Spacecraft and Celestial Bodies

Artistic concepts illustrating NASA spacecraft in space, exploring brown dwarfs, Saturn, and the heliosphere's outer layers.

A New View of Saturn - Black and White

Gamma Rays for You and Me

An Intimate Look at a Martian Crater

Weak but nearly continuous plasma oscillation events visible as a thin red line in this graphic connect stronger events in Voyager 1's Plasma Wave Subsystem data.

The artist's concept on left is based on theoretical models predicting the direction and strength of magnetic field lines coming from the sun and interstellar space.

The dramatic change in x-ray emission from the Terzan 2 cluster is shown in this series of 2.5-minute exposures taken with the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)-2/Einstein Observatory immediately before, during, and after the burst. Total exposure (20 minutes) of the object, including the outburst, is shown in the fourth photograph. These images represent the first observation of an x-ray burst in progress. The actual burst lasted 50 seconds. Among the rarest, and most bizarre, phenomena observed by x-ray astronomers are the so-called cosmic bursters (x-ray sources that suddenly and dramatically increase in intensity then subside). These sudden bursts of intense x-ray radiation apparently come from compact objects with a diameter smaller than 30 miles (48 kilometers). Yet, despite their minuscule size, a typical x-ray burster can release more x-ray energy in a single brief burst than our Sun does in an entire week. The HEAO-2, the first imaging and largest x-ray telescope built

Electron and Magnetic Field Observations (MAG/ER)

These two NASA Hubble Space Telescope images provide views of weather on opposite hemispheres of Neptune. Taken Aug. 13, 1996; these composite images blend information from different wavelengths to bring out features of Neptune's blustery weather.

This near-true color, barycentric, movie from NASA's New Horizons mission show Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, and the complex orbital dance of the two bodies, known as a double planet.

Mars At Opposition

Vesta science orbits from NASA's Dawn mission, part of the Mission Art series.

This global digital map of Saturn's moon Mimas was created using data taken during Cassini and Voyager spacecraft flybys. The map is an equidistant projection and has a scale of 434 meters (1,424 feet) per pixel

Mars Polar Lander NOT Found

These plots portray data from radar sounding of Mars' mid-latitude ionosphere at three times on Oct. 19 and 20, 2014. The data are from the MARSIS instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter.

Diagram of asteroids that the Lucy spacecraft will visit on its mission.

Enceladus Offset Spreading Center

Real-time data collected by the Global Differential Global Positioning System network, operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, shows the atmospheric signature of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption in Tonga on Jan. 15, 2022. The data is a measure of the density of electrons (known as total electron content units, or TECU) in the ionosphere - the outermost layer of the atmosphere, which starts between 50 and 56 miles (80 to 90 kilometers) above Earth's surface. Navigation radio signals, like those received by location sensors on smartphones, are broadcast by global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and experience delays when passing through the ionosphere. The extent of the delay depends on the density of electrons within the path of the GNSS signal in this atmospheric layer. When an explosive event such as a volcanic eruption or large earthquake injects energy into the atmosphere, the pressure waves from that event change the electron density in the ionosphere. Thes

This image contains the initial, informal names being used by NASA's New Horizons team for the features and regions on the surface of Pluto's largest moon, Charon. These names have not yet been approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Eerie Sounds of Saturn's Radio Emissions

The green diamond shows approximately where NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars, a region about 2 kilometers northeast of its target in the center of the estimated landing region (blue ellipse).

NASA's New Horizons data indicates that at least two (and possibly all four) of Pluto's small moons may be the result of mergers between still smaller moons.

These spectrograms from the MARSIS instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter show the intensity of radar echo in Mars' far-northern ionosphere at three times on Oct. 19 and 20, 2014.

The yellow line on this graphic indicates the number of hours of sunlight each sol, or Martian day, beginning with the entire Martian day (about 24 hours and 40 minutes) for the first 90 sols, then declining to no sunlight by about sol 300.

This sequence of maps shows varying surface temperatures on Saturn's moon Titan at two-year intervals, from 2004 to 2016. The measurements were made by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) instrument on NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

STEP will carry concentric test masses to Earth orbit to test a fundamental assumption underlying Einstein's theory of general relativity that gravitational mass is equivalent to inertial mass. STEP is a 21st-century version of the test that Galileo is said to have performed by dropping a carnon ball and a musket ball simultaneously from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to compare their accelerations. During the STEP experiment, four pairs of test masses will be falling around the Earth, and their accelerations will be measured by superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDS). The extended time sensitivity of the instruments will allow the measurements to be a million times more accurate than those made in modern ground-based tests.

The images detecting Kerberos and Styx shown here were taken with NASA's New Horizons' most sensitive camera, the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), from April 25-May 1, 2015.

Solar Spectrum and Spectrum of the Prominences, during a total Eclipse: Spectrum of Sun (top) compared with chemical elements (bottom) and prominences (1), the corona (2), northern aurora (3) and chromo-sphere (4). Dated 19th century

Titan's Upper Atmosphere: A factory of hydrocarbons

Hubble Sees Material Ejected From Comet Hale-Bopp

This graph shows variability in the intensity of the water absorption signal detected at Ceres by the Herschel space observatory on March 6, 2013.

Penetration of the sun's rays into the skin. Diagram showing how far the sun's rays penetrate the different layers of skin after passing through the ozone layer and glass.

A Bowl of Hematite-Rich 'Berries'

Orbital Debris and Satellites

Skiopticon image from the Department of Photography at the Royal Institute of Technology. Use by Professor Helmer Bäckström as lecture material. Bäckström was Sweden's first professor in photography at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm 1948-1958.curs for photocells. For more info see: Bowen

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover examined a mudstone outcrop area called Pahrump Hills on lower Mount Sharp, in 2014 and 2015. This view shows locations of some targets the rover studied there. The blue dots indicate where drilled samples of powdered rock were collected for analysis. The rover drilled a sample of rock powder at Confidence Hills in September 2014 and analyzed it with internal laboratory instruments. Then the mission conducted a walkabout survey up the slope, along the route indicated in yellow, stopping for close inspection at the red-dot locations. Observations from the walkabout were used to choose where to take additional drilled samples for analysis during a second pass up the slope. The Mojave 2 sample was collected in January 2015 and the Telegraph Peak one in February 2015. This view of the outcrop and other portions of Mount Sharp beyond is a mosaic of images taken by the rover's Mast Camera (Mastcam) in September 2014.

Ongoing Geologic Activity at Prometheus Volcano, Io

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This is an illustration of the analytical procedure of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Wet Chemistry Lab (WCL) on board the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) instrument.

$This artist's rendering shows a cross-section of the ice shell immediately beneath one of Enceladus' geyser-active fractures, illustrating the physical and thermal structure and the processes ongoing below and at the surface.$

Fraunhofer Solar Spectrum

Opportunity Site: Before and After

Earth's internal structure, illustration

The F Ring's Spiral Arm

This chart based on data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer illustrates why infrared-sensing telescopes are more suited to finding small, dark asteroids than telescopes that detect visible light.

Case of the Lost Atmosphere

Encountering Titan Again

Meridiani's Autograph

Two Moons and the Pleiades from Mars

A transmission spectrum made from a single observation using Webbs Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) reveals atmospheric characteristics of the hot gas giant exoplanet WASP-96 b. A transmission spectrum is made by comparing starlight filtered through a planets atmosphere as it moves across the star, to the unfiltered starlight detected when the planet is beside the star. Each of the 141 data points (white circles) on this graph represents the amount of a specific wavelength of light that is blocked by the planet and absorbed by its atmosphere. In this observation, the wavelengths detected by NIRISS range from 0.6 microns (red) to 2.8 microns (in the near-infrared). The amount of starlight blocked ranges from about 13,600 parts per million (1.36 percent) to 14,700 parts per million (1.47 percent). Researchers are able to detect and measure the abundances of key gases in a planets atmosphere based on the absorption pattern - the locations and heights of peaks on

This graph presents simplified data from overnight measurements by the Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander from noon of the mission's 70th Martian day, or sol, to noon the following sol (Aug. 5 to Aug. 6, 2008).

This image shows the Sun as it appears on Mars throughout the day. Scientists monitor the dimming of the setting Sun to assess how much dust is in the martian atmosphere. The pictures were taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's panoramic camera.

Landmarks at NEAR Shoemaker's Touchdown Site

McKittrick Rich in Sulfur

Different Strokes

The tilt of Mars' spin axis (obliquity) varies cyclically over hundreds of thousands of years, and affects the sunlight falling on the poles.

Saturn's Ring Rhythm #2

One concern about human adaptation to space is how returning from the microgravity of orbit to Earth can affect an astronaut's ability to fly safely. There are monitors and infrared video cameras to measure eye movements without having to affect the crew member. A computer screen provides moving images which the eye tracks while the brain determines what it is seeing. A video camera records movement of the subject's eyes. Researchers can then correlate perception and response. Test subjects perceive different images when a moving object is covered by a mask that is visible or invisible (above). Early results challenge the accepted theory that smooth pursuit -- the fluid eye movement that humans and primates have -- does not involve the higher brain. NASA results show that Eye movement can predict human perceptual performance, smooth pursuit and saccadic (quick or ballistic) movement share some signal pathways, and common factors can make both smooth pursuit and visual perception produc

'RAT' Leaves a Fine Mess

The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took measurement on a rock outcrop (Spot 39) and on loose soil (Spot 40) within the 'Yellowknife Bay' area of Mars' Gale Crater.

This plot shows the first-ever look at the deuterium to hydrogen ratio measured from the surface of Mars, as detected by the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument, or SAM, on NASA's Curiosity rover.

Of the 1,030 confirmed planets from Kepler, a dozen are less than twice the size of Earth and reside in the habitable zone of their host stars. In this diagram, the sizes of the exoplanets are represented by the size of each sphere.

Modeling the Seasons of Mercury's Tail

Photopolarimeter/Radiometer (PPR) Temperature Map of Great Red Spot

SCI2012_0003: SOFIA mid-infrared image of the planetary nebula Minkowski 2-9 (M2-9), also known as the Butterfly Nebula, compared with a visual-wavelength Hubble Space Telescope image at the same scale and orientation. The nebula is composed of two lobes of gas & dust expelled from a dying star with about the mass of our Sun that is seen at the center of the lobes. The HST image shows mostly ionized gas in the lobes whereas the SOFIA image shows mostly solid grains condensing in the gas. The SOFIA data were obtained during SOFIA's Early Science program in 2011 by a Guest Investigator team led by Michael Werner of Caltech/JPL using the FORCAST camera (P.I.Terry Herter, Cornell University).

First Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) Results from Orbit

Titan Flyby Number Four

Assistant Director of Science at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Michelle Thaller, left, speaks with NASA James Webb Space Telescope Operations Project Scientist Jane Rigby, right, about the Webb Deep Field image as it is shown on screen during a broadcast releasing the telescopes first full-color images, Tuesday, July 12, 2022, at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The first full-color images and spectroscopic data from the James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), are a demonstration of the power of Webb as the telescope begins its science mission to unfold the infrared universe.

Closer to Enceladus

This chart graphs measurements made by the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity against the distance the rover has driven, in meters.

NASA's Dawn instrumentation poster, part of the Dawn Mission Art series.

This chart plots the minimum daily atmospheric temperature measured by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft since landing on Mars. As the temperature increased through the summer season, the atmospheric humidity also increased.

Table of spectra From H. Scheelen.

These images, taken by New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), show four different faces of Pluto as it rotates about its axis with a period of 6.4 days.

Adirondack's Inner Self

Artist Concepts, Apollo Mission S66-10983 Ascent Stage Liftoff (S66-05094) S66-10984 Orientation During Ascent Phase (S66-05098) S66-10985 Midcourse Coast (S66-05113) S66-10986 Survey of Landing Site (S66-05117) S66-10987 Lunar Module (LM) Jettison (S66-05089) S66-10988 Trans-Earth Injection (S66-05090) S66-10989 Exploration on Lunar Surface Apollo Surface Lunar Exploration Experiment (ASLEP) S66-10990 Liftoff (S66-05125) S66-10991 Command Module (CM)-Service Module (SM) Separation (S66-05101 N/F) S66-10992 Touchdown on Lunar Surface (S66-05115) S66-10993 Transfer Orbit Insertion (S66-05111) S66-10994 Drogue Parachute Deployment S66-10995 S-IC Stage Separation S-II Stage Thrusting (S66-05099) S66-10996 Jettison Launch Escape System (S66-05114) S66-10997 Main Parachute Deployment (S66-05091) S66-10998 Mid-course correction (S66-05088) S66-10999 Lunar Orbit Insertion (S66-05086) S66-11000 Command Service Module (CSM)-LM Docked in LM Adapter-S-IVB (S66-06526) S66-11001 Docking and Separat

Dwarf Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) vocalization sonogram taken by researcher Jason Gedamke, Australia

During its close flyby of Jupiter on August 27, 2016, the Waves instrument on NASA's Juno spacecraft received radio signals associated with the giant planet's very intense auroras.

Neutron Spectrometer Measurements

Seasonal Changes in Mars' North Polar Ice Cap

This graphic depicts the passage of asteroid 2014 EC past Earth on March 6, 2014. The asteroid's closest approach is a distance equivalent to about one-sixth of the distance between Earth and the moon. The indicated times are in Universal Time.

Location of Sites Within 'Cryptic Terrain'

Salty Martian Rock

NASA's NuSTAR has made the most precise measurements yet of a radioactive element, called titanium-44, in the supernova remnant called 1987A.

NEAR Approach to Eros - 12 Panel Rotation Sequence

Mineral Tells Tale of Watery Past-2

This global digital map of Saturn's moon Titan was created using images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft's. The map was produced in June 2015 using data collected through Cassini's flyby, known as 'T100,' on April 7, 2014.

This image contains the initial, informal names being used by the New Horizons team for the features on Pluto's Sputnik Planum (plain). These names have not yet been approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

This artist's concept depicts the third observatory, the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)-3 in orbit. Designed and developed by TRW, Inc. under the direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center, the HEAO-3's mission was to survey and map the celestial sphere for gamma-ray flux and make detailed measurements of cosmic-ray particles. It carried three scientific experiments a gamma-ray spectrometer, a cosmic-ray isotope experiment, and a heavy cosmic-ray nuclei experiment. The HEAO-3 was originally identified as HEAO-C but the designation was changed once the spacecraft achieved orbit.

Dwarf Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) vocalization sonogram taken by researcher Jason Gedamke, Australia

This graphic illustrates how the Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment, or CIBER, team measures a diffuse glow of infrared light filling the spaces between galaxies. The glow does not come from any known stars and galaxies.

Optics: spectra of various gases. Colour aquatint by R.H. Digeon, ca. 1883.

Chromotherapy is carried out in the form of a cure which first tests the colors to be used for each one.

This seismogram shows the largest quake ever detected on another planet. Estimated at magnitude 5, this quake was discovered by NASA's InSight lander on May 4, 2022, the 1,222nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. InSight was sent to Mars with a highly sensitive seismometer, provided by France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), to study the deep interior of the planet. As seismic waves pass through or reflect off material in Mars' crust, mantle, and core, they change in ways that seismologists can study to determine the depth and composition of these layers. What scientists learn about the structure of Mars can help them better understand the formation of all rocky worlds, including Earth and its Moon.

This image graphs four gases released ('evolved') when powdered rock from the target rock 'Cumberland' was heated inside the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover.

Bizarre Sounds of Saturn's Radio Emissions

Ozone burden during Antarctic winter: time series from 8/1/2005 to 9/30/2005 from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on NASA's Aqua satellite.

Lidar Measurements of Snow Falling from Martian Clouds

Pathfinder Landers - In Test and On Mars

First Detection of Magnesium in Mercury's Exosphere

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