of around 110 kilometers per hour (65 miles per hour) at the time Aqua MODIS acquired these data. The high-resolution image provided above is provided at the full MODIS spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2006239-0827/Ernesto.A2006239.1550 ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Hurricane Ernesto
| Title |
Hurricane Ernesto |
| Description |
Hurricane Ernesto formed in the eastern Caribbean Sea on August 24, 2006. Within a day, it had become organized enough to be classified as a tropical storm and get named as the fifth storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Ernesto built in power gradually as it moved westward and slightly north through the Caribbean Sea, just reaching hurricane strength on August 27 as it neared Hispaniola, the island on which the nations of Haiti and Dominican Republic are located. Ernesto was the first storm of the 2006 Atlantic season to reach hurricane strength. The storm's interaction with land robbed it of enough power to diminish it back to "tropical storm" status, but predictions as of August 29 are that favorable conditions north of Cuba may allow it to re-intensify to hurricane status before it comes ashore in southern Florida. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on August 28, 2006, at 2:00 p.m. local time (18:00 UTC). Tropical Storm Ernesto at the time of this image was a well-developed storm system, but its interactions with Hispaniola and Cuba had distorted the former hurricane, disrupting its shape enough to prevent the formation of a well-defined eye. The spiral-arm cloud structure was also not as distinct as it would be in a well-developed hurricane. According to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Ernesto had sustained peak winds of around 65 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour) at the time Aqua MODIS acquired these data. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Ernesto
| Title |
Hurricane Ernesto |
| Description |
Tropical Storm Ernesto formed in the eastern Caribbean Sea on August 24, 2006. Within a day, it had become organized enough to be classified as a tropical storm and get named as the fifth storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. This photo-like image of Ernesto was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on August 30 2006, at 12:20 p.m. local time (16:20 UTC). Tropical Storm Ernesto at the time of this image was a distinctive spiral-shaped storm system, bringing rain to central Florida. According to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Ernesto had sustained peak winds of around 55 kilometers per hour (35 miles per hour) at the time of this image. The high-resolution image provided above is provided at the full MODIS spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2006242-0830/Ernesto.A2006242.1620 ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Hurricane Ernesto
| Title |
Hurricane Ernesto |
| Description |
shuttle launch information site. [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/index.html ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center., Tropical Storm Ernesto formed in the eastern Caribbean Sea on August 24, 2006. Within a day, it had become organized enough to be classified as a tropical storm and get named as the fifth storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Ernesto built in power gradually as it moved westward and slightly north through the Caribbean Sea, just reaching hurricane strength as it neared Hispaniola on August 27. However, the interactions of the storm with land robbed Ernesto of enough power for it to be downgraded back to tropical-storm status. It remained a tropical storm as it passed over the southern tip of Haiti, traveled along the spine of mountains that run the length of Cuba, and crossed the Straits of Florida. Ernesto made landfall in southern Florida on August 30, and it was predicted head northeastward into the Atlantic and then come back ashore near the South Carolina-North Carolina border. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on August 28, 2006, at 2:00 p.m. local time (18:00 UTC). Tropical Storm Ernesto at the time of this image was a well-developed storm system, but its interactions with Hispaniola and Cuba had disrupted its shape enough to prevent the formation of a well-defined eye. The spiral-arm structure of clouds was also not as distinct as it would be in a well-developed hurricane. Thus, even as the storm was crossing the warm waters of the Straits of Florida, the storm still was unable to significantly re-intensify. According to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Ernesto had sustained peak winds of around 75 kilometers per hour (45 miles per hour) at the time of this image. Before August 30, weather forecasters anticipated the storm could re-intensify into a hurricane in the Straits of Florida. With that forecast in hand, NASA mission planners opted to bring the Space Shuttle "Atlantis" off Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center where it was waiting for launch and into its hangar to protect it from potential damage. Partway through the transfer, the forecast changed as weather observations showed how severely Ernesto's interactions with the mountains of Cuba had disrupted the storm. Mission planners then reversed course and sent the shuttle back to its launch pad to resume preparations for a possible launch in the following week. When deciding whether to continue or delay launch preparations, mission teams have to balance safety concerns, launch-window opportunities, and the schedule for construction of the International Space Station. You can read more about shuttle operations and launch schedules, including details of STS-115, the flight to resume construction on the International Space Station, at the Kennedy Space Flight Center |
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Hurricane Florence
| Title |
Hurricane Florence |
| Description |
Tropical Storm Florence is the sixth named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Florence started as a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) north and east of the South American coast on September 3, and it grew in power and size very gradually. As of September 8, 2006, it remained a large, but unorganized tropical storm system, with a predicted track that was not likely to bring it over any major population areas. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on September 7, 2006, at 3:00 p.m. local time (17:00 UTC). Tropical Storm Florence at the time of this image was a large arc of clouds, loosely shaped in an asymmetric, circular pattern. Florence had sustained winds of around 75 kilometers per hour (45 miles per hour) at the time this satellite image was acquired, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Florence
| Title |
Hurricane Florence |
| Description |
Tropical Storm Florence is the sixth named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Florence started as a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) north and east of the South American coast on September 3, and it grew in power and size very gradually. As of September 11, 2006, it had become a Category 1 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] hurricane. Its center was not predicted to make landfall, but the inner portions of the hurricane were brushing against Bermuda on September 11 when this image was taken. The storm brought powerful winds, rain, and strong surf as it passed as close as 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the island, according to Reuters. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on September 11, 2006, at 11:05 a.m. local time (15:05 UTC). Hurricane Florence at the time of this image was a large, open swirl spread over a wide area of the Atlantic Ocean. Florence had sustained winds of around 145 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour) at the time this satellite image was acquired, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS' full spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2006254-0911/Florence.A2006254.1505 ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Hurricane Florence
| Title |
Hurricane Florence |
| Description |
Tropical Storm Florence is the sixth named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Florence started as a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) north and east of the South American coast on September 3, and it grew in power and size very gradually. As of September 11, 2006, it had become a Category 1 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] hurricane. It was not predicted to make landfall on any mainland are, but it was bringing strong winds and rain to Bermuda. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on September 10, 2006, at 3:30 p.m. local time (17:30 UTC). Hurricane Florence at the time of this image was a large, open swirl spread over a wide area of the Atlantic Ocean. Florence had sustained winds of around 145 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour) at the time this satellite image was acquired, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Florence
| Title |
Hurricane Florence |
| Description |
Hurricane Florence was the sixth named storm of the 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Florence started as a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) north and east of the South American coast on September 3, growing in power and size gradually. By September 11, 2006, it had become a Category 1 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] hurricane. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on September 14, 2006, at 9:50 a.m. local time (13:50 UTC). Florence at the time of this image was a large, open swirl spread over a wide area of the northern Atlantic Ocean. Florence had sustained winds of around 100 kilometers per hour (65 miles per hour) at the time this satellite image was acquired, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Florence brought powerful winds, rain, and surf to Bermuda as the storm passed as close as 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the island, according to Reuters. By September 15, Florence had traveled far enough north for the storm to be classified as extra tropical (outside the tropics). It brought strong storm surge to the Canadian coast. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Gordon
| Title |
Hurricane Gordon |
| Description |
Hurricane Gordon was the seventh named storm of the 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Gordon started as a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) off the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean on September 10. On September 13, 2006, it became a Category 1 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] hurricane. Its center was not predicted to make landfall as of September 14, but the outer portions of the hurricane might affect Bermuda, which was still recovering from its recent brush with Hurricane Florence. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13855 ] This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on September 12, 2006, at 1:20 p.m. local time (17:20 UTC). At the time, Gordon was still a tropical storm, with a nascent spiral shape. The storm was quite asymmetric and had only the beginning hints of the structure of a well-developed hurricane. Tropical Storm Gordon had sustained winds of around 95 kilometers per hour (60 miles per hour) at the time this satellite image was acquired, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Gordon
| Title |
Hurricane Gordon |
| Description |
Hurricane Gordon was the seventh named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Gordon started as a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) off the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean on September 10. On September 13, 2006, it became a Category 1 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] hurricane. Gordon intensified in the next day, reaching Category 3 status in 24 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center. [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ] Gordon was the first major hurricane in the 2006 season. The previous two hurricanes in 2006, Ernesto [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13827 ] and Florence, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13865 ] never intensified beyond Category 1 strength. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on September 14, 2006, at 1:10 p.m. local time (17:10 UTC). Gordon is a very large and well-defined hurricane in this image, possessing a distinct and tightly wound central portion, a strong and complete eyewall structure all the way around the eye of the storm, and an eye with only a little cloud cover (sometimes called an open, or partially open, eye). These characteristics are all hallmarks of powerful hurricanes. To the north and east of the storm, a large band of more diffuse cloud is pocked with darker spots where powerful thunderstorms are forcing up tall cloud towers that cast shadows onto the cloud deck below. Hurricane Gordon had sustained winds of around 185 kilometers per hour (115 miles per hour) at the time this satellite image was acquired, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Gordon, however, was nowhere near land and as of September 15, it was projected to weaken over cooler waters as it veered northeast in the general direction of the Azores Islands. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Gordon
| Title |
Hurricane Gordon |
| Description |
Hurricane Gordon was the seventh named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Gordon started as a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) off the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean on September 10. On September 13, 2006, it became a Category 1 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] hurricane. Gordon intensified in the next day, reaching Category 3 status in 24 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center. [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ] Gordon was the first major hurricane in the 2006 season. The previous two hurricanes in 2006, Ernesto [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13827 ] and Florence, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13865 ] never intensified beyond Category 1 strength. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on September 15, 2006, at 10:35 a.m. local time (14:35 UTC). Gordon is a very large and well-defined hurricane in this image, possessing a distinct and tightly wound central portion, a clear and well-defined eyewall structure around the eye of the storm, and an eye with only a little cloud cover (sometimes called an "open," or partially open, eye). These characteristics are all hallmarks of powerful hurricanes. To the north and east of the storm, a large band of more diffuse cloud is pocked with darker spots where powerful thunderstorms are forcing up tall cloud towers that cast shadows onto the cloud deck below. Hurricane Gordon had sustained winds of around 180 kilometers per hour (110 miles per hour) at the time this satellite image was acquired, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Gordon, however, was nowhere near land and as of September 15, it was projected to weaken over cooler waters as it veered northeast in the general direction of the Azores Islands. In the hours immediately after this MODIS image was obtained, the storm began to decline in power, though it remained quite strong and large. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Gordon
| Title |
Hurricane Gordon |
| Description |
Adrift in the central Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal, the Azores Islands appeared poised to take a nearly direct hit from Hurricane Gordon on September 19, 2006. According to the 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time, September 19) discussion from the National Hurricane Center, Gordon was remarkably well-organized for a storm that had moved so far north of the typical hurricane latitudes. The report stated, "There is only a hint of an eye on satellite imagery, but the cloud pattern remains very well organized for a tropical cyclone at such high latitude." As of the 11:00 a.m. report, Gordonalthough weakeningwas predicted to strike the Azores as a hurricane. This photo-like image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite shows just what the forecasters meant. Although Gordon's central "eye" was not a distinct vortex, the clouds were still obviously spiraling around the storm's center as it approached the Azores Islands of Flores and Corvo from the west. The image was captured at 3:50 p.m. local time in the Azores (15:50 UTC) on September 19. Hurricane Gordon had sustained winds of around 135 kilometers per hour (85 miles per hour) at the time this satellite image was acquired, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Gordon was the seventh named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. It formed as a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) off the Leeward Islands on September 10, graduated to a tropical storm on September 13, and intensified to a Category 3 hurricane over the next 24 hours. According to a map from the National Hurricane Center showing the tracks of all Atlantic Ocean hurricanes and tropical storms (collectively called tropical cyclones) between 1851 and 2004, a tropical cyclone passing over the Azores Islands is a very rare occurrence. Indeed, out of the more than 1,300 storms on the graphic, only a handful passed near the Azores. (The Azores are so small that they are not labeled on the National Hurricane Center map, however, they would sit inside the grid box that covers 25 and 30 degrees West, and 35 and 40 degrees North). NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Gordon
| Title |
Hurricane Gordon |
| Description |
Adrift in the central Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal, the Azores Islands appeared poised to take a nearly direct hit from Hurricane Gordon on September 19, 2006. According to the 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time, September 19) discussion from the National Hurricane Center, Gordon was remarkably well-organized for a storm that had moved so far north of the typical hurricane latitudes. The report stated, "There is only a hint of an eye on satellite imagery, but the cloud pattern remains very well organized for a tropical cyclone at such high latitude." As of the 11:00 a.m. report, Gordonalthough weakeningwas predicted to strike the Azores as a hurricane. This photo-like image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite shows just what the forecasters meant. Although Gordon's central "eye" was not a distinct vortex, the clouds were still obviously spiraling around the storm's center as it approached the Azores Islands of Flores and Corvo from the west. The image was captured at 3:50 p.m. local time in the Azores (15:50 UTC) on September 19. Hurricane Gordon had sustained winds of around 135 kilometers per hour (85 miles per hour) at the time this satellite image was acquired, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Gordon was the seventh named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. It formed as a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) off the Leeward Islands on September 10, graduated to a tropical storm on September 13, and intensified to a Category 3 hurricane over the next 24 hours. According to a map from the National Hurricane Center showing the tracks of all Atlantic Ocean hurricanes and tropical storms (collectively called tropical cyclones) between 1851 and 2004, a tropical cyclone passing over the Azores Islands is a very rare occurrence. Indeed, out of the more than 1,300 storms on the graphic, only a handful passed near the Azores. (The Azores are so small that they are not labeled on the National Hurricane Center map, however, they would sit inside the grid box that covers 25 and 30 degrees West, and 35 and 40 degrees North). NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Gordon Nears the A
…
| Title |
Hurricane Gordon Nears the Azores |
| Description |
Adrift in the central Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal, the Azores Islands appeared poised to take a nearly direct hit from Hurricane Gordon on September 19, 2006. According to the 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time, September 19) discussion from the National Hurricane Center, Gordon was remarkably well-organized for a storm that had moved so far north of the typical hurricane latitudes. The report stated, "There is only a hint of an eye on satellite imagery, but the cloud pattern remains very well organized for a tropical cyclone at such high latitude." As of the 11:00 a.m. report, Gordonalthough weakeningwas predicted to strike the Azores as a hurricane. This photo-like image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite shows just what the forecasters meant. Although the Gordon's central "eye" was not a distinct vortex, the clouds were still obviously spiraling around the storm's center as it approached the Azores Islands of Flores and Corvo from the west. The image was captured at 3:50 p.m. local time in the Azores (15:50 UTC) on September 19. Hurricane Gordon had sustained winds of around 135 kilometers per hour (85 miles per hour) at the time this satellite image was acquired, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Gordon was the seventh named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. It formed as a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) off the Leeward Islands on September 10, graduated to a tropical storm on September 13, and intensified to a Category 3 hurricane over the next 24 hours. According to a map from the National Hurricane Center showing the tracks of all Atlantic Ocean hurricanes and tropical storms (collectively called tropical cyclones) between 1851 and 2004, a tropical cyclone passing over the Azores Islands is a very rare occurrence. Indeed, out of the more than 1,300 storms on the graphic, only a handful passed near the Azores. (The Azores are so small that they are not labeled on the National Hurricane Center map, however, they would sit inside the grid box that covers 25 and 30 degrees West, and 35 and 40 degrees North). NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Hector
| Title |
Hurricane Hector |
| Description |
Hurricane Hector formed in the eastern Pacific on August 15, 2006. Within a day, it had become organized enough to be classified as a tropical storm and earn its name. As of August 18, Hector was a moderately powerful Category 1 hurricane, [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] traveling across the eastern Pacific. At that time, it was not expected to develop much additional power or to make landfall. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on August 17, 2006, at 10:30 a.m. local time (18:30 UTC). Hurricane Hector at the time of this image was a large and well-developed system. The storm had a closed (cloud-filled) but clearly defined eye, with a distinct eyewall. Hurricane Hector had sustained winds of around 150 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour), according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Helene
| Title |
Hurricane Helene |
| Description |
250 m resolution KMZ file (11.7 MB) for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team., The 2006 Atlantic Hurricane season had a slow start, with very few named storms in the first months of the season. But in early September, the previously hurricane-less season threw out four hurricanes in a row. The first two hurricanes were both short-lived relative weak Category One [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] hurricanes, Ernesto [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13827 ] and Florence. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13865 ] But the season shifted into high gear as Florence was spinning down in the North Atlantic in mid-September. Hurricanes Gordon and Helene formed in quick succession, both reaching Category Three strength a few days from each other. However, only Ernesto amongst these four hurricanes made landfall, a persistent ridgeline of high pressure over the U.S. east coast steered storms away into the North Atlantic. Florence, Gordon, and Helene have each been steered north well away from the coastland mainland, though Florence did bring strong winds, heavy rain, and storm surge to Bermuda. As of September 19, it appeared that Gordon would continue to pull away to the north and east without passing near Bermuda, and early concerns that Helene might strike the island have been revised, and this powerful hurricane is also expected to arc away to the north well away from the island. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on September 18, 2006, at 12:45 p.m. local time (16:45 UTC). Both Gordon and Helene are well-defined hurricane spirals in this image, with tightly wound central portions, complete eyewall around the storm center, and both possessing well-defined cloud-filled eyes. Hurricane Helene, however, was much larger and continuing to gather power, while the older storm Gordon was further north over cooler water and losing power. At the time of this image, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Gordon had peak sustained winds of 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour), making it a Category Two storm, down from its earlier Category Three status. Helene at the same had sustained winds of 185 km/hr (115 mph), making it a powerful Category Three storm. While neither hurricane was expected to cross any land in the coming days, Gordon was predicted to wane in power as it heads north and east over cooling water, while Helene will most likely continue to track westerly and arc up north, staying over warmer seas and building power slightly or at least sustaining its Category Three status. You can also download a |
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Hurricane Helene
| Title |
Hurricane Helene |
| Description |
Hurricane Helene was the fourth hurricane of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Like Gordon and Florence before it, Helene made no landfall over the North American mainland, where a persistent high-pressure pattern along the coast had been steering tropical storm systems away into the North Atlantic. As of September 25, Helene was a tropical storm in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, but it had been a powerful Category 3 hurricane for several days before its travel to the north. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on September 22, 2006, at 11:15 a.m. local time (13:15 UTC). Helene is a well-defined, sprawling storm system with long spiral arms, but the center of the storm is no longer tightly wound. Cloud bands from outside the storm's center reach into the eye, suggesting that Helene lacks a complete eyewall. Though still a very powerful hurricane at the time of the image, Helene appears to be declining in power. According to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Helene had sustained winds reaching as high as 110 kilometers per hour (70 miles per hour). NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Helene
| Title |
Hurricane Helene |
| Description |
Hurricane Helene was the eighth named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. The tropical depression (area of low air pressure) from which it formed began intensifying and forming a tropical storm system south of the Cape Verde Islands on September 12. The system crossed the Atlantic Ocean over the course of several days, gathering power as it went. By the morning of September 17, it was a powerful Category 3 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] hurricane. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on September 15, 2006, at 12:10 p.m. local time (16:10 UTC). Helene was still a tropical storm at this point in time, but hours from reaching Category 1 hurricane status. This MODIS image of Helene shows the hallmarks of a storm system in the act of intensifying, with a tightly wound core around hints of a forming eye, some developing spiral-arm structure, and to the south and west of the storm, a radial cloud pattern seen in many hurricanes. The spiral structure is incomplete and highly asymmetric, more typical of a tropical storm than a hurricane. Tropical Storm Helene had sustained winds of around 110 kilometers per hour (70 miles per hour) at the time this satellite image was acquired, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] These speeds placed the storm just below the threshold of hurricane status. While only the second major (Category 3 or higher) hurricane of the season, Helene comes immediately on the heels of the first, Hurricane Gordon. As of September 17, storm track projections showed a reasonable probability of Helene passing near Bermuda. The island was still recovering from an indirect hit from Hurricane Florence [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13850 ] just two weeks earlier and from storm surge and strong surf from a more distant Hurricane Gordon. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13866 ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Helene
| Title |
Hurricane Helene |
| Description |
The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season had a slow start, with very few named storms in the first months of the season. But in early September, the previously hurricane-less season threw out four hurricanes in a row: Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, and Helene. A persistent are of high pressure over the U.S. East Coast steered the last three of these four storms away into the North Atlantic. Hurricanes Gordon and Helene both reached Category 3 status. As of September 19, Helene was not expected to make landfall on any of the Atlantic islands, though it could pass close enough to Bermuda to bring strong storm surges. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on September 19, 2006, at 10:15 a.m. local time (14:15 UTC). Helene is a well-defined, sprawling storm system with long spiral arms, a tightly wound central portion, and a distinct eyewall of clouds encircling a cloud-filled eye. These are all telltale signs of a powerful hurricane. According to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Helene had sustained winds reaching as high as 185 kilometers per hour (115 miles per hour), making it a powerful Category 3 storm. As of September 19, Helene was predicted to build power slightly since it was traveling over warm seas with no significant land to disrupt it. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Ileana
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Hurricane Ileana |
| Description |
Hurricane Ileana started as all tropical cyclones do, as a depressionan area of low atmospheric pressure. After forming August 21, 2006, the depression quickly developed into a tropical storm, the threshold for earning a name. As happens with some tropical storms, but for reasons not completely well understood to date, Ileana rose all the way to hurricane strength in less than 24 hours. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on August 23, 2006, at 2:00 p.m. local time (21:00 UTC). Hurricane Ileana at the time of this image had a well-defined spiral shape and arm structure, with apparent strong thunderstorms (puffy clouds) in regions of the arm structure. The storm also had a well-defined, cloud-filled (or "closed") eye at its center. At the time of this satellite observation, Hurricane Ileana had sustained winds of around 200 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour), according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Hurricane Isaac
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Hurricane Isaac |
| Description |
On September 30, Hurricane Isaac became the fifth hurricane of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Beginning as a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) three days earlier, Isaac formed in the central Atlantic Ocean far from any land. Isaac initially headed northeast on a track towards Bermuda, picking up power to become a hurricane. But Hurricane Isaac never posed a threat to the island, as it veered onto a more northerly track as the storm became more organized and powerful. As of October 2, 2006, Isaac was headed north and slightly east in the general direction of the Canadian Maritime Provinces. However, it was expected to curve off farther east and to avoid coming ashore in Canada. The hurricane was losing power as it traveled north and was downgraded to a tropical storm by midday on October 2. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on October 1 2006, at 12:35 p.m. local time (14:35 UTC). Isaac is a small and well-formeda tight ball of spiraling clouds around a well-defined eye filled with clouds (a "closed" eye). According to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, Isaac had sustained winds reaching as high as 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour). NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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