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Pioneer 10: The First 7 Bill …
Title Pioneer 10: The First 7 Billion Miles
Explanation "Q:" What was made by humans and is 7.3 billion miles away? "A:" Pioneer 10 -- and 1997 was the 25th anniversary [ http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/pioneer10/ ] of its launch. Almost 11 light-hours distant, Pioneer 10 is presently [ http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/ PNStat.html ] about twice as far from the Sun as Pluto, and bound for interstellar space [ http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/ path.html ] at 28,000 miles per hour. The distinction of being the first human artifact to venture beyond the known planets [ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/cosmic/solar_system.html ] of the Solar System is just one in a long list of firsts for this spacefaring ambassador [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960630.html ], including, the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt and explore the outer Solar System [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961214.html ], the first spacecraft to visit Jupiter [ http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/galileo_probe/index.html ], and the first to use a planet's gravity to change [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf4-1.htm#gravity ] its course and to reach solar-system-escape velocity. Pioneer 10's mission [ http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/pioneer10/mission/ index.html ] is nearing an end. Now exploring the distant reaches of the heliosphere [ http://earth.agu.org/revgeophys/neugeb01/neugeb01.html ] it will soon run out of sufficient electrical power to operate science instruments. However, the 570 lb. spacecraft [ ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1997/97-031.txt ] will continue to coast and in 300,000 years or so it will pass within about 3 light years of nearby star [ http://cassfos02.ucsd.edu/public/nearest.html ] Ross 248. Ross 248 is a faint red dwarf just over 10 light years distant in the constellation Taurus. (Note: In 1998 Voyager 1 [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager.html ], launched 5 years later but traveling faster than Pioneer 10, became humanity's most distant spacecraft.)
Pioneer 10: The First 6 Bill …
Title Pioneer 10: The First 6 Billion Miles
Explanation "Q:" What was made by humans and is 6.5 billion miles away? "A:" Pioneer 10 - and last year was the 25th anniversary of its launch [ http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/pioneer10/ ]. More than 9.5 light-hours distant, Pioneer 10 is presently [ http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/PNStat.html ] about twice as far from the Sun as Pluto [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970204.html ], bound for interstellar space at 28,000 miles per hour. The distinction of being the first human artifact to venture beyond the Solar System [ http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/path.html ] is just one in a long list of firsts for this spacefaring ambassador [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960630.html ], including, the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt and explore the outer Solar System [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961214.html ], the first spacecraft to visit Jupiter [ http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/galileo_probe/index.html ], the first to use a planet's gravity to change its course and to reach solar-system-escape velocity, and the first spacecraft to pass beyond the known planets. Pioneer 10's mission is nearing an end [ http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/pioneer10/mission/index.html ] - now exploring the distant reaches of the heliosphere [ http://earth.agu.org/revgeophys/neugeb01/neugeb01.html ] it will soon run out of sufficient electrical power to operate science instruments. However, the 570 lb. spacecraft will continue to coast [ ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1997/97-031.txt ] and in 30,000 years or so it will pass within about 3 light years of a nearby star [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961019.html ] known as Ross 248. Ross 248 is a faint red dwarf just over 10 light years distant in the constellation Taurus. (Note: This year Voyager 1 [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager.html ], launched 21 years ago but traveling faster than Pioneer 10, became humanity's most distant spacecraft.)
Pioneer F Plaque Location
Title Pioneer F Plaque Location
Full Description The Pioneer F spacecraft, destined to be the first man made object to escape from the solar system into interstellar space, carries this pictorial plaque. It is designed to show scientifically educated inhabitants of some other star system, who might intercept it millions of years from now, when Pioneer was launched, from where, and by what kind of beings. (Hopefully, any aliens reading the plaque will not use this knowledge to immediately invade Earth.) The design is etched into a 6 inch by 9 inch gold-anodized aluminum plate, attached to the spacecraft's attenna support struts in a position to help shield it from erosion by interstellar dust. The radiating lines at left represents the positions of 14 pulsars, a cosmic source of radio energy, arranged to indicate our sun as the home star of our civilization. The "1-" symbols at the ends of the lines are binary numbers that represent the frequencies of these pulsars at the time of launch of Pioneer F relative of that to the hydrogen atom shown at the upper left with a "1" unity symbol. The hydrogen atom is thus used as a "universal clock," and the regular decrease in the frequencies of the pulsars will enable another civilization to determine the time that has elapsed since Pioneer F was launched. The hydrogen is also used as a "universal yardstick" for sizing the human figures and outline of the spacecraft shown on the right. The hydrogen wavelength, about 8 inches, multiplied by the binary number representing "8" shown next to the woman gives her height, 64 inches. The figures represent the type of creature that created Pioneer. The man's hand is raised in a gesture of good will. Across the bottom are the planets, ranging outward from the Sun, with the spacecraft trajectory arching away from Earth, passing Mars, and swinging by Jupiter.
Date 02/25/1972
NASA Center Headquarters
Pioneer F Plaque Symbology
Title Pioneer F Plaque Symbology
Full Description The Pioneer F spacecraft, destined to be the first man made object to escape from the solar system into interstellar space, carries this pictorial plaque. It is designed to show scientifically educated inhabitants of some other star system, who might intercept it millions of years from now, when Pioneer was launched, from where, and by what kind of beings. (With the hope that they would not invade Earth.) The design is etched into a 6 inch by 9 inch gold-anodized aluminum plate, attached to the spacecraft's attenna support struts in a position to help shield it from erosion by interstellar dust. The radiating lines at left represents the positions of 14 pulsars, a cosmic source of radio energy, arranged to indicate our sun as the home star of our civilization. The "1-" symbols at the ends of the lines are binary numbers that represent the frequencies of these pulsars at the time of launch of Pioneer F relative of that to the hydrogen atom shown at the upper left with a "1" unity symbol. The hydrogen atom is thus used as a "universal clock," and the regular decrease in the frequencies of the pulsars will enable another civilization to determine the time that has elapsed since Pioneer F was launched. The hydrogen is also used as a "universal yardstick" for sizing the human figures and outline of the spacecraft shown on the right. The hydrogen wavelength, about 8 inches, multiplied by the binary number representing "8" shown next to the woman gives her height, 64 inches. The figures represent the type of creature that created Pioneer. The man's hand is raised in a gesture of good will. Across the bottom are the planets, ranging outward from the Sun, with the spacecraft trajectory arching away from Earth, passing Mars, and swinging by Jupiter.
Date 02/25/1972
NASA Center Headquarters
Launch of Juno II/Pioneer IV
Name of Image Launch of Juno II/Pioneer IV
Date of Image 1959-03-03
Full Description The launch of Juno II (AM-14), carrying the lunar and planetary exploration satellite in orbit, Pioneer IV, on March 3, 1959. the Pioneer IV probe was the first U.S. satellite to orbit the Sun.
Pioneer IV
Name of Image Pioneer IV
Date of Image 1959-02-16
Full Description Installing Pioneer IV, payload for AM-14 (Juno II) onto the fourth stage on the cluster before a spin test, February 16, 1959. The Pioneer IV, lunar and planetary exploration satellite, was the first U.S. satellite to orbit the Sun.
An Atlas Centaur Rocket Laun …
Title An Atlas Centaur Rocket Launches
Explanation Atlas Centaur [ http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/Other_Groups/PAO/html/atlas2as.htm ] rockets have launched over 75 successful unmanned missions. These missions included the Surveyor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951008.html ] series - the first vehicles to make soft landings on the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950903.html ], Pioneer [ http://pyroeis.arc.nasa.gov/pioneer/PNhome.html ] 10 and 11 - the first missions to fly by Jupiter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951206.html ] and Saturn [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950705.html ] and the first man-made objects able to leave our Solar System [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950819.html ], the Viking missions [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950721.html ] which landed on Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950716.html ], several satellites in the High Energy Astrophysics Observatory [ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] (HEAO) series, Pioneer Venus [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/pioneer_venus.html ] which circled and mapped the surface of Venus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950822.html ], and numerous Intelsat [ http://www.intelsat.int:8080/info/html/is5.html ] satellites. Of recent scientific interest was the Atlas [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/elv/ATLAS_CENTAUR/atlcent.htm ] launched SOHO [ http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/index-text.html ] mission which will continually observe the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950813.html ]. Atlas rockets are manufactured by Lockheed Martin [ http://www.mmc.com/ ] Co.
Testing Pioneer F Spacecraft
Title Testing Pioneer F Spacecraft
Full Description Technicians prepare Pioneer F spacecraft for testing in the Space Simulation Chamber at TRW Systems, Redondo Beach, California. The chamber subjects the spacecraft to the heat, cold, vacuum and simulated radiation that it encounters in space. Pioneer F is the first spacecraft designed to travel into the outer solar system and operate effectively there, for possibly as long as seven years and as far from the sun as 1.5 billion miles. Its primary objective will be to take the first close-up look at the planet Jupiter, its moons and environment.
Date 01/25/1972
NASA Center Headquarters
Dr. von Braun at a Parade Ce …
Name of Image Dr. von Braun at a Parade Celebrating the Launch of the Pioneer IV
Date of Image 1959-03-04
Full Description Dr. Wernher von Braun, Director of the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency's (ABMA) Development Operations Division, rides with his two daughters, Margrit and Iris, in a parade in downtown Huntsville, Alabama, March 4, 1959. Although the official occasion had been plarned a "Moon Day" weeks before, it was the successful launch of the sun probe Pioneer IV two days previously that increased the celebratory atmosphere.
A-33228
Artist: T Howard Interplanet …
9/10/64
Description Artist: T Howard Interplanetary Pioneer 6 Spacecraft launched in 1965 to study the sun.
Date 9/10/64
Perspective View of Ishtar T …
PIA00093
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Perspective View of Ishtar Terra
Original Caption Released with Image This perspective view of Ishtar Terra was derived from data obtained by the Pioneer Venus spacecraft's altimetry radar instrument. Ishtar viewed from the west (bottom of image) is centered at about 65 degrees north latitude and 0 degrees longitude. Ishtar (approximately equal in size to Australia) is a large plateau standing 3.3 km above the surrounding lowlands, bounded by relatively steep slopes. Rising above this plateau are three massifs: Akna Montes and Freyja Montes along the western and northwestern edge of Lakshmi Planum, and Maxwell Montes along its eastern edge. The eastern part of Ishtar, east of Maxwell, is a complex hilly terrain ~1 km lower than Lakshmi Planum that lacks the steep well-defined boundary slopes that characterize the plateau. Maxwell Montes, highest point on the planet is elevated more than 10 km (32,000 ft) above the surrounding lowlands. Color-coded altimetry shows elevations in .5 and 1 km intervals. Cool colors mark low elevations and warm colors mark high elevations
Venus - Magellan Data Superi …
PIA00464
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Venus - Magellan Data Superimposed on Pioneer Venus Data - Devana Chasma and Phoebe Regio
Original Caption Released with Image This image covers part of the 150 kilometer (90 mile) wide, 1 to 1.5 kilometer (0.6 to 0.9 mile) deep valley, Devana Chasma. The image is a composite of the first two orbits recorded by the Magellan spacecraft in August 1990 superimposed on Pioneer Venus topography. This image is located at the intersection of Devana Chasma and the Phoebe Regio upland. It covers a region approximately 525 by 525 kilometers (315 by 315 miles), centered 288 degrees east longitude on the equator. Devana Chasma consists of radar bright lineaments, interpreted to be fault scarps, oriented in a north-northeast direction. This part of the planet is thought to be an area where the crust is being stretched and pulled apart producing a rift valley, similar to the East African rift.
AC83-0351
Art by Don Davis Pioneer 10 …
5/17/83
Description Art by Don Davis Pioneer 10 looking back at the Sun from Neptune's orbit as it becomes the first spacecraft to leave the Solar system
Date 5/17/83
Early Voyager 1 Images of Ju …
PIA00454
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Early Voyager 1 Images of Jupiter
Original Caption Released with Image These Jupiter photographs are part of a set taken by Voyager 1 on December 10 and 11, 1978 from a distance of 83 million km (52 million miles) or more than half the distance from the Earth to the sun. At this range, Voyager 1 is able to record more detail on the giant planet than the very best ground-based telescopes. The highest resolution ever obtained on the Jovian disk was recorded by Pioneer 11 four years ago. Voyager, however, has longer focal-length optics than Pioneer, and while nearly three months from encounter (~ March 1979) was able to achieve higher resolution than that obtained by Pioneer only 24 hours from its encounter on 3 December 1974. Jupiter's colorful and turbulent atmosphere is evident in these photographs. The entire visible surface of the planet is made up of multiple layers of clouds, composed primarily of ammonia ice crystals colored by small amounts of materials of unknown composition. The Great Red Spot, seen to the lower left of 2 and lower right of 3, is now recovering from a period of relative inconspicuousness. An atmospheric system larger than the Earth and more than 100 years old, the Great Red Spot remains a mystery and a challenge to Voyager instruments. A bright convective cloud (center of and right of center in 4) displays a plume which has been swept westward (to the left) by local currents in the planet's equatorial wind system. Below and to the left and right of the Great Red Spot are a pair of white oval clouds, a third can be seen in 1. All three were formed almost 40 years ago and are the second oldest class of discrete features identified in the Jovian atmosphere. Each of the pictures was produced from blue, green, and orange originals in JPL's Image Processing Laboratory.
A Solar System Portrait
Title A Solar System Portrait
Explanation As the Voyager 1 spacecraft [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/vgrfaqs.html ] headed out of our Solar System [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980517.html ], it looked back and took a parting family portrait [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-solarsystem.html ] of the Sun [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/sol.html ] and planets. From beyond Pluto [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990213.html ], our Solar System looks like a bright star surrounded by faint dots. In the above picture [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA00451 ], the Sun is so bright it is blocked out for contrast. The innermost dots visible, labeled E and V for Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990131.html ] and Venus [ http://www.nasm.edu/ceps/RPIF/VENUS/rpifvenus.html ], are particularly hard to discern. Gas giants Jupiter [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/Jovian.html ] (J) and Saturn [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/saturn.html ] (S) are much more noticeable. The outermost planets visible are Uranus [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/solar/eng/uranus.htm ] (U) and Neptune [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980221.html ] (N). Each planet is shown labeled and digitally enhanced in an inset image. Voyager 1 is only one of four human-made objects to leave our Solar System, the other three being Voyager 2, and Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11.
Venus - Computer Simulated G …
PIA00104
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Venus - Computer Simulated Global View Centered at 180 Degrees East Longitude
Original Caption Released with Image This global view of the surface of Venus is centered at 180 degrees east longitude. Magellan synthetic aperture radar mosaics from the first cycle of Magellan mapping are mapped onto a computer-simulated globe to create this image. Data gaps are filled with Pioneer Venus Orbiter data, or a constant mid-range value. Simulated color is used to enhance small-scale structure. The simulated hues are based on color images recorded by the Soviet Venera 13 and 14 spacecraft. The image was produced by the Solar System Visualization project and the Magellan science team at the JPL Multimission Image Processing Laboratory and is a single frame from a video released at the October 29, 1991, JPL news conference.
Venus - Lineated Plains in L …
PIA00085
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Venus - Lineated Plains in Lakshmi Region
Original Caption Released with Image This mosaic shows an area of the Lakshmi region that is located 30 degrees north latitude and 333.3 degrees east longitude. (Longitude on Venus is measured from 0 degrees to 360 degrees east). The area shown measures about 37 kilometers (23 miles) wide and 80 kilometers (50 miles) long. Based on data from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter and the ground-based Arecibo Radar Observatory, it is known that this region is located on the low rise that separates Sedna Planitia and Guinevere Planitia, just to the west of Eistla Regio. Two sets of parallel lineations are seen intersecting almost at right angles. The fainter lineations are spaced at regular intervals of about one kilometer (0.6 mile) and extend beyond the boundary of the image. The width of the faint lineations is at the limit of resolution of the best Magellan images. The brighter, more dominant lineations are less regular and, in places, appear to begin and end where they intersect the fainter lineations. It is not clear whether the two sets of lineations are faults or fractures, but in other Magellan images, these bright lineations are associated with pit craters and volcanic features. This type of terrain has not been seen on Venus nor on other planets. North is at the top of the image.
Venus - Computer Simulated G …
PIA00257
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Venus - Computer Simulated Global View Centered at 0 Degrees East Longitude
Original Caption Released with Image This global view of the surface of Venus is centered at 0 degrees east longitude. Magellan synthetic aperture radar mosaics from the first cycle of Magellan mapping are mapped onto a computer-simulated globe to create this image. Data gaps are filled with Pioneer Venus Orbiter data, or a constant mid-range value. Simulated color is used to enhance small-scale structure. The simulated hues are based on color images recorded by the Soviet Venera 13 and 14 spacecraft. The image was produced by the Solar System Visualization project and the Magellan Science team at the JPL Multimission Image Processing Laboratory, and is a single frame from a video released at the October 29, 1991, JPL news conference.
Venus - Computer Simulated G …
PIA00252
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Venus - Computer Simulated Global View of Northern Hemisphere
Original Caption Released with Image The northern hemisphere is displayed in this global view of the surface of Venus. The north pole is at the center of the image, with 0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees east longitudes at the 6, 3, 12, 9 o'clock positions, respectively, of an imaginary clock face. Magellan synthetic aperture radar mosaics from the first cycle of Magellan mapping are mapped onto a computer-simulated globe to create this image. Data gaps are filled with Pioneer Venus Orbiter data, or a constant mid-range value. Simulated color is used to enhance small-scale structure. The simulated hues are based on color images recorded by the Soviet Venera 13 and 14 spacecraft. The image was produced at the JPL Multimission Image Processing Laboratory and is a single frame from a video released at the October 29, 1991, JPL news conference.
Venus - Simple Cylindrical M …
PIA00256
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Venus - Simple Cylindrical Map of Surface (Eastern Half)
Original Caption Released with Image The eastern half of the planet is displayed in this simple cylindrical map of the surface of Venus. The left edge of the image is at 52.5 degrees east longitude, the right edge at 240 degrees east longitude. The top and bottom of the image are at 90 degrees north latitude and 90 degrees south latitude, respectively. Magellan synthetic aperture radar mosaics from the first cycle of Magellan mapping are mapped onto a rectangular latitude-longitude grid to create this image. Data gaps are filled with Pioneer Venus Orbiter altimetric data, or a constant mid-range value. Simulated color is used to enhance small-scale structure. The simulated hues are based on color images recorded by the Soviet Venera 13 and 14 spacecraft. The image was produced by the Solar System Visualization project and the Magellan science team at the JPL Multimission Image Processing Laboratory.
Venus Hemispherical Globes
PIA03151
Sol (our sun)
Arecibo Radar Data, Imaging …
Title Venus Hemispherical Globes
Original Caption Released with Image The images used for the base of this globe show the northern and southern hemispheres of Venus as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98% of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters, the effective resolution of these images is about 3 kilometers. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from Soviet Venera 15 and 16 spacecraft in the northern quarter of the planet, with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. The images are presented in a projection that portrays the entire surface of Venus in a manner suitable for the production of a globe. A specialized program was used to create the "flower petal" appearance of the images, the area of each petal from 0 to 75 degrees latitude is in the Transverse Mercator projection, and the area from 75 to 90 degrees latitude is in the Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection. The projections for adjacent petals overlap by 2 degrees of longitude, so that some features are shown twice. (See PIA03167 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03167 ] for the image with place names.)
Venus Hemispherical Globes ( …
PIA03167
Sol (our sun)
Arecibo Radar Data, Imaging …
Title Venus Hemispherical Globes (with place names)
Original Caption Released with Image The images used for the base of this globe show the northern and southern hemispheres of Venus as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98% of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters, the effective resolution of these images is about 3 kilometers. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from Soviet Venera 15 and 16 spacecraft in the northern quarter of the planet, with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. The images are presented in a projection that portrays the entire surface of Venus in a manner suitable for the production of a globe. A specialized program was used to create the "flower petal" appearance of the images, the area of each petal from 0 to 75 degrees latitude is in the Transverse Mercator projection, and the area from 75 to 90 degrees latitude is in the Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection. The projections for adjacent petals overlap by 2 degrees of longitude, so that some features are shown twice. Names are approved by the International Astronomical Union. (See PIA03151 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03151 ] for the image without place names.)
Hubble Provides the First Im …
Title Hubble Provides the First Images of Saturn's Aurorae
Hubble Monitors Weather on N …
Title Hubble Monitors Weather on Neighboring Planets
Hemispheric View of Venus Ce …
PIA00157
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Hemispheric View of Venus Centered at 0 Degrees East Longitude
Original Caption Released with Image The hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, is centered at 0 degrees east longitude. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98% of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters, the effective resolution of this image is about 3 km. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degree latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. An orthographic projection was used, simulating a distant view of one hemisphere of the planet. The Magellan mission was managed for NASA by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Data processed by JPL, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ.
Hemispheric View of Venus Ce …
PIA00159
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Hemispheric View of Venus Centered at 180 Degrees East Longitude
Original Caption Released with Image The hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, is centered at 180 degrees east longitude. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98% of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters, the effective resolution of this image is about 3 km. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degree latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. An orthographic projection was used, simulating a distant view of one hemisphere of the planet. The Magellan mission was managed for NASA by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Data processed by JPL, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ.
Hemispheric View of Venus Ce …
PIA00158
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Hemispheric View of Venus Centered at 90 Degrees East Longitude
Original Caption Released with Image The hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, is centered at 90 degrees east longitude. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98% of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters, the effective resolution of this image is about 3 km. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degree latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. An orthographic projection was used, simulating a distant view of one hemisphere of the planet. The Magellan mission was managed for NASA by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Data processed by JPL, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ.
Hemispheric View of Venus Ce …
PIA00160
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Hemispheric View of Venus Centered at 270 Degrees East Longitude
Original Caption Released with Image The hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, is centered at 270 degrees east longitude. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98% of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters, the effective resolution of this image is about 3 km. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degree latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. An orthographic projection was used, simulating a distant view of one hemisphere of the planet. The Magellan mission was managed for NASA by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Data processed by JPL, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ.
Hemispheric View of Venus Ce …
PIA00007
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Hemispheric View of Venus Centered at the North Pole
Original Caption Released with Image The hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, is centered on the North Pole. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98% of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters, the effective resolution of this image is about 3 km. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degree latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. An orthographic projection was used, simulating a distant view of one hemisphere of the planet. The Magellan mission was managed for NASA by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Data processed by JPL, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ.
Hemispheric View of Venus Ce …
PIA00008
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Hemispheric View of Venus Centered at the South Pole
Original Caption Released with Image The hemispheric view of Venus, as revealed by more than a decade of radar investigations culminating in the 1990-1994 Magellan mission, is centered on the South Pole. The Magellan spacecraft imaged more than 98% of Venus at a resolution of about 100 meters, the effective resolution of this image is about 3 km. A mosaic of the Magellan images (most with illumination from the west) forms the image base. Gaps in the Magellan coverage were filled with images from the Earth-based Arecibo radar in a region centered roughly on 0 degree latitude and longitude, and with a neutral tone elsewhere (primarily near the south pole). The composite image was processed to improve contrast and to emphasize small features, and was color-coded to represent elevation. Gaps in the elevation data from the Magellan radar altimeter were filled with altimetry from the Venera spacecraft and the U.S. Pioneer Venus missions. An orthographic projection was used, simulating a distant view of one hemisphere of the planet. The Magellan mission was managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. Data processed by JPL, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ.
Venus
PIA01544
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Venus
Original Caption Released with Image VENUS CLOUD TOPS VIEWED BY HUBBLE. This is a NASA Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet-light image of the planet Venus, taken on January 24 1995, when Venus was at a distance of 70.6 million miles (113.6 million kilometers) from Earth. Venus is covered with clouds made of sulfuric acid, rather than the water-vapor clouds found on Earth. These clouds permanently shroud Venus' volcanic surface, which has been radar mapped by spacecraft and from Earth-based telescope. At ultraviolet wavelengths cloud patterns become distinctive. In particular, a horizontal "Y"-shaped cloud feature is visible near the equator. Similar features were seen from Mariner 10, Pioneer Venus, and Galileo spacecrafts. This global feature might indicate atmospheric waves, analogous to high and low pressure cells on Earth. Bright clouds toward Venus' poles appear to follow latitude lines. The polar regions are bright, possibly showing a haze of small particles overlying the main clouds. The dark regions show the location of enhanced sulfur dioxide near the cloud tops. From previous missions, astronomers know that such features travel east to west along with the Venus' prevailing winds, to make a complete circuit around the planet in four days. Because Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth, the planet appears to go through phases, like the Moon. When Venus swings close to Earth the planet's disk appears to grow in size, but changes from a full disk to a crescent. The image was taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera-2, in PC mode. False color has been used enhance cloud features.
The Sun's Heliosphere & Heli …
Title The Sun's Heliosphere & Heliopause
Explanation Where does the Sun's influence end? Nobody is sure. Out past the orbits of Neptune [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/neptune.html ] and Pluto [ http://www.nineplanets.org/pluto.html ] extends a region named the heliosphere [ http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/heliosph.htm ] where the Sun's magnetic field [ http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/the_key.htm ] and particles from the Solar Wind [ http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/sun_wind.htm ] continue to dominate. The surface where the Solar Wind [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000318.html ] drops below sound speed [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010221.html ] is called the termination shock [ http://web.mit.edu/space/www/voyager/voyager_science/helio.review/axford.suess.html#Distance ] and is depicted as the inner oval in the above computer-generated illustration [ http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~soljourn/ ]. It is thought that this surface occurs as close as 75-90 AU [ http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/glossary/au.html ] -- so close that a Pioneer [ http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/PNhome.html ] or Voyager [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] spacecraft may soon glide through [ http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/ace/recentpub/JGR_96/pap_preprint.html ] it as they exit the Solar System [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020214.html ] at about 3 AU/year. The actual contact sheet between the Sun's ions [ http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wplasma.html ] and the Galaxy's ions is called the heliopause [ http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/plasma-wave/voyager/heliopr.html ] and is thought to occur at about 110 AU. It is depicted above as the middle surface. The Sun's heliopause [ http://web.mit.edu/space/www/voyager/voyager_science/helio.review/axford.suess.html ] moves through the local interstellar medium [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020210.html ] much as a boat moves on water, pushing a bow shock [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001017.html ] out in front, thought to occur near 230 AU.
Venus - Computer Simulated G …
PIA00271
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Venus - Computer Simulated Global View of the Northern Hemisphere
Original Caption Released with Image The northern hemisphere is displayed in this global view of the surface of Venus. The north pole is at the center of the image, with 0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees east longitudes at the 6, 3, 12, and 9 o'clock positions, respectively, of an imaginary clock face. Magellan synthetic aperture radar mosaics from the three eight-month cycles of Magellan radar mapping are mapped onto a computer-simulated globe to create this image. Magellan obtained coverage of 98 percent of the surface of Venus. Remaining gaps are filled with data from previous missions, (the Soviet Venera 15 and 16 radar and Pioneer Venus Orbiter altimetry) and data from Earth-based radar observations from the Arecibo radio telescope. Simulated color is used to enhance small-scale structures. The simulated hues are based on color images recorded by the Venera 13 and 14 landing craft. Maxwell Montes, the planet's highest mountain at 11 kilometers (6.6 miles) above the average elevation, is the bright feature in the lower center of the image. Other terrain types visible in this image include tessera, ridge belts, lava flows, impact craters and coronae. The image was produced by the Solar System Visualization Project and the Magellan Science team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Multimission Image Processing Laboratory. The Magellan mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Hubble Provides Clear Images …
Title Hubble Provides Clear Images of Saturn's Aurora
General Information What is an American Astronomical Society Meeting release? A major news announcement issued at an American Astronomical Society meeting, the premier astronomy conference. Here is the picture of Saturn taken by the Hubble telescope in ultraviolet light. The glowing, swirling material at Saturn's poles is its auroral "curtains," rising more than a thousand miles above the cloud tops. Saturn's auroral displays are caused by an energetic wind from the Sun that sweeps over the planet, much like Earth's aurora, which is occasionally seen in the nighttime sky. The process that triggers these auroras is similar to the phenomenon that causes fluorescent lamps to glow.
The Voyagers' Message in a B …
Title The Voyagers' Message in a Bottle
Explanation Launched thirty years ago [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html ], NASA's Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft are now respectively 15 and 12.5 billion kilometers from the Sun, equivalent to about 14 and 11.5 light-hours distant. Still functioning [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/ weekly-reports/index.htm ], the Voyagers are being tracked and commanded through the Deep Space Network [ http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn/ ]. Having traveled beyond the outer planets, they are only the third and fourth spacecraft from planet Earth to escape toward [ http://heavens-above.com/solar-escape.asp?/ ] interstellar space, following in the footsteps of Pioneer 10 and 11 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/ pioneer10-11.html ]. A 12-inch gold plated copper disk (a phonograph [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph_record ] record) containing recorded sounds and images representing human cultures and life on Earth, is affixed to each Voyager - a message in a bottle [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html ] cast into the cosmic sea. The recorded material was selected by a committee chaired by astronomer Carl Sagan [ http://www.carlsagan.com/ ]. Simple diagrams [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/images/ VgrCover.jpg ] on the cover symbolically represent the spacecraft's origin and give instructions for playing the disk. The exotic construction of the disks should provide them with a long lifetime as they coast through interstellar space [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/ interstellar.html ].
Venus - Simple Cylindrical M …
PIA00255
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Venus - Simple Cylindrical Map of Surface (Western Half)
Original Caption Released with Image The western half of Venus is displayed in this simple cylindrical map of the planet's surface. The left edge of the image is at 240 degrees east longitude, the right edge at 67.5 degrees east longitude. The top and bottom of the image are at 90 degrees north latitude and 90 degrees south latitude, respectively. Magellan synthetic aperture radar mosaics from the first cycle of Magellan mapping are mapped onto a rectangular latitude-longitude grid to create this image. Data gaps are filled with Pioneer-Venus Orbiter altimetric data, or a constant mid-range value. Simulated color is used to enhance small-scale structure. The simulated hues are based on color images recorded by the Soviet Venera 13 and 14 spacecraft. The image was produced by the Solar System Visualization project and the Magellan science team at the JPL Multimission Image Processing Laboratory.
Venus - Computer Simulated G …
PIA00270
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Venus - Computer Simulated Global View Centered at 90 Degrees East Longitude
Original Caption Released with Image This global view of the surface of Venus is centered at 90 degrees east longitude. Magellan synthetic aperture radar mosaics from the three eight-month cycles of Magellan radar mapping are mapped onto a computer-simulated globe to create this image. Magellan obtained coverage of 98 percent of the surface of Venus. Remaining gaps are filled with data from previous Venus missions -- the Venera 15 and 16 radar and Pioneer-Venus Orbiter altimetry -- and data from Earth-based radar observations from the Arecibo radio telescope. Simulated color is used to enhance small-scale structures. The simulated hues are based on color images obtained by the Venera 13 and 14 landing craft. The bright feature near the center of the image is Ovda Regio, a mountainous region in the western portion of the great Aphrodite equatorial highland. The dark areas scattered across the Venusian plains consist of extremely smooth deposits associated with large meteorite impacts. The image was produced by the Solar System Visualization Project and the Magellan Science team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Multimission Image Processing Laboratory. The Magellan mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Venus - Global View Centered …
PIA00478
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Venus - Global View Centered at 180 degrees
Original Caption Released with Image This global view of the surface of Venus is centered at 180 degrees east longitude. Magellan synthetic aperture radar mosaics from the first cycle of Magellan mapping, and a 5 degree latitude-longitude grid, are mapped onto a computer-simulated globe to create this image. Data gaps are filled with Pioneer-Venus Orbiter data, or a constant mid-range value. The image was produced by the Solar System Visualization project and the Magellan Science team at the JPL Multimission Image Processing Laboratory.
Kuiper Crater
PIA02411
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Kuiper Crater
Original Caption Released with Image The Mariner 10 Television-Science Team has proposed the name "Kuiper" for this very conspicuous bright Mercury crater (top center) on the rim of a larger older crater. Prof. Gerard P. Kuiper, a pioneer in planetary astronomy and a member of the Mariner 10 TV team, died December 23, 1973, while the spacecraft was enroute to Venus and Mercury. Mariner took this picture (FDS 27304) from 88,450 kilometers (55,000 miles) some 2 1/2 hours before it passed Mercury on March 29. The bright-floored crater, 41 kilometers (25 miles) in diameter, is the center of a very large bright are which could be seen in pictures sent from Mariner 10 while Mercury was more than two million miles distant. The larger crater is 80 kilometers (50 miles) across. The Mariner 10 mission, managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, explored Venus in February 1974 on the way to three encounters with Mercury-in March and September 1974 and in March 1975. The spacecraft took more than 7,000 photos of Mercury, Venus, the Earth and the Moon. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Northwestern University
Venus - Phoebe Region
PIA00211
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Venus - Phoebe Region
Original Caption Released with Image This Magellan radar image is of part of the Phoebe region of Venus. It is a mosaic of parts of revolutions 146 and 147 acquired in the first radar test on Aug. 16, 1990. The area in the image is located at 291 degrees east longitude, 19 degrees south latitude. The image shows an area 30 kilometers (19.6 miles) wide and 76 km (47 miles) long. On the basis of Pioneer Venus and Arecibo data, it is known that two major rift zones occur in southern Phoebe Regio and that they terminate at about 20 to 25 degrees south latitude, about 2,000 km (1,240 miles) apart. This image is of an area just north of the southern end of the western rift zone. The region is characterized by a complex geologic history involving both volcanism and faulting. Several of the geologic units show distinctive overlapping or cross cutting relationships that permit identification and separation of geologic events and construction of the geologic history of the region. The oldest rocks in this image form the complexly deformed and faulted, radar bright, hilly terrain in the northern half. Faults of a variety of orientations are observed. A narrow fault trough (about one-half to one km (three tenths to six tenths of a mile) wide is seen crossing the bright hills near the lower part in the middle of the image. This is one of the youngest faults in the faulted, hilly unit as it is seen to cut across many other structures. The fault trough in turn appears to be embayed and flooded by the darker plains that appear in the south half of the image. These plains are interpreted to be of volcanic origin. The dark plains may be formed of a complex of overlapping volcanic flows. For example, the somewhat darker region of plains in the lower left (southwest) corner of the image may be a different age series of plains forming volcanic lava flows. Finally, the narrow bright line crossing the image in its lower part is interpreted to be a fault which cross cuts both plains units and is thus the youngest event in the sequence. These relationships show the interplay of volcanic activity and faulting that have influenced this region and a number of other regions on Venus.
Venus - Comparison of Initia …
PIA00220
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Radar
Title Venus - Comparison of Initial Magellan Radar Test and Data Acquired in 4/91
Original Caption Released with Image This image compares Magellan data acquired in August 1990 during the initial test of the radar system (black and white insets) with data acquired by the spacecraft in April 1991 (color background). The area is in the southern hemisphere of Venus, and represents an area about 540 kilometers (330 miles) on a side, centered on latitude 35 degrees south and longitude 294 degrees east. The Magellan radar illuminates the surface from the left. The northern and eastern parts of the area consist of plains which appear moderately dark to dark on the radar image because they are relatively smooth at a scale comparable to the wavelength of the radar, 12.5 centimeters (about 5 inches). The bright terrain in the southwestern part of the image is about 500 to 700 meters (1640 to 2300 feet) higher than the plains, it is characterized by abundant faults and fractures, which appear as straight to gently curved bright lines. Many of these linear features are large enough to infer that they are grabens, which are troughs bounded on both sides by faults. However, many of them are too narrow to determine if they are faults or simply fractures that have roughened the surface. This elevated faulted and fractured region is part of a large east-west elongated ridge mapped by the Pioneer Venus radar altimeter, the portion shown here is about midway between Themis Regio and Tefnut Mons. The plains are probably underlain by volcanic lavas. The various shades indicate that minor differences in surface roughness are present, and these may be used to map out the distribution of different lavas. The small, bright patches on the plains represent places where the lava surfaces are relatively rough. Just left of the center of the image is a sharply defined volcanic crater about 15 kilometers (9 miles) in diameter. Immediately north of this crater are numerous round spots about 204 kilometers (102 miles) across that are small volcanic domes.
Hubble Provides Clear Images …
PIA01269
Sol (our sun)
Wide Field Planetary Camera …
Title Hubble Provides Clear Images of Saturn's Aurora
Original Caption Released with Image Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Spaced Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science. This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/, This is the first image of Saturn's ultraviolet aurora taken by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope in October 1997, when Saturn was a distance of 810 million miles (1.3 billion kilometers) from Earth. The new instrument, used as a camera, provides more than ten times the sensitivity of previous Hubble instruments in the ultraviolet. STIS images reveal exquisite detail never before seen in the spectacular auroral curtains of light that encircle Saturn's north and south poles and rise more than a thousand miles above the cloud tops. Saturn's auroral displays are caused by an energetic wind from the Sun that sweeps over the planet, much like the Earths aurora that is occasionally seen in the nighttime sky and similar to the phenomenon that causes fluorescent lamps to glow. But unlike the Earth, Saturn's aurora is only seen in ultraviolet light that is invisible from the Earths surface, hence the aurora can only be observed from space. New Hubble images reveal ripples and overall patterns that evolve slowly, appearing generally fixed in our view and independent of planet rotation. At the same time, the curtains show local brightening that often follow the rotation of the planet and exhibit rapid variations on time scales of minutes. These variations and regularities indicate that the aurora is primarily shaped and powered by a continual tug-of-war between Saturn's magnetic field and the flow of charged particles from the Sun. Study of the aurora on Saturn had its beginnings just seventeen years ago. The Pioneer 11 spacecraft observed a far-ultraviolet brightening on Saturn's poles in 1979. The Saturn flybys of the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft in the early 1980s provided a basic description of the aurora and mapped for the first time planets enormous magnetic field that guides energetic electrons into the atmosphere near the north and south poles. The first images of Saturn's aurora were provided in 1994-5 by the Hubble Space Telescopes Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WFPC2). Much greater ultraviolet sensitivity of the new STIS instrument allows the workings of Saturn's magnetosphere and upper atmosphere to be studied in much greater detail. These Hubble aurora investigations provide a framework that will ultimately complement the in situ measurements of Saturn's magnetic field and charged particles by NASA/ ESA's Cassini spacecraft, now en route to its rendezvous with Saturn early in the next decade. Two STIS imaging modes have been used to discriminate between ultraviolet emissions predominantly from hydrogen atoms (shown in red) and emissions due to molecular hydrogen (shown in blue). Hence the bright red aurora features are dominated by atomic hydrogen, while the white traces within them map the more tightly confined regions of molecular hydrogen emissions. The southern aurora is seen at lower right, the northern at upper left. The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet
Venus: Earth's Cloudy Twin C …
Title Venus: Earth's Cloudy Twin Credit: Galileo [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] Spacecraft, JPL [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ ], NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/ ];
Explanation This picture by the Galileo spacecraft [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/galileo.html ] shows just how cloudy Venus [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/venus.html ] is. Venus [ http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=34067 ] is very similar to Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010204.html ] in size and mass - and so is sometimes referred to as Earth's sister planet - but Venus [ http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/welcome/venus.htm ] has a quite different climate. Venus [ http://spacelink.nasa.gov/NASA.Projects/Space.Science/Solar.System/Pioneer.Venus/Venus.Discoveries ]' thick clouds and closeness to the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980830.html ] (only Mercury [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010819.html ] is closer) make it the hottest planet - much hotter than the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/earth.html ]. Humans could not survive there, and no life of any sort has ever been found. When Venus is visible [ http://www.space.com/spacewatch/venus_guide_031024.html ] it is usually the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/moon.html ]. More than 20 spacecraft have visited Venus [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/PhotoGallery-Venus.html ] including Venera 9 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1975-050D ], which landed on the surface, and Magellan [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/magellan/ ], which used radar to peer through the clouds and make a map of the surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030427.html ]. This visible light picture of Venus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/venus.html ] was taken by the Galileo spacecraft [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951206.html ] that orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003. Many things about Venus remain unknown, including the cause of mysterious bursts of radio waves [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1995JATP...57..557S ].
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