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Space Snapshots
Space Snapshots Bright Spots on Ceres [Christopher T. Russell, (IGPP, UCLA) Principal Investigator for the NASA DAWN mission]
[Image credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA]
As NASA’s Dawn spacecraft moved closer to the dwarf planet Ceres the nature of the bright spots on the dwarf planet’s surface have remained a mystery. This image shows a cratered landscape on the surface of Ceres, taken from an altitude of 4,500 km with a resolution of 500 m. One crater clearly contains some of these bright spots, with two main areas of brightness surrounded by several smaller spots. These bright spots make Ceres unique from anything we've seen before in the solar system. The DAWN science team is working to understand their source. Reflection from ice is the leading candidate in my mind, but the team continues to consider alternate possibilities, such as salt. With closer views from the new orbit and multiple view angles, we soon will be better able to determine the nature of this enigmatic phenomenon. 20
STEREO Returns [Richard A Harrison, (RAL Space, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK) STEREO/HI Principal Investigator]
(Image credit: NASA)
NASA’s twin STEREO spacecraft were launched in October 2006 and inserted into solar 1 AU orbits, with one spacecraft (STEREO-A) drifting ahead of the Earth in its orbit, and one (STEREO-B) drifting behind the Earth. As the mission progressed, the spacecraft drifted away from the Sun-Earth line at 22.5 degrees per year. From the two-platform vantage point, two unique observation scenarios have been possible. Scientists have used the twin viewpoints to image the Sun’s atmosphere in 3D. Also, looking back at the space between the Sun and the Earth, STEREO has been able to image solarejected clouds (Coronal Mass Ejections) that are Earth-directed. In the 8 years since the start of the science operations, the STEREO data have had a huge impact on our understanding of solar ejecta and their impacts and on the nature of the solar atmosphere. However, in recent months both spacecraft have been in superior conjunction, behind the Sun with respect to the Earth. Clearly this means that normal operations are impossible. Over the summer and autumn, the two spacecraft will re-emerge and operations will continue as the spacecraft progress around the Sun. For STEREO-A, normal operations are anticipated from the summer. STEREO-B did encounter communication problems prior to superior conjunction and waking up the spacecraft will be more problematic, but scientists are hopeful of a full, continuing operation. 21
[Image credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA]
As NASA’s Dawn spacecraft moved closer to the dwarf planet Ceres the nature of the bright spots on the dwarf planet’s surface have remained a mystery. This image shows a cratered landscape on the surface of Ceres, taken from an altitude of 4,500 km with a resolution of 500 m. One crater clearly contains some of these bright spots, with two main areas of brightness surrounded by several smaller spots. These bright spots make Ceres unique from anything we've seen before in the solar system. The DAWN science team is working to understand their source. Reflection from ice is the leading candidate in my mind, but the team continues to consider alternate possibilities, such as salt. With closer views from the new orbit and multiple view angles, we soon will be better able to determine the nature of this enigmatic phenomenon. 20
STEREO Returns [Richard A Harrison, (RAL Space, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK) STEREO/HI Principal Investigator]
(Image credit: NASA)
NASA’s twin STEREO spacecraft were launched in October 2006 and inserted into solar 1 AU orbits, with one spacecraft (STEREO-A) drifting ahead of the Earth in its orbit, and one (STEREO-B) drifting behind the Earth. As the mission progressed, the spacecraft drifted away from the Sun-Earth line at 22.5 degrees per year. From the two-platform vantage point, two unique observation scenarios have been possible. Scientists have used the twin viewpoints to image the Sun’s atmosphere in 3D. Also, looking back at the space between the Sun and the Earth, STEREO has been able to image solarejected clouds (Coronal Mass Ejections) that are Earth-directed. In the 8 years since the start of the science operations, the STEREO data have had a huge impact on our understanding of solar ejecta and their impacts and on the nature of the solar atmosphere. However, in recent months both spacecraft have been in superior conjunction, behind the Sun with respect to the Earth. Clearly this means that normal operations are impossible. Over the summer and autumn, the two spacecraft will re-emerge and operations will continue as the spacecraft progress around the Sun. For STEREO-A, normal operations are anticipated from the summer. STEREO-B did encounter communication problems prior to superior conjunction and waking up the spacecraft will be more problematic, but scientists are hopeful of a full, continuing operation. 21