Jump to content

Hubble's Look At Mars Shows Canyon Dust Storm, Cloudy Conditions For Pathfinder Landing


HubbleSite

Recommended Posts

low_STSCI-H-p-9723a-k1340x520.png

Hubble telescope pictures of Mars, taken June 27, 1997 in preparation for the July 4 landing of the Pathfinder spacecraft, show a dust storm churning through the deep canyons of Valles Marineris, just 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) south of the Pathfinder spacecraft landing site.

Astronomers also report the presence of patchy cirrus clouds over the landing site and very thick clouds to the north. Because there are so many clouds (related to low temperatures in the atmosphere causing water vapor to freeze), the dust will probably stay confined to the canyons, they conclude. The green cross on the bottom picture identifies the Pathfinder landing site.

View the full article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Similar Topics

    • By NASA
      1 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      NASA Glenn Research Center’s Frank Kaufhold discuses next-generation technologies for turbofan engines with the public during EAA AirVenture. Credit: NASA/Andrew Carlsen  The first “A” in NASA stands for aeronautics, and NASA’s Glenn Research Center helped bring that message to thousands of people at major airshows in Wisconsin and Ohio this summer. 
      In July, NASA Glenn subject matter experts and outreach professionals landed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to participate in EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024. Thousands of aircraft arrived at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh and other airports in east-central Wisconsin to attend the event.
      Under the large NASA tent, staff shared information on both agencywide and center-specific projects, missions, and technology. NASA Glenn employees also assisted NASA Administrator Bill Nelson through tours and presentations.  
      NASA Glenn Research Center’s Amber Waid, left, discusses the wing-like shape of the truss of the X-66 Sustainable Flight Demonstrator with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson during EAA AirVenture. Credit: NASA/Andrew Carlsen  Over Labor Day weekend, NASA Glenn’s experts traveled down the road to the Cleveland National Air Show at Burke Lakefront Airport. A main attraction, NASA Glenn’s newest aircraft — the Pilatus PC-12 — garnered enthusiasm from visitors who met NASA’s aircrew and learned about how this aircraft helps test innovative communications technology.
      NASA Glenn Research Center interns Nikhita Kalluri, left, and Divya Nagireddy share fun facts about NASA and aviation with guests at the Cleveland National Air Show. Credit: NASA  Inside the NASA tent, guests experienced virtual reality simulators, watched wind tunnel demonstrations, and learned about Quesst, NASA’s mission to make quiet, faster-than-sound air travel a reality.   
      NASA Glenn Research Center’s research pilot James Demers talks with guests about airplanes and flight research at the Cleveland National Air Show. Credit: NASA  Return to Newsletter Explore More
      1 min read Students Soar at NASA Glenn’s Aviation Day
      Article 3 mins ago 1 min read Ohio State Fairgoers Learn About NASA Technologies
      Article 4 mins ago 1 min read Dr. Kenyon Makes Calls, On and Off the Field
      Article 4 mins ago View the full article
    • By European Space Agency
      Just a month after its launch, ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite has already delivered its first images, notably capturing Storm Boris, which has been wreaking havoc across central Europe. 
      View the full article
    • By NASA
      4 Min Read NASA’s Webb Provides Another Look Into Galactic Collisions
      This composite image of Arp 107 reveals a wealth of information about the star-formation and how these two galaxies collided hundreds of million years ago (full image below). Credits:
      NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Smile for the camera! An interaction between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy, collectively known as Arp 107, seems to have given the spiral a happier outlook thanks to the two bright “eyes” and the wide semicircular “smile.” The region has been observed before in infrared by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in 2005, however NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope displays it in much higher resolution. This image is a composite, combining observations from Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera).
      Image A: Arp 107 (NIRCam and MIRI Image)
      This composite image of Arp 107, created with data from the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), reveals a wealth of information about the star-formation and how these two galaxies collided hundreds of million years ago. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI NIRCam highlights the stars within both galaxies and reveals the connection between them: a transparent, white bridge of stars and gas pulled from both galaxies during their passage. MIRI data, represented in orange-red, shows star-forming regions and dust that is composed of soot-like organic molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. MIRI also provides a snapshot of the bright nucleus of the large spiral, home to a supermassive black hole.
      Image B: Arp 107 (MIRI Image)
      This image of Arp 107, shown by Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), reveals the supermassive black hole that lies in the center of the large spiral galaxy to the right. This black hole, which pulls much of the dust into lanes, also display’s Webb’s characteristic diffraction spikes, caused by the light that it emits interacting with the structure of the telescope itself. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI The spiral galaxy is classified as a Seyfert galaxy, one of the two largest groups of active galaxies, along with galaxies that host quasars. Seyfert galaxies aren’t as luminous and distant as quasars, making them a more convenient way to study similar phenomena in lower energy light, like infrared.
      This galaxy pair is similar to the Cartwheel Galaxy, one of the first interacting galaxies that Webb observed. Arp 107 may have turned out very similar in appearance to the Cartwheel, but since the smaller elliptical galaxy likely had an off-center collision instead of a direct hit, the spiral galaxy got away with only its spiral arms being disturbed. 
      The collision isn’t as bad as it sounds. Although there was star formation occurring before, collisions between galaxies can compress gas, improving the conditions needed for more stars to form. On the other hand, as Webb reveals, collisions also disperse a lot of gas, potentially depriving new stars of the material they need to form.
      Webb has captured these galaxies in the process of merging, which will take hundreds of millions of years. As the two galaxies rebuild after the chaos of their collision, Arp 107 may lose its smile, but it will inevitably turn into something just as interesting for future astronomers to study.
      Arp 107 is located 465 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo Minor.
      Video: Tour the Arp 107 Image
      Video tour transcript
      Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI) The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
      Downloads
      Right click any image to save it or open a larger version in a new tab/window via the browser’s popup menu.
      View/Download all image products at all resolutions for this article from the Space Telescope Science Institute.
      Media Contacts
      Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov, Rob Gutro – rob.gutro@nasa.gov
      NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
      Matthew Brown – mabrown@stsci.edu, Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu
      Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
      Related Information
      Video: What happens when galaxies collide?
      Interactive: Explore “Interacting Galaxies: Future of the Milky Way”
      Other images: Hubble’s view of Arp 107 and Spitzer’s view of Arp 107
      Video: Galaxy Collisions: Simulations vs. Observations
      Article: More about Galaxy Evolution
      Video: Learn more about galactic collisions
      More Webb News
      More Webb Images
      Webb Science Themes
      Webb Mission Page
      Related For Kids
      What is a galaxy?
      What is the Webb Telescope?
      SpacePlace for Kids
      En Español
      ¿Qué es una galaxia?
      Ciencia de la NASA
      NASA en español 
      Space Place para niños
      Keep Exploring Related Topics
      James Webb Space Telescope


      Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…


      Galaxies



      Galaxies Stories



      Universe


      Share








      Details
      Last Updated Sep 17, 2024 Editor Marty McCoy Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms
      Active Galaxies Astrophysics Galaxies Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes Goddard Space Flight Center James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Science & Research Seyfert Galaxies The Universe View the full article
    • By NASA
      3 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      While astronaut Gene Cernan was on the lunar surface during the Apollo 17 mission, his spacesuit collected loads of lunar dust. The gray, powdery substance stuck to the fabric and entered the capsule causing eye, nose, and throat irritation dubbed “lunar hay fever.” Credit: NASACredit: NASA Moon dust, or regolith, isn’t like the particles on Earth that collect on bookshelves or tabletops – it’s abrasive and it clings to everything. Throughout NASA’s Apollo missions to the Moon, regolith posed a challenge to astronauts and valuable space hardware.

      During the Apollo 17 mission, astronaut Harrison Schmitt described his reaction to breathing in the dust as “lunar hay fever,” experiencing sneezing, watery eyes, and a sore throat. The symptoms went away, but concern for human health is a driving force behind NASA’s extensive research into all forms of lunar soil.
      The need to manage the dust to protect astronaut health and critical technology is already beneficial on Earth in the fight against air pollution.

      Working as a contributor on a habitat for NASA’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) program, Lunar Outpost Inc. developed an air-quality sensor system to detect and measure the amount of lunar soil in the air that also detects pollutants on Earth. 

      Originally based in Denver, the Golden, Colorado-based company developed an air-quality sensor called the Space Canary and offered the sensor to Lockheed Martin Space for its NextSTEP lunar orbit habitat prototype. After the device was integrated into the habitat’s environmental control system, it provided distinct advantages over traditional equipment.

      Rebranded as Canary-S (Solar), the sensor is now meeting a need for low-cost, wireless air-quality and meteorological monitoring on Earth. The self-contained unit, powered by solar energy and a battery, transmits data using cellular technology. It can measure a variety of pollutants, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, methane, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds, among others. The device sends a message up to a secure cloud every minute, where it’s routed to either Lunar Outpost’s web-based dashboard or a customer’s database for viewing and analysis.

      The oil and gas industry uses the Canary-S sensors to provide continuous, real-time monitoring of fugitive gas emissions, and the U.S. Forest Service uses them to monitor forest-fire emissions.

      “Firefighters have been exhibiting symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning for decades. They thought it was just part of the job,” explained Julian Cyrus, chief operating officer of Lunar Outpost. “But the sensors revealed where and when carbon monoxide levels were sky high, making it possible to issue warnings for firefighters to take precautions.”

      The Canary-S sensors exemplify the life-saving technologies that can come from the collaboration of NASA and industry innovations. 
      Read More Share
      Details
      Last Updated Sep 17, 2024 Related Terms
      Technology Transfer & Spinoffs Spinoffs Technology Transfer Explore More
      2 min read Printed Engines Propel the Next Industrial Revolution
      Efforts to 3D print engines produce significant savings in rocketry and beyond
      Article 5 days ago 2 min read Tech Today: Flipping NASA Tech and Sticking the Landing 
      NASA tech adds gecko grip to phone accessory
      Article 1 month ago 2 min read Tech Today: Space Age Swimsuit Reduces Drag, Breaks Records
      SpeedoUSA worked with Langley Research Center to design a swimsuit with reduced surface drag.
      Article 2 months ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics
      Technology Transfer and Spinoffs News
      Humans in Space
      Climate Change
      Solar System
      View the full article
    • By NASA
      NASA wants you to visualize the future of space exploration! This art challenge is looking for creative, artistic images to represent NASA’s Moon to Mars Architecture, the agency’s roadmap for crewed exploration of deep space. With NASA’s Moon to Mars Objectives in hand, the agency is developing an architecture for crewed exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Using systems engineering processes, NASA has begun to perform the analyses and studies needed to make informed decisions about a sustained lunar evolution and initial human missions to Mars. NASA’s Moon to Mars Architecture currently includes four segments of increasing complexity: Human Lunar Return, Foundational Exploration, Sustained Lunar Evolution, and Humans to Mars. For this competition, NASA is interested in your artistic interpretation of the latter two segments: Sustained Lunar Evolution and Humans to Mars. These depictions could include operations in space, on the surface, or both. Artists may develop and submit a still image for either the lunar and Mars exploration segments.
      Award: $10,000 in total prizes
      Open Date: September 12, 2024
      Close Date: October 31, 2024
      For more information, visit: https://nasa.yet2.com/
      View the full article
  • Check out these Videos

×
×
  • Create New...