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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.)
Tomorrow's picture: Pioneer …
Title Tomorrow's picture: Pioneer 10: The First 6 Billion Miles [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970303.html ]
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.
Space Pioneer Nancy Roman
title Space Pioneer Nancy Roman
date 01.01.1962
description Dr. Nancy Roman, one of the nations top scientists in the space program, is shown with a model of the Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO). Roman received her PhD in astronomy from the University of Chicago in 1949. In 1959, Dr. Roman joined NASA and in 1960 served as Chief of the Astronomy and Relativity Programs in the Office of Space Science. She was very influential in creating satellites such as the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). She retired from NASA in 1979, but continued working as a contractor at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Throughout her career, Dr. Roman was a spokesperson and advocate of women in the sciences. *Image Credit*: NASA
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.
Topological Features of a Co …
Title Topological Features of a Compressible Plasma Vortex Sheet: 6 Cases
Abstract The Voyager and Pioneer Spacecraft have detected large-scale quasi-periodic plasma fluctuations in the outer heliosphere beyond 20 AU. A plasma vortex sheet model can explain these fluctuations and the observed correlations between various physical variables. The large scale outer heliosphere is modeled by solving the 3-D compressible magnetohydrodynamic equations involving three interacting shear layers. Computations were done on a Cray computer at the NASA Center for Computational Sciences. Six cases are animated: Weak magnetic field and strong magnetic field, each at three values of tau, the vortex street characteristic time. Contours of density are shown as dark transparent 'tubes'. Critical points of the velocity field are represented by 'Glyphs'. Vortex cores are shown in orange and blue.
Completed 1993-12-17
Topological Features of a Co …
Title Topological Features of a Compressible Plasma Vortex Sheet: 6 Cases
Abstract The Voyager and Pioneer Spacecraft have detected large-scale quasi-periodic plasma fluctuations in the outer heliosphere beyond 20 AU. A plasma vortex sheet model can explain these fluctuations and the observed correlations between various physical variables. The large scale outer heliosphere is modeled by solving the 3-D compressible magnetohydrodynamic equations involving three interacting shear layers. Computations were done on a Cray computer at the NASA Center for Computational Sciences. Six cases are animated: Weak magnetic field and strong magnetic field, each at three values of tau, the vortex street characteristic time. Contours of density are shown as dark transparent 'tubes'. Critical points of the velocity field are represented by 'Glyphs'. Vortex cores are shown in orange and blue.
Completed 1993-12-17
Topological Features of a Co …
Title Topological Features of a Compressible Plasma Vortex Sheet: 6 Cases
Abstract The Voyager and Pioneer Spacecraft have detected large-scale quasi-periodic plasma fluctuations in the outer heliosphere beyond 20 AU. A plasma vortex sheet model can explain these fluctuations and the observed correlations between various physical variables. The large scale outer heliosphere is modeled by solving the 3-D compressible magnetohydrodynamic equations involving three interacting shear layers. Computations were done on a Cray computer at the NASA Center for Computational Sciences. Six cases are animated: Weak magnetic field and strong magnetic field, each at three values of tau, the vortex street characteristic time. Contours of density are shown as dark transparent 'tubes'. Critical points of the velocity field are represented by 'Glyphs'. Vortex cores are shown in orange and blue.
Completed 1993-12-17
Topological Features of a Co …
Title Topological Features of a Compressible Plasma Vortex Sheet: 6 Cases
Abstract The Voyager and Pioneer Spacecraft have detected large-scale quasi-periodic plasma fluctuations in the outer heliosphere beyond 20 AU. A plasma vortex sheet model can explain these fluctuations and the observed correlations between various physical variables. The large scale outer heliosphere is modeled by solving the 3-D compressible magnetohydrodynamic equations involving three interacting shear layers. Computations were done on a Cray computer at the NASA Center for Computational Sciences. Six cases are animated: Weak magnetic field and strong magnetic field, each at three values of tau, the vortex street characteristic time. Contours of density are shown as dark transparent 'tubes'. Critical points of the velocity field are represented by 'Glyphs'. Vortex cores are shown in orange and blue.
Completed 1993-12-17
Topological Features of a Co …
Title Topological Features of a Compressible Plasma Vortex Sheet: 6 Cases
Abstract The Voyager and Pioneer Spacecraft have detected large-scale quasi-periodic plasma fluctuations in the outer heliosphere beyond 20 AU. A plasma vortex sheet model can explain these fluctuations and the observed correlations between various physical variables. The large scale outer heliosphere is modeled by solving the 3-D compressible magnetohydrodynamic equations involving three interacting shear layers. Computations were done on a Cray computer at the NASA Center for Computational Sciences. Six cases are animated: Weak magnetic field and strong magnetic field, each at three values of tau, the vortex street characteristic time. Contours of density are shown as dark transparent 'tubes'. Critical points of the velocity field are represented by 'Glyphs'. Vortex cores are shown in orange and blue.
Completed 1993-12-17
Topological Features of a Co …
Title Topological Features of a Compressible Plasma Vortex Sheet: 6 Cases
Abstract The Voyager and Pioneer Spacecraft have detected large-scale quasi-periodic plasma fluctuations in the outer heliosphere beyond 20 AU. A plasma vortex sheet model can explain these fluctuations and the observed correlations between various physical variables. The large scale outer heliosphere is modeled by solving the 3-D compressible magnetohydrodynamic equations involving three interacting shear layers. Computations were done on a Cray computer at the NASA Center for Computational Sciences. Six cases are animated: Weak magnetic field and strong magnetic field, each at three values of tau, the vortex street characteristic time. Contours of density are shown as dark transparent 'tubes'. Critical points of the velocity field are represented by 'Glyphs'. Vortex cores are shown in orange and blue.
Completed 1993-12-17
Dr. Robert Goddard
title Dr. Robert Goddard
date 01.01.1932
description The Goddard Space Flight Center was named in honor of Dr. Robert Goddard, a pioneer in rocket development. Dr. Goddard received patents for a multi-stage rocket and liquid propellants in 1914 and published a paper describing how to reach extreme altitudes six years later. That paper, "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes," detailed methods for raising weather-recording instruments higher than what could be achieved by balloons and explained the mathematical theories of rocket propulsion. The paper, which was published by the Smithsonian Institution, also discussed the possibility of a rocket reaching the moon -- a position for which the press ridiculed Goddard. Yet several copies of the report found their way to Europe, and by 1927, the German Rocket Society was established, and the German Army began its rocket program in 1931. Goddard, meanwhile, continued his work. By 1926, he had constructed and tested the first rocket using liquid fuel. Goddard's work largely anticipated in technical detail the later German V-2 missiles, including gyroscopic control, steering by means of vanes in the jet stream of the rocket motor, gimbal-steering, power-driven fuel pumps and other devices. *Image Credit*: NASA
Dr. Robert Goddard
Title Dr. Robert Goddard
Full Description The Goddard Space Flight Center was named in honor of Dr. Robert Goddard, a pioneer in rocket development. Dr. Goddard received patents for a multi-stage rocket and liquid propellants in 1914 and published a paper describing how to reach extreme altitudes six years later. That paper, "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes," detailed methods for raising weather-recording instruments higher than what could be achieved by balloons and explained the mathematical theories of rocket propulsion. The paper, which was published by the Smithsonian Institution, also discussed the possibility of a rocket reaching the moon-a position for which the press ridiculed Goddard. Yet several copies of the report found their way to Europe, and by1927, the German Rocket Society was established, and the German Army began its rocket program in 1931. Goddard, meanwhile, continued his work. By 1926, he had constructed and tested the first rocket using liquid fuel. Goddard's work largely anticipated in technical detail the later German V-2 missiles, including gyroscopic control, steering by means of vanes in the jet stream of the rocket motor, gimbal-steering, power-driven fuel pumps and other devices.
Date 01/01/1932
NASA Center Goddard Space Flight Center
Topological Features of a Co …
Title Topological Features of a Compressible Plasma Vortex Sheet - a Model of the Outer Heliospheric Wind
Abstract The Voyager and Pioneer Spacecraft have detected large-scale quasi-periodic plasma fluctuations in the outer heliosphere beyond 20 AU. A plasma vortex sheet model can explain these fluctuations and the observed correlations between various physical variables. The large scale outer heliosphere is modeled by solving the 3-D compressible magnetohydrodynamic equations involving three interacting shear layers. Computations were done on a Cray computer at the NASA Center for Computational Sciences. Six cases are animated: Weak magnetic field and strong magnetic field, each at three values of tau, the vortex street characteristic time. Contours of density are shown as dark transparent 'tubes'. Critical points of the velocity field are represented by 'Glyphs'. Vortex cores are shown in orange and blue.
Completed 1993-12-17
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.
The 76 Meter Lovell Radio Te …
Title The 76 Meter Lovell Radio Telescope
Explanation Jodrell Bank [ http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/ ] in England is the home of the Lovell Telescope [ http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/Lovell-Telescope.html ] one of the largest radio telescopes in the world. Completed in 1957 under the direction of Bernard Lovell, the 250 ft. diameter dish was [ http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/effberg.html ] the largest "steerable" radio telescope. The telescope has been used to monitor extremely faint radio emissions from space, including the transmissions of the Pioneer spacecraft [ http://pyroeis.arc.nasa.gov/pioneer/PNhome.html ] in the distant Solar System [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950819.html ]. The telescope has been used in many astronomical investigations, including the determination of structure in local interstellar gas [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1989ApJ%2E%2E%2E347%2E%2E302D&db_key=AST ], searches for pulsars [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1992MNRAS%2E254%2E%2E257B&db_key=AST ], determining molecular abundances towards the Galactic center [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1994A%26AS%2E%2E107%2E%2E563B&db_key=AST ], and mapping hydrogen emission in galaxies [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1992MNRAS%2E258%2E%2E334S&db_key=AST ]. Currently, the telescope is not really for sale [ http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/~rno/lovell.html ].
Von Braun's Wheel
Title Von Braun's Wheel
Explanation Orbiting 1,075 miles above the Earth, a 250 foot wide, inflated, reinforced nylon "wheel" was conceived in the early 1950s [ http://repos.msfc.nasa.gov/history/mm/sect005.html#Early Space Station Concepts ] to function as a navigational aid, meteorological station, military platform, and way station for space [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/station/welcome.html ] exploration by rocket pioneer Wernher von Braun [ http://repos.msfc.nasa.gov/history/mm/vonbio.html ]. The wheel shaped station could be easily rotated creating artificial gravity so that the astronauts would not suffer the effects of prolonged weightlessness. Von Braun and his team favored building a permanently occupied Earth orbiting space station [ http://issa-www.jsc.nasa.gov/ss/spacestation.html ] from which to stage a lunar exploration program [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950909.html ]. But in the 1960s NASA adopted the Apollo Program [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950921.html ], which called for astronauts to transfer to a lunar landing vehicle after achieving lunar orbit, bypassing the construction of von Braun's wheel.
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 ].
A Step Toward Gravitational …
Title A Step Toward Gravitational Wave Detection
Explanation Accelerate a charge and you'll get electromagnetic radiation [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html ]: light. But accelerate any mass and you'll get gravitational radiation [ http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/grav_radiation.html ]. Light is seen all the time, but, so far, a confirmed direct detection of gravitational radiation [ http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/NumRel/GravWaves.html ] has yet to be made [ http://sam.phys.lsu.edu/background/history.html ]. When absorbed, gravitational waves [ http://www.ligo.caltech.edu/LIGO_web/about/factsheet.html ] (GWs) create a tiny symmetric jiggle similar to squashing a rubber ball and letting go quickly. Separated detectors can be used to discern GWs [ http://www.sciam.com/askexpert/physics/physics14.html ] from everyday bumps. Powerful astronomical GW sources would coincidentally jiggle even detectors on opposite ends of the Earth. Pictured above [ http://www.ligo.caltech.edu/LIGO_web/firstlock/ ] are the two-kilometer-long arms of one such detector: the LIGO Hanford Observatory [ http://www.ligo-wa.caltech.edu/ ] in Washington [ http://www.state.wa.us/ ], which recently achieved a phase-lock [ http://www.ligo-wa.caltech.edu/news/0010han/G000309-00.pdf ] milestone to future GW detection. When it and its sister interferometer [ http://www.ligo-la.caltech.edu/ ] in Louisiana [ http://www.state.la.us/ ] come online in 2002, they may see a GW [ http://www.ligo.caltech.edu/%7Everonica/Aspen2000/webpages/scripts/ ] sky so strange it won't be immediately understood. APOD mourns the recent passing of Joseph Weber [ http://www.physics.umd.edu/photon/iss006/Weber.html#VTrimble_statement ], a visionary thinker and pioneer in gravitational wave detection.
Near-Shoemaker Views Eros
Title Near-Shoemaker Views Eros
Explanation Orbiting [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/NewMissionDesign/ ] asteroid 433 Eros, 145 million miles from Earth, NASA's NEAR spacecraft has been returning stunning views [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000829.html ] as its year long mission of exploration nears completion [ http://www.jhuapl.edu/public/pr/000313.htm ]. A mosaic of NEAR images [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/archive.html ] recorded at a range of about 127 miles, this picture [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20000314/index.html ] illustrates some of the amazing contrasts which apparently exist within the domain of this diminutive world. Features as small as 65 feet are visible here, while long shadows [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000224.html ] emphasize the differences in the cratered regions at the left and smooth grooved terrain at right. Up close [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000308.html ], the undulating surface seems flecked with bright deposits and peppered with enormous boulders [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970905.html ]. Last year, NASA changed the spacecraft name from NEAR to NEAR-Shoemaker in honor of the late Dr. Eugene M. Shoemaker [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980115.html ], legendary geologist, comet hunter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990814.html ], and inspirational pioneer in the field of interplanetary science. Tomorrow [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/media/eom_events/index.html ], NEAR-Shoemaker [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/instruments/ ] will complete [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010206.html ] its scheduled mission as it will be commanded to descend [ http://near.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/iod/20010209/ ] to the surface of the ancient asteroid [ http://www.nineplanets.org/asteroids.html ].
Shepard Flies Freedom 7
Title Shepard Flies Freedom 7
Explanation Forty years ago today (May 5, 1961 [ http://www.thespaceplace.com/history/mercury/ mercury03.html ]), at the dawn of the space age [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/sputnik/ index.html ], NASA controllers "lit the candle" and sent Alan Shepard arcing into space atop a Redstone rocket [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980404.html ]. The picture shows the pressure-suited Shepard before launch in his cramped space capsule [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/diagrams/ mercury.html ] dubbed "Freedom 7" [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/MR3/ 10073523.htm ]. Broadcast live to a global television audience, the flight of Freedom 7 [ http://www.nasm.edu/galleries/attm/nojs/rm.ey.f7.1.html ] - the first space flight by an American - followed less than a month after the first human venture into space by Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010414.html ]. Freedom 7's historic flight [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/40thmerc7/ intro.htm ] was suborbital, lasting only about 15 minutes, but during it Shepard demonstrated manual control of his capsule. Naval aviator [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/40thmerc7/ shepard.htm ] Shepard was chosen as one of the original seven Mercury Program [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4201/ toc.htm ] astronauts. He considered this first flight [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4201/ch11-4.htm ] the greatest challenge and actively sought the assignment. Shepard's career as an astronaut spanned a remarkable period in human achievement and in 1971 he walked on the moon [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a14/ a14.crew.html ] as commander of the Apollo 14 mission. A true pioneer and intrepid explorer, Alan Shepard died in 1998 [ http://www.nasa.gov/shepard.html ] at age 74.
Saturn The Giant
Title Saturn The Giant
Explanation Forty years ago today (May 25, 1961) U.S. president John Kennedy announced [ http://history.nasa.gov/moondec.html ] the goal of landing Americans on the Moon by the end of the decade. Kennedy's ambitious speech triggered [ http://www.wamu.org/special/moon.html ] a nearly unprecedented peacetime technological mobilization and one result was the Saturn V [ http://www.hrw.com/science/si-science/earth/spacetravel/ spacerace/SpaceRace/sec300/sec380.html ] moon rocket [ http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/Rockets/ ]. Its development directed by rocket pioneer Wernher Von Braun, the three stage Saturn V stood [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-350/ch-3-1.html ] over 36 stories tall. It had a cluster of five first stage [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-000559.html ] engines fueled by [ http://users.commkey.net/Braeunig/space/propel.htm ] liquid oxygen and kerosene which together were capable of producing 7.5 million pounds of thrust. Giant Saturn V rockets ultimately hurled [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/ contents.html ] nine Apollo missions [ http://history.nasa.gov/apollo.html ] to the Moon and back again [ http://www.literature.org/authors/verne-jules/ round-the-moon/ ] with six landing on the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ ]. The first landing, by Apollo 11 [ http://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/ introduction.htm ], occurred on July 20, 1969 achieving Kennedy's goal. Bathed in light, this Saturn V [ http://www.apollosaturn.com/frame-sv.htm ] awaits an April 11, 1970 launch on the third lunar landing mission, Apollo 13 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010519.html ].
Alan B. Shepard Jr. 1923-199 …
Title Alan B. Shepard Jr. 1923-1998
Explanation On another Friday (May 5, 1961), at the dawn of the space age [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/sputnik/index.html ], NASA controllers "lit the candle" and sent Alan B. Shepard Jr. arcing into space atop a Redstone rocket [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980404.html ]. The picture shows the pressure-suited Shepard before the launch in his cramped space capsule [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/MERC_OV/10073402.htm ] dubbed "Freedom 7" [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/MR3/10073523.htm ]. This historic flight [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mr-3/mr-3.html ] - the first spaceflight by an American - made Shepard a national hero [ http://www.nasm.edu/GALLERIES/GAL114/SpaceRace/ ]. Born in East Derry, New Hampshire on November 18, 1923, Shepard graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1944 and went on to train and serve as a Naval Aviator. Chosen as one of the original seven Mercury Program [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4201/toc.htm ] astronauts, he considered this first flight [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4201/ch11-4.htm ] the greatest challenge and actively sought the assignment. Shepard's accomplishments in his career as an astronaut spanned a remarkable period in human achievement and in 1972 he walked on the moon [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ ] as commander of the Apollo 14 mission. A true pioneer and intrepid explorer, Alan Shepard died Tuesday [ http://www.nasa.gov/shepard.html ] at age 74 after a lengthy illness.
Asteroid 9969 Braille
Title Asteroid 9969 Braille
Explanation NASA probe Deep Space 1 [ http://nmp.jpl.nasa.gov/ds1/ ] zoomed past asteroid 9969 Braille [ http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/files/misc/ds1asteroid.pdf ] last week as it continued to test its new ion drive [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981203.html ] in the inner Solar System [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/overview.html ]. The flyby was the closest approach a spacecraft has ever made to an asteroid [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980712.html ]. Looking back afterwards, DS1 took the above picture [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ds1news/ ]. Formerly known as 1992 KD, the 9969th asteroid discovered was renamed in honor of Louis Braille [ http://www.cnib.ca/braille_information/louis_braille.htm ], a pioneer in written communication for the blind. 9969 Braille [ http://huey.jpl.nasa.gov/~spravdo/1992kd.htm ] is thought by some to have collided with asteroid Vesta [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/95/20.html ] in the distant past and broken up, providing debris for many of the meteorites [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/meteorites.html ] that fall to Earth. Asteroid [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/solar/eng/asteroid.htm ] 9969 Braille rotates only once in 9 days, and has an orbit greatly tilted relative to the ecliptic plane [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990529.html ] of the planets.
Mercury Astronauts and a Red …
Title Mercury Astronauts and a Redstone
Explanation Space suited project Mercury [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/history/mercury/mercury.html ] astronauts John H. Glenn [ http://politicsusa.com/PoliticsUSA/resources/almanac/ohs1.html.cgi ], Virgil I. Grissom [ http://repos.msfc.nasa.gov/history/mm/grisbio.html ], and Alan B. Shepard Jr. [ http://repos.msfc.nasa.gov/history/mm/shepbio.html ] (left to right) are pictured here posing in front of a Redstone rocket [ http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/pioneer.html ] in this 1961 NASA publicity photo. Project Mercury [ http://www.osf.hq.nasa.gov/mercury/ ] was the first U.S. program designed to put humans in space. It resulted in 6 manned flights using one-man capsules and Redstone and Atlas rockets. Shortly after the first U.S. manned flight on May 5, 1961, a suborbital flight piloted by Alan Shepard, President Kennedy announced the goal of a manned lunar landing by 1970. This goal was achieved by NASA's Apollo program [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/apo14.htm ] and Shepard himself walked on the moon as a member of the Apollo 14 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951209.html ] mission.
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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