NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S SPACE PICTURES THIS WEEK XXXI

Space Pictures This Week: Mars Scoop, Odd Spiral, More
By National Geographic News, 12 October 2012.

1. Spiral Surprise

An unexpected spiral structure has been spotted in the material around the old star R Sculptoris - seen above in a picture released October 10 by the European Space Observatory's Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).

The mysterious structure "has never been seen before and is probably caused by a hidden companion star orbiting the star," according to the observatory.

In the above picture - the first 3-D depiction of such a spiral - the shell around the star shows up as the outer circular ring. The image also depicts a very clear spiral structure in the inner material.

(See "Pictures: New Proof Spiral Galaxies Eat, Digest Dwarfs.")

2. Colourful Canyon

Mars gigantic Coprates Chasma dominates a colour-enhanced picture by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera and released October 10.

The view shows a portion of the top of the south wall of the canyon, looking down onto steep upper slopes. The colours indicate diverse rock types are present, according to the HiRISE team. (See another HiRISE picture of Mars.)

3. Auroras From Above

Looking like wispy clouds, aurora borealis, or northern lights, light up the sky above Canada's Quebec and Ontario Provinces on October 8.

NASA satellites captured the view a few days after a coronal mass ejection (CME), a release of energetic particles from the atmosphere of the sun. CMEs stir up the magnetic field around Earth, producing the "gorgeous displays" of northern lights, according to NASA's Earth Observatory. (See "New Aurora Pictures: Solar Flare Sparks 'Snakes,' 'Spears.'")

4. What a Scoop

A scoop on NASA's Marsrover Curiosity shows soil particles too big to pass through a sample-processing sieve, through which only grains less than 0.006 inch (0.015 centimetre) wide can pass.

Curiosity is currently using two instruments to study a Martian rock dubbed Jake Matijevic, which initial results suggest has a chemical composition similar to some rocks on Earth. (See "Mars Curiosity Rover Finds Proof of Flowing Water—A First.")

5. Liftoff

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, attached to its Dragon capsule, zooms through the atmosphere after it had lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on October 7.

For the second time in five months, SpaceX, a private company, has successfully docked its Dragon at the International Space Station (ISS) - this time on its first official cargo run under a supply contract with NASA.

6. Scorpius

Don't worry, this scorpion doesn't sting. A two-panel mosaic reveals a region of the zodiacal constellation Scorpius. Taken from central Australia, the picture was submitted to National Geographic's My Shot photo community on October 8.

Scorpius, which rises during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere, follows the ecliptic - or the path of Earth's orbit around the sun.

7. Ash Plume

A long plume of ash stretches from Russia's Shiveluch volcano following an eruption October 6, as captured by NASA's Aqua satellite.

The Kamchatka Volcanic Emergency Response Team in Alaska reported that the ash plume from Shiveluch - located near the coast of the Bering Sea - had reached an altitude of 9,800 feet (2,990 meters) above sea level, and had travelled some 140 miles (220 kilometres) from the volcano's summit.

(See "'Sleeping' Volcanoes Can Wake Up Faster Than Thought.")

8. Towering Lights

Auroras tower over Lumby, British Columbia, in a picture submitted to the astronomy-education project The World At Night (TWAN) on October 9.

Auroras are created when charged solar particles slam into Earth's magnetic field and get funnelled poleward. The particles collide with molecules in our atmosphere, transferring energy and making the air molecules glow.

"What a night yesterday," photographer Yuichi Takasaka said with his submission. (See "Aurora Pictures: Huge Solar Blasts Spark Rare Colours.")

[Source: National Geographic News. Edited.]