Rising air during a 2007 global dust storm on Mars lofted water vapor into the planet's middle atmosphere, researchers learned from data graphed here, derived from observations by the Mars Climate Sounder instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The two vertical black lines in the right half of the graph (at about 260 and 310 on the horizontal scale) mark the beginning and end of the most recent global dust storm on Mars, which burst from regional scale to globe-encircling scale in July 2007. The presence of more colored dots, particularly green ones, in the upper portion of the graph between those lines, compared to the upper portion of the graph outside those lines, documents the uplift of water vapor in connection with the global dust storm. The vertical scale is altitude, labeled at left in kilometers above the surface of Mars (50 kilometers is about 30 miles; 80 kilometers is about 50 miles). The color bar below the graph gives the key to how much water vapor each dot represents, in parts per million, by volume, in Mars' atmosphere. Note that green to yellow represents about 100 times as much water as purple does. The horizontal axis of the graph is time, from January 2006 to February 2008. It is labeled with numbers representing the 360 degrees of Mars' orbit around the Sun, from zero to 360 degrees and then further on to include the first 30 degrees of the following Martian year. (The zero point is autumnal equinox -- end of summer -- in Mars' northern hemisphere.) This graph, based on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observations, was used in a January 2018 paper in Nature Astronomy by Nicholas Heavens of Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, and co-authors. The paper presents Martian dust storms' uplifting effect on water vapor as a factor in seasonal patterns that other spacecraft have detected in the rate of hydrogen escaping from the top of Mars' atmosphere. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22080

This graph shows the relative elevation of various sampling sites visited by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. Colored dots along the line represent targets where data was collected by the rover's SuperCam laser instrument; the colors correspond to different regions within Jezero Crater, which are labeled. The black diamonds represent locations where the rover's abrasion tool was used to collect data on rock composition. The x-axis indicates the sol, or day, of the rover's mission, and the y-axis shows elevation in meters. Jezero Crater sits about 8,530 feet (2,600 meters) below reference level (the equivalent for "sea level" on Mars, which does not have any oceans), which is why the numbers appear to be decreasing as Perseverance is gaining elevation. The dotted horizontal lines represent estimated levels of ancient, now-dry lakes. Jezero Crater was filled by water for much of its history; this lake environment could have preserved signs of microbial life, if any formed here billions of years ago. At the far right of the graph, the line suddenly jumps, indicating a sharp elevation gain, showing how quickly the rover has ascended toward the crater rim. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26476

Graph depicting Electrostatic Levitator (ESL) heating and cooling cycle to achieve undercooling of liquid metals. The ESL uses static electricity to suspend an object (about 3-4 mm in diameter) inside a vacuum chamber while a laser heats the sample until it melts. This lets scientists record a wide range of physical properties without the sample contracting the container or any instruments, conditions that would alter the readings. The electrostatic Levitator is one of several tools used in NASA's microgravity matierials sciences program.

The places where the red line on this graph extends higher than the blue line show detection of metals added to the Martian atmosphere from dust particles released by a passing comet on Oct. 19, 2014. The graphed data are from NASA MAVEN spacecraft.

This graph shows the rise and fall of air and ground temperatures on Mars obtained by NASA Curiosity rover.

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

This graph shows a spectrum recorded by the Chemistry and Camera instrument ChemCam in NASA Curiosity Mars rover; it is is typical of Martian volcanic basalt material.

This graph shows the brightness variations of the brown dwarf named 2MASSJ22282889-431026 measured simultaneously by both NASA Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes.

This graph shows the percentage abundance of five gases in the atmosphere of Mars, as measured by the Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer instrument of the SAM instrument suite onboard Curiosity.

This graph shows about one-fourth of a Martian year pattern atmospheric pressure at the surface of Mars, as measured by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station on NASA Curiosity rover.

This graph shows the temperature differences in the oldest light in the universe, called the cosmic microwave background, detected by ESA Planck at different distances apart on the sky.

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

These graphs compare data from identical instruments onboard NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft as they each exited the heliosphere. Voyager 1 exited in 2012, and Voyager 2 exited in 2018. The cosmic ray subsystem (CRS) measures the rate of energetic particles hitting the radiation detector on the instrument. The top graph shows high energy particles (called cosmic rays) that originate outside the heliosphere. The CRS instruments on both spacecraft observed similar, but not identical, increases in the cosmic ray rate as they both crossed the heliopause (the outer edge of the heliosphere). The lower graph shows slightly lower energy particles that originate inside the heliosphere. Both spacecraft detected a similar but not identical decrease in these lower energy particles when they crossed the heliopause and immediately after. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22916

This graph compares a typical daily pattern of changing atmospheric pressure blue with the pattern during a regional dust storm hundreds of miles away red. The data are by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station REMS on NASA Curiosity rover.

This set of graphs shows variation in the amount and the depth of water detected beneath NASA Mars rover Curiosity by use of the rover Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons DAN instrument at different points the rover has driven.

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 Curiosity Mars rover.

This graph of data from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope demonstrates that the dust around a nearby star called HD 69830 upper line has a very similar composition to that of Comet Hale-Bopp.

By monitoring weather throughout two Martian years since landing in Gale Crater in 2012, NASA Curiosity Mars rover has documented seasonal patterns such as shown in these graphs of temperature, water-vapor content and air pressure.

This graph based on data from the RAD instrument onboard NASA Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft shows the flux of energetic particles vertical axis as a function of the estimated energy deposited in water horizontal axis.

This graph illustrates the Cepheid period-luminosity relationship, used to calculate the size, age and expansion rate of the universe. The data shown are from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope which has made the most precise measurements yet.

This graph compares the elemental composition of typical soils at three landing regions on Mars: Gusev Crater, from Spirit; Meridiani Planum, from Opportunity; and now Gale Crater, where NASA newest Curiosity rover is currently investigating.

This graph of data from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope shows changes in the infrared light output of two star-planet systems one above, one below located hundreds of light-years away.

Data graphed here are examples from the Sample Analysis at Mars SAM laboratory detection of Martian organics in a sample of powder that the drill on NASA Curiosity Mars rover collected from a rock target called Cumberland.

This graph made with data from the AIRS instrument on NASA Aqua satellite shows the concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth mid-troposphere, located roughly between 3 to 6 miles 5 to 9 kilometers in altitude.

This graph shows readings for atmospheric pressure at the landing site of NASA Curiosity rover. The data were obtained by Curiosity Rover Environmental Monitoring Station from Aug. 15 to Aug. 18, 2012.

This graph of data from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope shows that an extraordinarily low-mass brown dwarf, or failed star, called OTS 44, is circled by a disc of planet-building dust.

This graph shows the atmospheric pressure at the surface of Mars, as measured by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station on NASA Curiosity rover. Pressure is a measure of the amount of air in the whole column of atmosphere sitting above the rover.

This pair of graphs shows about one-fourth of a Martian year record of temperatures in degrees Celsius measured by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station REMS on NASA Curiosity rover.

This graph, or spectrum, from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope tells astronomers that some of the most basic ingredients of DNA and protein are concentrated in a dusty planet-forming disk circling a young sun-like star called IRS 46.

This graph depicts the increased signal quality possible with optical fibers made from ZBLAN, a family of heavy-metal fluoride glasses (fluorine combined zirconium, barium, lanthanum, aluminum, and sodium) as compared to silica fibers. NASA is conducting research on pulling ZBLAN fibers in the low-g environment of space to prevent crystallization that limits ZBLAN's usefulness in optical fiber-based communications. In the graph, a line closer to the black theoretical maximum line is better. Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center

On STS-89, three Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM) test cells were subjected to five cycles of compression and relief (left) and three were subjected to shorter displacement cycles that simulate motion during an earthquake (right). In the compression/relief tests, the sand particles rearranged themselves and slightly re-expanded the column during relief. In the short displacement tests, the specimen's resistance to compression decreases, even though the displacement remains the same. The specimens were cycled up to 100 times or until the resistive force was less than 1% that of the previous cycle. Sand and soil grains have faces that can cause friction as they roll and slide against each other, or even cause sticking and form small voids between grains. This complex behavior can cause soil to behave like a liquid under certain conditions such as earthquakes or when powders are handled in industrial processes. Mechanics of Granular Materials (MGM) experiments aboard the Space Shuttle use the microgravity of space to simulate this behavior under conditons that carnot be achieved in laboratory tests on Earth. MGM is shedding light on the behavior of fine-grain materials under low effective stresses. Applications include earthquake engineering, granular flow technologies (such as powder feed systems for pharmaceuticals and fertilizers), and terrestrial and planetary geology. Nine MGM specimens have flown on two Space Shuttle flights. Another three are scheduled to fly on STS-107. The principal investigator is Stein Sture of the University of Colorado at Boulder. Credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

Materials with a smaller mean atomic mass, such as lithium (Li) hydride and polyethylene, make the best radiation shields for astronauts. The materials have a higher density of nuclei and are better able to block incoming radiation. Also, they tend to produce fewer and less dangerous secondary particles after impact with incoming radiation.

The yellow triangles on this graph indicate concentrations of the elements titanium and silicon in selected rock targets with high silica content analyzed by the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument on NASA's Curiosity rover in Mars' Gale Crater. The pattern shows a correlation between enriched silicon content and enriched titanium content. Titanium is difficult to mobilize in weathering environments, and this correlation suggests that both titanium and silicon remain as the residue of acidic weathering. Ongoing research aims to distinguish between that possible explanation for silicon enrichment and an alternative of mobilized silicon being added to the site (see PIA20275). As a general comparison with these selected high-silica targets in Gale Crater, the gray dots in the graph show the range of titanium and silicon concentrations in all Martian targets analyzed by APXS instruments on three Mars rovers at three different areas of Mars. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20274

These eight graphs present data from the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer on NASA MAVEN orbiter identifying ions of different metals added to the Martian atmosphere shortly after comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring sped close to Mars.

This graph of data from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope shows how astronomers located a hot spot on a distant gas planet named upsilon Andromedae b. Termed an exoplanet, it orbits a star beyond our sun, and whips around very closely to its star.

The upper panel of this figure shows small images of comet Hartley 2 taken by NASA EPOXI mission over time. The lower panel is a graph showing the variation of total brightness, and the variation of the total amount of carbon dioxide, during the time.

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

This graph, or spectrum, from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope, charts light from a faraway galaxy located 10 billion light years from Earth. It tracks mid-infrared light from an extremely luminous galaxy when the universe was only 1/4 of its current age.

The top graph consists of infrared data from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope. It tells astronomers that a distant planet, called Upsilon Andromedae b, always has a giant hot spot on the side that faces the star, while the other side is cold and dark.

This graph shows changes in apparent brightness of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring as it approached and receded from Mars, as seen by the HiRISE camera on NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The pattern suggests the comet rotates once every eight hours.

This photo of the X-1A includes graphs of the flight data from Maj. Charles E. Yeager's Mach 2.44 flight on December 12, 1953. (This was only a few days short of the 50th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first powered flight.) After reaching Mach 2.44, then the highest speed ever reached by a piloted aircraft, the X-1A tumbled completely out of control. The motions were so violent that Yeager cracked the plastic canopy with his helmet. He finally recovered from a inverted spin and landed on Rogers Dry Lakebed. Among the data shown are Mach number and altitude (the two top graphs). The speed and altitude changes due to the tumble are visible as jagged lines. The third graph from the bottom shows the G-forces on the airplane. During the tumble, these twice reached 8 Gs or 8 times the normal pull of gravity at sea level. (At these G forces, a 200-pound human would, in effect, weigh 1,600 pounds if a scale were placed under him in the direction of the force vector.) Producing these graphs was a slow, difficult process. The raw data from on-board instrumentation recorded on oscillograph film. Human computers then reduced the data and recorded it on data sheets, correcting for such factors as temperature and instrument errors. They used adding machines or slide rules for their calculations, pocket calculators being 20 years in the future.

This graph displays data collected by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover from targets in a rock formation nicknamed "Bright Angel." Scientists later determined one of those targets, a rock nicknamed "Cheyava Falls" (second line from the top), contained a potential biosignature. A potential biosignature is a substance or structure that might have a biological origin but requires more data or further study before a conclusion can be reached about the absence or presence of life. The graph includes "G-bands" – a type of signal in Raman spectroscopy – indicating the presence of organic molecules, which can be created by both geological as well as biological sources. ("Bknd" is shorthand for "background.") The data was collected by an instrument on the end of Perseverance's robotic arm called SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals). A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover is characterizing the planet's geology and past climate, to help pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and is the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program (MEP) portfolio and the agency's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26639

The graph at right presents information from the NASA Curiosity Mars rover's onboard analysis of rock powder drilled from the "Buckskin" target location, shown at left. X-ray diffraction analysis of the Buckskin sample inside the rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument revealed the presence of a silica-containing mineral named tridymite. This is the first detection of tridymite on Mars. Peaks in the X-ray diffraction pattern are from minerals in the sample, and every mineral has a diagnostic set of peaks that allows identification. The image of Buckskin at left was taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on July 30, 2015, and is also available at PIA19804. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20271

This set of graphs illustrates how data from two key instruments point to NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft entering interstellar space, or the space between the stars, in November 2018. The top two plots come from the plasma science experiment (PLS). The plasma -- or ionized gas -- of interstellar space is significantly denser than the plasma inside the bubble of plasma the Sun blows around itself (the heliosphere). There is a jump on the graph in November 2018. At the same time, the measurements show that the outward speed (radial velocity) of the plasma the Sun is blowing (also known as the solar wind) sharply decreased. The bottom two plots come from the cosmic ray subsystem, which counts hits per second of higher-energy particles that originate from outside the solar bubble and lower-energy particles that originate from inside the solar bubble. The outsideparticles (also known as galactic cosmic rays or GCRs) increased and the inside particles (greater than 0.5 MeV) decreased at the same time the plasma science instrument detected its changes. The horizontal axis proceeds according to the numbered days of the year in 2018. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22923

jsc2025e064333 (5/31/2024) --- Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image graphs and elemental mappings of the samples pyrolyzed at 1200 oC in the Ar (A1-A4) and microgravity (B1-B4). (The red circles in the SEM images represent obvious pores).

S96-13558 (26 Aug 1996) --- Cosmonaut Aleksandr Y. Kaleri, Mir-22 flight engineer.

S96-13559 --- Leopold Eyharts represents France's space agency (CNES) as a member of the Mir-25 crew.

ProVision Technologies, a NASA commercial space center at Sternis Space Center in Mississippi, has developed a new hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system that is much smaller than the original large units used aboard remote sensing aircraft and satellites. The new apparatus is about the size of a breadbox. HSI may be useful to ophthalmologists to study and diagnose eye health, both on Earth and in space, by examining the back of the eye to determine oxygen and blood flow quickly and without any invasion. ProVision's hyperspectral imaging system can scan the human eye and produce a graph showing optical density or light absorption, which can then be compared to a graph from a normal eye. Scans of the macula, optic disk or optic nerve head, and blood vessels can be used to detect anomalies and identify diseases in this delicate and important organ. ProVision has already developed a relationship with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, but is still on the lookout for a commercial partner in this application.

ProVision Technologies, a NASA research partnership center at Sternis Space Center in Mississippi, has developed a new hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system that is much smaller than the original large units used aboard remote sensing aircraft and satellites. The new apparatus is about the size of a breadbox. HSI may be useful to ophthalmologists to study and diagnose eye health, both on Earth and in space, by examining the back of the eye to determine oxygen and blood flow quickly and without any invasion. ProVision's hyperspectral imaging system can scan the human eye and produce a graph showing optical density or light absorption, which can then be compared to a graph from a normal eye. Scans of the macula, optic disk or optic nerve head, and blood vessels can be used to detect anomalies and identify diseases in this delicate and important organ. ProVision has already developed a relationship with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, but is still on the lookout for a commercial partner in this application.

This graph presents information from the NASA Curiosity Mars rover's onboard analysis of rock powder drilled from the "Buckskin" and "Greenhorn" target locations on lower Mount Sharp. Buckskin, in the "Marias Pass" area, and Greenhorn, in the "Bridger Basin" area, both contain high concentrations of silica. X-ray diffraction analysis of powered samples inside Curiosity's Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument revealed that each of them contains silica in the form of noncrystalline opal. The broad hump in the two X-ray diffraction patterns is diagnostic of opaline silica. Some of the silica in Buckskin is in the form of tridymite. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20273

The set of graphs on the left illustrates the drop in electrical current detected in three directions by Voyager 2's plasma science experiment (PLS) to background levels. They are among the key pieces of data that Voyager scientists used to determine that Voyager 2 entered interstellar space, the space between stars, in November 2018. The disappearance in electrical current in the sunward-looking detectors indicates the spacecraft is no longer in the outward flow of solar wind plasma. It is instead in a new plasma environment -- interstellar medium plasma. The image on the right shows the Faraday cups of the PLS. The three sunward pointed cups point in slightly different directions in order to measure the direction of the solar wind. The fourth cup (on the upper left) points perpendicular to the others. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22922

The first data from RainCube, a tiny weather satellite. RainCube is a prototype for a possible fleet of future small satellite missions that can track precipitation from space. RainCube "sees" objects by using radar, much as a bat uses sonar. The satellite's umbrella -- like antenna sends out chirps, or specialized radar signals, that bounce off raindrops, bringing back a picture of what the inside of the storm looks like. This graph shows a storm over the mountains in Mexico in late August 2018, as measured by RainCube's radar. The data shows a vertical snapshot of the storm -- the bright white line shows the ground, while the bright colors around it show the intensity of the rainfall, as well as the more reflective areas of the terrain. Brighter colors, like yellow or red, show areas of higher reflectivity, e.g. heavier rain. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22654

This graph shows the ratio of concentrations of several elements in four different pairs of targets examined by Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) instruments on NASA Mars rovers Curiosity and Spirit. For each pair of targets, one shows evidence of mineral alteration and the other is an unaltered counterpart. The first three pairs (with ratios shown by green, blue and red lines) are targets in Gale Crater analyzed by Curiosity's APXS. The fourth pair (with ratio shown by the black line) is in Gusev Crater and was analyzed by Spirit's APXS. Similar profiles are observed, suggesting the possibility of related formation processes. As with examples of silica enrichment found by Curiosity, the origin of high-silica nodular deposits found by Spirit also remains unresolved: Either acidic weathering or silica addition could be responsible. It is clear, however, that liquid water was involved in either alteration scenario. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20276

The graph at right presents information from the NASA Curiosity Mars rover's onboard analysis of rock powder drilled from the "Big Sky" and "Greenhorn" target locations, shown at left. X-ray diffraction analysis of the Greenhorn sample inside the rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument revealed an abundance of silica in the form of noncrystalline opal. The broad hump in the background of the X-ray diffraction pattern for Greenhorn, compared to Big Sky, is diagnostic of opal. The image of Big Sky at upper left was taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera the day the hole was drilled, Sept. 29, 2015, during the mission's 1,119th Martian day, or sol. The Greenhorn hole was drilled, and the MAHLI image at lower left was taken, on Oct. 18, 2015 (Sol 1137). http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20272

This graphic indicates a similarity between 2016 (dark blue line) and five past years in which Mars has experienced a global dust storm (orange lines and band), compared to years with no global dust storm (blue-green lines and band). The arrow nearly midway across in the dark blue line indicates the Mars time of year in late September 2016. A key factor in the graph is the orbital angular momentum of Mars, which would be steady in a system of only one planet orbiting the sun, but varies due to relatively small effects of having other planets in the solar system. The horizontal scale is time of year on Mars, starting at left with the planet's farthest distance from the sun in each orbit. This point in the Mars year, called "Mars aphelion," corresponds to late autumn in the southern hemisphere. Numeric values on the horizontal axis are in Earth years; each Mars year lasts for about 1.9 Earth years. The vertical scale bar at left applies only to the black-line curve on the graph. The amount of solar energy entering Mars' atmosphere (in watts per square meter) peaks at the time of year when Mars is closest to the sun, corresponding to late spring in the southern hemisphere. The duration of Mars' dust storm season, as indicated, brackets the time of maximum solar input to the atmosphere. The scale bar at right, for orbital angular momentum, applies to the blue, brown and blue-green curves on the graph. The values are based on mass, velocity and distance from the gravitational center of the solar system. Additional information on the units is in a 2015 paper in the journal Icarus, from which this graph is derived. The band shaded in orange is superimposed on the curves of angular momentum for five Mars years that were accompanied by global dust storms in 1956, 1971, 1982, 1994 and 2007. Brown diamond symbols on the curves for these years in indicate the times when the global storms began. The band shaded blue-green lies atop angular momentum curves for six years when no global dust storms occurred: 1939, 1975, 1988, 1998, 2000 and 2011. Note that in 2016, as in the pattern of curves for years with global dust storms, the start of the dust storm season corresponded to a period of increasing orbital angular momentum. In years with no global storm, angular momentum was declining at that point. Observations of whether dust from regional storms on Mars spreads globally in late 2016 or early 2017 will determine whether this correspondence holds up for the current Mars year. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20855

Data graphed here from the Chemistry and Camera (CheMin) instrument on NASA's Mars Curiosity rover show a difference between clay minerals in powder drilled from mudstone outcrops at two locations in Mars' Gale Crater: "Yellowknife Bay" and "Murray Buttes." CheMin's X-ray diffraction analysis reveals information about the crystalline structure of minerals in the rock. The intensity peaks marked with dotted vertical lines in this chart indicate that the crystalline structure of the two sites' clay minerals differs. The difference can be tied to a compositional difference in the clay minerals, as depicted in a diagram at PIA21148. The Yellowknife Bay site is on the floor of Gale Crater. The Murray Buttes site is on lower Mount Sharp, the layered mound in the center of the crater. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21147

STS059-S-040 (12 April 1994) --- STS-59's MAPS (Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites) experiment is sending real-time data that provides the most comprehensive view of carbon monoxide concentrations on Earth ever recorded. This computer image shows a summary of "quick look" data obtained by the MAPS instrument during its first days of operations as part of the Space Shuttle Endeavour's SRL-1 payload. This data will be processed using more sophisticated techniques following the flight. The color red indicates areas with the highest levels of carbon monoxide. These Northern Hemisphere springtime carbon monoxide values are generally significantly higher than the values found in the Southern Hemisphere. This is in direct contrast to the data obtained by the MAPS experiment during November 1981 and October 1984, i.e. during Northern Hemisphere fall. The astronauts aboard Endeavour have seen fires in most of the areas showing higher carbon monoxide values (China, Eastern Australia, and equatorial Africa). The relationship between the observed fires and the higher carbon monoxide values will be investigated following SRL-1 by combining the MAPS data with meteorological data, surface imagery, and Space Shuttle hand-held photographs. By the end of SRL-1, MAPS will have acquired data over most of the globe between 57 degrees north and 57 degrees south latitudes. The entire data set will be carefully analyzed using sophisticated post-flight data processing techniques. The data will then be applied in a variety of scientific studies concerning chemistry and transport processes in the atmosphere. The MAPS experiment measures the carbon monoxide in the lower atmosphere. This gas is produced both as a result of natural processes and as a result of human activities. The primary human resources of carbon monoxide are automobiles and industry and the burning of plant materials. The primary natural source is the interaction of sunlight with naturally occurring ozone and water vapor. The strength of all of these sources changes seasonally.

This graph presents measured properties of the seven TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets (labeled b through h), showing how they stack up with one another as well as with Earth and the other inner rocky worlds in our own solar system. The relative sizes of the planets are indicated by the circles. All of the known TRAPPIST-1 planets are larger than Mars, with five of them within 15% of the diameter of Earth. The vertical axis shows the uncompressed densities of the planets. Density, calculated from a planet's mass and volume, is the first important step in understanding its composition. Uncompressed density takes into account that the larger a planet is, the more its own gravity will pack the planet's material together and increase its density. Uncompressed density, therefore, usually provides a better means of comparing the composition of planets. The plot shows that the uncompressed densities of the TRAPPIST-1 planets are similar to one another, suggesting they may have all have a similar composition. The four rocky planets in our own solar system show more variation in density compared to the seven TRAPPIST-1 planets. Mercury, for example, contains a much higher percentage of iron than the other three rocky planets and thus has a much higher uncompressed density. The horizontal axis shows the level of illumination that each planet receives from its host star. The TRAPPIST-1 star is a mere 9% the mass of our Sun, and its temperature is much cooler. But because the TRAPPIST-1 planets orbit so closely to their star, they receive comparable levels of light and heat to Earth and its neighboring planets. The corresponding "habitable zones" — regions where an Earth-like planet could potentially support liquid water on its surface — of the two planetary systems are indicated near the top of the plot. The the two zones do not line up exactly because the cooler TRAPPIST-1 star emitting more of its light in the form of infrared radiation that is more efficiently absorbed by an Earth-like atmosphere. Since it takes less illumination to reach the same temperatures, the habitable zone shifts farther away from the star. The masses and densities of the TRAPPIST-1 planets were determined by measurements of slight variations in the timings of their orbits using extensive observations made by NASA's Spitzer and Kepler space telescopes, in combination with data from Hubble and a number of ground-based telescopes. The latest analysis, which includes Spitzer's complete record of over 1,000 hours of TRAPPIST-1 observations, has reduced the uncertainties of the mass measurements to a mere 3-6%. These are among the most accurate measurements of planetary masses anywhere outside of our solar system. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24371

This graph shows the rise in global mean sea level from 1993 to 2024 based on data from a series of five international satellites. The solid red line indicates the trajectory of this increase, which has more than doubled over the three decades. The dotted red line projects future sea level rise. Global sea level rose faster than expected in 2024 due mostly to ocean water expanding as it warms, or thermal expansion. According to a NASA-led analysis, last year's rate of rise was 0.23 inches (0.59 centimeters) per year, compared to the expected rate of 0.17 inches (0.43 centimeters) per year. In recent years, about two-thirds of sea level rise was due to the addition of water from land into the ocean by melting ice sheets and glaciers. About a third came from thermal expansion of seawater. But in 2024, those contributions flipped, with two-thirds of sea level rise coming from thermal expansion. This NASA-led analysis is based on a sea level dataset featuring more than 30 years of satellite observations, starting with the U.S.-French TOPEX/Poseidon mission, which launched in 1992. The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission, which launched in November 2020, is the latest in the series of satellites that have contributed to this sea level record. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26189

This graph shows the rise in global mean sea level from 1993 to 2023 based on data from a series of five international satellites. The solid red line indicates the trajectory of this increase, which has more than doubled over the three decades. The dotted red line projects future sea level rise. The relatively large jump in sea level from 2022 to 2023, a rise of about 0.3 inches (0.76 centimeters), is due mostly to a warming climate and the development of a strong El Niño. The 2022-2023 rise is equivalent to draining a quarter of Lake Superior into the ocean over the course of a year. This NASA-led analysis is based on a sea level data set featuring more than 30 years of satellite observations, starting with the U.S.-French TOPEX/Poseidon mission, which launched in 1992. The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission, which launched in November 2020, is the latest in the series of satellites that have contributed to this sea level record. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26183

At the end of 2018, the cosmic ray subsystem (CRS) aboard NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft provided evidence that Voyager 2 had left the heliosphere (the plasma bubble the Sun blows around itself). There were steep drops in the rate at which particles that originate inside the heliosphere hit the instrument's radiation detector. At the same time, there were significant increases in the rate at which particles that originate outside our heliosphere (also known as galactic cosmic rays) hit the detector. The graphs show data from Voyager 2's CRS, which averages the number of particle hits over a six-hour block of time. CRS detects both lower-energy particles that originate inside the heliosphere (greater than 0.5 MeV) and higher-energy particles that originate farther out in the galaxy (greater than 70 MeV). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22924

This artist's concept depicts "heartbeat stars," which have been detected by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope and others. The illustration shows two heartbeat stars swerving close to one another in their closest approach along their highly elongated orbits around one another. The mutual gravitation of the two stars would cause the stars themselves to become slightly ellipsoidal in shape. A third, more distant star in the system is shown in the upper left. Astronomers speculate that such unseen companions may exist in some of these heartbeat star systems, and could be responsible for maintaining these oddly stretched-out orbits. The overlaid curve depicts the inferred cyclic change in velocities in one such system, called KIC 9965691, looking something like the graph of an electrocardiogram (hence the name "heartbeat stars"). The solid points represent measurements made by the HIRES instrument at the W.M. Keck Observatory, and the curve is the best fit model for the motions of this system. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21075

This graph presents known properties of the seven TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets (labeled b through h), showing how they stack up to the inner rocky worlds in our own solar system. The horizontal axis shows the level of illumination that each planet receives from its host star. TRAPPIST-1 is a mere 9 percent the mass of our Sun, and its temperature is much cooler. But because the TRAPPIST-1 planets orbit so closely to their star, they receive comparable levels of light and heat to Earth and its neighboring planets. The vertical axis shows the densities of the planets. Density, calculated based on a planet's mass and volume, is the first important step in understanding a planet's composition. The plot shows that the TRAPPIST-1 planet densities range from being similar to Earth and Venus at the upper end, down to values comparable to Mars at the lower end. The relative sizes of the planets are indicated by the circles. The masses and densities of the TRAPPIST-1 planets were determined by careful measurements of slight variations in the timings of their orbits using extensive observations made by NASA's Spitzer and Kepler space telescopes, in combination with data from Hubble and a number of ground-based telescopes. These measurements are the most precise to date for any system of exoplanets. By comparing these measurements with theoretical models of how planets form and evolve, researchers have determined that they are all rocky in overall composition. Estimates suggest the lower-density planets could have large quantities of water -- as much as 5 percent by mass for TRAPPIST-1d. Earth, in comparison, has only about 0.02 percent of its mass in the form of water. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22095

One of the two pictures of Tempel 1 (see also PIA02101) taken by Deep Impact's medium-resolution camera is shown next to data of the comet taken by the spacecraft's infrared spectrometer. This instrument breaks apart light like a prism to reveal the "fingerprints," or signatures, of chemicals. Even though the spacecraft was over 10 days away from the comet when these data were acquired, it detected some of the molecules making up the comet's gas and dust envelope, or coma. The signatures of these molecules -- including water, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide -- can be seen in the graph, or spectrum. Deep Impact's impactor spacecraft is scheduled to collide with Tempel 1 at 10:52 p.m. Pacific time on July 3 (1:52 a.m. Eastern time, July 4). The mission's flyby spacecraft will use its infrared spectrometer to sample the ejected material, providing the first look at the chemical composition of a comet's nucleus. These data were acquired from June 20 to 21, 2005. The picture of Tempel 1 was taken by the flyby spacecraft's medium-resolution instrument camera. The infrared spectrometer uses the same telescope as the high-resolution instrument camera. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02100

The staff of female computers at work in the 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory. The lab’s Computer Section occupied three offices on the second story of the office building at the 8- by 6 facility. The largest office, seen in this photograph, contained approximately 35 women with advanced mathematical skills, a second office housed 20 to 25, and a third 10. Each major test facility at the laboratory had banks of mercury-filled manometer boards which measured pressure levels at various locations inside the facility’s test section. Often, one board consisting of 100 tubes produced a single data point. There could be scores of data points for each test run. Cameras were set up in front of the manometer boards to capture the readings throughout the test. The following day the computers, seen in this photograph, would receive the photographs and plot the data points on a graph. The process often took days. It might be weeks before the researchers received the results of their tests. The Friden adding machines can be seen on some of the desks.

This graphic shows Martian atmospheric temperature data related to seasonal patterns in occurrence of large regional dust storms. The data shown here were collected by the Mars Climate Sounder instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter over the course of one-half of a Martian year, during 2012 and 2013. The color coding indicates daytime temperatures of a layer of the atmosphere centered about 16 miles (25 kilometers) above ground level, corresponding to the color-key bar at the bottom of the graphic. Three regional dust storms indicated by increased temperatures are labeled A, B and C. A similar sequence of three large regional dust storms has been seen in atmosphere-temperature data from five other Martian years. The vertical axis is latitude on Mars, from the north pole at the top to south pole at the bottom. Each graphed data point is an average for all Martian longitudes around the planet. The horizontal axis is the time of year, spanning from the beginning of Mars' southern-hemisphere spring (on the left) to the end of southern-hemisphere summer. This is the half of the year when large Martian dust storms are most active. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20746

This is a visualizations of ozone concentrations over the southern hemisphere. Minimum concentration of ozone in the southern hemisphere for each year from 1979-2013 (there is no data from 1995). Each image is the day of the year with the lowest concentration of ozone. A graph of the lowest ozone amount for each year is shown. Read more/download file: <a href="http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011600/a011648/" rel="nofollow">svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011600/a011648/</a> NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>

This spectral "fingerprint" of methane was produced from data taken during a September 2023 test at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California of a state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer that will measure the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide from space. The instrument measures hundreds of wavelengths of light reflected by Earth's surface and absorbed by gases in the planet's atmosphere. Different compounds absorb different wavelengths of light, leaving a kind of spectral fingerprint that the imaging spectrometer can identify. These infrared fingerprints, invisible to the human eye, can pinpoint and quantify strong greenhouse gas emissions, and accelerate mitigation efforts. Before the imaging spectrometer was shipped from JPL to Planet Labs PBC in San Francisco, where it will be integrated into a Tanager satellite, there was a rare opportunity to use a sample of methane to test the completed instrument while it was in a vacuum chamber. The test was successful, and the imaging spectrometer produced this clear spectral fingerprint of methane (appearing as a red line in the graph). Designed and built by JPL, imaging spectrometer will be part of an effort led by the nonprofit Carbon Mapper organization to collect data on greenhouse gas point-source emissions. The information will help locate and quantify "super-emitters" – the small percentage of individual sources responsible for a significant fraction of methane and carbon dioxide emissions around the world. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26095

Produced with data from NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission, this image uses two different ways of displaying methane's unique pattern of absorbed infrared light – called a spectral fingerprint. This potent greenhouse gas is estimated to be 80 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. EMIT uses an imaging spectrometer to detect the spectral fingerprints of various materials on Earth's surface and in its atmosphere. Installed on the International Space Station in July 2022, EMIT was originally intended to map the prevalence of minerals in Earth's arid regions, such as the deserts of Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Scientists verified that EMIT could also detect the spectral fingerprints of methane and carbon dioxide exceptionally well when they were checking the accuracy of the image spectrometer's mineral data. The left panel shows an EMIT data cube that spans an area of Turkmenistan roughly 2,500 square miles (6,400 square kilometers). The rainbow colors extending through the data cube represent the spectral fingerprints from each location within the scene at the front of the cube. The purple, orange, and yellow streaks shown on the satellite image represent multiple methane plumes; the colors correspond to differing concentrations of methane. The line graph on the right displays the methane spectral fingerprint measured by EMIT (blue line). The red line displays the expected spectral fingerprint for methane calculated using an atmospheric simulation. The data for this image was collected by EMIT in August 2022. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25593

This image shows the first measurements taken by NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) from aboard the International Space Station at 7:51 p.m. PDT (10:51 p.m. EDT) on July 27, 2022, as it passed over western Australia. The image at the front of the cube shows a mix of materials in western Australia, including exposed soil (brown), vegetation (dark green), agricultural fields (light green), a small river, and clouds. The rainbow colors extending through the main part of the cube are the wavelengths of light (in nanometers), or spectral fingerprints, from corresponding spots in the front image. The line graph (Figure 1) shows spectral fingerprints for a sample of soil, vegetation, and a river from the image cube. Radiance indicates the amount of each wavelength of light reflected from a substance. Researchers use the combination of radiance and wavelength to determine a substance's spectral fingerprint. Developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, EMIT works by measuring the hundreds of wavelengths of light reflected from materials on Earth. Different substances reflect different wavelengths of light, producing a kind of spectral fingerprint that, when collected by an imaging spectrometer and analyzed by researchers, reveal what they are made of. When science operations begin later in August 2022, EMIT's primary mission will be to collect measurements of 10 important surface minerals in regions between 50-degrees south and north latitudes in Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Australia. The minerals include hematite, goethite, illite, vermiculite, calcite, dolomite, montmorillonite, kaolinite, chlorite, and gypsum. The compositional data EMIT collects will help scientists study the role of airborne dust particles in heating and cooling Earth's atmosphere on global and regional scales. Data from EMIT will be delivered to the NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) for use by other researchers and the public. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24529

During its final targeted flyby of Titan on April 22, 2017, Cassini's radar mapper got the mission's last close look at the moon's surface. On this 127th targeted pass by Titan (unintuitively named "T-126"), the radar was used to take two images of the surface, shown at left and right. Both images are about 200 miles (300 kilometers) in width, from top to bottom. Objects appear bright when they are tilted toward the spacecraft or have rough surfaces; smooth areas appear dark. At left are the same bright, hilly terrains and darker plains that Cassini imaged during its first radar pass of Titan, in 2004. Scientists do not see obvious evidence of changes in this terrain over the 13 years since the original observation. At right, the radar looked once more for Titan's mysterious "magic island" (PIA20021) in a portion of one of the large hydrocarbon seas, Ligeia Mare. No "island" feature was observed during this pass. Scientists continue to work on what the transient feature might have been, with waves and bubbles being two possibilities. In between the two parts of its imaging observation, the radar instrument switched to altimetry mode, in order to make a first-ever (and last-ever) measurement of the depths of some of the lakes that dot the north polar region. For the measurements, the spacecraft pointed its antenna straight down at the surface and the radar measured the time delay between echoes from the lakes' surface and bottom. A graph is available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21626

Since NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) imaging spectrometer was installed on the International Space Station in late July 2022, the EMIT science team has been validating its data against data gathered in 2018 by NASA's Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS). EMIT recently collected data from a mountainous area of Nevada about 130 miles (209 kilometers) northeast of Lake Tahoe. The instrument measures reflected solar energy from Earth across hundreds of wavelengths from the visible to the infrared range of the spectrum. The intensity of the reflected light varies by wavelength based on the material. Scientists use these patterns, called spectral fingerprints, to pinpoint the locations of surface minerals on a map. The top left map shows the region both the EMIT and AVIRIS data sets cover. The center image is a mineral map featuring AVIRIS data. At right is a map generated with EMIT data. The center and right images reveal portions of the landscape dominated by kaolinite, a light-colored clay mineral that scatters sunlight. This comparison, which shows a close match of the data, was one of many that confirmed the accuracy of EMIT's data. The bottom row features an AVIRIS spectral fingerprint, left, beside EMIT data for the same location. The graphs show agreement in the kaolinite fingerprint region, which is marked in blue. Over the course of its 12-month mission, EMIT will collect measurements of 10 important surface minerals – kaolinite, hematite, goethite, illite, vermiculite, calcite, dolomite, montmorillonite, chlorite, and gypsum – in arid regions between 50-degree south and north latitudes in Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Australia. The data EMIT collects will help scientists better understand the role of airborne dust particles in heating and cooling Earth's atmosphere on global and regional scales. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25428

ISS037-E-022473 (29 Oct. 2013) --- La Malinche Volcano, Mexico is featured in this image photo graphed by an Expedition 37 crew member on the International Space Station. Located approximately 30 kilometers to the northeast of the city of Puebla, the summit of Volcan la Malinche rises to an elevation of 4,461 meters above sea level. This detailed photograph highlights the snow-dusted summit, and the deep canyons that cut into the flanks of this eroded stratovolcano. La Malinche has not been historically active, but radiometric dating of volcanic rocks and deposits associated with the structure indicate a most recent eruption near the end of the 12th century. NASA scientists cite evidence that lahars, or mudflows, associated with an eruption about 3,100 years ago, affected Pre-Columbian settlements in the nearby Puebla basin. The volcano is enclosed within La Malinche National Park situated within parts of the states of Puebla and Tlaxcala; extensive green forest cover is visible on the lower flanks of the volcano. Access to the volcano is available through roadways, and it is frequently used as a training peak by climbers prior to attempting higher summits. The rectangular outlines of agricultural fields are visible forming an outer ring around the forested area. While the volcano appears to be quiescent, its relatively recent (in geological terms) eruptive activity, and location within the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt– a tectonically active region with several current and historically active volcanoes including Popocatepetl to the west and Pico de Orizaba to the east - suggests that future activity is still possible and could potentially pose a threat to the nearby city of Puebla.

A February 2023 study by researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California analyzed data on atmospheric methane concentrations from ground-based sensors scattered around four densely populated Southern California counties. It found that emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane fell by about 7% between 2015 and 2020 – a reduction of 33 million pounds (15 million kilograms) of methane released per year. This bar graph shows that overall emissions in the study area decreased between 2015 and 2019, the last full year of the data for the study. Error bars indicate uncertainties in the estimates for each year. Published in Environmental Research Letters, the paper is based on measurements from eight spectroscopic sensors that were installed as part of the Megacities Carbon Project, a multiagency collaboration monitoring greenhouse gases in the Los Angeles, Indianapolis, and Washington, D.C., areas. The sensors have been gathering data since 2015. The California data enabled researchers to study an area that stretches from the beaches of Malibu in the west to the mountains and deserts of San Bernardino and Riverside counties in the east. It also extends south through all of Orange County. The researchers found that the month-to-month fluctuations in methane concentrations around Los Angeles gradually fell from 2015 to 2020, and well into 2022 – a strong indication that local emissions of the gas were also decreasing. Then, using a mathematical model to estimate the emissions decrease, they found the areas covered by sensors in Granada Hills (Los Angeles County) and Ontario (San Bernardino County) accounted for much of the drop in annual emissions from 2015 to 2020. Although the paper doesn't cite causes of the emission reductions in those two locales, researchers suspect they resulted from better management of natural gas pipelines and equipment, which in turn led to lower fugitive – or accidental – methane releases. Improved infrastructure at a massive landfill near Granada Hills likely also played a role. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25863

This chart presents data that the Waves investigation on NASA's Juno spacecraft recorded as the spacecraft crossed the bow shock just outside of Jupiter's magnetosphere on June 24, 2016, while approaching Jupiter. Audio accompanies the animation, with volume and pitch correlated to the amplitude and frequency of the recorded waves. The graph is a frequency-time spectrogram with color coding to indicate wave amplitudes as a function of wave frequency (vertical axis, in hertz) and time (horizontal axis, with a total elapsed time of two hours). During the hour before Juno reached the bow shock, the Waves instrument was detecting mainly plasma oscillations just below 10,000 hertz (10 kilohertz). The frequency of these oscillations is related to the local density of electrons; the data yield an estimate of approximately one electron per cubic centimeter (about 16 per cubic inch) in this region just outside Jupiter's bow shock. The broadband burst of noise marked "Bow Shock" is the region of turbulence where the supersonic solar wind is heated and slowed by encountering the Jovian magnetosphere. The shock is analogous to a sonic boom generated in Earth's atmosphere by a supersonic aircraft. The region after the shock is called the magnetosheath. The vertical bar to the right of the chart indicates the color coding of wave amplitude, in decibels (dB) above the background level detected by the Waves instrument. Each step of 10 decibels marks a tenfold increase in wave power. When Juno collected these data, the distance from the spacecraft to Jupiter was about 5.56 million miles (8.95 million kilometers), indicated on the chart as 128 times the radius of Jupiter. Jupiter's magnetic field is tilted about 10 degrees from the planet's axis of rotation. The note of 22 degrees on the chart indicates that at the time these data were recorded, the spacecraft was 22 degrees north of the magnetic-field equator. The "LT" notation is local time on Jupiter at the longitude of the planet directly below the spacecraft, with a value of 6.2 indicating approximately dawn. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20753

This chart presents data that the Waves investigation on NASA's Juno spacecraft recorded as the spacecraft crossed the bow shock just outside of Jupiter's magnetosphere on June 24, 2016, while approaching Jupiter. Audio accompanies the animation, with volume and pitch correlated to the amplitude and frequency of the recorded waves. The graph is a frequency-time spectrogram with color coding to indicate wave amplitudes as a function of wave frequency (vertical axis, in hertz) and time (horizontal axis, with a total elapsed time of two hours). During the hour before Juno reached the bow shock, the Waves instrument was detecting mainly plasma oscillations just below 10,000 hertz (10 kilohertz). The frequency of these oscillations is related to the local density of electrons; the data yield an estimate of approximately one electron per cubic centimeter (about 16 per cubic inch) in this region just outside Jupiter's bow shock. The broadband burst of noise marked "Bow Shock" is the region of turbulence where the supersonic solar wind is heated and slowed by encountering the Jovian magnetosphere. The shock is analogous to a sonic boom generated in Earth's atmosphere by a supersonic aircraft. The region after the shock is called the magnetosheath. The vertical bar to the right of the chart indicates the color coding of wave amplitude, in decibels (dB) above the background level detected by the Waves instrument. Each step of 10 decibels marks a tenfold increase in wave power. When Juno collected these data, the distance from the spacecraft to Jupiter was about 5.56 million miles (8.95 million kilometers), indicated on the chart as 128 times the radius of Jupiter. Jupiter's magnetic field is tilted about 10 degrees from the planet's axis of rotation. The note of 22 degrees on the chart indicates that at the time these data were recorded, the spacecraft was 22 degrees north of the magnetic-field equator. The "LT" notation is local time on Jupiter at the longitude of the planet directly below the spacecraft, with a value of 6.2 indicating approximately dawn. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20753

This animation shows a nearly 20-year record of temperature anomalies for two layers in Earth's atmosphere: the lower troposphere, where most of the planet's weather occurs; and the upper stratosphere, which contains the ozone layer. NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), aboard the Aqua satellite, captured these measurements from 2002 to 2020. Preliminary data analysis shows a warming trend for the lower troposphere, and a strong cooling trend in the upper stratosphere. The globes show a map of where warmer than average or cooler than average temperatures for each atmospheric layer occurred during this time period. The line graphs show the deviation of temperatures averaged over the entire planet for the lower troposphere and upper stratosphere. AIRS, in conjunction with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), senses emitted infrared and microwave radiation from Earth to provide a three-dimensional look at the planet's weather and climate. Working in tandem, the two instruments make simultaneous observations down to Earth's surface. With more than 2,000 channels sensing different regions of the atmosphere, the system creates a global, three-dimensional map of atmospheric temperature and humidity, cloud amounts and heights, greenhouse gas concentrations and many other atmospheric phenomena. Launched into Earth orbit in 2002 aboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft, the AIRS and AMSU instruments are managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, under contract to NASA. JPL is a division of Caltech. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24139

A transmission spectrum made from a single observation using Webb’s 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 planet’s 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 planet’s atmosphere based on the absorption pattern – the locations and heights of peaks on the graph: each gas has a characteristic set of wavelengths that it absorbs. The temperature of the atmosphere can be calculated based in part on the height of the peaks: a hotter planet has taller peaks. Other characteristics, like the presence of haze and clouds, can be inferred based on the overall shape of different portions of the spectrum. The gray lines extending above and below each data point are error bars that show the uncertainty of each measurement, or the reasonable range of actual possible values. For a single observation, the error on these measurements is remarkably small. The blue line is a best-fit model that takes into account the data, the known properties of WASP-96 b and its star (e.g., size, mass, temperature), and assumed characteristics of the atmosphere. Researchers can vary the parameters in the model – changing unknown characteristics like cloud height in the atmosphere and abundances of various gases – to get a better fit and further understand what the atmosphere is really like. The difference between the best-fit model shown here and the data simply reflects the additional work to be done in analyzing and interpreting the data and the planet. Although full analysis of the spectrum will take additional time, it is possible to draw a number of preliminary conclusions. The labeled peaks in the spectrum indicate the presence of water vapor. The height of the water peaks, which is less than expected based on previous observations, is evidence for the presence of clouds that suppress the water vapor features. The gradual downward slope of the left side of the spectrum (shorter wavelengths) is indicative of possible haze. The height of the peaks along with other characteristics of the spectrum is used to calculate an atmospheric temperature of about 1350°F (725°C). This is the most detailed infrared exoplanet transmission spectrum ever collected, the first transmission spectrum that includes wavelengths longer than 1.6 microns with such high resolution and accuracy, and the first to cover the entire wavelength range from 0.6 microns (visible red light) to 2.8 microns (near-infrared) in a single shot. The speed with which researchers have been able to make confident interpretations of the spectrum is further testament to the quality of the data. The observation was made using NIRISS’s Single-Object Slitless Spectroscopy (SOSS) mode, which involves capturing the spectrum of a single bright object, like the star WASP-96, in a field of view. WASP-96 b is a hot gas giant exoplanet that orbits a Sun-like star roughly 1,150 light-years away, in the constellation Phoenix. The planet orbits extremely close to its star (less than 1/20th the distance between Earth and the Sun) and completes one orbit in less than 3½ Earth-days. The planet’s discovery, based on ground-based observations, was announced in 2014. The star, WASP-96, is somewhat older than the Sun, but is about the same size, mass, temperature, and color. The background illustration of WASP-96 b and its star is based on current understanding of the planet from both NIRISS spectroscopy and previous ground- and space-based observations. Webb has not captured a direct image of the planet or its atmosphere. NIRISS was contributed by the Canadian Space Agency. The instrument was designed and built by Honeywell in collaboration with the Université de Montréal and the National Research Council Canada.

This video and audio show the results of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover using its SuperCam microphone to record the sounds of a Martian dust devil – the first time any such recording has been made. The dust devil passed directly over Perseverance on Sept. 27, 2021, the 215th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. At the same time that SuperCam's microphone recorded the dust devil, Perseverance's weather sensors (measuring wind, pressure, temperature, and dust) and the rover's left navigation camera were on. This allowed scientists to combine sound, image, and atmospheric data. The unique combination of this data, along with atmospheric modeling, allowed the researchers to estimate the dust devil's dimensions: 82 feet (25 meters) wide, at least 387 feet (118 meters) tall, and moving at about 12 mph (19 kph). Capturing a passing dust devil takes some luck. Scientists can't predict when they'll pass by, so rovers like Perseverance and Curiosity routinely monitor in all directions for them. When scientists see them occur more frequently at a certain time of day, or approach from a certain direction, they use that information to focus their monitoring to try to catch a dust devil. The video included here has four rows based on different data sources: The top row is a raw image taken by the left navigation camera's view of the Martian surface. While the camera is capable of color, it takes black-and-white images when searching for dust devils to reduce the amount of data sent back to Earth (since most of the images come back without a dust devil detected). The second row shows the same image processed with change-detection software to indicate where movement occurred over the course of the recording. The color indicates the density of dust, going from blue (lower density) through purple to yellow (highest density). The third row is a graph showing a sudden drop in air pressure recorded by Perseverance's weather sensor suite, called Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer, provided by Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) at the Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial in Madrid. The fourth row indicates sound amplitude from SuperCam's microphone. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25657

Though North America is a full month into astronomical spring, the Great Lakes have been slow to give up on winter. As of April 22, 2014, the Great Lakes were 33.9 percent ice covered. The lake they call Superior dominated the pack. In the early afternoon on April 20, 2014, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image of Lake Superior, which straddles the United States–Canada border. At the time Aqua passed over, the lake was 63.5 percent ice covered, according to the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL). Averaged across Lake Superior, ice was 22.6 centimeters (8.9 inches) thick; it was as much as twice that thickness in some locations. GLERL researcher George Leshkevich affirmed that ice cover this spring is significantly above normal. For comparison, Lake Superior had 3.6 percent ice cover on April 20, 2013; in 2012, ice was completely gone by April 12. In the last winter that ice cover grew so thick on Lake Superior (2009), it reached 93.7 percent on March 2 but was down to 6.7 percent by April 21. Average water temperatures on all of the Great Lakes have been rising over the past 30 to 40 years and ice cover has generally been shrinking. (Lake Superior ice was down about 79 percent since the 1970s.) But chilled by persistent polar air masses throughout the 2013-14 winter, ice cover reached 88.4 percent on February 13 and 92.2 percent on March 6, 2014, the second highest level in four decades of record-keeping. Air temperatures in the Great Lakes region were well below normal for March, and the cool pattern is being reinforced along the coasts because the water is absorbing less sunlight and warming less than in typical spring conditions. The graph below, based on data from Environment Canada, shows the 2014 conditions for all of the Great Lakes in mid-April compared to the past 33 years. Lake Superior ice cover got as high as 95.3 percent on March 19. By April 22, it was reported at 59.9 percent; Lake Huron was nearly 30.4 percent. News outlets noted that as many as 70 ships have been backed up in Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie, waiting for passage into ports on Lake Superior. The U.S. Coast Guard has been grouping ships together into small convoys after they pass through locks at Sault Ste. Marie, in order to maximize ice-breaking efficiency and to protect ships from damage. Superior is the world’s largest freshwater lake by area (82,100 square kilometers or 31,700 square miles) and the third largest by volume. The waters average 147 meters (483 feet) in depth, and the basin is believed to hold about 10 percent of the world’s liquid fresh water. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Mike Carlowicz. Read more: <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=83541&amp;eocn=home&amp;eoci=iotd_title" rel="nofollow">earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=83541&amp;eocn...</a> Credit: <b><a href="http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/" rel="nofollow"> NASA Earth Observatory</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>

Clovis in Color

Escher Rock

This artist concept based on data fromNASA Spitzer Space Telescope shows delicate greenish crystals sprinkled throughout the violent core of a pair of colliding galaxies. The white spots represent a thriving population of stars of all sizes and ages.

This artist concept illustrates a comet being torn to shreds around a dead star, or white dwarf, called G29-38. NASA Spitzer Space Telescope observed a cloud of dust around this white dwarf that may have been generated from comet disruption.

This illustration compares the size of a gargantuan star and its surrounding dusty disk top to that of our solar system. Monstrous disks like this one were discovered around two hypergiant stars by NASA Spitzer Space Telescope.

Spirit View of Wishstone False Color

Hole in Ebenezer