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Photo Illustration of Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 & Planet Jupiter
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By NASA
NASA, ESA, and M. Wong (University of California – Berkeley); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the planet Jupiter in a color composite of ultraviolet wavelengths. Released on Nov. 3, 2023, in honor of Jupiter reaching opposition, which occurs when the planet and the Sun are in opposite sides of the sky, this view of the gas giant planet includes the iconic, massive storm called the “Great Red Spot.” Though the storm appears red to the human eye, in this ultraviolet image it appears darker because high altitude haze particles absorb light at these wavelengths. The reddish, wavy polar hazes are absorbing slightly less of this light due to differences in either particle size, composition, or altitude.
Learn more about Hubble and how this type of data can help us learn more about our universe.
Image credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Wong (University of California – Berkeley); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Artist concept highlighting the novel approach proposed by the 2025 NIAC awarded selection of the Thermo-Photo-Catalysis of Water for Crewed Mars Transit Spacecraft Oxygen Supply concept.NASA/Saurabh Vilekar Saurabh Vilekar
Precision Combustion
Precision Combustion, Inc. (PCI) proposes to develop a uniquely compact, lightweight, low-power, and durable Microlith® Thermo-Photo-Catalytic (TPC) Reactor for crewed Mars transit spacecraft O2 supply. As crewed space exploration mission destinations move from low Earth orbit to sustained lunar surface habitation toward Mars exploration, the need becomes more intense to supplant heritage physico-chemical unit operations employed for crewed spacecraft cabin CO2 removal, CO2 reduction, and O2 supply. The primary approach to date has been toward incremental improvement of the heritage, energy intensive process technologies used aboard the International Space Station (ISS), particularly for water electrolysis-based O2 generation. A major breakthrough is necessary to depose these energy intensive process technologies either partly or completely. This is achievable by considering the recent advances in photocatalysis. Applications are emerging for converting CO2 to useful commodity products and generating H2 from atmospheric water vapor. Considering these developments, a low power thermo-photo-catalytic process to replace the heritage high-power water electrolysis process is proposed for application to a Mars transit vehicle life support system (LSS) functional architecture. A key component in realizing this breakthrough is utilizing a catalyst substrate such as Microlith that affords high surface area and promotes mass transport to the catalyst surface. The proposed TPC oxygenator is expected to operate passively to continually renew the O2 content of the cabin atmosphere. The targeted mission for the proposed TPC oxygenator technology deployment is a 2039 Long Stay, Earth-Mars-Earth mission opportunity. This mission as defined by the Moon to Mars (M2M) 2024 review consists of 337.9 days outbound, 348.5 days in Mars vicinity, and 295.8 days return for a total 982.2-day mission. The proposed Microlith oxygenator technology, if successful, is envisioned to replace the OGA technology in the LSS process architecture with significant weight and power savings. In Phase I, we will demonstrate technical feasibility of Microlith TPC for O2 generation, interface requirements, and integration trade space and a clear path towards a prototype demonstration in Phase II will also be described in the final report.
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Last Updated Jan 10, 2025 EditorLoura Hall Related Terms
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By NASA
On Jan. 7, 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei peered through his newly improved 20-power homemade telescope at the planet Jupiter. He noticed three other points of light near the planet, at first believing them to be distant stars. Observing them over several nights, he noted that they appeared to move in the wrong direction with regard to the background stars and they remained in Jupiter’s proximity but changed their positions relative to one another. Four days later, he observed a fourth point of light near the planet with the same unusual behavior. By Jan. 15, Galileo correctly concluded that he had discovered four moons orbiting around Jupiter, providing strong evidence for the Copernican theory that most celestial objects did not revolve around the Earth.
Two of Galileo’s telescopes.National Geographic. Painting by Giuseppe Bertini (1858) of Galileo demonstrating his telescope to the Doge of Venice.gabrielevanin.it Page from Galileo’s notebook about his observations of Jupiter’s satellites.University of Michigan Special Collections Library. In March 1610, Galileo published his discoveries of Jupiter’s satellites and other celestial observations in a book titled Siderius Nuncius (The Starry Messenger). As their discoverer, Galileo had naming rights to Jupiter’s satellites. He proposed to name them after his patrons the Medicis and astronomers called them the Medicean Stars through much of the seventeenth century, although in his own notes Galileo referred to them by the Roman numerals I, II, III, and IV, in order of their distance from Jupiter. Astronomers still refer to the four moons as the Galilean satellites in honor of their discoverer.
In 1614, the German astronomer Johannes Kepler suggested naming the satellites after mythological figures associated with Jupiter, namely Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, but his idea didn’t catch on for more than 200 years. Scientists didn’t discover any more satellites around Jupiter until 1892 when American astronomer E.E. Barnard found Jupiter’s fifth moon Amalthea, much smaller than the Galilean moons and orbiting closer to the planet than Io. It was the last satellite in the solar system found by visual observation – all subsequent discoveries occurred via photography or digital imaging. As of today, astronomers have identified 95 moons orbiting Jupiter.
Image of Jupiter and three of its four Galilean satellites through an amateur telescope, similar to what Galileo might have seen. Hubble Space Telescope image of Jupiter and three of its four Galilean satellites during a rare triple transit. Although each of the Galilean satellites has unique features, such as the volcanoes of Io, the heavily cratered surface of Callisto, and the magnetic field of Ganymede, scientists have focused more attention on Europa due to the tantalizing possibility that it might be hospitable to life. In the 1970s, NASA’s Pioneer 10 and 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft took ever increasingly detailed images of the large satellites including Europa during their flybys of Jupiter. The photographs revealed Europa to have the smoothest surface of any object in the solar system, indicating a relatively young crust, and also one of the brightest of any satellite indicating a highly reflective surface. These features led scientists to hypothesize that Europa is covered by an icy crust floating on a subsurface salty ocean. They further postulated that tidal heating caused by Jupiter’s gravity reforms the surface ice layer in cycles of melting and freezing.
Image of Europa taken by Pioneer 10 during its flyby of Jupiter in 1973. Image of Europa taken by Voyager 1 during its 1979 flyby of Jupiter. Image of Europa taken by Voyager 2 during its 1979 flyby of Jupiter. More detailed observations from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft that orbited Jupiter between 1995 and 2003 and completed 11 close encounters with Europa revealed that long linear features on its surface may indicate tidal or tectonic activity. Reddish-brown material along the fissures and in splotches elsewhere on the surface may contain salts and sulfur compounds transported from below the crust and modified by radiation. Observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and re-analysis of images from Galileo revealed possible plumes emanating from beneath Europa’s crust, lending credence to that hypothesis. While the exact composition of this material is not known, it likely holds clues to whether Europa may be hospitable to life.
Global view of Europa from the Galileo spacecraft. More detailed views of varied terrain on Europa from Galileo. Cutaway illustration of Europa’s icy crust, subsurface ocean and possible vents that transport material to the surface. Future robotic explorers of Europa may answer some of the outstanding questions about this unique satellite of Jupiter. NASA’s Europa Clipper set off in October 2024 on a 5.5-year journey to Jupiter. After its arrival in 2030, the spacecraft will enter orbit around the giant planet and conduct 49 flybys of Europa during its four-year mission. Managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, Europa Clipper will carry nine instruments including imaging systems and a radar to better understand the structure of the icy crust. Data from Europa Clipper will complement information returned by the European Space Agency’s JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer) spacecraft. Launched in April 2023, JUICE will first enter orbit around Jupiter in 2031 and then enter orbit around Ganymede in 2034. The spacecraft also plans to conduct studies of Europa complementary with Europa Clipper’s. The two spacecraft should greatly increase our understanding of Europa and perhaps uncover new mysteries.
Illustration of the Europa Clipper spacecraft investigating Europa. Illustration of the JUICE spacecraft exploring Europa.European Space Agency. View the full article
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By Amazing Space
Winter Sky Guide: Orion, Pleiades & Jupiter Alignment | Meteor Shower Captured! Stargazing
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By NASA
3 min read
January’s Night Sky Notes: The Red Planet
by Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Have you looked up at the night sky this season and noticed a bright object sporting a reddish hue to the left of Orion? This is none other than the planet Mars! January will be an excellent opportunity to spot this planet and some of its details with a medium-sized telescope. Be sure to catch these three events this month.
Martian Retrograde
Mars entered retrograde (or backward movement relative to its usual direction) on December 7, 2024, and will continue throughout January into February 23, 2025. You can track the planet’s progress by sketching or photographing Mars’ position relative to nearby stars. Be consistent with your observations, taking them every few nights or so as the weather permits. You can use free software like Stellarium or Stellarium Web (the browser version) to help you navigate the night as Mars treks around the sky. You can find Mars above the eastern horizon after 8:00 PM local time.
This mid-January chart shows the path of Mars from September 2024 to June 2025 as it enters and then exits in retrograde motion. Mars appears to change its direction of motion in the sky because Earth is passing the slower-moving Mars in its orbit. Stellarium Hide and Seek
On the night of January 13th, you can watch Mars ‘disappear’ behind the Moon during an occultation. An occultation is when one celestial object passes directly in front of another, hiding the background object from view. This can happen with planets and stars in our night sky, depending on the orbit of an object and where you are on Earth, similar to eclipses.
A simulated view of the Moon as Mars begins its occultation on January 13, 2025. Stellarium Depending on where you are within the contiguous United States, you can watch this event with the naked eye, binoculars, or a small telescope. The occultation will happen for over an hour in some parts of the US. You can use websites like Stellarium Web or the Astronomical League’s ‘Moon Occults Mars’ chart to calculate the best time to see this event.
Closer and Closer
As you observe Mars this month to track its retrograde movement, you will notice that it will increase in brightness. This is because Mars will reach opposition by the evening of January 16th. Opposition happens when a planet is directly opposite the Sun, as seen from Earth. You don’t need to be in any specific city to observe this event; you only need clear skies to observe that it gets brighter. It’s also when Mars is closest to Earth, so you’ll see more details in a telescope.
Want a quick and easy way to illustrate what opposition is for Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, or other outer worlds? Follow the instructions on our Toolkit Hack: Illustrating Opposition with Exploring the Solar System page using our Exploring Our Solar System activity!
A mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars projected into point perspective, a view similar to that which one would see from a spacecraft. The mosaic is composed of 102 Viking Orbiter images of Mars. NASA/JPL-Caltech Mars has fascinated humanity for centuries, with its earliest recorded observations dating back to the Bronze Age. By the 17th century, astronomers were able to identify features of the Martian surface, such as its ice caps and darker regions. Since the 1960s, exploration of the Red Planet has intensified with robotic missions from various space organizations. Currently, NASA has five active missions, including rovers and orbiters, with the future focused on human exploration and habitation. Mars will always fill us with a sense of wonder and adventure as we reach for its soil through initiatives such as the Moon to Mars Architecture and the Mars Sample Return campaign.
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