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Smoke over Lake Toba, Indone …
KidSat Images - Fires in Ind …
10/1/97
Date 10/1/97
Description KidSat Images - Fires in Indonesia As the Space Shuttle Atlantis flew over the Indonesian archipelago on Saturday, September 27, middle school students across the country used the Kidsat camera to photograph the fires and smoke that blanket the island of Sumatra . A joint effort between 23 of the 52 schools participating in this mission, the KidSat camera was used to image a 140 km wide, 1950 km long strip that starts in the northwest (5.24 degrees N, 97.11 degrees E), and follows the Pegunungan Barisan range across the equator to the southern tip of Sumatra (7.44S, 106.1E). [Mission Elaspsed Time (MET) 00215343 - 00215750] Smoldering underground fires have raged uncontrolled for the past few weeks in Southeast Asia. Originally set to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. However, this year, the rains had not come due to El Nino which produces dry conditions in the Indonesia region. Due to the lack of trade winds, the seasonal warm waters in the eastern Pacific have spread over to South America. Consequently, the water temperature in Indonesia has dropped significantly. This decrease in temperature has not produced enough warm water vapor to produce the normal seasonal showers that usually encompass the area. The effects of the fires have been astronomical. So far the fire has been blamed for two fatal accidents and countless health hazards. At one point, the pollution index of the region reached 839. To put a relative point to this number, a pollution index of 300 is a equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The smoke, during one time, blanketed an area that was larger than the continental United States. Currently, the fire's rage has been quelled by winds and rain which have lifted the smog and dampened the fires. However it is estimated that 100,000 fire fighters are needed to stop the fire. This KidSat image (MET 00215424) of the northern regions of Sumatra was captured on September 27, 1997 during the Shuttle flight STS-86. It is centered at 3.1 degrees S 98.6 degrees E and is 140 km wide and 205 km long. Smoke from the fires completely covers the land. The only indication of surface features is from the clouds that rise above the smoke over Danau Toba, the largest lake in Sumatra. The KidSat camera that photographed these fires is mounted in the overhead starboard window of the Shuttle Atlantis and operates before and after docking with Mir when the Shuttle's windows face the Earth. Students on the ground are linked to the camera through the Internet and a series of satellites. Commands are sent from middle schools through a Mission Operations Gateway at the University of California, San Diego, to a Thinkpad on the Shuttle flight deck. Images are transmitted back to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where they are immediately placed on the Internet for the KidSat students and the rest of the world to view and use. High school and undergraduate students work in collaboration with scientists and engineers to develop and operate the KidSat systems. Curriculum developed by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth is used in the middle school classrooms to encourage scientific inquiry based on the images. The photographs from the three missions of the KidSat pilot program can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat program was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth, and The University of California, San Diego, with support from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The project is supported by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education with support from NASA's Offices of Mission to Planet Earth, Space Flight, and Space Science. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). #####
Southern tip of Sumatra, Ind …
KidSat Images - Fires in Ind …
10/1/97
Date 10/1/97
Description KidSat Images - Fires in Indonesia Middle school students across the country photographed the fires and smoke over southern Sumatra from a camera aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis Saturday, September 2. A joint effort between 23 of the 52 schools participating in this mission, the KidSat camera was used to image a 140 km wide, 1950 km long strip that starts in the northwest (5.24 degrees N, 97.11 degrees E), and follows the Pegunungan Barisan range across the equator to the southern tip of Sumatra (7.44S, 106.1E). [MET 00215343 - 00215750]. Smoldering underground fires have raged uncontrolled for the past few weeks in Southeast Asia. Originally set to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. However, this year, the rains had not come due to El Nino which produces dry conditions in the Indonesia region. Due to the lack of trade winds, the seasonal warm waters in the eastern Pacific have spread over to South America. Consequently, the water temperature in Indonesia has dropped significantly. This decrease in temperature has not produced enough warm water vapor to produce the normal seasonal showers that usually encompass the area. The fire has now been blamed for two fatal accidents and countless health hazards. At one point, the pollution index of the region reached 839. To put a relative point to this number, a pollution index of 300 is a equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The smoke, during one time, blanketed an area that was larger than the continental United States. Currently, the fire's rage has been quelled by winds and rain which have lifted the smog and dampened the fires. However it is estimated that 100,000 fire fighters are needed to stop the fire. This KidSat image (MET 00215624) of the southern tip of Sumatra was captured on September 27, 1997 during Space Shuttle flight STS-86. It is centered at 3.0 degrees S, 102.9 degrees E and is 140 km wide and 205 km long. A clear view is visible of the southern tip of Sumatra with the volcanoes that make up the backbone of the island appearing darker than the surrounding land. Travelling northwest, the first smoke plumes are visible in the rain forests east of the mountains where land is being cleared for palm plantations. The prevailing winds are from the southeast and are blowing most of the smoke to the northwest of this image (see image 00215637 and 00215701). The KidSat camera that photographed these fires is mounted in the overhead starboard window of the Shuttle Atlantis and operates before and after docking with Mir when the Shuttle's windows face the Earth. Students on the ground are linked to the camera through the Internet and a series of satellites. High school and undergraduate students work in collaboration with scientists and engineers to develop and operate the KidSat systems. Curriculum developed by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth is used in the middle school classrooms to encourage scientific inquiry based on the images. The photographs from the three missions of the KidSat pilot program can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat program was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth, and The University of California, San Diego, with support from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The project is supported by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education with support from NASA's Offices of Mission to Planet Earth, Space Flight, and Space Science. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). #####
Southern Sumatra, Indonesia
KidSat Images - Fires in Ind …
10/1/97
Date 10/1/97
Description KidSat Images - Fires in Indonesia Middle school students across the country photographed the fires and smoke over southern Sumatra from a camera aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis September 2. A joint effort between 23 of the 52 schools participating in this mission, the KidSat camera was used to image a 140 km wide, 1950 km long strip that starts in the northwest (5.24 degrees N, 97.11 degrees E), and follows the Pegunungan Barisan range across the equator to the southern tip of Sumatra (7.44S, 106.1E). [MET 00215343 - 00215750]. Smoldering underground fires have raged uncontrolled for the past few weeks in Southeast Asia. Originally set to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. However, this year, the rains had not come due to El Nino which produces dry conditions in the Indonesia region. Due to the lack of trade winds, the seasonal warm waters in the eastern Pacific have spread over to South America. Consequently, the water temperature in Indonesia has dropped significantly. This decrease in temperature has not produced enough warm water vapor to produce the normal seasonal showers that usually encompass the area. The fire has now been blamed for two fatal accidents and countless health hazards. At one point, the pollution index of the region reached 839. To put a relative point to this number, a pollution index of 300 is a equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The smoke, during one time, blanketed an area that was larger than the continental United States. Currently, the fire's rage has been quelled by winds and rain which have lifted the smog and dampened the fires. However it is estimated that 100,000 fire fighters are needed to stop the fire. This KidSat image (MET 00215637) of the southern region of Sumatra was captured on September 27, 1997 during the Shuttle flight STS-86. It is centered at 3.7 degrees S 103.4 degrees E and is 140 km wide and 205 km long. The smoke plumes appear in the rain forests east of the mountains where land is being cleared for palm plantations, the plumes indicate a prevailing wind to the northwest and rise above the continuous layer of smoke. Within a short distance, the region becomes completely blanketed in smoke with only the peaks of the volcanoes rising above the gray haze layer. The KidSat camera that photographed these fires is mounted in the overhead starboard window of the Shuttle Atlantis and operates before and after docking with Mir when the Shuttle's windows face the Earth. Students on the ground are linked to the camera through the Internet and a series of satellites. High school and undergraduate students work in collaboration with scientists and engineers to develop and operate the KidSat systems. Curriculum developed by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth is used in the middle school classrooms to encourage scientific inquiry based on the images. The photographs from the three missions of the KidSat pilot program can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat program was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth, and The University of California, San Diego, with support from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The project is supported by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education with support from NASA's Offices of Mission to Planet Earth, Space Flight, and Space Science. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). #####
Sumatra, Indonesia
KidSat Images - Fires in Ind …
10/1/97
Date 10/1/97
Description KidSat Images - Fires in Indonesia Middle school students across the country photographed the fires and smoke over southern Sumatra from a camera aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on September 27. A joint effort between 23 of the 52 schools participating in this mission, the KidSat camera was used to image a 140 km wide, 1950 km long strip that starts in the northwest (5.24 degrees N, 97.11 degrees E), and follows the Pegunungan Barisan range across the equator to the southern tip of Sumatra (7.44S, 106.1E) [MET 00215343 - 00215750]. Smoldering underground fires have raged uncontrolled for the past few weeks in Southeast Asia. Originally set to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. However, this year, the rains had not come due to El Nino which produces dry conditions in the Indonesia region. Due to the lack of trade winds, the seasonal warm waters in the eastern Pacific have spread over to South America. Consequently, the water temperature in Indonesia has dropped significantly. This decrease in temperature has not produced enough warm water vapor to produce the normal seasonal showers that usually encompass the area. The fire has now been blamed for two fatal accidents and countless health hazards. At one point, the pollution index of the region reached 839. To put a relative point to this number, a pollution index of 300 is a equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The smoke, during one time, blanketed an area that was larger than the continental United States. Currently, the fire's rage has been quelled by winds and rain which have lifted the smog and dampened the fires. However it is estimated that 100,000 fire fighters are needed to stop the fire. This KidSat image (MET 00215701) of Sumatra was captured on September 27, 1997 during the Shuttle flight STS-86. It is centered at 4.9 degrees S 104.3 degrees E and is 140 km wide and 205 km long. The smoke plumes appear in the rain forests east of the mountains where land is being cleared for palm plantations, the plumes indicate a prevailing wind to the northwest and rise above the continuous layer of smoke. For a geographic reference, see image #00215701_img_map. The KidSat camera that photographed these fires is mounted in the overhead starboard window of the Shuttle Atlantis and operates before and after docking with Mir when the Shuttle's windows face the Earth. Students on the ground are linked to the camera through the Internet and a series of satellites. High school and undergraduate students work in collaboration with scientists and engineers to develop and operate the KidSat systems. Curriculum developed by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth is used in the middle school classrooms to encourage scientific inquiry based on the images. The photographs from the three missions of the KidSat pilot program can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat program was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth, and The University of California, San Diego, with support from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The project is supported by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education with support from NASA's Offices of Mission to Planet Earth, Space Flight, and Space Science. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). #####
Kidsat image of Sumatra, Ind …
Middle school students acros …
10/1/97
Date 10/1/97
Description Middle school students across the country photographed the fires and smoke over southern Sumatra from a camera aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis last Friday, September 26. A joint effort between 23 of the 52 schools participating in this mission, the KidSat camera was used to image a 140 km wide, 1950 km long strip that starts in the northwest (5.24 degrees N, 97.11 degrees E), and follows the Pegunungan Barisan range across the equator to the southern tip of Sumatra (7.44S, 106.1E) [MET 00215343 - 00215750]. Smoldering underground fires have raged uncontrolled for the past few weeks in Southeast Asia. Originally set to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. However, this year, the rains had not come due to El Nino which produces dry conditions in the Indonesia region. Due to the lack of trade winds, the seasonal warm waters in the eastern Pacific have spread over to South America. Consequently, the water temperature in Indonesia has dropped significantly. This decrease in temperature has not produced enough warm water vapor to produce the normal seasonal showers that usually encompass the area. The fire has now been blamed for two fatal accidents and countless health hazards. At one point, the pollution index of the region reached 839. To put a relative point to this number, a pollution index of 300 is a equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The smoke, during one time, blanketed an area that was larger than the continental United States. Currently, the fire's rage has been quelled by winds and rain which have lifted the smog and dampened the fires. However it is estimated that 100,000 fire fighters are needed to stop the fire. This KidSat image (MET 00215701) of Sumatra was captured on September 27, 1997 during the Shuttle flight STS-86. It is centered at 4.9 degrees S 104.3 degrees E and is 140 km wide and 205 km long. The smoke plumes appear in the rain forests east of the mountains where land is being cleared for palm plantations, the plumes indicate a prevailing wind to the northwest and rise above the continuous layer of smoke.The image is shown on a map of the region for geographic reference. Smoke from the fires completely covers the land. The KidSat camera that photographed these fires is mounted in the overhead starboard window of the Shuttle Atlantis and operates before and after docking with Mir when the Shuttle's windows face the Earth. Students on the ground are linked to the camera through the Internet and a series of satellites. High school and undergraduate students work in collaboration with scientists and engineers to develop and operate the KidSat systems. Curriculum developed by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth is used in the middle school classrooms to encourage scientific inquiry based on the images. The photographs from the three missions of the KidSat pilot program can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat program was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth, and The University of California, San Diego, with support from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The project is supported by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education with support from NASA's Offices of Mission to Planet Earth, Space Flight, and Space Science. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). #####
SRTM/Swath Comparison
This image shows a 40-kilome …
7/15/96
Date 7/15/96
Description This image shows a 40-kilometer (25-mile) wide strip of digital topographic data superimposed on an optical photograph of the western United States. Both images were acquired during the STS-68 flight in October 1994. The digital data were acquired by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture radar system, while the photograph was taken by the Space Shuttle astronauts. The view is looking to the east from above California's central valley (the dark area seen at the bottom of the image) across the snow-covered Sierra Nevada Mountains to the basin and range province of western Nevada. In the strip of topographic data, the different colors indicate elevation, with green being lowest and white being highest. The swath covers blue-colored Lake Tahoe on the left (north) and Mono Lake on the right. For comparison, the white lines indicate the 225- kilometer (140-mile) wide swath that will be mapped in a single pass by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mapper (SRTM) instrument, now scheduled to fly on the Space Shuttle in May 2000. The ability to cover a swath this wide will allow SRTM to completely map all the land surface between plus and minus 60 degrees latitude in a single 11-day flight. This is about 80% of Earth's total land area. SRTM, is a cooperative project between NASA and the Defense Mapping Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense that will be managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Mission to Planet Earth. #####
Dark Bands on Europa
Dark crisscrossing bands on …
8/13/96
Date 8/13/96
Description Dark crisscrossing bands on Jupiter's moon Europa represent widespread disruption from fracturing and the possible eruption of gases and rocky material from the moon's interior in this four-frame mosaic of images from NASA's Galileo spacecraft. These and other features suggest that soft ice or liquid water was present below the ice crust at the time of disruption. The data do not rule out the possibility that such conditions exist on Europa today. The pictures were taken from a distance of 156,000 kilometers (about 96,300 miles) on June 27, 1996. Many of the dark bands are more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) long, exceeding the length of the San Andreas fault of California. Some of the features seen on the mosaic resulted from meteoritic impact, including a 30-kilometer (18.5 mile) diameter crater visible as a bright scar in the lower third of the picture. In addition, dozens of shallow craters seen in some terrains along the sunset terminator zone (upper right shadowed area of the image) are probably impact craters. Other areas along the terminator lack craters, indicating relatively youthful surfaces, suggestive of recent eruptions of icy slush from the interior. The lower quarter of the mosaic includes highly fractured terrain where the icy crust has been broken into slabs as large as 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) across. The mosaic covers a large part of the northern hemisphere and includes the north pole at the top of the image. The sun illuminates the surface from the left. The area shown is centered on 20 degrees north latitude and 220 degrees west longitude and is about as wide as the United States west of the Mississippi River. The Galileo mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Nile River, Sudan
These are two views of part …
12/6/96
Date 12/6/96
Description These are two views of part of the Nile River, near the Fourth Cataract in Sudan. The top image is a photograph taken with color infrared film from Space Shuttle Columbia in November 1995. The radar image at the bottom was acquired by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in April 1994. The thick, white band in the top right of the radar image is an ancient channel of the Nile that is now buried under layers of sand. This channel cannot be seen in the photograph and its existence was not known before this radar image was processed. The area to the left in both images shows how the Nile is forced to flow through a chaotic set of fractures that causes the river to break up into smaller channels, suggesting that the Nile has only recently established this course. The radar images have allowed scientists to develop new theories to explain the origin of the "Great Bend" of Nile in Sudan, where the river takes a broad turn to the southwest before resuming its northward course to the Mediterranean Sea. Each image is about 50 kilometers by 19 kilometers (31 miles by 12 miles). North is toward the upper right. The images are centered at 19.0 degrees North latitude, 32.6 degrees East longitude. The radar image is produced with the following color assignments: Red is C-band horizontally transmitted and vertically received, Green is L-band horizontally transmitted and vertically received, and Blue is L-band horizontally transmitted and horizontally received. Radar brightness values are inverted for each color channel. SIR-C/X- SAR is a joint mission of the United States, German and Italian space agencies. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory built and manages the SIR-C portion of the mission for NASA's Office of Mission to Planet Earth. #####
Mosaic image of fires in Ind …
Middle school students acros …
10/1/97
Date 10/1/97
Description Middle school students across the country photographed the fires and smoke over southern Sumatra from a camera aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis September 27. A joint effort between 23 of the 52 schools participating in this mission, the KidSat camera was used to image a 140 km wide, 1950 km long strip that starts in the northwest (5.24 degrees N, 97.11 degrees E), and follows the Pegunungan Barisan range across the equator to the southern tip of Sumatra 7.44S, 106.1E [MET 00215343 - 00215750]. Smoldering underground fires have raged uncontrolled for the past few weeks in Southeast Asia. Originally set to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. However, this year, the rains had not come due to El Nino which produces dry conditions in the Indonesia region. Due to the lack of trade winds, the seasonal warm waters in the eastern Pacific have spread over to South America. Consequently, the water temperature in Indonesia has dropped significantly. This decrease in temperature has not produced enough warm water vapor to produce the normal seasonal showers that usually encompass the area. The fire has now been blamed for two fatal accidents and countless health hazards. At one point, the pollution index of the region reached 839. To put a relative point to this number, a pollution index of 300 is a equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The smoke, during one time, blanketed an area that was larger than the continental United States. Currently, the fire's rage has been quelled by winds and rain which have lifted the smog and dampened the fires. However it is estimated that 100,000 fire fighters are needed to stop the fire. The KidSat image shown here is a mosaic of three images of the 16 image series (Mission Elapsed Time) 00215624, 00215637, 00215701, the center latitude and longitude of each image, respectively, is 3.0 degrees S 102.9 degrees E, 3.7 degrees S 103.4 degrees E, 4.9 degrees S 104.3 degrees E and is 140 km wide and 400 km long. The images were captured on September 27, 1997 during Shuttle flight STS-86. Starting in the south (right) and traveling northwest (left), a clear view is visible of the southern tip of Sumatra with the volcanoes that make up the backbone of the island appearing darker than the surrounding land. Further northwest, the first smoke plumes appear in the rain forests east of the mountains where land is being cleared for palm plantations, the plumes indicate a prevailing wind to the northwest. Within a short distance, the region becomes completely blanketed in smoke with only the peaks of the volcanoes rising above the gray haze layer. The KidSat camera that photographed these fires is mounted in the overhead starboard window of the Shuttle Atlantis and operates before and after docking with Mir when the Shuttle's windows face the Earth. Students on the ground are linked to the camera through the Internet and a series of satellites. High school and undergraduate students work in collaboration with scientists and engineers to develop and operate the KidSat systems. Curriculum developed by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth is used in the middle school classrooms to encourage scientific inquiry based on the images. The photographs from the three missions of the KidSat pilot program can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat program was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth, and The University of California, San Diego, with support from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The project is supported by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education with support from NASA's Offices of Mission to Planet Earth, Space Flight, and Space Science. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
A Digital Video Disk (DVD) b …
8/21/97
Date 8/21/97
Description A Digital Video Disk (DVD) bearing 616,400 digitized signatures of people from nations around the world has been attached to the Cassini spacecraft and will soon be on its way to Saturn. The disk cover, designed by Cassini science and engineering manager Charley Kohlhase, shows the flags from 28 of the 81 nations whose citizens sent signatures for the chance to send their names into space. The planet Saturn with its rings and its moon Titan and the Earth are also represented, as is the Cassini spacecraft and its Huygens probe. The feathers represent the Golden Eagle, whose feathers were used as quills for writing to spread wisdom. The bird is revered in mythology for carrying spirits above the Earth to the heavens. The flags, going clockwise from the American flag top center, are in order of the number of signatures collected, with the highest number from the United States. The disk is fitted into a shallow cavity between two pieces of aluminum that will protect it from micrometeoroid impacts. The package will be mounted to the side of the 2-story- tall spacecraft beneath a pallet carrying cameras and other science instruments that will be used to study the Saturnian system. A specially designed, multicolored patch of thermal blanket material will be installed over the disk package. Along with the spacecraft, the disk will reside in Saturn's orbit centuries after the primary mission is completed in July 2008. The Cassini mission is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C., by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology. #####
POLAR STRATOSPHERIC CLOUDS
Polar stratospheric clouds o …
4/5/00
Date 4/5/00
Description Polar stratospheric clouds over Kiruna, Sweden, on Jan. 27, 2000. The colorful appearance of these clouds is due to the small size of their droplets and their high altitude, approximately 21,300 meters (70,000 ft). The small droplets in the clouds result in separation of light of different colors due to refraction of sunlight. Their high altitude allows for full solar illumination for up to 20 minutes following sunset at the ground. These clouds, which have long been called "Mother of Pearl" by Scandinavians, participate in a chain of events that leads to ozone depletion by human-produced chlorine. Between November 1999 and March 2000, the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) provided scientists with measurements of ozone using a variety of satellite-, airplane-, balloon- and ground-based instruments. Scientists also obtained a comprehensive inventory of numerous other atmospheric gases and information on the physical and chemical properties of polar stratospheric clouds. The SOLVE mission was co-sponsored by the Upper Atmosphere Research Program, Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Project, Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program, and Earth Observing System of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise as part of the validation program for the SAGE III instrument. Based primarily in Kiruna, Sweden, the campaign included scientists from the United States, Europe, Canada, Russia and Japan. A key aspect to the success of this mission was the permission to fly both NASA research aircraft over Russia. SOLVE was managed by the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, with extensive participation by science teams from Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, as well as a number of other government laboratories and universities. The ER-2 and DC-8 aircraft are based at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, and the U.S. balloon operations in Sweden were conducted by a team from the National Scientific Balloon Facility, Palestine, TX.
HIGH ALTITUDE BALLOON/ARCTIC …
A NASA high-altitude researc …
4/5/00
Date 4/5/00
Description A NASA high-altitude research balloon climbing to study the composition of the Arctic stratosphere from the Esrange Balloon Launch Facility near Kiruna, Sweden. With its helium bubble expanding to the size of a large building while in the stratosphere, the balloon carried a payload of about 450 Kg. (1000 lbs) to an altitude of about 30,500 meters (100,000 ft.). Following flight, the instrument payload lands by parachute and is recovered for subsequent flights. Between November 1999 and March 2000, the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) provided scientists with measurements of ozone using a variety of satellite-, airplane-, balloon- and ground-based instruments. Scientists also obtained a comprehensive inventory of numerous other atmospheric gases and information on the physical and chemical properties of polar stratospheric clouds. The SOLVE mission was co-sponsored by the Upper Atmosphere Research Program, Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Project, Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program, and Earth Observing System of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise as part of the validation program for the SAGE III instrument. Based primarily in Kiruna, Sweden, the campaign included scientists from the United States, Europe, Canada, Russia and Japan. A key aspect to the success of this mission was the permission to fly both NASA research aircraft over Russia. SOLVE was managed by the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, with extensive participation by science teams from Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, as well as a number of other government laboratories and universities. The ER-2 and DC-8 aircraft are based at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, and the U.S. balloon operations in Sweden were conducted by a team from the National Scientific Balloon Facility, Palestine, TX.
OZONE INSTRUMENTS LOADED ON …
Scientists preparing their i …
4/5/00
Date 4/5/00
Description Scientists preparing their instruments for flight on the NASA ER-2 research aircraft inside the Arena Arctica hangar, Kiruna, Sweden. The plane carries dozens of instruments in two pods attached to the wings, in the Q-bay area below the cockpit and in the nose. These pieces of the plane can be detached allowing access to the instruments prior to take-off. Between November 1999 and March 2000, the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) provided scientists with measurements of ozone using a variety of satellite-, airplane-, balloon- and ground-based instruments. Scientists also obtained a comprehensive inventory of numerous other atmospheric gases and information on the physical and chemical properties of polar stratospheric clouds. The SOLVE mission was co-sponsored by the Upper Atmosphere Research Program, Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Project, Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program, and Earth Observing System of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise as part of the validation program for the SAGE III instrument. Based primarily in Kiruna, Sweden, the campaign included scientists from the United States, Europe, Canada, Russia and Japan. A key aspect to the success of this mission was the permission to fly both NASA research aircraft over Russia. SOLVE was managed by the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, with extensive participation by science teams from Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, as well as a number of other government laboratories and universities. The ER-2 and DC-8 aircraft are based at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, and the U.S. balloon operations in Sweden were conducted by a team from the National Scientific Balloon Facility, Palestine, TX.
ER-2 USED IN ARCTIC OZONE RE …
The NASA ER-2 high-altitude …
4/5/00
Date 4/5/00
Description The NASA ER-2 high-altitude research plane on the runway of Kiruna, Sweden. The airplane -- a civilian variant of the U-2 reconnaissance plane capable of reaching altitudes as high as 21,330 meters (70,000 feet) -- carried into the stratosphere dozens of scientific instruments that measure the composition of Earth's ozone layer. The only person on board is the pilot, who must wear a pressurized spacesuit to guard against the dangers of high-altitude flight. Between November 1999 and March 2000, the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) provided scientists with measurements of ozone using a variety of satellite-, airplane-, balloon- and ground-based instruments. Scientists also obtained a comprehensive inventory of numerous other atmospheric gases and information on the physical and chemical properties of polar stratospheric clouds. The SOLVE mission was co-sponsored by the Upper Atmosphere Research Program, Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Project, Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program, and Earth Observing System of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise as part of the validation program for the SAGE III instrument. Based primarily in Kiruna, Sweden, the campaign included scientists from the United States, Europe, Canada, Russia and Japan. A key aspect to the success of this mission was the permission to fly both NASA research aircraft over Russia. SOLVE was managed by the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, with extensive participation by science teams from Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, as well as a number of other government laboratories and universities. The ER-2 and DC-8 aircraft are based at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, and the U.S. balloon operations in Sweden were conducted by a team from the National Scientific Balloon Facility, Palestine, TX.
This image shows Death Valle …
4/11/94
Date 4/11/94
Description This image shows Death Valley, California, centered at 36.629 degrees north latitude, 117.069 degrees west longitude. The image shows Furnace Creek alluvial fan and Furnace Creek Ranch at the far right, and the sand dunes near Stove Pipe Wells at the center. The dark fork-shaped feature between Furnace Creek fan and the dunes is a smooth flood-plain which encloses Cottonball Basin. This SIR-C/X-SAR supersite is an area of extensive field investigations and has been visited by both Space Radar Lab astronaut crews. Elevations in the valley range from 70 meters (230 feet) below sea level, the lowest in the United States, to more than 3,300 meters (10,800 feet) above sea level. Scientists are using SIR-C/X-SAR data from Death Valley to help answer a number of different questions about Earth's geology. One question concerns how alluvial fans are formed and change through time under the influence of climatic changes and earthquakes. Alluvial fans are gravel deposits that wash down from the mountains over time. They are visible in the image as circular, fan-shaped bright areas extending into the darker valley floor from the mountains. Information about the alluvial fans helps scientists study Earth's ancient climate. Scientists know the fans are built up through climatic and tectonic processes and they will use the SIR-C/X-SAR data to understand the nature and rates of weathering processes on the fans, soil formation and the transport of sand and dust by the wind. SIR-C/X-SAR's sensitivity to centimeter-scale (inch-scale) roughness provides detailed maps of surface texture. Such information can be used to study the occurrence and movement of dust storms and sand dunes. The goal of these studies is to gain a better understanding of the record of past climatic changes and the effects of those changes on a sensitive environment. This may lead to a better ability to predict future response of the land to different potential global climate-change scenarios. Death Valley is also one of the primary calibration sites for SIR-C/X-SAR. The bright dots near the center of the image are corner reflectors that have been set-up to calibrate the radar as the shuttle passes overhead. Thirty triangular-shaped reflectors (they look like aluminum pyramids) have been deployed by the calibration team from JPL over a 40- by 40-kilometer (25- by 25- mile) area in and around Death Valley. The calibration team will also deploy transponders (electronic reflectors) and receivers to measure the radar signals from SIR- C/X-SAR on the ground. SIR-C/X-SAR is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L- band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi- frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). #####
This picture is a three-dime …
4/13/94
Date 4/13/94
Description This picture is a three-dimensional perspective view of Death Valley, California. This view was constructed by overlaying a SIR-C radar image on a U.S. Geological Survey digital elevation map. The SIR-C image is centered at 36.629 degrees north latitude and 117.069 degrees west longitude. We are looking at Stove Pipe Wells, which is the bright rectangle located in the center of the picture frame. Our vantage point is located atop a large alluvial fan centered at the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon. In the foreground on the left, we can see the sand dunes near Stove Pipe Wells. In the background on the left, the Valley floor gradually falls in elevation toward Badwater, the lowest spot in the United States. In the background on the right we can see Tucki Mountain. This SIR-C/X-SAR supersite is an area of extensive field investigations and has been visited by both Space Radar Lab astronaut crews. Elevations in the Valley range from 70 meters (230 feet) below sea level, the lowest in the United States, to more than 3,300 meters (10,800 feet) above sea level. Scientists are using SIR-C/X-SAR data from Death Valley to help the answer a number of different questions about Earth's geology. One question concerns how alluvial fans are formed and change through time under the influence of climatic changes and earthquakes. Alluvial fans are gravel deposits that wash down from the mountains over time. They are visible in the image as circular, fan-shaped bright areas extending into the darker valley floor from the mountains. Information about the alluvial fans helps scientists study Earth's ancient climate. Scientists know the fans are built up through climatic and tectonic processes and they will use the SIR-C/X-SAR data to understand the nature and rates of weathering processes on the fans, soil formation and the transport of sand and dust by the wind. SIR- C/X-SAR's sensitivity to centimeter-scale (inch-scale) roughness provides detailed maps of surface texture. Such information can be used to study the occurrence and movement of dust storms and sand dunes. The goal of these studies is to gain a better understanding of the record of past climatic changes and the effects of those changes on a sensitive environment. This may lead to a better ability to predict future response of the land to different potential global climate-change scenarios. Vertical exaggeration is 1.87 times, exaggeration of relief is a common tool scientists use to detect relationships between structure (for example, faults and fractures) and topography. Death Valley is also one of the primary calibration sites for SIR-C/X-SAR. In the lower right quadrant of the picture frame two bright dots can be seen which form a line extending to Stove Pipe Wells. These dots are corner reflectors that have been set up to calibrate the radar as the shuttle passes overhead. Thirty triangular-shaped reflectors (they look like aluminum pyramids) have been deployed by the calibration team from JPL over a 40- by 40-kilometer (25- by 25-mile) area in and around Death Valley. The signatures of these reflectors were analyzed by JPL scientists to calibrate the image used in this picture. The calibration team here also deployed transponders (electronic reflectors) and receivers to measure the radar signals from SIR- C/X-SAR on the ground. ----- SIR-C/X-SAR radars illuminate Earth with microwaves allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, in conjunction with aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fur Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI).
Safsaf, L&C
This is a false-color image …
4/16/94
Date 4/16/94
Description This is a false-color image of the uninhabited Safsaf Oasis in southern Egypt near the Egypt/Sudan border. It was produced from data obtained from the L-band and C-band radars that are part of the Spaceborne Imaging Radar C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) onboard space shuttle Endeavour on April 9, 1994. The image is centered at 22 degree north latitude, 29 degrees east longitude. It shows detailed structures of bedrock, the dark blue sinuous lines are braided channels that occupy part of an old broad river valley. On the ground and in optical photographs, this big valley and the channels in it are invisible because they are entirely covered by windblown sand. Some of these same channels were observed in SIR-A images in 1981. It is hypothesized that the large valley was carved by one of several ancient predecessor rivers that crossed this part of North Africa, flowing westward, tens of millions of years before the Nile River existed. The Nile flows north about 300 kilometers (200 miles) to the east. The small channels are younger, and probably formed during relatively wet climatic periods within the past few hundred thousand years. This image shows that the channels are in a river valley located in an area where U.S. Geological Survey geologists and archeologists discovered an unsual concentration of handaxes (stone tools) used by Early Man (Homo erectus) hundreds of thousands of years ago. The image clearly shows that in wetter times, the valley would have supported game animals and vegetation. Today, as a result of climate change,the area in uninhabited and lacks water except for a few scattered oases. This color composite image was produced from C-band and L-band horizontal polarization images. The C- band image was assigned red, the L-band (HH) polarization image is shown in green, and the ratio of these two images (LHH/CHH) appears in blue. The primary and composite colors on the image indicate the degree to which the C-band, H-band, their ratio -- or some combination of all three -- respond to the roughness of the radar backscattering surface. Using this coloring scheme, areas that appear bright at both L-band and C-band are colored yellow, while areas that appear brighter at L-band than C-band appear more blue. Detailed analysis of this scene indicates that the separate C-band and L-band images used to produce this color composite have a very similar overall appearance. This suggests that the C- band and the L-band signals are both easily penetrating the thin 1- to 12-centimeter (0.5- to 5-inch) "average" surface cover of loose windblown sand, and are commonly "seeing" similar interfaces just below that cover. This radar interface may be at the scattered rocky outcrops on the ground surface, but is more likely to be the shallow underlying surfaces of river gravel or bedrock, which are generally covered by only a few inches of windblown sand. Virtually everything visible on this radar composite image cannot be seen, either when standing on the ground or when viewing photographs or satellite images such as the United States' Landsat or the French SPOT satellite. ----- Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI).
Yellowstone Park, Wyoming L …
These two radar images show …
10/5/94
Date 10/5/94
Description These two radar images show the majestic Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, the oldest national park in the United States and home to the world's most spectacular geysers and hot springs. The region supports large populations of grizzly bears, elk and bison. In 1988, the park was burned by one of the most widespread fires to occur in the northern Rocky Mountains in the last 50 years. Surveys indicated that 793,880 acres of land burned. Of that, 41 percent was burned forest, with tree canopies totally consumed by the fire, 35 percent was a combination of unburned, scorched and blackened trees, 13 percent was surface burn under an unburned canopy, 6 percent was non-forest burn, and 5 percent was undifferentiated burn. Six years later, the burned areas are still clearly visible in these false-color radar images obtained by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar on board the space shuttle Endeavour. The image at the left was obtained using the L-band radar channel, horizontally received and vertically transmitted, on the shuttle's 39th orbit on October 2, 1994. The area shown is 45 kilometers by 71 kilometers (28 miles by 44 miles) in size and centered at 44.6 degrees north latitude, 110.7 degrees west longitude. North is toward the top of the image (to the right). Most trees in this area are lodgepole pines at different stages of fire succession. Yellowstone Lake appears as a large dark feature at the bottom of the scene. At right is a map of the forest crown, showing its biomass, or amount of vegetation, which includes foliage and branches. The map was created by inverting SIR-C data and using in situ estimates of crown biomass gathered by the Yellowstone National Biological Survey. The map is displayed on a color scale from blue (rivers and lakes with no biomass) to brown (non-forest areas with crown biomass of less than 4 tons per hectare) to light brown (areas of canopy burn with biomass of between 4 and 12 tons per hectare). Yellow indicates areas of canopy burn and mixed burn with a biomass of between 12 to 20 tons per hectare, light green is mixed burn and non-burn forest with a biomass of 20 to 35 tons per hectare, and green is non-burned forest with a biomass of greater than 35 tons per hectare. Forest recovery from the fire seems to depend on fire intensity and soil conditions. In areas of severe canopy burn and poor soil conditions, crown biomass was still low in 1994 (indicated by the brown areas at the center left), whereas in areas of mixed burn with nutrient-rich soils, seen west of Yellowstone Lake, crown biomass has increased significantly in six years (indicated by the yellow and light green areas). Imaging fire- affected regions with spaceborne radar illustrates SIR-C/X-SAR's keen abilities to monitor regrowth after a fire. Knowing the amount of carbon accumulated in the atmosphere by regenerating forest in the 20 to 50 years following a fire disturbance is also a significant factor in understanding the global carbon cycle. Measuring crown biomass is necessary to evaluate the effects of past and future fires in specific regions. ----- Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X-Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR- C/X-SAR) are part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves, allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L- band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm), and X-band (3 cm). The multi- frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes that are caused by nature and those changes that are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft und Raumfahrt e.V.(DLR), the major partner in science, operations and data processing of X-SAR.
Multi-Angle Views of the App …
Description Multi-Angle Views of the Appalachian Mountains The true-color image at left is a downward-looking (nadir) view of the eastern United States, stretching from Lake Ontario to northern Georgia, and spanning the Appalachian Mountains. The three images to the right are also in true-color, taken by the forward 45.6-degree, 60.0-degree, and 70.5-degree cameras, respectively, of the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. As the slant angle increases, the line- of-sight through the atmosphere grows longer, and a pall of haze over the Appalachians becomes progressively more apparent. You can see a similar effect by scanning from near-nadir to the horizon when standing on a mountain top or looking out an airplane window. MISR uses this multi-angle technique to monitor particulate pollution and to distinguish different types of haze. These observations reveal how airborne particles are interacting with sunlight, a measure of their impact on Earth's climate system. The images are about 400 km (250 miles) wide, and the spatial resolution is 1.1 kilometers (1,200 yards). North is toward the top. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology. #####
Hurricane Debby and Appalach …
NASA's Multi-angle Imaging S …
10/25/00
Date 10/25/00
Description NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) imaged Hurricane Debby in the Atlantic Ocean on August 21, 2000. The first panel on the left is a view of the storm's eastern edge taken by MISR's downward-looking (nadir) camera. The next two panels are the results of using MISR's stereoscopic observations to retrieve cloud heights and winds. The middle panel shows heights of the cloud tops, gradations from low to high clouds are depicted in shades ranging from blue to red. Since it takes seven minutes for all nine MISR cameras to view any location on Earth, and the clouds moved during this time, the data also contain information about wind speed and direction. Derived wind vectors, shown in the third panel, reveal Hurricane Debby's cyclonic motion. The highest wind speed measured is nearly 100 kilometers per hour (about 60 miles per hour). MISR obtains this type of information globally, which will help scientists study the relationship between climate change and the three-dimensional characteristics of clouds. The second set of panels shows MISR views of the eastern United States taken on March 6, 2000. The first image, from MISR's downward-looking camera, covers the region from Lake Ontario to northern Georgia, spanning the Appalachian Mountains. In the middle panel is the image taken by MISR's forward-viewing 70.5- degree camera. At this increased slant angle, the line-of-sight through the atmosphere is three times longer, and a thin haze over the Appalachians is significantly more apparent. Scientists can use this enhanced sensitivity, along with the variation of brightness with angle, to monitor particulate pollution and measure haze properties. The third panel shows the airborne particle (aerosol) amount, derived using new methods that take advantage of MISR's moderately high spatial resolution at very oblique angles. The aerosol results are obtained at coarser resolution than the underlying images, gradations from blue to red indicate increasing aerosol abundance. These data indicate how airborne particles are interacting with sunlight, a measure of their impact on Earth's climate. Each panel is approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles) wide. MISR, built and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is one of several Earth-observing experiments aboard Terra, which was launched in December 1999. The MISR science team includes members in the United States, England, and Italy. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/JPL, MISR Team #####
South Florida
These images of South Florid …
11/15/00
Date 11/15/00
Description These images of South Florida were acquired by NASA's Multi- angle Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MISR) on October 18, 2000, during orbit 4446 of the Terra Satellite. The view on the left includes Daytona Beach near the top and the Florida Keys at the bottom. Orlando appears as a grayish patch near the top of the image, just to the east of the greenish Lake Apopka, Florida's fourth largest and most polluted lake. On the east coast is Cape Canaveral, home of the Kennedy Space Center. The large body of water in the middle of the land area is Lake Okeechobee. Charlotte Harbor and Fort Myers are visible on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico to the west. Along the Atlantic coast, partially obscured by clouds, are Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami. Further to the east, the shallow waters and reefs of the Little Bahama and Great Bahama Banks appear in striking blue and green colors. The two right-hand images show the Florida Everglades and the Keys in more detail. Like the left-hand view, the top image is a natural color composite of blue, green and red band imagery. On the bottom is a false-color composite comprising green, red and near-infrared data. Near-infrared light is invisible to the human eye. The high reflectance of plants in this part of the electromagnetic spectrum, displayed here in shades of red, is the basis of many satellite-based techniques for detecting and characterizing vegetation. MISR, built and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is one of several Earth-observing experiments aboard Terra, which was launched in December 1999. MISR acquires images of the Earth at nine angles simultaneously, using nine separate cameras pointed forward, downward, and backward along its flight path. All of these South Florida images are all from MISR's downward-pointing camera The MISR science team includes members in the United States, England, and Italy. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/JPL, MISR Team # # # # #
Perspective View, San Andrea …
The prominent linear feature …
Description The prominent linear feature straight down the center of this perspective view is California's famous San Andreas Fault. The image, created with data from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topograpy Mission (SRTM), will be used by geologists studying fault dynamics and landforms resulting from active tectonics. This segment of the fault lies west of the city of Palmdale, Calif., about 100 kilometers (about 60 miles) northwest of Los Angeles. The fault is the active tectonic boundary between the North American plate on the right, and the Pacific plate on the left. Relative to each other, the Pacific plate is moving away from the viewer and the North American plate is moving toward the viewer along what geologists call a right lateral strike-slip fault. Two large mountain ranges are visible, the San Gabriel Mountains on the left and the Tehachapi Mountains in the upper right. Another fault, the Garlock Fault lies at the base of the Tehachapis, the San Andreas and the Garlock Faults meet in the center distance near the town of Gorman. In the distance, over the Tehachapi Mountains is California's Central Valley. Along the foothills in the right hand part of the image is the Antelope Valley, including the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. The data used to create this image were acquired by SRTM aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on February 11, 2000. This type of display adds the important dimension of elevation to the study of land use and environmental processes as observed in satellite images. The perspective view was created by draping a Landsat satellite image over an SRTM elevation model. Topography is exaggerated 1.5 times vertically. The Landsat image was provided by the United States Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observations Systems (EROS) Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. SRTM uses the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter-long (200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, DC. Size: Varies in a perspective view Location: 34.70 deg. North lat., 118.57 deg. West lon. Orientation: Looking Northwest Original Data Resolution: SRTM and Landsat: 30 meters (99 feet) Date Acquired: February 16, 2000 Image: NASA/JPL/NIMA #####
Perspective View, San Andrea …
The prominent linear feature …
Description The prominent linear feature straight down the center of this perspective view is the San Andreas Fault in an image created with data from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), which will be used by geologists studying fault dynamics and landforms resulting from active tectonics. This segment of the fault lies west of the city of Palmdale, California, about 100 kilometers (about 60 miles) northwest of Los Angeles. The fault is the active tectonic boundary between the North American plate on the right, and the Pacific plate on the left. Relative to each other, the Pacific plate is moving away from the viewer and the North American plate is moving toward the viewer along what geologists call a right lateral strike-slip fault. This area is at the junction of two large mountain ranges, the San Gabriel Mountains on the left and the Tehachapi Mountains on the right. Quail Lake Reservoir sits in the topographic depression created by past movement along the fault. Interstate 5 is the prominent linear feature starting at the left edge of the image and continuing into the fault zone, passing eventually over Tejon Pass into the Central Valley, visible at the upper left. This type of display adds the important dimension of elevation to the study of land use and environmental processes as observed in satellite images. The perspective view was created by draping a Landsat satellite image over an SRTM elevation model. Topography is exaggerated 1.5 times vertically. The Landsat image was provided by the United States Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observations Systems (EROS) Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This image was acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on February 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60- meter-long (200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, DC. Size: Varies in a perspective view Location: 34.78 deg. North lat., 118.75 deg. West lon. Orientation: Looking Northwest Original Data Resolution: SRTM and Landsat: 30 meters (99 feet) Date Acquired: February 16, 2000 Image: NASA/JPL/NIMA #####
Perspective View, Garlock Fa …
California's Garlock Fault, …
Description California's Garlock Fault, marking the northwestern boundary of the Mojave Desert, lies at the foot of the mountains, running from the lower right to the top center of this image, which was created with data from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), flown in February 2000. The data will be used by geologists studying fault dynamics and landforms resulting from active tectonics. These mountains are the southern end of the Sierra Nevada and the prominent canyon emerging at the lower right is Lone Tree Canyon. In the distance, the San Gabriel Mountains cut across from the left side of the image. At their base lies the San Andreas Fault which meets the Garlock Fault near the left edge at Tejon Pass. The dark linear feature running from lower right to upper left is State Highway 14 leading from the town of Mojave in the distance to Inyokern and the Owens Valley in the north. The lighter parallel lines are dirt roads related to power lines and the Los Angeles Aqueduct which run along the base of the mountains. This type of display adds the important dimension of elevation to the study of land use and environmental processes as observed in satellite images. The perspective view was created by draping a Landsat satellite image over an SRTM elevation model. Topography is exaggerated 1.5 times vertically. The Landsat image was provided by the United States Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observations Systems (EROS) Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This image was acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on February 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60- meter-long (200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, D.C. Size: Varies in a perspective view Location: 35.25 deg. North lat., 118.05 deg. West lon. Orientation: Looking southwest Original Data Resolution: SRTM and Landsat: 30 meters (99 feet) Date Acquired: February 16, 2000 Image: NASA/JPL/NIMA #####
San Andreas Fault in the Car …
The 1,200-kilometer (800-mil …
11/13/00
Date 11/13/00
Description The 1,200-kilometer (800-mile) San Andreas is the longest fault in California and one of the longest in North America. This perspective view of a portion of the fault was generated using data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), which flew on NASA's Space Shuttle last February, and an enhanced, true- color Landsat satellite image. The view shown looks southeast along the San Andreas where it cuts along the base of the mountains in the Temblor Range near Bakersfield. The fault is the distinctively linear feature to the right of the mountains. To the left of the range is a portion of the agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley. In the background is the snow-capped peak of Mt. Pinos at an elevation of 2,692 meters (8,831 feet). The complex topography in the area is some of the most spectacular along the course of the fault. To the right of the fault is the famous Carrizo Plain. Dry conditions on the plain have helped preserve the surface trace of the fault, which is scrutinized by both amateur and professional geologists. In 1857, one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded in the United States occurred just north of the Carrizo Plain. With an estimated magnitude of 8.0, the quake severely shook buildings in Los Angeles, caused significant surface rupture along a 350-kilometer (220-mile) segment of the fault, and was felt as far away as Las Vegas, Nev. This portion of the San Andreas is an important area of study for seismologists. For visualization purposes, topographic heights displayed in this image are exaggerated two times. The elevation data used in this image was acquired by SRTM aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on February 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of Earth's land surface. To collect the 3-D SRTM data, engineers added a mast 60 meters (about 200 feet) long, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between the NASA, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense, and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif, for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Distance to Horizon: 73 kilometers (45.3 miles) Location: 35.42 deg. North lat., 119.5 deg. West lon. View: Toward the Southeast Date Acquired: February 16, 2000 SRTM, December 14, 1984 Landsat Image: NASA/JPL/NIMA #####
Rann of Kachchh, India, pers …
The earthquake that struck w …
4/26/01
Date 4/26/01
Description The earthquake that struck western India on January 26, 2001, was the country's strongest in the past 50 years. This perspective view from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) shows the area of the earthquake's epicenter in the lower left corner. The southern Rann of Kachchh appears in the foreground. The Rann is an area of low-lying salt flats that shows up with various shades of white and blue in this false- color Landsat image. The gray area in the middle of the image is called the Banni plains. The darker blue spots and curving lines in the Rann and the Banni plains are features that appeared after the January earthquake. Their true colors are shades of white and gray, but the infrared data used in the image gives them a blue or turquoise color. These features are the effects of liquefaction of wet soil, sand and mud layers caused by the shaking of the earthquake. The liquefaction beneath the surface causes water to be squeezed out at the surface, forming mud volcanoes, sand blows and temporary springs. Some of the residents of this dry area were hopeful that they could use the water, but they found that the water was too salty in almost every place where it came to the surface. The city of Bhuj, India, appears as a gray area in the upper right of the image. Bhuj and many other towns and cities nearby were almost completely destroyed by the January 2001 earthquake. This magnitude 7.7 earthquake was the deadliest in the history of India with some 20,000 fatalities and over a million homes damaged or destroyed. The city of Bhuj was the historical capital of the Kachchh region. Highways and rivers appear as dark lines. Vegetation appears bright green in this false-color Landsat image. The city of Anjar is in the dark gray area near the upper left of the image. Previously damaged by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in 1956 that killed 152 people, Anjar suffered again in the larger 2001 earthquake. The red hills in the center of the image are the Has and Karo Hills, which reach up to 300 meters (900 feet) elevation. Geologists are studying the folded red sandstone layers that form these hills to determine if they are related to the fault that broke in the 2001 earthquake. This three-dimensional perspective view was generated using topographic data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and an enhanced false-color Landsat 7 satellite image. Colors are from Landsat bands 5, 4, and 2 as red, green and blue, respectively. Topographic expression is exaggerated 5X. Landsat has been providing visible and infrared views of the Earth since 1972. SRTM elevation data matches the 30-meter (98-foot) resolution of most Landsat images and will substantially help in analyses of the large and growing Landsat image archive. The Landsat 7 Thematic Mapper image used here was provided to the SRTM by the United States Geological Survey, Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Elevation data used in this image was acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on February 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X- Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter-long (200- foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, D.C. Image: NASA/JPL/NIMA
Baby Stars in the Witch Head …
Title Baby Stars in the Witch Head Nebula
Description Eight hundred light-years away in the Orion constellation, a gigantic murky cloud called the "Witch Head" nebula is brewing baby stars. The stellar infants are revealed as pink dots in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Wisps of green in the cloud are carbon-rich molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are found on barbecue grills and in automobile exhaust on Earth. This image was obtained as part of the Spitzer Space Telescope Research Program for Teachers and Students, involving high school teachers and their students from across the United States. The infrared image is a three-color composite, in which light with a wavelength of 4.5 microns is blue, 8.0-micron light is green, and 24-micron light is red.
NASA TV's This Week @NASA, F …
This Week At NASA...* HQ NAS …
02/26/2010
Description This Week At NASA...* HQ NASA is teaming with Univision Communications Inc, the Department of Education and other organizations to support Univision's initiative to improve Hispanic students high school graduation rates, prepare for college and encourage them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. * READY, SET, GOES-P -- KSC The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-P -- GOES-P is ready for launch. GOES-P is the last in the GOES N series of geostationary weather and environmental satellites, and like its companions will improve overall weather service quality. * VALENTINE'S DAY RENDEZVOUS -- JPL It'll be a match made in the heavens. A recent adjustment has put the Stardust spacecraft on a path through space that will result in an encounter with the comet Tempel 1 on February 14, 2011 -- Valentine's Day and allow Stardust to see areas of interest previously imaged by NASA's Deep Impact mission in 2005. * RIDE THE WIND -- ARC The National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex wind tunnel at Ames Research Center is normally used to test aircraft. But, in support of the Department of Energy's effort to reduce the nation's dependency on fossil fuels, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and truck manufacturer Navistar Inc. of Warrenville, Ill., brought this semi to Ames to test devices developed by the Livermore Lab to reduce aerodynamic drag on tractor-trailers. Tractor-trailers account for about 12 percent of the United States petroleum consumption. * NASA ANNIVERSARY: NACA'S 95th, March 3, 1915 – HQ Despite the Wright Brothers' pioneering powered flight of 1903, the United States lagged behind Europe in airplane technology when World War I broke out eleven years later. That's when Congress created the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the NACA, on March 3, 1915. Its mission: to coordinate aeronautics research already underway in the U.S.
Date 02/26/2010
Titan (T13) Viewed by Cassin …
Description This image of Titan was acquired on April 30, 2006, by Cassini's radar instrument in synthetic-aperture mode over the continent-sized region called Xanadu.
Full Description This image of Titan was acquired on April 30, 2006, by Cassini's radar instrument in synthetic-aperture mode over the continent-sized region called Xanadu. Xanadu is one of the brightest areas on Titan, measuring about 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) east to west and 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) north to south. The radar coverage shown ranges from 220 to 490 kilometers (140 to 300 miles) from top to bottom, and is about 4,850 kilometers (3,013 miles) wide. Smallest details in this image are about 400 meters (1,310 feet) across. On Xanadu, most of the geologic forces that modify Earth's surface can be found. Channels are seen crossing through plains and meandering through bright, hilly country. Chains of taller mountains appear in Xanadu's interior. Dunes traverse darker areas to the west of Xanadu itself. Circular features might have been formed by the impact of an asteroid or by cryovolcanism. More channels carve through the eastern (right) margin, ending on a dark plain where the dunes abundant elsewhere seem absent. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . *Credit:* NASA/JPL
Date July 19, 2006
Lakes on Titan
Description These two radar images were acquired by the Cassini radar instrument in synthetic aperture mode on July 21, 2006.
Full Description The Cassini spacecraft, using its radar system, has discovered very strong evidence for hydrocarbon lakes on Titan. Dark patches, which resemble terrestrial lakes, seem to be sprinkled all over the high latitudes surrounding Titan's north pole. Scientists have speculated that liquid methane or ethane might form lakes on Titan, particularly near the somewhat colder polar regions. In the images, a variety of dark patches, some with channels leading in or out of them, appear. The channels have a shape that strongly implies they were carved by liquid. Some of the dark patches and connecting channels are completely black, that is, they reflect back essentially no radar signal, and hence must be extremely smooth. In some cases rims can be seen around the dark patches, suggesting deposits that might form as liquid evaporates. The abundant methane in Titan's atmosphere is stable as a liquid under Titan conditions, as is its abundant chemical product, ethane, but liquid water is not. For all these reasons, scientists interpret the dark areas as lakes of liquid methane or ethane, making Titan the only body in the solar system besides Earth known to possess lakes. Because such lakes may wax and wane over time, and winds may alter the roughness of their surfaces. Repeat coverage of these areas should test whether indeed these are bodies of liquid. These two radar images were acquired by the Cassini radar instrument in synthetic aperture mode on July 21, 2006. The top image centered near 80 degrees north, 92 degrees west measures about 420 kilometers by 150 kilometers (260 miles by 93 miles). The lower image centered near 78 degrees north, 18 degrees west measures about 475 kilometers by 150 kilometers (295 miles by 93 miles). Smallest details in this image are about 500 meters (1,640 feet) across. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . *Credit:* NASA/JPL
Date July 24, 2006
Saturn and Earth Ready for C …
Description SOHO images show Saturn on the left moving toward the Sun
Full Description Saturn has a date to keep with Earth and the Sun. Since the Cassini spacecraft is orbiting Saturn, it's tagging along. Once a year Saturn and Earth find themselves almost directly opposite each other with the Sun in between, an event called conjunction. This year, conjunction will occur on Aug. 7. NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, known as SOHO (http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/), keeps close watch on the Sun. SOHO images show Saturn on the left moving toward the Sun, which is shielded from view but represented by a white circle in the image center. When Saturn emerges from conjunction, it will appear in SOHO images heading toward the right and away from Sun. As Earth and Saturn play peekaboo with each other, radio communications with Cassini get very noisy, so most of Cassini's science operations are temporarily suspended. "We'll still be in constant communication," says David Doody, Cassini flight operations lead, "and we'll see the quality degrading as it nears the Sun. The last high-rate science data playback, at 14,220 bits per second, will occur Aug. 4, after which Cassini switches to low-rate telemetry downlink, at 1896 bps." During conjunction, the mission switches gears. "Finally, a break," says Doody. "We know the spacecraft is safe, especially since it won't be doing lots of commanded science activities, instead just staring at Earth with its high gain antenna. We'll be carrying out radio science studies of the solar corona, using carrier signals coming down from Cassini to study the sun's extended, super-hot atmosphere. Meanwhile, the spacecraft team's radio communications engineers will watch how many out of 100 test commands sent each day are received aboard the spacecraft with the noisy Sun in the way.""We'll also be using this low-activity period to conduct an operational readiness test, realistic training using contrived problems, for many of the new members of the flight team," adds Doody. Cassini will resume returning high-rate science data on Aug. 10, when it is well past the Sun. Note for sky watchers: The first time that Saturn will be visible again to the unaided eye from here on Earth will be about two weeks after conjunction. On the morning of Aug. 20, Saturn will rise in the east an hour before the sun does. Early birds in the United States will be able to spot swift Mercury one degree above Saturn. The next morning, they can spot Mercury one degree to the lower left of the planet. On Aug. 26 and 27 Saturn pairs with much brighter Venus. To see the latest image from SOHO click here.
Date August 3, 2006
Comparing Notes on Titan -- …
Description Here on the Gallery page you can find the very latest images, videos and products from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, including the spectacular launch, spacecraft assembly and the exciting trip to Saturn.
Full Description This short movie shows how data from two different instruments on the Cassini spacecraft can be combined to give an integrated view of Titan's surface. The first frame -- a mosaic of near-infrared images from Cassini's Imaging Science Subsystem -- shows a 1,150-by 900-kilometer (715-by 560-mile) region near Titan's equator. North is up. At the bottom right is the edge of the large bright feature named Xanadu, which was first seen in NASA Hubble Space Telescope images in 1994. At the left is a smaller bright area named Shikoku Facula. The dark plains in between, called Shangri-La, are punctuated by numerous smaller bright features. This mosaic was made from images acquired during Titan flyby in October 2005. The second movie frame shows the full extent of a radar image acquired with the Synthetic Aperture Radar during a flyby of Titan on April 30, 2006. Some bright and dark areas of the radar image correlate to the visible-light camera view, such as the bright 90-kilometer (60-mile) diameter ring feature to the right of center named Guabonito, but others do not. The radar images reveal that many of the large dark areas appear to be covered in dark streaks, which are also seen elsewhere on Titan. The streaks seem to be dunes of some kind of granular material (see Dunes Galore. Some particularly interesting areas include a dark spot at the northeastern end of Shikoku, which is not obvious in the Imaging Science Subsystem data. What appear to be channels across Shikoku are seen in the Imaging Science Subsystem data as very dark, and are perhaps filled with the same dark material that makes the dunes. Within Shangri-la, many of the small spots that look bright to the Imaging Science Subsystem are very prominent as bright spots in the radar image, suggesting they may be rugged hills poking up above the dark plains. In the third frame, two segments of the radar image are highlighted, which have been more strongly enhanced (see Radar Images the Margin of Xanadu and Radar Images Shikoku -- "Great Britain" for these two images). Guabonito and Shikoku Facula are labeled. There are artifacts present in the view once the radar image fades in--these are due to the asymmetrical shape of the overlaid radar image. Multiple sets of data are needed to understand a complex world like Titan. As the Cassini mission continues to fly by Titan and observe different regions of its surface, there will be more and more areas where comparative analyses can be done. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States, and several European countries. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Titan's Geological Goldmine …
Description Here on the Gallery page you can find the very latest images, videos and products from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, including the spectacular launch, spacecraft assembly and the exciting trip to Saturn.
Full Description Cassini's powerful radar eyes have uncovered a geologic goldmine in a region called Xanadu on Saturn's moon Titan. Panning west to east, the geologic features include river channels, mountains and hills, a crater and possible lakes. The movie shows the location mapped with the Cassini Radar Mapper using its Synthetic Aperture Radar imaging mode on April 30, 2006. The global map shows the areas mapped so far by radar. The radar swaths are superimposed on a false-color image made from observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Cassini's radar has revealed a variety of geologic features, including impact craters, wind-blown deposits, channels and cryovolcanic features. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. Credit: NASA/JPL
Titan's Great Lakes?
Description Titan's Great Lakes?
Full Description Using its radar system, the Cassini spacecraft has imaged new lakes on Titan. The large dark patch seen on this image, at high latitudes surrounding Titan's north pole, is most likely a hydrocarbon lake. Several dark channels can be seen, the longest one at the left meanders over almost 100 kilometers (62 miles), and appears to drain into the lake. Some dark channels are remarkably straight, suggesting possible faulting in the subsurface. The bright landforms jutting into the lake indicate that old, eroded landforms may have flooded. For a different radar view from the same flyby see Lakes and more lakes. This radar image was acquired by the Cassini radar instrument in synthetic aperture mode on Oct. 9, 2006. The image is centered near 73 degrees north latitude, 343 degrees west longitude, and measures about 300 kilometers by 140 kilometers (190 miles by 90 miles). Smallest details in this image are about 500 meters (1,640 feet) across. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument team is based at JPL, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. Credit: NASA/JPL
Date October 12, 2006
Infrared and Radar Views of …
Description This set of composite images was constructed from the best Cassini radar data and visual and infrared mapping spectrometer data obtained from all the Titan flybys up to the most recent flyby on Oct 25 (T20).
Full Description This set of composite images was constructed from the best Cassini radar data and visual and infrared mapping spectrometer data obtained from all the Titan flybys up to the most recent flyby on Oct 25 (T20). The globe to the upper right is centered on 0 degrees longitude, and each of the other globes is labeled as to which longitude appears at the center of the disk. The two rightmost images in the bottom row are of the north and south poles of Titan, respectively. The two instruments provide complementary data, all of which is required to understand the geologic processes that have shaped the surface of Titan over the age of the solar system. The images were taken at wavelengths of 1.3 microns shown in blue, 2 microns shown in green, and 5 microns shown in red. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona where this image was produced. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm . The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team homepage is at http://wwwvims.lpl.arizona.edu . *Credit:* NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Date December 12, 2006
Infrared and Radar Views of …
Description This image composite contains a radar image taken during a February 2005 (T3) flyby, and overlaid are images from the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer taken on Sept. 7, 2006, (T17) and Oct. 25, 2006 (T20).
Full Description This image composite contains a radar image taken during a February 2005 (T3) flyby, and overlaid are images from the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer taken on Sept. 7, 2006, (T17) and Oct. 25, 2006 (T20). The thin strip is the infrared image taken on the inbound leg of the T20 flyby and crosses the radar image near an area with a small, crater-like feature. In the radar image a faint fan of material seems to originate at the crater, and the portion of the infrared image that crosses the faint fan shows both a large brightness contrast and very sharp boundaries. The fan-like deposit has such sharp boundaries and strong contrast with its surroundings that it supports the idea that the deposit seen in the radar images is a flow of material erupted from the small crater. This may be the strongest evidence yet of cryovolcanism on Titan. The infrared image was taken at a distance of 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) from the surface of Titan and resolves features as small as 400 meters (1,300 feet). The infrared images were taken at wavelengths of 1.3 microns shown in blue, 2 microns shown in green, and 5 microns shown in red. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona where this image was produced. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm . The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team homepage is at http://wwwvims.lpl.arizona.edu . *Credit:* NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Date December 12, 2006
Titan (T16) Viewed by Cassin …
Description Titan (T16) Viewed by Cassini's Radar July 22, 2006
Full Description This radar image shows the entire scene in which hydrocarbon lakes were first discovered on Titan, near its north pole (see Lakes on Titan). This image was acquired on July 22, 2006, by Cassini's radar instrument in synthetic aperture mode. The most striking landforms are the lakes: dark patches, some circular, some irregular, many with apparently steep rims, over much of the terrain north of 70 degrees latitude. The most convincing lake forms occur at the narrowest, central part of the scene, which is at the highest latitudes. Here they have short, stubby channels leading into them, and brighter areas within that indicate either dried-up lakes or that we are seeing through a transparent liquid. The image also shows the considerable variation in the kinds of surface features found at different latitudes. Beginning at the left (20 degrees north by 142 degrees west) and heading north, a circular feature about 75 kilometers (47 miles) in diameter is seen, which could be either an impact crater or a volcanic caldera. Other less distinct circular forms are seen next, possibly including some dried lakes, followed by some ridge-like terrain with dark meandering channels or valleys. The dark lakes begin to appear next (at about 70 degrees north), with more distinct lakes in the middle of the scene, where the swath is closest to the pole and starts to descend to the south. Farther on, apparently dry lakes and canyons begin to dominate, and the region becomes more complex and etched. At the extreme right end, dunes similar to those seen previously mingle with brighter features. The swath ends at 13 degrees north by 347 degrees west. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. *Credit:* NASA/JPL
Date January 11, 2007
Liquid Lakes on Titan
Description Liquid Lakes on Titan
Full Description The existence of oceans or lakes of liquid methane on Saturn's moon Titan was predicted more than 20 years ago. But with a dense haze preventing a closer look it has not been possible to confirm their presence. Until the Cassini flyby of July 22, 2006, that is. Radar imaging data from the flyby, published this week in the journal Nature, provide convincing evidence for large bodies of liquid. This image, used on the journal's cover, gives a taste of what Cassini saw. Intensity in this colorized image is proportional to how much radar brightness is returned, or more specifically, the logarithm of the radar backscatter cross-section. The colors are not a representation of what the human eye would see. The lakes, darker than the surrounding terrain, are emphasized here by tinting regions of low backscatter in blue. Radar-brighter regions are shown in tan. The strip of radar imagery is foreshortened to simulate an oblique view of the highest latitude region, seen from a point to its west. This radar image was acquired by the Cassini radar instrument in synthetic aperture mode on July 22, 2006. The image is centered near 80 degrees north, 35 degrees west and is about 140 kilometers (84 miles) across. Smallest details in this image are about 500 meters (1,640 feet) across. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm . Credit: NASA/JPL/USGS
Date January 3, 2007
Two Sides of Dunes
Description Two Sides of Dunes
Full Description This pair of images, taken by the Cassini spacecraft radar mapper on two different Titan passes on Dec. 11, 2006 (T21 left), and Oct. 29, 2005 (T8 right), represent two different views of a field of dunes located near 9.4 degrees south latitude by 290 degrees west longitude. The images were taken in synthetic aperture mode and have a resolution of approximately 500 meters (1,640 feet). North is toward the top of both images, and each image is approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles) long by 275 kilometers (170 miles) wide. The images are different only because the radar instrument illuminated the dunes from different directions. Acting somewhat like a flash camera, the radar sends out microwave pulses and makes an image from the pulses after they are reflected back. Imagine that both the "camera" and the "flash" come from the left in the left image and from the top in the right image. Most obvious differences are seen in the large bright feature at the center of both images. At left, its left edge is brighter, emphasizing the more steep slopes there. Farther left, the dunes are more clearly defined in the right image as their faces are caught by the illumination. However, since the dunes are visible in both images, it is likely that the materials making up the dark and light stripes are also somehow different. More detailed studies of how materials on Titan reflect and scatter at different angles are giving us clues about what different materials might be present in this cold and distant world. For more information about dunes on Titan, see Dunes Galore. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. *Credit:* NASA/JPL
Date January 11, 2007
Titan Dunes over Possible Cr …
Description Titan Dunes over Possible Craters (T23)
Full Description This radar image of Titan's well-known dunes is distinctive because it may show an age relationship between different classes of features on the surface of this frigid world. Taken by Cassini's radar mapper on Jan. 13, 2007, during a flyby of Titan, three kinds of terrain can be seen. Throughout the image, the fine striping has been identified as dunes, possibly made from organic material and formed by wind activity. Dunes are a common landform on Titan (see Two Sides of Dunes and Swimming in Dunes). The bright material at the lower right of the image is interpreted as being topographically higher than the dunes that go around it, and several circular features seen at the top center may be craters that are slowly being buried by the dunes. Since the dunes seem to lie over the craters, the dune activity probably occurred later in time. This image was taken in synthetic aperture mode and has a resolution of approximately 350 meters (1,150 feet). North is toward the top left corner of the image, which is approximately 160 kilometers (100 miles) long by 150 kilometers (90 miles) wide. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. *Credit:* NASA/JPL
Date January 24, 2007
Cat Scratches
Description Cat Scratches
Full Description This image is a portion of the swath acquired by the Cassini Titan radar mapper on Feb. 15, 2005, on the mission's second opportunity to image the surface with radar. The frame, measuring about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from top to bottom, shows an area near the northeast corner of the large optically bright region named Xanadu. Running across the image are a series of roughly parallel, mostly east-west dark linear features that join and separate, which are not seen in the previous radar images. They may be formed by the action of eastward-flowing winds, or geologic processes acting on the crust itself. In places they cut through adjacent terrain, while elsewhere the lineaments seem to be interrupted by brighter material, appearing again on the other side. Seams between radar segments are visible as horizontal, sawtooth-shaped lines. Bright material in radar images may be rough or sloped toward the radar (which is observing from the top in this frame). Also, some of what is seen may in fact be below the surface, revealed as the radio waves penetrate overlying, radar-transparent material. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument team is based at JPL, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. *Credit:* NASA/JPL
Date February 16, 2005
A New Crater on Titan?
Description This radar image of Titan shows a semi-circular feature that may be part of an impact crater. Very few impact craters have been seen on Titan so far, implying that the surface is young.
Full Description This radar image of Titan shows a semi-circular feature that may be part of an impact crater. Very few impact craters have been seen on Titan so far, implying that the surface is young. Each new crater identified on Titan helps scientists to constrain the age of the surface. Taken by Cassini's radar mapper on Jan. 13, 2007, during a flyby of Titan, the image swath revealed what appeared to be the northernmost half of an impact crater. This crater is roughly 180 kilometers (110 miles) wide. Only three impact craters have been identified on Titan and several others, like this one, are likely to also have been caused by impact. The bright material is interpreted to be part of the crater's ejecta blanket, and is likely topographically higher than the surrounding plains. The inner part of the crater is dark, and may represent smooth deposits that have covered the inside of the crater. This image was taken in synthetic aperture mode and has a resolution of approximately 350 meters (1,150 feet). North is toward the top left corner of the image, which is approximately 240 kilometers (150 miles) wide by 140 kilometers (90 miles) high. The image is centered at about 26.5 degrees north and 9 degrees west. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. Credit: NASA/JPL
Date February 16, 2007
Titan (T18) Viewed by Cassin …
Description This radar image, obtained by Cassini's radar instrument during a near-polar flyby on Sept. 23, 2006, is the second scene that shows clear shorelines reminiscent of terrestrial lakes.
Full Description This radar image, obtained by Cassini's radar instrument during a near-polar flyby on Sept. 23, 2006, is the second scene that shows clear shorelines reminiscent of terrestrial lakes. With Titan's colder temperatures and hydrocarbon-rich atmosphere, these lakes most likely contain a combination of methane and ethane (both hydrocarbons), not water. This high-latitude opportunity confirmed scientists' predictions that lakes would be present here, consistent with calculations that suggested that hydrocarbons would be stable as liquids at the colder, high latitudes. It also showed unusual complex terrain, the origin of which remains a mystery. The image is illuminated by the radar from the top, and shows features as small as about 300 meters (980 feet). Starting at the left (63 degrees north latitude by 255 degrees west longitude), where the terrain appears bland and dark, the swath heads northeast into a more rugged, mottled terrain, probably containing dried lakes and canyons formed by the presence of liquid hydrocarbons. The first lake, an irregular, almost-triangular shape about 16 kilometers (10 miles) across at the widest point, can be seen near the bottom of the image, it appears to be fed by two channels from the south. Several more lakes can be seen about one-third of the way into the swath, near the closest approach to the pole, (north of 75 degrees north latitude), including Titan's "kissing lakes," each 20 to 25 kilometers (12 to 16 miles) across. Two other lakes feature narrow or angular bays, including a broad peninsula that on Earth would be evidence that the surrounding terrain is higher and confines the liquid. Continuing on, about three-quarters of the way through the swath, the terrain becomes brighter and more rugged, again indicating possible dried lakes and canyon-like structures. A long 100-kilometer (60-mile) series of grooves appears, likely carved by liquids. Next is an area of bright terrain with an unusual directional texture, indicating possible dunes, but brighter and perhaps different in nature than those seen elsewhere. Finally, towards the end of the swath, where the image quality is poorest, the terrain becomes mottled and difficult to interpret. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. Credit:NASA/JPL
Date February 20, 2007
Titan: Larger and Larger Lak …
Description Titan: Larger and Larger Lakes
Full Description This radar image, obtained by Cassini's radar instrument during a near-polar flyby on Feb. 22, 2007, shows a big island smack in the middle of one of the larger lakes imaged on Saturn's moon Titan. This image offers further evidence that the largest lakes are at the highest latitudes. The island is about 90 kilometers (62 miles) by 150 kilometers (93 miles) across, about the size of Kodiak Island in Alaska or the Big Island of Hawaii. The island may actually be a peninsula connected by a bridge to a larger stretch of land. As you go farther down the image, several very small lakes begin to appear, which may be controlled by local topography. This image was taken in synthetic aperture mode at 700 meter (2,300 feet) resolution. North is toward the left. The image is centered at about 79 north degrees north and 310 degrees west. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. Credit: NASA/JPL
Date February 27, 2007
Titan (T25) Viewed by Cassin …
Description Titan (T25) Viewed by Cassini's Radar Feb. 22, 2007
Full Description This image of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, obtained by Cassini's radar instrument during a near-polar flyby on Feb. 22, 2007, features dunes and lakes, one of which is larger than any lake on Earth and could be legitimately called a sea. First discovered by Cassini's radar in July 2006 (see Lakes on Titan), Titan's lakes are thought to consist of liquid methane and ethane. The image runs from southern latitudes, starting at 32 degrees south, 55 degrees west, where we see featureless terrain with bright streaks, heading north and slightly east, through dune fields interspersed with exposed bright mounds. In places, the dunes wrap around the bright mounds, which suggests the mounds are raised (see Titan Features and Interactions). In one case, the dunes wrap around an unusual rose-shaped structure, approximately 70 kilometers (40 miles) across. Near the spacecraft's closest approach (33 degrees north, 28 degrees west), where the swath is at its narrowest, the terrain is dark and mottled, with occasional bright outcrops and fine dunes. As we continue to head north, we see the first signs of the action of liquids -- fine channels and canyon-like structures. Later, depressions can be seen. These are similar to those seen in the lake region and are interpreted as volcanic calderas or drained lakes. As the swath continues, these become more plentiful, and some are partly filled with dark material thought to be liquid hydrocarbons, hence lakes. In places, the lakes reside in what appear to be nested, near-circular depressions, reminiscent of nested calderas. The final section of the swath, which is closest to the pole, contains by far the largest lakes observed by Cassini's radar to date. Part of the first of these was seen during a previous flyby (see Titan's Great Lakes?), and is fed by a long river -- over 200 kilometers (120 miles) in length, and hundreds of meters to over 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) in width - running through what appears to be a flood plain. The lake's bright, jutting shoreline indicates that old, eroded landforms may have been flooded. The end of the next lake was also observed before (see Lakes and More lakes), appearing to be, in both form and scale, similar to Lake Powell, a flooded drainage system in Utah and Arizona. We can now see that this lake on Titan connects via a relatively narrow channel to a much larger (at least 45,000 square kilometers or 17,000 square miles) lake, containing a large (approximately 12,000 square kilometers or 4,600 square miles) island or peninsula (see Titan: Larger and Larger Lakes). The last part of the image passes close to the pole (86 degrees north, 290 degrees east), before heading east and slightly south. At the end of the swath, we see the largest lake observed yet -- at least 100,000 square kilometers (39,000 square miles), which is greater in extent than one of the largest lakes on Earth, Lake Superior (82,000 square kilometers or 32,000 square miles), and covers a greater fraction of, Titan than the largest terrestrial inland sea, the Black Sea. The Black Sea covers 0.085 percent of the surface of the Earth, this newly observed body on Titan covers at least 0.12 percent of the surface of Titan. Because of its size, scientists are calling this a sea. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. *Credit:* NASA/JPL
Date March 13, 2007
Titan Sea and Lake Superior
Description Titan Sea and Lake Superior
Full Description This side-by-side image shows a Cassini radar image (on the left) of what is the largest body of liquid ever found on Titan's north pole, compared to Lake Superior (on the right). This close-up is part of a larger image (see Titan (T25) Viewed by Cassini's Radar - Feb. 22, 2007) and offers strong evidence for seas on Titan. These seas are most likely liquid methane and ethane. This feature on Titan is at least 100,000 square kilometers (39,000 square miles), which is greater in extent than Lake Superior (82,000 square kilometers or 32,000 square miles), which is one of Earth's largest lakes. The feature covers a greater fraction of Titan than the largest terrestrial inland sea, the Black Sea. The Black Sea covers 0.085 percent of the surface of the Earth, this newly observed body on Titan covers at least 0.12 percent of the surface of Titan. Because of its size, scientists are calling it a sea. The image on the right is from the SeaWiFS project, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. *Credit:* NASA/JPL/GSFC
Date March 13, 2007
Powering Saturn's Jets (with …
Description Powering Saturn's Jets (without labels)
Full Description + View labeled version of the image Using images like the one presented here, Cassini imaging scientists have made a major finding about the mechanism powering the general circulation of Saturn. The image shows small-scale, sheared-out cloud features associated with turbulent eddies in the vicinity of one of Saturn's eastward flowing jet streams, or "jets." The jet itself, located at 27.5 degrees south latitude, is indicated by the large horizontal arrow. Winds in this jet have blown continuously at speeds close to 320 kilometers per hour (200 miles per hour) for as long as scientists have observed Saturn. By tracking the movements of these cloud features in successive images separated by about 10 hours (about one Saturn rotation), Cassini scientists have confirmed that the eddies on either side of the jet give up their energy and momentum to help keep the winds in the jet blowing. The tilted arrows indicate the direction in which the eddies move the energy and momentum that power the jet. The winds that accomplish this are so strong that they combine to stretch out the eddies into bright, tilted streaks that are visible here, parallel to the arrows. The analysis of Cassini images covering most of Saturn's southern hemisphere suggests that similar processes occurring all over Saturn explain the remarkable decades-long stability of its alternating pattern of eastward and westward jets. The same process also occurs on Jupiter, and on Earth in the storm track along the east coast of the United States. Prior to this discovery, it was thought that the jets on Saturn and Jupiter were powered by an entirely different process, analogous to the tropical circulation on Earth. But now it appears that a comparison to the atmospheric motions in the Earth's mid-latitudes is more appropriate. The eddies seen in this image also create circulation patterns of upward and downward motion (in altitude) at different latitudes that help explain the general banded structure of global cloud patterns on the Jovian planets. A labeled version of the image is presented here as well. The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 5, 2005, at a distance of approximately 3.4 million kilometers (2.1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 20 kilometers (12 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Date May 8, 2007
Coasts and Drowned Mountains
Description Coasts and Drowned Mountains
Full Description On May 12, 2007, Cassini completed its 31st flyby of Saturn's moon Titan, which the team calls T30. The radar instrument obtained this image showing the coastline and numerous island groups of a portion of a large sea, consistent with the larger sea seen by the Cassini imaging instrument (See Seeing Farther North). Like other bodies of liquid seen on Titan, this feature reveals channels, islands, bays, and other features typical of terrestrial coastlines, and the liquid, most likely a combination of methane and ethane, appears very dark to the radar instrument. What is striking about this portion of the sea compared to other liquid bodies on Titan is the relative absence of brighter regions within it, suggesting that the depth of the liquid here exceeds tens of meters (tens of yards). Of particular note is the presence of isolated islands, which follow the same direction as the peninsula to their lower right, suggesting that they may be part of a mountain ridgeline that has been flooded. This is analogous to, for example, Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California. The image as shown is about 160 kilometers (100 miles) by 270 kilometers (170 miles) at 300-meter (980-foot) resolution. The image is centered near 70 degrees north latitude and 310 west longitude. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA''s Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov *Credit:* NASA/JPL
Date May 23, 2007
Titan (T28) Viewed by Cassin …
Description Titan (T28) Viewed by Cassini's Radar April 10, 2007
Full Description Cassini's radar instrument obtained another in its series of north polar swaths of Titan on April 10, 2007. This image exposes more of the transition between the mid-latitudes and the polar area, and extends coverage of the lakes region previously described in Titan (T25) Viewed by Cassini's Radar - Feb. 22, 2007. This swath begins at 20 degrees south, 37 degrees west, continuing approximately north-northeast. Although it appears to be straight in this image, its path on Titan curves gently toward the east until it reaches 80 degrees north at 300 degrees west, then it turns south and ends at 51 degrees north, 213 degrees west. The swath width varies from about 200 kilometers (120 miles) at its center to about 500 kilometers (310 miles) at the ends, and is more than 6,700 kilometers (4,100 miles) long. Beginning at the left end of the image as shown, we see the dark sinuous features previously interpreted to be dunes, interspersed with bright features that appear to be higher. In some cases the dunes seem to bend around the bright features, and in others they may be climbing up onto them, both behaviors are commonly seen in dune fields on Earth. About one-third of the way through the swath, the dunes become rare and then disappear, to be replaced by more linear features. Some of these have rounded and brighter ends, similar to lava flows on Earth (in synthetic aperture radar images, rougher features appear as bright). Just past the midway point, we find relatively flat and featureless terrain with some structures that also resemble flow fronts, followed by a complex area of semi-circular to irregular depressions that may have formed by collapse. These give way to the lakes at the northernmost portion. Here T28 overlaps with the T25 synthetic aperture radar swath (see Titan (T25) Viewed by Cassini's Radar - Feb. 22, 2007), offering stereo coverage that will be used to determine feature heights. The lakes, which are thought to be filled with a combination of methane and ethane, have complex shorelines that often include channels. Some of these channels have well-developed tributary systems and drain many thousands of square kilometers of the surrounding terrain. As shown in the mosaic (see Exploring the Wetlands of Titan), these lakes are likely connected, and may form part of a larger sea. Brighter areas within the lakes may represent the lake bottom ¿ at the radar's 2-centimeter wavelength, it is possible that the liquid is transparent for many tens of meters (tens of yards) to the radar, allowing a reflection to be returned from the lake bottom. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and, the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. *Credit:* NASA/JPL
Date July 27, 2007
Huygens Landing Site Similar …
Description Huygens Landing Site Similarities
Full Description This area imaged by the Cassini radar system during the spacecraft's third close flyby of Titan on Feb. 15, 2005, is just to the east of the Circus Maximus impact feature (see http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07365). The white lines could be channels in which fluid flowed from the slopes of Circus Maximus toward the bright area in the upper right. Areas that appear bright at radar wavelengths may be rough or inclined toward the direction of illumination. The bright area in this image could have received outflows of debris from the channels, making the surface appear radar bright. In this sense, the area may resemble somewhat the rubble strewn plains in the region where the Huygens probe landed. The fluid carrying the debris was most likely liquid methane, given the extremely cold ambient conditions at the surface of Titan. The longest channel in the feature is approximately 200 kilometers long (124 miles). The seams running across the image are an effect of the matching of the different radar beams to assemble the full image. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument team is based at JPL, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. *Credit:* NASA/JPL
Date February 18, 2005
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