Narrow Search
 
 
Advanced Search

Browse All : Images of Nassau and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Printer Friendly
1-9 of 9
     
     
Hurricane Isabel
Title Hurricane Isabel
Description After churning through the central and western Atlantic as a powerful hurricane with sustained winds up to 160 miles per hour, Isabel has weakened dramatically as a result of encountering dry air and westerly wind shear west of the Bahamas. Throughout the storm's journey across the Atlantic, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has continued to monitor Isabel?s progress and provide valuable information on the storm?s structure. The first image was taken on September 15, 2003, at 3:44 UTC (September 14, 11:44 pm AST) when Isabel was still classified as a very powerful Category 4 storm with winds estimated at 155 mph. It gives a top-down perspective of Isabel in terms of rainfall rates from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) in the inner swath spliced together with those from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) in the outer swath. These are overlayed on Infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). It shows that Isabel has a large, well-defined eye with long bands of intense rainrates of over 2 inches per hour (dark red areas) that are feeding heat energy into the storm mainly north and east of the center. The IR data also shows that Isabel has good cirrus outflow indicating a favorable environment for the storm. At this time Isabel was located about 535 miles due east of Nassau in the Bahamas and was moving west-northwest at 13 mph. The next image, taken almost 24 hours later at 2:56 UTC on September 16 (September 15, 10:56 pm AST), shows a very different looking Isabel. The eye has become ragged and disorganized, and the eyewall convection is essentially gone as evidenced by the lack of any appreciable areas of intense rainfall. Without those heavy rainrates associated with the eyewall convection releasing their heat energy into the core of the hurricane, Isabel is like a giant engine whose cyclinders are not firing and will thus slowly spin down unless new convection occurs. At this time, Isabel?s winds were down to 120 mph as estimated by the National Hurricane Center. The storm was located 700 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and was heading northwest at 7 mph. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency NASDA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Percy
Title Tropical Cyclone Percy
Description Cyclone Percy continued its rampage across the South Pacific on March 1, 2005, after battering the Northern Cook Islands with its powerful 260-kilometer-per-hour wind gusts. This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) image taken by NASA?s Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite at 2:40 a.m. local time on February 28 (00:40 UTC on March 1), shows that the storm now has a clearly defined eye. When the image was taken, Percy had just passed over Pukapuku and Nassau, leaving both in shambles. According to news reports, no structures escaped damage on Nassau and just 10 buildings remain intact in Pukapuku. The storm had sustained winds of 213 kilometers per hour (132 mph) with gusts to 260 kph (160 mph), making it a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The storm is weakening as it moves south towards the southern Cook Islands and Rarotonga. Percy is the fourth cyclone to strike the Cook Islands in the past four weeks. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. The image is available in additional resolutions.
Tropical Cyclone Percy
Title Tropical Cyclone Percy
Description Percy, a powerful Category 4 cyclone, is the latest cyclone to threaten the South Pacific. In early February Cyclone Meena hit the Cook Islands, and in mid-February Cyclone Nancy also skirted the Cook Islands while Cyclone Olaf brushed the islands of Samoa and American Samoa. Percy started out as a tropical depression on February 24, 2005, near Tuvalu, just east of the international dateline. The system moved east-southeast staying north of Samoa and steadily increased in strength. It became a cyclone on February 25 and, two days later, grew into a powerful Category 4 cyclone with sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Percy then slowed down, weakened slightly and battered the atolls of Nassau and Pukapuka in the northern Cook Islands before turning south on February 28. Percy regained Category 4 strength on March 1, and then further intensified into a powerful Category 5 storm on the 2nd with maximum sustained winds estimated at 140 knots (161 mph). In November of 1997, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM satellite, was launched to measure rainfall over the global tropics. TRMM has also turned out to be an excellent observational platform for studying and monitoring tropical cyclones, as shown by this series of images of Cyclone Percy. The top left image, taken at 08:29 UTC on February 28, just as Percy was raking the Nassau and Pukapuka atolls, shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). TRMM shows an asymmetrical eye with intense rain (dark red area) in the northern part of the eyewall. This rain indicates where heat is being released into the storm. Known as "latent heat," it is the heat released when water vapor condenses into liquid cloud droplets. It is most effective in driving the cyclone's circulation when it is released near the center as is the case shown here by TRMM. The right image was taken at the same time by the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), and shows a vertical cross section through the center of the storm looking east. The intense rain (darker red area) is associated with the tallest towers in the northern eyewall. The broad yellow area indicating moderate rain is associated with an outer rainband. At the time of these images, Percy was a Category 3 storm with sustained winds estimated at 105 knots (121 mph). The lower left image was taken at 08:18 UTC on March 2, 2005. At this time Percy was a strong Category 4 cyclone with maximum sustained winds estimated at 130 knots (150 mph). The center of the storm does not fall within the PR swath, which has a higher horizontal resolution than the TMI. However, the TMI is still able to show what appears to a double, eyewall. Mature, intense tropical cyclones undergo what it known as eyewall replacement cycles wherein an outer eyewall forms as a ring surrounding the inner eyewall. The outer eyewall eventually contracts and replaces the inner eyewall. The two eyewalls are evident as the two concentric rings of moderate rain intensity (green areas).TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Percy
Title Tropical Cyclone Percy
Description Percy, a powerful Category 4 cyclone, is the latest cyclone to threaten the South Pacific. In early February Cyclone Meena hit the Cook Islands, and in mid-February Cyclone Nancy also skirted the Cook Islands while Cyclone Olaf brushed the islands of Samoa and American Samoa. Percy started out as a tropical depression on February 24, 2005, near Tuvalu, just east of the international dateline. The system moved east-southeast staying north of Samoa and steadily increased in strength. It became a cyclone on February 25 and, two days later, grew into a powerful Category 4 cyclone with sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Percy then slowed down, weakened slightly and battered the atolls of Nassau and Pukapuka in the northern Cook Islands before turning south on February 28. Percy regained Category 4 strength on March 1, and then further intensified into a powerful Category 5 storm on the 2nd with maximum sustained winds estimated at 140 knots (161 mph). In November of 1997, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM satellite, was launched to measure rainfall over the global tropics. TRMM has also turned out to be an excellent observational platform for studying and monitoring tropical cyclones, as shown by this series of images of Cyclone Percy. The top left image, taken at 08:29 UTC on February 28, just as Percy was raking the Nassau and Pukapuka atolls, shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). TRMM shows an asymmetrical eye with intense rain (dark red area) in the northern part of the eyewall. This rain indicates where heat is being released into the storm. Known as "latent heat," it is the heat released when water vapor condenses into liquid cloud droplets. It is most effective in driving the cyclone's circulation when it is released near the center as is the case shown here by TRMM. The right image was taken at the same time by the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), and shows a vertical cross section through the center of the storm looking east. The intense rain (darker red area) is associated with the tallest towers in the northern eyewall. The broad yellow area indicating moderate rain is associated with an outer rainband. At the time of these images, Percy was a Category 3 storm with sustained winds estimated at 105 knots (121 mph). The lower left image was taken at 08:18 UTC on March 2, 2005. At this time Percy was a strong Category 4 cyclone with maximum sustained winds estimated at 130 knots (150 mph). The center of the storm does not fall within the PR swath, which has a higher horizontal resolution than the TMI. However, the TMI is still able to show what appears to a double, eyewall. Mature, intense tropical cyclones undergo what it known as eyewall replacement cycles wherein an outer eyewall forms as a ring surrounding the inner eyewall. The outer eyewall eventually contracts and replaces the inner eyewall. The two eyewalls are evident as the two concentric rings of moderate rain intensity (green areas).TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Percy
Title Tropical Cyclone Percy
Description Percy, a powerful Category 4 cyclone, is the latest cyclone to threaten the South Pacific. In early February Cyclone Meena hit the Cook Islands, and in mid-February Cyclone Nancy also skirted the Cook Islands while Cyclone Olaf brushed the islands of Samoa and American Samoa. Percy started out as a tropical depression on February 24, 2005, near Tuvalu, just east of the international dateline. The system moved east-southeast staying north of Samoa and steadily increased in strength. It became a cyclone on February 25 and, two days later, grew into a powerful Category 4 cyclone with sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Percy then slowed down, weakened slightly and battered the atolls of Nassau and Pukapuka in the northern Cook Islands before turning south on February 28. Percy regained Category 4 strength on March 1, and then further intensified into a powerful Category 5 storm on the 2nd with maximum sustained winds estimated at 140 knots (161 mph). In November of 1997, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM satellite, was launched to measure rainfall over the global tropics. TRMM has also turned out to be an excellent observational platform for studying and monitoring tropical cyclones, as shown by this series of images of Cyclone Percy. The top left image, taken at 08:29 UTC on February 28, just as Percy was raking the Nassau and Pukapuka atolls, shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). TRMM shows an asymmetrical eye with intense rain (dark red area) in the northern part of the eyewall. This rain indicates where heat is being released into the storm. Known as "latent heat," it is the heat released when water vapor condenses into liquid cloud droplets. It is most effective in driving the cyclone's circulation when it is released near the center as is the case shown here by TRMM. The right image was taken at the same time by the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), and shows a vertical cross section through the center of the storm looking east. The intense rain (darker red area) is associated with the tallest towers in the northern eyewall. The broad yellow area indicating moderate rain is associated with an outer rainband. At the time of these images, Percy was a Category 3 storm with sustained winds estimated at 105 knots (121 mph). The lower left image was taken at 08:18 UTC on March 2, 2005. At this time Percy was a strong Category 4 cyclone with maximum sustained winds estimated at 130 knots (150 mph). The center of the storm does not fall within the PR swath, which has a higher horizontal resolution than the TMI. However, the TMI is still able to show what appears to a double, eyewall. Mature, intense tropical cyclones undergo what it known as eyewall replacement cycles wherein an outer eyewall forms as a ring surrounding the inner eyewall. The outer eyewall eventually contracts and replaces the inner eyewall. The two eyewalls are evident as the two concentric rings of moderate rain intensity (green areas).TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
M55: Color Magnitude Diagram …
Title M55: Color Magnitude Diagram B.J. Mochejska [ http://www.camk.edu.pl/~mochejsk/index.html ], J. Kaluzny [ http://www.astrouw.edu.pl/~jka/personal.html ] (CAMK [ http://www.camk.edu.pl/ ]), 1m Swope Telescope [ http://www.ociw.edu/lco/ ]
Explanation This color "picture" of globular star cluster M55 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000922.html ] may not look like any star cluster you've ever seen. Still, it shows a most fundamental view for students of stellar astronomy. In the picture, a Color Magnitude Diagram [ http://lodestar.phys.unm.edu/astro111/ Clusters/page2.htm ] (CMD), M55's individual stars are represented as dots whose color [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961202.html ] indicates relative temperature, red (cool) to blue (hot). Position in the CMD does not correspond to a star's location in the sky, though. Instead, it corresponds to a measured astronomical color [ http://astrwww.cwru.edu/nassau/reference/ photometry.html ], (B-V color) read off the bottom scale, and a brightness in magnitudes [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/universe/ MAG.HTML ] (M) on the left hand scale. The temperature [ http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/staff/blynds/ tmp.html ] for each star can also be found by reading the equivalent scale at the top, where the Sun would have a temperature of 6,000 kelvins [ http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/temps.htm ] (K). Brightness relative to the Sun's luminosity (Sun = 1) is given on the scale at the right. The globular cluster stars [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ science/know_l2/stars.html ] clearly fall into distinct groups dramatically visible in this CMD. The broad swath extending diagonally from the lower right is the cluster's "main sequence". A sharp turn toward the upper right hand corner follows the "red giant branch" while the "blue giants" are found grouped in the upper left. M55's stars were formed at the same time and at first were all located along the main sequence by mass, lower mass stars at the lower right. Over time, higher mass stars have evolved off [ http://plabpc.csustan.edu/astro/stars/Stars.htm ] the main sequence into red, then blue giants and beyond [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980415.html ]. The exact position of the sharp turn-off from the main sequence to the red giant branch measures [ http://sirius.astrouw.edu.pl/~jka/Globular/ ] the cluster's age.
Tropical Cyclone Percy: Natu …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima …
percy_TRM_2005061
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-03-02
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier percy_TRM_2005061
Hurricane Isabel: Natural Ha …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
After churning through the c …
Isabel_TRM2003259
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2003-09-16
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Isabel_TRM2003259
Tropical Cyclone Percy: Natu …
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Cyclone Percy continued its …
Percy_AMO_2005060
mediatype IMAGE
mediatype image
date 2005-03-01
creator NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier Percy_AMO_2005060
1-9 of 9