Pages

Saturday 6 June 2015

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S BEST SPACE PICTURES THIS WEEK LXIII


wpsE950.tmp
Week's Best Space Pictures: See An Arrow on the Sun
By Jane J. Lee,
National Geographic News, 5 June 2015.

Feed your need for "heavenly" views of the universe every Friday with our picks of the most awe-inspiring space pictures. This week, a new braking system for Martian spacecraft is put through its paces and fluffy white clouds dot green fields in Texas.

1. Arrow

wps5195.tmp

Two enormous filaments floating above the sun's surface come to a head, creating an "arrow" pointing to the right. If these dark-coloured lines of cooler material were straightened out, each would be a million miles long.

2. Aftermath

wps23F9.tmp

Fluffy white clouds look like sheep scattered across a field in this satellite image of the Nueces River (bottom) south of San Antonio, Texas. The river was one of several that overflowed its banks during the state's recent floods.

3. Core

wps50.tmp

This is as good as it gets - for the moment - for an image of the centre of the Messier 84 galaxy. Its core, discovered in March 1781, houses a supermassive black hole, as well as star explosions called supernovae.

4. Wisps

wpsEBBB.tmp

A diagonal veil of cirrus clouds hovers at high altitude over the Pacific Ocean in this satellite image taken off Chile's coast. Low-altitude stratocumulus clouds crouch in the upper right.

5. Young'n

wpsB238.tmp

A relatively young Martian crater discolours the red planet's surface like a bruise in this image taken by NASA's HiRISE spacecraft. Researchers can gauge the crater's age thanks to its sharp rim and intact debris field, known as ejecta.

6. Spinning Spud

wps193C.tmp

Nine illustrations outline the chaotic spin of Nix - one of Pluto's moons - as the potato-shaped body orbits the dwarf planet. Unpredictable changes in the light bouncing off Nix prompted astronomers to posit this new motion.

7. Brakes

wps1001.tmp

NASA's Low Density Supersonic Decelerator - a new braking system for Mars missions - heads for a test flight on Hawaii. A combination of airbags and a parachute will slow a two-to-three-ton payload from supersonic speeds to a safe landing.

Photo gallery by Emily Jan.

[Source: National Geographic News. Edited. Some links added.]

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please adhere to proper blog etiquette when posting your comments. This blog owner will exercise his absolution discretion in allowing or rejecting any comments that are deemed seditious, defamatory, libelous, racist, vulgar, insulting, and other remarks that exhibit similar characteristics. If you insist on using anonymous comments, please write your name or other IDs at the end of your message.