Tag: NASA

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2011 August 22

TrES-2b: Dark Planet
Illustration Credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA), TrES, Kepler,

NASAExplanation: Why is this planet so dark? Planet TrES-2b reflects back less than one percent of the light it receives, making it darker than any known planet or moon, darker even than coal. Jupiter-sized TrES-2b orbits extremely close to a sun-like star 750 light years away, and was discovered producing slight eclipses in 2006 using the modest 10-cm telescopes of the Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey (TrES). The alien world’s strange darkness, however, was only uncovered recently by observations indicating its slight reflective glow by the Sun-orbiting Kepler satellite. An artist’s drawing of planet is shown above, complete with unsubstantiated speculation on possible moons. Reasons for TrES-2b’s darkness remain unknown and are an active topic of research.

Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 17th

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2011 August 17

Perseid Below
Credit: Ron Garan, ISS Expedition 28 Crew, NASA

Explanation: Denizens of planet Earth watched this year’s Perseid meteor shower by looking up into the moonlit night sky. But this remarkable view captured by astronaut Ron Garan looks down on a Perseid meteor. From Garan’s perspective onboard the International Space Station orbiting at an altitude of about 380 kilometers, the Perseid meteors streak below, swept up dust left from comet Swift-Tuttle heated to incandescence. The glowing comet dust grains are traveling at about 60 kilometers per second through the denser atmosphere around 100 kilometers above Earth’s surface. In this case, the foreshortened meteor flash is right of frame center, below the curving limb of the Earth and a layer of greenish airglow. Out of the frame, the Sun is on the horizon beyond one of the station’s solar panel arrays at the upper right. Seen above the meteor near the horizon is bright star Arcturus and a star field that includes the constellations Bootes and Corona Borealis. The image was recorded on August 13 while the space station orbited above an area of China approximately 400 kilometers to the northwest of Beijing.

Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 15th

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

Rover Arrives at Endeavour Crater on Mars
Image Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Cornell, JPL, NASAExplanation: What can the present-day terrain in and around large Endeavour crater tell us about ancient Mars? Starting three years ago, NASA sent a coffee-table sized robot named Opportunity on a mission rolling across the red planet’s Meridiani Planum to find out. Last week, it finally arrived. Expansive Endeavour crater stretches 22 kilometers from rim to rim, making it the largest crater ever visited by a Mars Exploration Rover (MER). It is hypothesized that the impact that created the crater exposed ancient rock that possibly formed under wet conditions, and if so, this rock may yield unique clues to the watery past of Mars. Pictured above, the west rim of Endeavour looms just ahead of the Opportunity rover. Opportunity may well spend the rest of its operational life exploring Endeavour, taking pictures, spinning its wheels, and boring into intriguing rocks.

Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 8th

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2011 August 8

Seasonal Dark Streaks on Mars

Image Credit: HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona), NASA

Explanation: What is causing these dark streaks on Mars? A leading hypothesis is flowing — but quickly evaporating — water. The streaks, visible in dark brown near the image center, appear in the Martian spring and summer but fade in the winter months, only to reappear again the next summer. These are not the first markings on Mars that have been interpreted as showing the effects of running water, but they are the first to add the clue of a seasonal dependence. The above picture, taken in May, digitally combines several images from the the HiRISE instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The image is color-enhanced and depicts a slope inside Newton crater in a mid-southern region of Mars. The streaks bolster evidence that water exists just below the Martian surface in several locations, and therefore fuels speculation that Mars might harbor some sort of water-dependent life. Future observations with robotic spacecraft orbiting Mars, such as MRO, Mars Express, and Mars Odyssey will continue to monitor the situation and possibly confirm — or refute — the exciting flowing water hypothesis.

In The News……

In the news

Protests in Tahrir Square

  • The World Netball Championships conclude with Australia defeating New Zealand in the final.
  • During the Bersih 2.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, police arrest more than 1,600 people.
  • Hundreds of thousands of protesters (pictured in Cairo) gather in cities across Egypt, demanding swift fulfillment of the goals of this year’s revolution.
  • Following a referendum, South Sudan secedes from Sudan, becoming a sovereign state.
  • Space Shuttle Atlantis launches from Kennedy Space Center on flight STS-135, the final mission of the Space Shuttle program.
  • The closure of News of the World is announced amid allegations that the British newspaper engaged in phone hacking.

In the news

In the news

Artist's rendering of a Mars Exploration Rover

  • Ratko Mladić, a former Bosnian Serb Army commander, is arrested in Serbia pursuant to 1995 war crimes charges.
  • The Spirit rover (artist’s rendering pictured) mission on Mars is formally concluded by NASA after six years of planetary exploration.
  • Iceland’s Grímsvötn volcano erupts, causing flight cancellations in northern Europe.
  • The Democratic Rally, led by Nicos Anastasiades, win a plurality after an election in Cyprus.
  • PNS Mehran, a Pakistani naval base in Karachi, is attacked by militants.
  • At least 124 people are killed by a tornado, among the deadliest in U.S. history, in Joplin, Missouri.
  • Protests against the government continue in cities across Spain, despite a ban before elections.

Your Animal Spirit for April 18th

Your Animal Spirit for Today
April 18, 2011 
 
your daily animal spirit for today

The Crane

Cranes have been revered for centuries in many Oriental cultures, symbolizing good fortune and long life. If Crane has flown into your reading today, he brings a message of good tidings. Be prepared for something special today—emotional balance, good health, a spiritual “ah-ha!”, or simply pure joy.