Spotlight on Antelope Canyon - At the right time of the day, a magical beam of light basks Antelope Canyon in a red glow. The Colorado Plateau - by Denis Savouray - PhotoTripUSA
Ida and Dactyl: Asteroid and Moon Credit: Galileo Project, JPL, NASA Explanation: This asteroid has a moon! The robot spacecraft Galileo currently exploring the Jovian system, encountered and photographed two asteroids during its long journey to Jupiter. The second asteroid it photographed, Ida, was discovered to have a moon which appears as a small dot to the right of Ida in this picture. The tiny moon, named Dactyl, is about one mile across, while the potato shaped Ida measures about 36 miles long and 14 miles wide. Dactyl is the first moon of an asteroid ever discovered. The names Ida and Dactyl are based on characters in Greek mythology. Do other asteroids have moons? Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA) NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply. A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.
Courthouse Flowers Late spring bloom below the courthouse, in Arches Natl' Park. The Colorado Plateau - by Denis Savouray
Hubble Tracks Jupiter's Great Red Spot Credit: Amy Simon et al. & the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/ STScI/ NASA) Explanation: It is a hurricane twice the size of the Earth. It has been raging at least as long as telescopes could see it, and shows no signs of slowing. It is Jupiter's Great Red Spot, the largest swirling storm system in the Solar System. Like most astronomical phenomena, the Great Red Spot was neither predicted nor immediately understood after its discovery. Still today, details of how and why the Great Red Spot changes its shape, size, and color remain mysterious. A better understanding of the weather on Jupiter may help contribute to the better understanding of weather here on Earth. In the pictures on the left, the Hubble Space Telescope has captured Jupiter's Great Red Spot in various states over the past several years. Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA) NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. LHEA at NASA/ GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.
The Vela Supernova Remnant Expands Credit & Copyright: David Malin (AAO), AATB Explanation: The explosion is over but the consequences continue. About eleven thousand years ago a star in the constellation of Vela exploded, creating a strange point of light briefly visible to humans living near the beginning of recorded history. The outer layers of the star crashed into the interstellar medium, driving a shock wave that is still visible today. Different colors in the complex, right moving shock, pictured on the left, represent different energies of impact of the shock front. The star on the left appears by chance in the foreground, and the long diagonal line is also unrelated. Remaining at the center of the Vela Supernova Remnant is a pulsar, a star as dense as nuclear matter that completely rotates more than ten times in a single second.
Panorama of Gunsight Bay The Colorado Plateau - by Denis Savouray, PhotoTripUSA. Subway - The Colorado Plateau - by Denis Savouray - PhotoTripUSA,
"The strong wind blowing in my ears in the so called "Subway" reminded me of a train zipping by a station without stopping."
Asia at Night Credit & Copyright: DMSP Digital Archive, NGDC, NOAA Explanation: This is what Asia looks like at night! Can you find your favorite Asian city? Although not all of Asia is shown, city lights might make this task possible. The above picture is actually a composite of over 200 images made by satellites orbiting the Earth. Scans were made by the USAF Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System. The DMSP satellites continue to help in the understanding and prediction of weather phenomena as well as provide key information about population patterns, city light levels, and even rural forest fires. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA) NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. LHEA at NASA/ GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.
Noctilucent Clouds Credit & Copyright: Pekka Parviainen (NCWG/U. Colorado) Explanation: Sometimes it's night on the ground but day in the air. As the Earth rotates to eclipse the Sun, sunset rises up from the ground. Therefore, at sunset on the ground, sunlight still shines on clouds above. Under usual circumstances, a pretty sunset might be visible, but unusual noctilucent clouds float so high up they can be seen well after dark. Pictured above, a network of noctilucent clouds casts a colorful but eerie glow visible above the dark. Although noctilucent clouds are thought to be composed of small ice-coated particles, much remains unknown about them. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA) NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. LHEA at NASA/ GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.
Infrared Saturn Credit: E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona), HST, NASA Explanation: This delightfully detailed false color image of Saturn was earmarked to celebrate the 8th anniversary of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. The picture is a combination of three images taken in January 1998 and shows the lovely ringed planet in reflected infrared light. Different colors indicated varying heights and compositions of cloud layers generally thought to consist of ammonia ice crystals. The eye-catching rings cast a shadow on Saturn's upper hemisphere, while the bright stripe seen within the left portion of the shadow is infrared sunlight streaming through the large gap in the rings known as the Cassini Division. Two of Saturn's many moons have also put in an appearance, Tethys just beyond the planet's disk at the upper right, and Dione at the lower left. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA) NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. LHEA at NASA/ GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.
A Martian Valley Credit: Malin Space Science Systems, MGS, JPL, NASA Explanation: This tantalizing close-up detail of a network of martian valleys was recorded from orbit this April by Mars Global Surveyor's camera. Water may once have flowed here but now sand dunes stripe the windswept valley floor. The Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft arrived in orbit in September of 1997 and has been exploring the red planet since. Three other spacecraft, Mars Climate Orbiter, Mars Polar Lander, and Nozomi are presently en route. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA) NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. LHEA at NASA/ GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.
Jupiter from Voyager - Large Version! Credit: Voyager 1, NASA Explanation: This picture of the planet Jupiter was taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft as it passed the planet in 1979. Jupiter, a gas giant planet with no solid surface, is the largest planet in the Solar System and is made mostly of the hydrogen and helium. Clearly visible in the above photo is the Great Red Spot, a giant, hurricane-like storm system that rotates with the clouds of Jupiter. It is so large three complete Earths could fit inside it. Astronomers have recorded this giant storm on Jupiter for over 300 years. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA) NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply. A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.
NGC 3372: The Great Nebula in Carina - Large Version! Credit: K. Weis & W. J. Duschl (ITA, U. Heidelberg) Explanation: In one of the brightest parts of the Milky Way lies a nebula where some of the oddest things occur. NGC 3372, known as the Great Nebula in Carina, is home to massive stars and changing nebula. Eta Carina, the most energetic star in the nebula was one of the brightest stars in the sky in the 1830s, but then faded dramatically. The Keyhole Nebula, visible near the center, houses several of the most massive stars known and has also changed its appearance. The Carina Nebula is about 7000 light-years away in the constellation of Carina. The CTIO Curtis-Schmidt Telescope in Chile, South America took the above photograph. Eta Carina might explode in a dramatic supernova within the next thousand years, and has even flared in brightness over just the past two years. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA) NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply. A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.
Solar Surfin' Image Credit: High Altitude Observatory, NCAR Explanation: The sun's corona is a tenuous outer atmosphere composed of streams of energetic charged particles, but it is only easily seen from Earth during a total solar eclipse. For example, this 1991 image of totality from atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii forms a fleeting snapshot of the mysterious corona's beautiful, intricate structures and streams. However in space, instruments can use occulting disks to simulate eclipses and more readily monitor the corona beyond the sun's edge. Combined observations from the space-based SOHO UCVS and shuttle-borne Spartan 201 experiments have recently contributed to a major advance in understanding the high-speed component of the wind of particles in the corona. They reveal evidence for magnetic waves within the corona itself that push solar wind particles along, like an ocean wave gives a surfer a ride. Surprisingly, heavier charged particles can surf the magnetic waves faster - oxygen ions were found to achieve speeds of up to 500 miles per second, faster than the lighter hydrogen ions which make up most of the solar wind. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA) NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. LHEA at NASA/ GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.
The Flame Nebula in Infrared Credit: 2MASS Collaboration, U. Mass., IPAC Explanation: What lights up the Flame Nebula? Fifteen hundred light years away towards the constellation of Orion lies a nebula which, from its glow and dark dust lanes, appears like a billowing fire. But fire, the rapid acquisition of oxygen, is not what makes this Flame glow. Rather the bright star Alnitak, the easternmost star in the Belt of Orion visible to the nebula's right, shines energetic light into the Flame that knocks electrons away from the great clouds of hydrogen gas that reside there. Much of the glow results when the electrons and ionized hydrogen recombine. The Flame Nebula is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, a star-forming region that includes the famous Horsehead Nebula. Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA) NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. LHEA at NASA/ GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.
Barringer Crater on Earth Credit: D. Roddy (LPI) Explanation: What happens when a meteor hits the ground? Usually nothing much, as most meteors are small, and indentations they make are soon eroded away. 49,000 years ago, however, a large meteor created Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona, pictured above. Barringer is over a kilometer across. In 1920, it was the first feature on Earth to be recognized as an impact crater. Today, over 100 terrestrial impact craters have been identified. Recent computer modeling now indicates how some of the Canyon Diablo impactor melted during the impact that created Barringer. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA) NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply. A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.
NGC 7789: Galactic Star Cluster - Large Version! Credit: B.J. Mochejska and J. Kaluzny (Warsaw University Observatory), KPNO Explanation: At 1.6 billion years old, this cluster of stars is beginning to show its age. NGC 7789 is an open or galactic star cluster about 8,000 light-years distant toward the constellation Cassiopeia and lies near the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. All the stars in the cluster were likely born at the same time but the brighter and more massive ones have more rapidly exhausted the hydrogen fuel in their cores. These have evolved from main sequence stars like the sun into the gaggle of red giant stars apparent (with a reddish-yellow cast) in this lovely composite color image. Comparing computer models to observations of the red giants and main sequence stars astronomers can determine the mass and hence the age of the cluster stars just starting to "turn off" the main sequence to become red giants. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA) NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply. A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.