MAP '05 Models Hurricane Katrina's Winds on August 29, 2005
Abstract
During the summer of 2005 the Earth-Sun Exploration Division of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center(GSFC) brought together resources from NASA to study tropical cyclones. The MAP '05 Project, so named for its affiliation with NASA's Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction (MAP) program, applies NASA's advanced satellite remote sensing technologies and earth system modeling capabilities to improve our understanding of tropical cyclones that develop in and move across the Atlantic basin. MAP '05 implemented the most recent version of the NASA/Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) fifth-generation global atmospheric model and the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) analysis system under development as a collaboration between NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at GSFC. This animation generates a white static flow fields from the MAP '05 wind analysis data.
Completed
2006-05-30
Annual Sea Ice Cycle over No
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Title
Annual Sea Ice Cycle over Northern Canada
Abstract
Over the course of a year, sea ice in northern Canada pulsates down into the Hudson Bay and retreats northward in the summer months. In the winter months where the sea ice extends down into the bay, polar bears wander onto the ice in search of food. As summer approaches and the sea ice melts, the bears wander back onto the mainland until the next winter. Data for this animation was gathered from the Aqua satellite's Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E). Aqua is a NASA satellite and the AMSR-E instrument onboard was provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). For more information on this story, please visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2006/polar_bears.html
Completed
2006-08-31
Natural Color Mosaic of Nort
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PIA04361
Sol (our sun)
C-Band Interferometric Radar
…
Title
Natural Color Mosaic of North America
Original Caption Released with Image
This natural-color image combines cloud-free data from over 500 Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) orbits with shaded relief Digital Terrain Elevation models from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and other sources. An astonishing diversity of geological features, ecological systems and human landscapes across North America is indicated within the image, which spans from 56N, 136W at the upper left to 16N 48W at lower right. In addition to the contiguous United States, the scene spans from British Columbia in the northwest to Newfoundland in the northeast, and extends eastward to the lonely Bermuda Islands and southward to the Bahamas, Cuba and Mexico. Draped in green, the eastern and central United States and Canada contrast with the vibrant geology that is laid bare across the arid portions of the southwestern United States and central Mexico. Along Mexico's east coast, the lush vegetation to the east of the Sierra Madre mountain range indicates the orographic rainfall gradient along this subtropical-tropical coast. In the high Rocky Mountains and in British Columbia's Coast Range, many peaks remain snow-covered year-round. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 north and 82 south latitude. This data product was generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during years 2000 - 2004. The image is displayed in an Albers Conic Equal Area projection with the projection center at 36 North, 92 West. 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.
John F. Kennedy Space Center
PIA01918
Sol (our sun)
ASTER
Title
John F. Kennedy Space Center
Original Caption Released with Image
The John F. Kennedy Space Center, America's spaceport, is located along Florida's eastern shore on Cape Canaveral. Established as NASA's Launch Operations Center on July 1, 1962, the center has been the site of launching all U.S. human space flight missions, from the early days of Project Mercury to the space shuttle and the next generation of vehicles. In addition, the center is home to NASA's Launch Services Program, which coordinates all expendable vehicle launches carrying a NASA payload. With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats, monitoring potentially active volcanoes, identifying crop stress, determining cloud morphology and physical properties, wetlands evaluation, thermal pollution monitoring, coral reef degradation, surface temperature mapping of soils and geology, and measuring surface heat balance. The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Size: 32.6 by 51.2 kilometers (20.2 by 32.2 miles) Location: 28.6 degrees North latitude, 80.6 degrees West longitude Orientation: North at top Image Data: ASTER bands 3, 2, and 1 Original Data Resolution: 15 meters (49.2 feet) Dates Acquired: April 26, 2006
Bay of Fundy
PIA01912
Sol (our sun)
ASTER
Title
Bay of Fundy
Original Caption Released with Image
The highest tides on Earth occur in the Minas Basin, the eastern extremity of the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada, where the tide range can reach 16 meters when the various factors affecting the tides are in phase. The primary cause of the immense tides of Fundy is a resonance of the Bay of Fundy-Gulf of Maine system. The system is effectively bounded at this outer end by the edge of the continental shelf with its approximately 40:1 increase in depth. The system has a natural period of approximately 13 hours, which is close to the 12h25m period of the dominant lunar tide of the Atlantic Ocean. Like a father pushing his daughter on a swing, the gentle Atlantic tidal pulse pushes the waters of the Bay of Fundy-Gulf of Maine basin at nearly the optimum frequency to cause a large to-and-fro oscillation. The greatest slosh occurs at the head (northeast end) of the system. The high tide image (top) was acquired April 20, 2001, and the low tide image (bottom) was acquired September 30, 2002. The images cover an area of 16.5 by 21 km, and are centered near 64 degrees west longitude and 45.5 degrees north latitude. With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats, monitoring potentially active volcanoes, identifying crop stress, determining cloud morphology and physical properties, wetlands evaluation, thermal pollution monitoring, coral reef degradation, surface temperature mapping of soils and geology, and measuring surface heat balance. The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Size: 16.5 by 21 kilometers (10.2 by 13 miles) Location: 45.4 degrees North latitude, 64 degrees West longitude Image Data: ASTER bands 3, 2, and 1 Original Data Resolution: 15 meters (49.2 feet) Dates Acquired: September 30, 2002
Orbit of Sedna
Title
Orbit of Sedna
Description
This animation shows the location of the newly discovered planet-like object, dubbed "Sedna," in relation to the rest of the Solar System. Starting at the inner Solar System, which includes the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars (all in yellow), the view pulls away through the asteroid belt and the orbits of the outer planets beyond (green). Pluto and the distant Kuiper Belt objects are seen next until finally Sedna comes into view. As the field widens the full orbit of Sedna can be seen along with its current location. Sedna is nearing its closest approach to the Sun, its 10,000-year orbit typically takes it to far greater distances. Moving past Sedna, what was previously thought to be the inner edge of the Oort cloud appears. The Oort cloud is a spherical distribution of cold, icy bodies lying at the limits of the Sun's gravitational pull. Sedna's presence suggests that this Oort cloud is much closer than scientists believed.
Earth's North Magnetic Pole
Title
Earth's North Magnetic Pole
Explanation
A magnetic compass [ http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/whmfield.html] does not point toward the true North Pole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991006.html ] of the Earth. Rather, it more closely points toward the North Magnetic Pole [ http://www.geolab.nrcan.gc.ca/geomag/e_nmpole.html ] of the Earth. The North Magnetic Pole is currently located in northern Canada [ http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html ]. It wanders in an elliptical [ http://xahlee.org/SpecialPlaneCurves_dir/Ellipse_dir/ellipse.html ] path each day, and moves, on the average, more than forty meters northward each day. Evidence indicates [ http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arch/10_19_96/bob1.htm ] that the North Magnetic Pole [ http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/mag.html ] has wandered over much of the Earth's surface in the 4.5 billion years since the Earth formed. The Earth's magnetic field [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/space/mag_field.html ] is created by Earth's partially ionized outer core [ http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arch/7_20_96/fob1.htm ], which rotates more rapidly than the Earth's surface. Indicated in the above picture is Ellef Ringnes Island [ http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/english/schoolnet/arctic.html ], the current location of Earth's North Magnetic Pole [ http://www.sciam.com/askexpert/geology/geology9/geology9.html ].
Polar Visible Aurora: High S
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Title
Polar Visible Aurora: High Solar Wind Conditions on April 17, 1999 over the North Pole
Abstract
On May 11, 1999, the solar wind that blows constantly from the Sun virtually disappeared. Dropping to a small fraction of its normal density and to half its normal speed, the solar wind died down enough to allow physicists to observe particles flowing directly from the Sun's corona to Earth. This severe change in the solar wind also drastically changed the shape of Earth's magnetic field and produced a rare auroral display at Earth's North Pole.
Completed
1999-12-08
Animation of Sunspot Formati
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Description
Animation of Sunspot Formation and Flare (artist view)
Large sunspot group -- Activ
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Description
Large sunspot group -- Active region 9169 was the host of the largest sunspot group observed so far during the current solar cy Joseph B. Gurman Normal Joseph B. Gurman 1 2001-02-02T20:26:00Z 2001-02-02T20:32:00Z 1 75 428 NASA GSGC 3 1 525 9.2511 800x600 0 0 Large sunspot group -- Active region 9169 was the host of the largest sunspot group observed so far during the current solar cycle. On 23 September 2000, the sunspot area within the group spanned 2,140 millionths of the visible solar surface, an area a dozen times larger than the entire surface of the Earth! Caused by intense magnetic fields emerging from the interior, a sunspot appears to be dark only when contrasted against the rest of the solar surface, because it is slightly cooler than the unmarked regions.
The Sun?s magnetic field and
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Description
The Sun?s magnetic field and releases of plasma directly affect Earth and the rest of the solar system. Solar wind shapes the Earth?s magnetosphere and magnetic storms are illustrated here as approaching Earth. These storms, which occur frequently, can disrupt communications and navigational equipment, damage satellites, and even cause blackouts. The white lines represent the solar wind, the purple line is the bow shock line, and the blue lines surrounding the Earth represent its protective magnetosphere. The magnetic cloud of plasma can extend to 30 million miles wide by the time it reaches earth.
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