Barnstorming Linne Crater February 5, 2013
Posted by jtintle in Planets.Tags: Arizona State University, GSFC, Linne Crater, LROC NAC, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Moon, NASA
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Description:
This flyover was generated from 3D model of Linne Crater with the image draped on top. The 3D model uses the DTM derived from LROC NAC stereo images.
Credit:
NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
Dragon Tail Filament Erupts February 1, 2013
Posted by jtintle in Planets.Tags: dragon tail filament, NASA, SDO, Solar Dynamics Observatory, Sun, Video
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Description:
A long and complex strand of plasma hanging above the Sun’s surface erupted (Jan. 31, 2013) as a long loop that stretched and broke apart as it burst into space. Much of the material actually fell back into Sun unable to break free of the Sun’s gravity. The images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light (304 Angstroms). The movie covers about six hours of activity. We called it a ‘dragon tail filament’ because before it erupted, it did resemble one. Plasma is a hot gas composed of electrically charged hydrogen and helium.
Another version shown below combines the 304 Angstrom wavelength with the 193 Angstrom, which offers better detail of the motions of the filament before it breaks away.
Credit:
Solar Dynamics Observatory, NASA, the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams
Roger! We Have a Liftoff! January 28, 2013
Posted by jtintle in Planets.Tags: AIA science team, EVE science team, HMI science Team, NASA, Solar Dynamics Observatory, Sun
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Description:
A solar prominence arched up and then erupted out from near the Sun’s surface (Jan. 23, 2013). SDO observed the event, also associated with a coronal mass ejection, in extreme ultraviolet light as it evolved over seven hours. The strand of solar plasma appeared to perform a somersault as it expanded and disappeared into space. The disruption to the magnetic fields in the area generated the coiling and spreading wave-like action below the site of the event. Solar prominences are unstable clouds of cooler gases suspended above the Sun’s surface by magnetic forces
Credit:
Solar Dynamics Observatory, NASA, the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams
From Night to Day to Night Again January 26, 2013
Posted by jtintle in Space Fotos.Tags: "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.", Earth, Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, International Space Station, Johnson Space Center, NASA
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Description:
This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 34 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken on January 3, 2013 from 11:43:46 to 15:49:31 GMT, on a pass from northwestern Australia, making two complete orbits to eastern Quebec, near the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This fast-paced video features the ISS completing two and a half orbits around the Earth, crossing the terminator line several times in the process. The video begins as the ISS is in darkness, and as the moon rises on the left side of the video, the ISS begins to pass over into daylight. Clouds mostly obscure the view during this first daylight pass with the exception of the Caucasus and Elburz Mountains just before the terminator. The ISS slips back into night as the moon again rises in the left side of the video. As the Station flies back into daylight, the ISS flies over Central America, the Caribbean Sea, and Cuba and Florida before flying over the northern Atlantic Ocean. Most of Western Europe is under cloud, and the first land that can be seen is the Alps Mountains and Croatia. The ISS then passes over the terminator line again into darkness as the moon rises in the left side of the video. As the ISS passes back over into daylight, clouds obscure most of the Earth until near the end of the video, when it passes over the Baja Peninsula and the southwestern United States.
Compiled from frames ISS034-E-16709 to ISS034-E-18545
Downloads:
Download video (Right click, and “Save link as”) or download photographs used for this video (High resolution or Low resolution)
Youtube Link:
Credit:
Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. “The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.”
CosmoQuest: Taking Citizen Science to the Next Level January 27, 2012
Posted by jtintle in Planets, Space Fotos.Tags: bad astronomy, Citizen Science, CosmoQuest, Google Plus, Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite(LCROSS), Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mercury MESSENGER, NASA, New Horizons, Open Science, open source software, philip plait, public citizen, ray sanders, science portal, Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the Dawn Mission
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This is a great step forward for science. Here is the Google Plus post where I found out about this great initiative:
Citizen Science junkies: Check out this Universe Today article about a new citizen science portal, led by +Pamela Gay. Also involved are +Philip Plait ( Bad Astronomy Blog ) and +Fraser Cain ( Universe Today )
Aside from the focus on citizen science, one thing that hooked me was something I think +Pamela Gay said in a Google+ hangout yesterday. “Open science, open source”.
I’m pretty stoked about CosmoQuest and can’t wait to start taking part in the project, as it combines two things I’m very passionate about – citizen science and open-source software! #FunFriday
From the CosmoQuest website:
Our goal is to create a community of people bent on together advancing our understanding of the universe; a community of people who are participating in doing science, who can explain why what they do matters, and what questions they are helping to answer. We want to create a community, and here is where we invite all of you to be a part of what we’re doing.
There are lots of ways to get involved: You can contribute to science, take a class, join a conversation, or just help us spread the word by sharing about us on social media sites.
Like every community, we are constantly changing to reflect our members. This website will constantly be growing and adding new features. Overtime, we’re going to bring together all the components of a research learning environment (aka grad school), from content in the form of classes, resources, and a blog, to research in the form of citizen science, to social engagement through a forum, social media, and real world activities.
LRO data is used in Moon Mappers
The science you have the chance to help with is being developed by scientists all over the world. We are partnering directly with NASA missions to develop citizen science projects that help expand what science they can accomplish. We’re working with Mercury MESSENGER, the Dawn Mission, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, New Horizons, and the Space Telescope Science Institute to build a series of projects that map the surfaces of rocky worlds and explore the atmospheres of planets and small bodies the solar system over.
You don’t have to be a genius with a PhD to do science. We provide tutorials with every project that should make it possible for anyone to contribute. We also offer a variety of educational programs so that you can learn as much as you want about the science you’re aiding. We also want teachers and amateurs doing EPO to receive the professional development they need to use CosmoQuest to teach astronomy to students and the public. To help us reach these goals, we’re partnering with the Galileo Teacher Training Program and Astronomers without Borders – one of our goals is to reach out to amateurs and get them the materials and training needed to use CosmoQuest in their outreach.
Take us with you
CosmoQuest is a place to do, to learn, and to collaborate.
Where would you like to explore today?
Join us in the forums, and share your ideas for our future.
Link: http://cosmoquest.org
NASA Day of Remembrance Wreath Laying Ceremony January 26, 2012
Posted by jtintle in Planets, Space Fotos.Tags: Arlington National Cemetery, Bill Ingalls, Charles Bolden, Earth, NASA, NASA's Day of Remembrance
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Description:
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, NASA personnel, and others, participate in a wreath laying ceremony as part of NASA’s Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, at Arlington National Cemetery. Wreathes were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration.
Photo Credit:
NASA/Bill Ingalls
First Fire Images from VIIRS January 25, 2012
Posted by jtintle in Planets, Space Fotos.Tags: Aqua, California, Earth, Holli Riebeek, Ivan Csiszar, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), NASA, National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite, NESDIS Center for Satellite Applications and Research, NOAA, San Diego, Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, Suomi NPP - VIIRS, University of Maryland Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, Verner E. Suomi, Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), Wilfrid Schroeder
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Southern California acquired January 19, 2012
Description:
Like a baby learning to walk, the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is slowly adjusting to its new space environment and is gradually taking steps toward full operations.
VIIRS was launched on October 28, 2011, on the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite and produced its first image on November 21. By January 19, 2012, the sensor acquired its first measurements of fires. These measurements and others from VIIRS are still preliminary, and scientists and engineers will continue testing and calibrating the measurements over the coming weeks before data are released for public use.
It took longer to acquire the first VIIRS fire measurements because the sensor had to cool enough to accurately observe thermal infrared energy. These images show a few of the fires detected on January 19. The top image shows a smoky fire burning in the mountains east of San Diego, California.
The images indicate that the VIIRS sensor is in good health and that it appears to be detecting fires accurately. In both images, the fire detections line up with plumes of smoke. In the South Sudan image, the fires are burning in areas where black, charred ground points to recent fire activity. Flying over the same areas at about the same time, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite also detected fires in both California and South Sudan.
It is vital that VIIRS makes these measurements because vegetation fires are one of the most important elements of land cover change and nutrient recycling in the Earth system. Fires play a major role in the formation and maintenance of numerous ecosystems. Over the last millennia, naturally occurring fires were gradually offset by those set by humans for hunting, land clearing and maintenance, and fuel production (charcoal).
With the beginning of daily polar orbiting satellite data—which started in the early 1980s—and the routine monitoring of fire activity, it soon became clear that humans were quickly changing the natural fire regimes of large areas of the world. The fires have cascading effects on atmospheric composition (due to smoke) and alteration of climate conditions. Due to the widespread occurrence of fires, Earth satellites have become the primary resource for the monitoring of biomass burning and for timely information for fire managers and the science community.
NOTE: On January 25, the NPP satellite was renamed the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, in honor of Verner E. Suomi, “the father of satellite meteorology.”
Credit:
Ivan Csiszar, NOAA/NESDIS Center for Satellite Applications and Research, and Wilfrid Schroeder, University of Maryland Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center. Caption by Holli Riebeek, Ivan Csiszar, and Wilfrid Schroeder.
Instrument:
Suomi NPP – VIIRS
The Eye of Issyk Kul January 25, 2012
Posted by jtintle in Planets, Space Fotos.Tags: Don Pettit, Earth, International Space Station, Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan, NASA
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Description:
Kyrgyzstan is wedged in the mountainous wrinkles between Kazakhstan and China, created long ago when the land mass we now call India, propelled by plate tectonics, slammed into the Asian plate. Living there are a proud people with a rich history, surrounded by natural, high-altitude beauty.
Out of numerous Kyrgyz lakes, one in particular stands out—Lake Issyk Kul. When seen from orbit, Issyk Kul appears to be a giant eye, looking at us looking down at it. The snow-covered mountains become aged eyebrows. The lake itself, having a fairly high salt concentration, does not typically freeze over, thus reflecting wintertime light in such a way as to form a “pupil” that seems to track us as we orbit overhead.
Credit:
NASA,Don Pettit
PIA15283: Dunes in Noachis Terra Region of Mars January 25, 2012
Posted by jtintle in Planets, Space Fotos.Tags: High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, JPL-Caltech, Mars, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), NASA, Noachis Terra, University of Arizona
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Description:
This enhanced-color image shows sand dunes trapped in an impact crater in Noachis Terra, Mars. Dunes and sand ripples of various shapes and sizes display the natural beauty created by physical processes. The area covered in the image is about six-tenths of a mile (1 kilometer) across.
Sand dunes are among the most widespread wind-formed features on Mars. Their distribution and shapes are affected by changes in wind direction and wind strength. Patterns of dune erosion and deposition provide insight into the sedimentary history of the surrounding terrain.
The image is one product from an observation by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera taken on Nov. 29, 2011, at 42 degrees south latitude, 42 degrees east longitude. Other image products from the same observation are at http://www.uahirise.org/ESP_025042_1375.
HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter’s HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Image Addition Date:
2012-01-25
PIA15260: Herschel Sees Through Ghostly Pillars January 24, 2012
Posted by jtintle in Deep Space, Space Fotos.Tags: Eagle Nebula, EPIC, ESA, ESA/PACS & SPIRE Consortium, F. Boulanger, F. Motte, Herschel Space Observatory, HOBYS Key Programme Consortium, NASA, Photodetector Array Camera, Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver, T. Hill, XMM-Newton X-ray observatory, XMM-Newton-SOC
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Description:
This Herschel image of the Eagle nebula shows the self-emission of the intensely cold nebula’s gas and dust as never seen before. Each color shows a different temperature of dust, from around 10 degrees above absolute zero (10 Kelvin or minus 442 degrees Fahrenheit) for the red, up to around 40 Kelvin, or minus 388 degrees Fahrenheit, for the blue.
Herschel reveals the nebula’s intricate tendril nature, with vast cavities forming an almost cave-like surrounding to the famous pillars, which appear almost ghostly in this view. The gas and dust provide the material for the star formation that is still under way inside this enigmatic nebula.
Far-infrared light has been color-coded to 70 microns for blue and 160 microns for green using the Photodetector Array Camera, and 250 microns for red using the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver.
Figure 1 combines data from almost opposite ends of the electromagnetic spectrum. Herschel captured longer-wavelength, or far, infrared light, and the space telescope XMM-Newton imaged X-rays. The X-ray data show the hot young stars in the center of the cloud, which are sculpting and interacting with the surrounding ultra-cool gas and dust, seen in infrared. Both wavelengths would be blocked by Earth’s atmosphere, so space telescopes such as these are critical to our understanding of the life cycle of stars.
Both Herschel and XMM-Newton are European Space Agency missions. NASA plays an important role in Herschel. NASA’s Herschel Project Office is based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. JPL contributed mission-enabling technology for two of Herschel’s three science instruments. The NASA Herschel Science Center, part of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, supports the United States astronomical community. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.
Image Credit:
Far-infrared: ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE/Hill, Motte, HOBYS Key Programme Consortium; X-ray: ESA/XMM-Newton/EPIC/XMM-Newton-SOC/Boulanger
Image Addition Date:
2012-01-18
