Saturday, 14 May 2011
The International Space Station
Via Flickr:
Backdropped by black space and the thin line of Earth's atmosphere, the International Space Station is seen from Space Shuttle Discovery as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation near the end of the STS-119 mission in March 2009.
Earlier the STS-119 and Expedition 18 crews worked together for nearly 10 days on the Shuttle and ISS.
Europe is working in partnership with the United States, Russia, Japan and Canada to build and operate the International Space Station - one of the greatest international projects of all time. Once completed, the 450-tonne ISS will have more than 1200 cubic metres of pressurised space - enough room for a crew of six and a vast array of scientific experiments.
For more information:
www.esa.int/esaHS/iss.html
Credit: NASA (S119-E-010500)
Backdropped by black space and the thin line of Earth's atmosphere, the International Space Station is seen from Space Shuttle Discovery as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation near the end of the STS-119 mission in March 2009.
Earlier the STS-119 and Expedition 18 crews worked together for nearly 10 days on the Shuttle and ISS.
Europe is working in partnership with the United States, Russia, Japan and Canada to build and operate the International Space Station - one of the greatest international projects of all time. Once completed, the 450-tonne ISS will have more than 1200 cubic metres of pressurised space - enough room for a crew of six and a vast array of scientific experiments.
For more information:
www.esa.int/esaHS/iss.html
Credit: NASA (S119-E-010500)
Launch of Giotto
Via Flickr:
Giotto was ESA’s first deep-space mission. In 1986, it passed closest to the nucleus of Comet Halley. Its images showed for the first time the shape of a comet nucleus and found the first evidence of organic material in a comet.
Giotto had a number of very impressive ‘firsts’ and achievements to its credit. It was Europe's first deep-space mission, it photographed the first close-up images of a comet nucleus and it discovered the size and shape of Halley's nucleus, showing that the surface is very dark and that bright jets of gas and dust spring out of its nucleus. It was also the first deep-space mission to change orbit by returning to Earth for a gravity-assist manoeuvre.
Giotto made the closest comet fly-by to date by any spacecraft (about 200 kilometres from Comet Grigg-Skjellerup in a second comet encounter) and studied the interaction between the solar wind, the interplanetary magnetic field, and the comet itself. This also made it the first spacecraft to encounter two comets and in doing so measure the size and composition of those two comets.
Launched on an Ariane 1, flight V14, Giotto lifted off from Europe's Spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana on 2 July 1985. After a cruise phase of eight months, Giotto encountered Comet Halley on 14 March 1986.
For more information:
www.esa.int/esaSC/120392_index_0_m.html
Credit: ESA
Giotto was ESA’s first deep-space mission. In 1986, it passed closest to the nucleus of Comet Halley. Its images showed for the first time the shape of a comet nucleus and found the first evidence of organic material in a comet.
Giotto had a number of very impressive ‘firsts’ and achievements to its credit. It was Europe's first deep-space mission, it photographed the first close-up images of a comet nucleus and it discovered the size and shape of Halley's nucleus, showing that the surface is very dark and that bright jets of gas and dust spring out of its nucleus. It was also the first deep-space mission to change orbit by returning to Earth for a gravity-assist manoeuvre.
Giotto made the closest comet fly-by to date by any spacecraft (about 200 kilometres from Comet Grigg-Skjellerup in a second comet encounter) and studied the interaction between the solar wind, the interplanetary magnetic field, and the comet itself. This also made it the first spacecraft to encounter two comets and in doing so measure the size and composition of those two comets.
Launched on an Ariane 1, flight V14, Giotto lifted off from Europe's Spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana on 2 July 1985. After a cruise phase of eight months, Giotto encountered Comet Halley on 14 March 1986.
For more information:
www.esa.int/esaSC/120392_index_0_m.html
Credit: ESA
Carl Zeiss Telescope 1
Via Flickr:
The Carl Zeiss Telescope at the Royal Observatory of Belgium.
Canon 7D - Sigma 10-20mm.
An HDR layer has been used.
Pres "L" for a better view.
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. Copyright © 2011 David Herreman . All rights reserved.
The Carl Zeiss Telescope at the Royal Observatory of Belgium.
Canon 7D - Sigma 10-20mm.
An HDR layer has been used.
Pres "L" for a better view.
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. Copyright © 2011 David Herreman . All rights reserved.
Mercury, Messenger M1 Departure with Mariner 10 Terminator
Via Flickr:
Mercury as viewed by the MESSENGER spacecraft as it departed after its first encounter with the closest planet to the Sun.
The solid line on the left indicates where the shadowed limb (edge) of the planet is.
To the right of the shadowed area is the morning terminator - where night is turning into day.
The dashed line to the right indicates where the terminator was located when Mariner 10 imaged Mercury. Note that almost all of the Caloris basin was in shadow when Mariner 10 encountered the planet. It took 34 years to get back to Mercury and see what hadn't yet been imaged. Imagine having to wait that long!
Source: messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/image.php?page...
Markings applied by R. Kline, Cornell University Department of Astronomy
Mercury as viewed by the MESSENGER spacecraft as it departed after its first encounter with the closest planet to the Sun.
The solid line on the left indicates where the shadowed limb (edge) of the planet is.
To the right of the shadowed area is the morning terminator - where night is turning into day.
The dashed line to the right indicates where the terminator was located when Mariner 10 imaged Mercury. Note that almost all of the Caloris basin was in shadow when Mariner 10 encountered the planet. It took 34 years to get back to Mercury and see what hadn't yet been imaged. Imagine having to wait that long!
Source: messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/image.php?page...
Markings applied by R. Kline, Cornell University Department of Astronomy
