MooPig Astronomy Department :: "Kepler Spacecraft"

NASA, we have a Lot of Data
Retrieved by Pat Darnell  |  Nov 18, 2013  |  Bryan TX

While astrophysicists continue to mine the data provided by Kepler Space Craft, the craft hit a snag. One of its "wheels" quit turning. So the Kepler is frozen in one position, but not before Astronomers could report staggering numbers.

[Picture LINK and LINK]

Far-Off Planets Like the Earth Dot the Galaxy - NYTimes.com: "Astronomers reported that there could be as many as 40 billion habitable Earth-size planets in the galaxy, based on a new analysis of data from NASA’s Kepler spacecraft. One out of every five sun-like stars in the galaxy has a planet the size of Earth circling it in the Goldilocks zone — not too hot, not too cold — where surface temperatures should be compatible with liquid water, according to a herculean three-year calculation based on data from the Kepler spacecraft by Erik Petigura, a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley."

'via Blog this'

_______________________Reference
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/science/cosmic-census-finds-billions-of-planets-that-could-be-like-earth.html?_r=1&
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/science/space/new-plan-for-a-disabled-kepler.html?hpw&rref=science&_r=0
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/04/earth-like-habitable-planets-kepler-space-video_n_4214758.html
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/main/index.html#.Uos_5MSUTx4
http://media4.obspm.fr/exoplanets/pages_projets/futur-spatiaux-exopl.html
http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/seek-strange-worlds-kepler-space-telescope/

NASA Talk :: "Soyuz"

Soyuz Capsule on Re-entry
by Pat Darnell | Mar 25, 2013 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Soyuz TMA-06M Spacecraft
JSC2013-E-017269 (16 March 2013) --- The Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft lies passively on its side March 16 after bringing home Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford of NASA, Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy and Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin to a landing northeast of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan following a one-day delay due to inclement weather in the area.

The Soyuz initially landed upright before being tilted on its side for servicing after touching down to wrap up 144 days in space and 142 days for Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin at the International Space Station. The three crew members were flown by helicopter to Kustanai, Kazakhstan en route to their homes in Houston and Star City, Russia. Photo credit: Sergey Vigovskiy

Page Last Updated: March 20, 2013
Page Editor: Amiko Kauderer
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar



____________________________Reference
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/gallery/jsc2013e017269.html

NASA Talk :: Orion Nebula

Retrieved by Pat Darnell | Feb 11, 2013 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

The Cosmic Hearth
The Orion nebula is featured in this sweeping image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The constellation of Orion is prominent in the evening sky throughout the world from about December through April of each year. The nebula (also catalogued as Messier 42) is located in the sword of Orion, hanging from his famous belt of three stars. The star cluster embedded in the nebula is visible to the unaided human eye as a single star, with some fuzziness apparent to the most keen-eyed observers. Because of its prominence, cultures all around the world have given special significance to Orion. The Maya of Mesoamerica envision the lower portion of Orion, his belt and feet (the stars Saiph and Rigel), as being the hearthstones of creation, similar to the triangular three-stone hearth that is at the center of all traditional Maya homes. The Orion nebula, lying at the center of the triangle, is interpreted by the Maya as the cosmic fire of creation surrounded by smoke.

This metaphor of a cosmic fire of creation is apt. The Orion nebula is an enormous cloud of dust and gas where vast numbers of new stars are being forged. It is one of the closest sites of star formation to Earth and therefore provides astronomers with the best view of stellar birth in action. Many other telescopes have been used to study the nebula in detail, finding wonders such as planet-forming disks forming around newly forming stars. WISE was an all-sky survey giving it the ability to see these sites of star formation in a larger context. This view spans more than six times the width of the full moon, covering a region nearly 100 light-years across. In it, we see the Orion nebula surrounded by large amounts of interstellar dust, colored green.

Astronomers now realize that the Orion nebula is part of the larger Orion molecular cloud complex, which also includes the Flame nebula. This complex in our Milky Way galaxy is actively making new stars. It is filled with dust warmed by the light of the new stars within, making the dust glow in infrared light.

Color in this image represents specific infrared wavelengths. Blue represents light emitted at 3.4-micron wavelengths and cyan (blue-green) represents 4.6 microns, both of which come mainly from hot stars. Relatively cooler objects, such as the dust of the nebulae, appear green and red. Green represents 12-micron light and red represents 22-micron light.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA
Page Last Updated: February 6, 2013
Page Editor: Tony Greicius
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar

______________________________Reference
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/multimedia/pia16684.html

NASA Talk :: LL Ori and the Orion Nebula

Retrieved by Pat Darnell | Feb 11, 2013 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

LL Ori and the Orion Nebula
This esthetic close-up of cosmic clouds and stellar winds features LL Orionis, interacting with the Orion Nebula flow. Adrift in Orion's stellar nursery and still in its formative years, variable star LL Orionis produces a wind more energetic than the wind from our own middle-aged Sun. As the fast stellar wind runs into slow moving gas a shock front is formed, analogous to the bow wave of a boat moving through water or a plane traveling at supersonic speed.

The small, arcing, graceful structure just above and left of center is LL Ori's cosmic bow shock, measuring about half a light-year across. The slower gas is flowing away from the Orion Nebula's hot central star cluster, the Trapezium, located off the upper left corner of the picture. In three dimensions, LL Ori's wrap-around shock front is shaped like a bowl that appears brightest when viewed along the "bottom" edge. The beautiful picture is part of a large mosaic view of the complex stellar nursery in Orion, filled with a myriad of fluid shapes associated with star formation.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team
Page Last Updated: February 4, 2013
Page Editor: Steve Fox
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar


_____________________________Reference
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2442.html

NASA Talk :: LANDSAT

Retrieved by Pat Darnell | Feb 11, 2013 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Fairing Encloses Landsat Satellite
Technicians encapsulate NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) satellite in its payload fairing in the Astrotech processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is NASA's eighth satellite in the Landsat series and continues the Landsat program's critical role in monitoring, understanding and managing the resources needed for human sustainment such as food, water and forests. As our population surpasses seven billion people, the impact of human society on the planet will increase, and Landsat monitors those impacts as well as environmental changes.

Image credit: NASA/VAFB
Page Last Updated: February 7, 2013
Page Editor: Sarah Loff
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar

______________________Reference
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2444.html

NASA Talk :: NEMO Storms

Retrieved By Pat Darnell | Feb 11, 2013 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Powerful Nor'easter Coming Together
A massive winter storm is coming together as two low pressure systems are merging over the U.S. East Coast. A satellite image from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite on Feb. 8 shows a western frontal system approaching the coastal low pressure area.

The satellite image, captured at 9:01 a.m. EST, shows clouds associated with the western frontal system stretching from Canada through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, into the Gulf of Mexico. The comma-shaped low pressure system located over the Atlantic, east of Virginia, is forecast to merge with the front and create a powerful nor'easter. The National Weather Service expects the merged storm to move northeast and drop between two to three feet of snow in parts of New England.

Credit: NASA
Page Last Updated: February 8, 2013
Page Editor: Jim Wilson
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar


______________________________Reference
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2445.html

NASA Talks :: NEMO

Retrieved by Pat Darnell | Feb 11, 2013 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Blizzard Moves Through
This image was taken from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 7:01 a.m. EST. Two low pressure systems came together and formed a giant nor'easter centered right over New England creating blizzards from Massachusetts to New York. the image was created by NASA's GOES Project at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Image credit: NASA/GOES Project
Page Last Updated: February 9, 2013
Page Editor: Brian Dunbar
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar

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http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2446.html

NASA Talk :: "Curiosity Self Portrait"

Retrieved by Pat Darnell  |  Dec 31, 2012  |  Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Curiosity Self-Portrait, Wide View
On the 84th and 85th Martian days of the NASA Mars rover Curiosity's mission on Mars (Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2012), NASA's Curiosity rover used the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to capture dozens of high-resolution images to be combined into self-portrait images of the rover.

The mosaic shows the rover at "Rocknest," the spot in Gale Crater where the mission's first scoop sampling took place. Four scoop scars can be seen in the regolith in front of the rover. A fifth scoop was collected later.

Self-portraits like this one document the state of the rover and allow mission engineers to track changes over time, such as dust accumulation and wheel wear. Due to its location on the end of the robotic arm, only MAHLI (among the rover's 17 cameras) is able to image some parts of the craft, including the port-side wheels.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Page Last Updated: December 27, 2012
Page Editor: Sarah Loff
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar


_________________Reference
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2417.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mp4/716063main_whatsup20130101-320.mp4

NASA Talk :: "Ion Thruster"

Retrieved by Pat Darnell | Dec 31, 2012 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Ion Thruster Sets World Record
While the Dawn spacecraft is visiting the asteroids Vesta and Ceres, NASA Glenn has been developing the next generation of ion thrusters for future missions. NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) Project has developed a 7-kilowatt ion thruster that can provide the capabilities needed in the future.

An ion thruster produces small levels of thrust relative to chemical thrusters, but does so at higher specific impulse (or higher exhaust velocities), which means that an ion thruster has a fuel efficiency of 10-12 times greater than a chemical thruster. The higher the rocket's specific impulse (fuel efficiency), the farther the spacecraft can go with a given amount of fuel. Given that an ion thruster produces small levels of thrust relative to chemical thrusters, it needs to operate in excess of 10,000 hours to slowly accelerate the spacecraft to speeds necessary to reach the asteroid belt or beyond.

The NEXT ion thruster has been operated for over 43,000 hours, which for rocket scientists means that the thruster has processed over 770 kilograms of xenon propellant and can provide 30 million-newton-seconds of total impulse to the spacecraft. This demonstrated performance permits future science spacecraft to travel to varied destinations, such as extended tours of multi-asteroids, comets, and outer planets and their moons.

Image Credit: NASA
Page Last Updated: December 26, 2012
Page Editor: Steve Fox
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar

_________________________________Reference
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2416.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mp4/716063main_whatsup20130101-320.mp4

NASA Talk :: "Chandra"

Retrieved by Pat Darnell | Dec 31, 2012 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Spiral Galaxy NGC 3627
The spiral galaxy NGC 3627 is located about 30 million light years from Earth. This composite image includes X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue), infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope (red), and optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Telescope (yellow). The inset shows the central region, which contains a bright X-ray source that is likely powered by material falling onto a supermassive black hole.

A search using archival data from previous Chandra observations of a sample of 62 nearby galaxies has shown that 37 of the galaxies, including NGC 3627, contain X-ray sources in their centers. Most of these sources are likely powered by central supermassive black holes. The survey, which also used data from the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxy Survey, found that seven of the 37 sources are new supermassive black hole candidates.

Confirming previous Chandra results, this study finds the fraction of galaxies found to be hosting supermassive black holes is much higher than found with optical searches. This shows the ability of X-ray observations to find black holes in galaxies where relatively low-level black hole activity has either been hidden by obscuring material or washed out by the bright optical light of the galaxy.

Credits: NASA/CXC/Ohio State Univ./C.Grier et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI, ESO/WFI; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Page Last Updated: December 28, 2012
Page Editor: Rebecca Goodman
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar


_________________________Reference
http://www.nasa.gov/mp4/716063main_whatsup20130101-320.mp4
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2418.html

NASA Talk :: Moon's Gravity

Retrieved by Pat Darnell | Dec 10, 2012 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

GRAIL's Gravity Map of the Moon
This image shows the variations in the lunar gravity field as measured by NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) during the primary mapping mission from March to May 2012. Very precise microwave measurements between two spacecraft, named Ebb and Flow, were used to map gravity with high precision and high spatial resolution. The field shown resolves blocks on the surface of about 12 miles (20 kilometers) and measurements are three to five orders of magnitude improved over previous data. Red corresponds to mass excesses and blue corresponds to mass deficiencies. The map shows more small-scale detail on the far side of the moon compared to the nearside because the far side has many more small craters.

› See video

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MIT/GSFC
Page Last Updated: December 6, 2012
Page Editor: Tony Greicius
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar

MooPig Re-Run :: from 8/4/11 -- NASA Talk -- Up Close MARS

Retrieved by Pat Darnell  |  August 4, 2011  |  Bryan TX

[LINK]
Rock Layers in Gale Crater
This oblique view of the lower mound in Gale Crater shows layers of rock that preserve a record of environments on Mars. Here, orbiting instruments have detected signatures of both clay minerals and sulfate salts, with more clay minerals apparent in the foreground of this image and fewer in higher layers. This change in mineralogy may reflect a change in the ancient environment in Gale Crater.

Mars scientists have several important hypotheses about how these minerals may reflect changes in the amount of water on the surface of Mars. The Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, will use its full suite of instruments to study these minerals to provide insights into these ancient Martian environments. These rocks are also a prime target in the search for organic molecules since these past environments may have been habitable -- able to support microbial life. Scientists will study how organic molecules, if present, vary with mineralogical variations in the layers to understand how they formed and what influences their preservation.

The smaller hills in this view may provide clues to the modern water cycle on Mars. They contain sulfate salts that have water in them, and as temperatures warm into summer, some of that water may be released to the atmosphere. As temperatures cool, they may absorb water from the atmosphere. The Mars Science Laboratory team will investigate how water is exchanged between these minerals and the atmosphere, helping us understand Mars' modern climate. The hills are particularly useful for this investigation because different parts of the hills are exposed to different amounts of sunlight and thus to different temperatures. Curiosity will be able to compare the water in these contrasting areas as part of its investigations.

This three-dimensional perspective view was created using visible-light imaging by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the High Resolution Stereo Camera on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. Three-dimensional information was derived by stereo analysis of image pairs. The vertical dimension is not exaggerated. Color information is derived from color imaging of portions of the scene by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera.

The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft is being prepared for launch on Nov. 25, 2011. In a prime mission lasting one Martian year -- nearly two Earth years -- after landing, researchers will use the rover's tools to study whether the landing region has had environmental conditions favorable for supporting microbial life and for preserving clues about whether life existed.
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Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Page Last Updated: July 29, 2011
Page Editor: Yvette Smith
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar

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MooPig Re-Run :: from 6/22/11 -- NASA Talk -- Curiosity

Curiosity
Taken during mobility testing on June 3, 2011, this image is of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Preparations continue for shipping the rover to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in June and for its fall 2011 launch.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech  [LINK]
Page Last Updated: June 15, 2011
Page Editor: Yvette Smith
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar

Enterprise on the Hudson, Land it like Sully

Retrieved by Pat Darnell | June 14, 2012 | Bryan TX
In January, 2009, on the other hand, a search for new heroes is embodied in the phrase "Land it like Sully," a reference to the hero of US Airways Flight 1549, Chesley Sullenberger.

Today the Enterprise floats on the Hudson reminding us of yesteryear. Of course, all agencies with the resources for it conduct deep-think consumer/culture research.  [LINK]

[Picture LINK]

Enterprise on the Hudson
Enterprise, the prototype for the space shuttle fleet, arrived at the Intrepid Museum in New York City on Wednesday, June 6, 2012, to the museum's Space Shuttle Pavilion, which will open to the public on July 19. Thousands however, got a sneak peek as they watched the shuttle move up the Hudson River.

In this image, the shuttle is being towed by barge from a port in Jersey City, N.J. to the Intrepid, a retired World War II aircraft carrier that is now used to house aerospace and maritime exhibits.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Page Last Updated: June 6, 2012
Page Editor: Yvette Smith
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar


________________Reference
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2275.html
http://moopigwisdom.blogspot.com/2012/03/on-knowing-what-gives-us-pleasure-by.html
http://moopigwisdom.blogspot.com/2011/06/nasa-talk-endeavour-lands-wednesday.html
http://moopigwisdom.blogspot.com/2010/11/lets-keep-on-keeping-those-passengers.html
http://moopigwisdom.blogspot.com/2010/06/come-on-land-it-like-sully-its-only.html
http://moopigwisdom.blogspot.com/2009/01/urbanity.html

NASA Talk -- PLANET (Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork) Collaboration

[Photo LINK]

The Milky Way's 100 Billion Planets
This artist's illustration gives an impression of how common planets are around the stars in the Milky Way. The planets, their orbits and their host stars are all vastly magnified compared to their real separations. A six-year search that surveyed millions of stars using the microlensing technique concluded that planets around stars are the rule rather than the exception. The average number of planets per star is greater than one. This means that there is likely to be a minimum of 1,500 planets within just 50 light-years of Earth.

The results are based on observations taken over six years by the PLANET (Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork) collaboration, which was founded in 1995. The study concludes that there are far more Earth-sized planets than bloated Jupiter-sized worlds. This is based on calibrating a planetary mass function that shows the number of planets increases for lower mass worlds. A rough estimate from this survey would point to the existence of more than 10 billion terrestrial planets across our galaxy.

The results were published in the Jan. 12, 2012, issue of the British science journal Nature.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Kornmesser (ESO)
Page Last Updated: April 25, 2012
Page Editor: Yvette Smith
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar



______________________________Reference
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2233.html

NASA Talk -- Bon Voyage Discovery

Retrieved by Pat Darnell | April 24, 2012 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Space Shuttle Discovery Readied for Demate
NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with the space shuttle Discovery mated on top rolls into position for demating at Washington Dulles International Airport, Wednesday, April 18, 2012, in Sterling, VA. Discovery, the first orbiter retired from NASA’s shuttle fleet, completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles. NASA will transfer Discovery to the National Air and Space Museum to begin its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and to educate and inspire future generations of explorers.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Page Last Updated: April 19, 2012
Page Editor: Yvette Smith
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar

[Picture LINK]
Space Shuttle Discovery Arrives at Udvar-Hazy
Space shuttles Enterprise, left, and Discovery meet nose-to-nose at the beginning of a transfer ceremony at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Thursday, April 19, 2012, in Chantilly, Va.

image Credit: NASA/Smithsonian Institution/Carolyn Russo
Page Last Updated: April 19, 2012
Page Editor: Yvette Smith
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar

____________________________Reference
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2228.html

NASA Talk -- Stardust

Retrieved by Pat Darnell  |  Apr 15, 2012  | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Chaos in Orion
Baby stars are creating chaos 1,500 light-years away in the cosmic cloud of the Orion Nebula. Four massive stars make up the bright yellow area in the center of this false-color image for NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Green indicates hydrogen and sulfur gas in the nebula, which is a cocoon of gas and dust. Red and orange indicate carbon-rich molecules. Infant stars appear as yellow dots embedded in the nebula.

Image Credit: NASA
Page Last Updated: April 10, 2012
Page Editor: Yvette Smith
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar


__________________Reference
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2218.html

NASA Talk -- Last Week's Solar Storm, March 2012

What's Up with Our Sun?
by Pat Darnell | Mar 11, 2012 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Dayton Daily News : Biggest solar storm in years races toward Earth: "The sun erupted Tuesday evening, and the most noticeable effects should [have] arrived here between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. EST Thursday, according to forecasters at the space weather center. The effects could linger through Friday morning.

The region of the sun that erupted can still send more blasts our way, Kunches said. He said another set of active sunspots is ready to aim at Earth right after this.

"This is a big sun spot group, particularly nasty," NASA solar physicist David Hathaway said. "Things are really twisted up and mixed up. It keeps flaring.""

NASA has released a photo of the most recent coronal mass ejection that happened from March 8th, 2012 at 11:38pm EST to March 9th, 2012 12:53am EST. The photo is provided above as our first picture and is available on NASA.gov media page as well. The image was captured using the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

It is the largest solar storm to hit the earth since 2004. It continues to flare the outer atmosphere creating aurora borealis all through Sunday, today.

On Thursday March 8th, 2012 another solar flare started to erupt sending another round of solar storm March 2012 excitement.

“So how do you know where you can see the Northern Lights? You can actually pinpoint your geomagnetic latitude location using NOAA’s SWPC map that will show you whether you’re in the sweet spot which is as far south as 56.3 degrees. There are numerous Aurora forecasting tools and a few searches should help you to pinpoint other locations.”

The Aurora Borealis is a natural display of light in the sky. It is caused by a collision of charged particles with atoms in the thermosphere. It is often seen in high latitude regions, but the solar storm allowed people to view the Northern Lights lower latitude areas of the world. This event is named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas.

____________________Reference
http://m.daytondailynews.com/dayton/db_/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=rkNZBuGO&full=true#display
http://z6mag.com/featured/solar-storm-in-march-2012-is-continuing-sunday-to-produce-next-aurora-borealis-166314.html
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/311998/20120309/aurora-borealis-northern-lights-area-solar-storm.htm
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News030812-M6.3flare.html

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NASA Talk :: Saturn's Rings

Retrieved by Pat Darnell  |  Jan 17, 2012  |  Bryan TX

[Photo LINK]

Welcome Disruption
The line of Saturn's rings disrupts the Cassini spacecraft's view of the moons Tethys and Titan.

Larger Titan (3,200 miles, or 5,150 kilometers across) is on the left. Tethys (660 miles, or 1,062 kilometers across) is near the center of the image. This view looks toward the Saturn-facing sides of Tethys and Titan. The angle also shows the northern, sunlit side of the rings from less than one degree above the ring plane. The image was taken in visible red light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 7, 2011. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.4 million miles (2.2 million kilometers) from Tethys and 1.9 million miles (3.1 million kilometers) from Titan. Image scale is 8 miles (13 kilometers) per pixel on Tethys and 12 miles (19 kilometers) on Titan.

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 on-board cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Page Last Updated: January 13, 2012
Page Editor: Rebecca Goodman
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar

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NASA Talk :: Ten Solar Masses of Hydrogen

Retrieved by Pat Darnell | Dec 4, 2011 | Bryan TX

[PHOTO LINK]

First Supernova Companion Star Found
In 2004, an international team of astronomers had, for the first time, observed a stellar "survivor" emerge from a double star system involving an exploded supernova.

Supernovae are some of the most significant sources of chemical elements in the universe, and they are at the heart of our understanding of the evolution of galaxies. In this artist's view, the red super-giant supernova progenitor star (left) is exploding after having transferred about 10 solar masses of hydrogen gas to the blue companion star (right).

Image Credit: NASA
Page Last Updated: December 2, 2011
Page Editor: Rebecca Goodman
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar

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