Big Basin
Big Blast
Big Boulder
The Big Valley
Big Dust Devils
Big Bangs on Tethys
Bright Peaks, Big Crater
Rhea Real Big Rays
Southwest of the Big Crater Mosaic
Big Spherules near Victoria
A Big and Brilliant Ray System
Big Joe in the Chryse Planitia
Alternately known as a geologist’s paradise and a geologist’s nightmare, Big Bend National Park in southwestern Texas offers a multitude of rock formations. Sparse vegetation makes finding and observing the rocks easy, but they document a complicated geologic history extending back 500 million years. On May 10, 2002, the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus on NASA’s Landsat 7 satellite captured this natural-color image of Big Bend National Park. A black line delineates the park perimeter. The arid landscape appears in muted earth tones, some of the darkest hues associated with volcanic structures, especially the Rosillos and Chisos Mountains. Despite its bone-dry appearance, Big Bend National Park is home to some 1,200 plant species, and hosts more kinds of cacti, birds, and bats than any other U.S. national park. Read more: <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/2bzGaZU" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2bzGaZU</a> Credit: NASA/Landsat7 <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://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Little Scarp has Big Implications
Big Crater as Viewed by Pathfinder Lander
Amirani Big Lava Flow on Io
Big Things Have Small Beginnings
Observations by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have taken advantage of gravitational lensing to reveal the largest sample of the faintest and earliest known galaxies in the universe. Some of these galaxies formed just 600 million years after the big bang and are fainter than any other galaxy yet uncovered by Hubble. The team has determined for the first time with some confidence that these small galaxies were vital to creating the universe that we see today. An international team of astronomers, led by Hakim Atek of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, has discovered over 250 tiny galaxies that existed only 600-900 million years after the big bang— one of the largest samples of dwarf galaxies yet to be discovered at these epochs. The light from these galaxies took over 12 billion years to reach the telescope, allowing the astronomers to look back in time when the universe was still very young. Read more: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/hubble-spies-big-bang-frontiers" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/hubble-spies-big-bang-frontiers</a> Credit: NASA/ESA <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://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
ICESat-2 big send off event for the ATLAS laser instrument at the Goddard Recreation Center
ICESat-2 big send off event for the ATLAS laser instrument at the Goddard Recreation Center
ICESat-2 big send off event for the ATLAS laser instrument at the Goddard Recreation Center
Big
MORE THAN 7,500 PEOPLE ATTENDED NASA MARSHALL SPACE CENTER AND DOWNTOWN HUNTSVILLE, INC.’S THIRD ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF NASA AND THE COMMUNITY JUNE 18. THIS YEAR, THE EVENT MOVED TO HUNTSVILLE’S BIG SPRING PARK.
NASA Juno Spacecraft Images Big Dipper
Dunes, Big Crater, & Twin Peaks - Right Eye
Big, Dark Dunes Northeast of Syrtis Major
Dunes, Big Crater and Twin Peaks - Left Eye
Boulder Big Joe And Surface Changes On Mars http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00397
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. “Hoot†Gibson reminisces about his history as an astronaut and takes questions from the audience at NASA Day in the Park.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. Dr. Osborn, magician and balloon wizard, greets volunteers for NASA in the Park.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. A view of the canal running through the park showing a small portion of the crowd attending NASA Day in the Park.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. “Hoot†Gibson reminisces about his history as an astronaut and takes questions from the audience at NASA Day in the Park.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson.
Caption: This is a conceptual animation showing ozone-depleting chemicals moving from the equator to the poles. The chemicals become trapped by the winds of the polar vortex, a ring of fast moving air that circles the South Pole. Watch full video: <a href="https://youtu.be/7n2km69jZu8" rel="nofollow">youtu.be/7n2km69jZu8</a> -- The next three decades will see an end of the era of big ozone holes. In a new study, scientists from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center say that the ozone hole will be consistently smaller than 12 million square miles by the year 2040. Ozone-depleting chemicals in the atmosphere cause an ozone hole to form over Antarctica during the winter months in the Southern Hemisphere. Since the Montreal Protocol agreement in 1987, emissions have been regulated and chemical levels have been declining. However, the ozone hole has still remained bigger than 12 million square miles since the early 1990s, with exact sizes varying from year to year. The size of the ozone hole varies due to both temperature and levels of ozone-depleting chemicals in the atmosphere. In order to get a more accurate picture of the future size of the ozone hole, scientists used NASA’s AURA satellite to determine how much the levels of these chemicals in the atmosphere varied each year. With this new knowledge, scientists can confidently say that the ozone hole will be consistently smaller than 12 million square miles by the year 2040. Scientists will continue to use satellites to monitor the recovery of the ozone hole and they hope to see its full recovery by the end of the century. Research: Inorganic chlorine variability in the Antarctic vortex and implications for ozone recovery. Journal: Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, December 18, 2014. Link to paper: <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014JD022295/abstract" rel="nofollow">onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014JD022295/abstract</a>.
An Atlas launch vehicle carrying the Big Joe capsule leaves its launching pad on a 2,000-mile ballistic flight to the altitude of 100 miles. The Big Joe capsule is a boilerplate model of the marned orbital capsule under NASA's Project Mercury. The capsule was recovered and studied for the effect of re-entry heat and other flight stresses.
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover examined both the "Greenhorn" and "Big Sky" targets with the rover's Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) instrument. Greenhorn is located within an altered fracture zone and has an elevated concentration of silica (about 60 percent by weight). Big Sky is the unaltered counterpart for comparison. The bar plot on the left shows scaled concentrations as analyzed by Curiosity's APXS. The bar plot on the right shows what the Big Sky composition would look like if silica (SiO2) and calcium-sulfate (both abumdant in Greenhorn) were added. The similarity in the resulting composition suggests that much of the chemistry of Greenhorn could be explained by the addition of silica. Ongoing research aims to distinguish between that possible explanation for silicon enrichment and an alternative of silicon being left behind when some other elements were removed by acid weathering. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20275
In this image, the scoop on NASA Curiosity rover shows the larger soil particles that were too big to filter through a sample-processing sieve that is porous only to particles less than 0.006 inches 150 microns across.
NASA in the Park on June 16 in Huntsville featured more than 60 exhibits and demonstrations by NASA experts, as well as performances by Marshall musicians, educational opportunities, games and hands-on activities for all ages. Big Spring canal is a good place to cool off in the 90 degree heat
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson.Chad Emerson, President of Downtown Huntsville, Inc., fist bumps with Oscar the Robot.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. With a RS-25 engine in the background, NASA employees and volunteers demonstrate NASA technology at NASA in the Park.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. Oscar the Robot greets volunteers at NASA Day in the Park.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. Students from Huntsville’s Grissom High School display their robot.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. NASA Public Affairs employee Jena Row interviews retired NASA Astronaut Robert “Hoot†Gibson at NASA Day in the Park.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. Huntsville’s Grissom High School students demonstrate their robot at NASA Day in the Park.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. Northrup Grumman employees fire a tethered miniature rocket at NASA Day in the Park.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. The children’s parade at NASA Day in the Park is led by center director Todd May, Chad Emerson, and Retired astronaut Robert “Hoot†Gibson.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. Marshall Model Shop employees inflate and place the SLS model.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center showcased it's various projects for the public in Huntsville, Alabama's Big Spring Park. Exhibits were displayed by all of the various directorates of the Center with employee volunteers explaining all aspects of their projects. Adding to the festivities was the attendance of retired NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson. U.S. Space and Rocket Center volunteers greet visitors to NASA in the Park.
S63-19317 (October 1963) --- Pen and ink views of comparative arrangements of several capsules including the existing "Big Joe" design, the compromise "Big Joe" design, and the "Little Joe". All capsule designs are labeled and include dimensions. Photo credit: NASA
Big Crater is actually a relatively small Martian crater to the southeast of NASA Mars Pathfinder landing site. 3D glasses are necessary to identify surface detail.
This view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover covers an area in "Bridger Basin" that includes the locations where the rover drilled a target called "Big Sky" on the mission's Sol 1119 (Sept. 29, 2015) and a target called "Greenhorn" on Sol 1137 (Oct. 18, 2015). The scene combines portions of several observations taken from sols 1112 to 1126 (Sept. 22 to Oct. 6, 2015) while Curiosity was stationed at Big Sky drilling site. The Big Sky drill hole is visible in the lower part of the scene. The Greenhorn target, in a pale fracture zone near the center of the image, had not yet been drilled when the component images were taken. Researchers selected this pair of drilling sites to investigate the nature of silica enrichment in the fracture zones of the area. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20270
Mimas' gigantic crater Herschel lies near the moon's limb in this Cassini view. A big enough impact could potentially break up a moon. Luckily for Mimas, whatever created Herschel was not quite big enough to cause that level of disruption. When large impacts happen, they deliver tremendous amounts of energy -- sometimes enough to cause global destruction. Even impacts that are not catastrophic can leave enormous, near-permanent scars on bodies like Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across). This view looks toward the anti-Saturn hemisphere of Mimas. North on Mimas is up and rotated 32 degrees to the left. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 19, 2016. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 53,000 miles (85,000 kilometers) from Mimas. Image scale is 1,677 feet (511 meters) per pixel. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20523
Fires near Big Sur, Calif., continued to burn unchecked when the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer ASTER instrument on NASA Terra satellite captured this image on Sunday, June 29, 2008.
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
When NASA Dawn spacecraft sent the first images of the giant asteroid Vesta to the ground, scientists were fascinated by an enormous mound inside a big circular depression at the south pole. You need 3D glasses to view this image.
LITTLE BIG MOUNTAIN PERFORMS A TRADITIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN HOOP DANCE AT NASA MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER’S 2015 NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE EVENT. THE EVENT, HELD NOV. 3 ON THE LAWN OF THE ACTIVITIES BUILDING, BUILDING 4316, HONORED THE CONTRIBUTIONS, ACHIEVEMENTS, SACRIFICES AND CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL LEGACY OF AMERICAN INDIANS. IN ITS EARLIEST FORM, THE STORYTELLING HOOP DANCE IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN PART OF A HEALING CEREMONY DESIGNED TO RESTORE BALANCE AND HARMONY IN THE WORLD. WITH NO BEGINNING OR END, THE HOOP REPRESENTS THE NEVER-ENDING CIRCLE OF LIFE. THE SPECIAL EMPHASIS PROGRAM -- SPONSORED BY THE OFFICE OF DIVERSITY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY -- WAS PART OF MARSHALL’S OBSERVANCE OF NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH.
This view of a sandstone target called "Big Arm" covers an area about 1.3 inches (33 millimeters) wide in detail that shows differing shapes and colors of sand grains in the stone. Three separate images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, at different focus settings, were combined into this focus-merge view. The Big Arm target on lower Mount Sharp is at a location near "Marias Pass" where a mudstone bedrock is in contact with overlying sandstone bedrock. MAHLI recorded the component images on May 29, 2015, during the 999th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars. The rounded shape of some grains visible here suggests they traveled long distances before becoming part of the sediment that later hardened into sandstone. Other grains are more angular and may have originated closer to the rock's current location. Lighter and darker grains may have different compositions. MAHLI was built by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19677
Michael Kersjes, author and former special education teacher and football coach from Michigan, speaks to workers during the Disability Awareness and Action Working Group, or DAAWG, event at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The theme of his presentation was "Power of the Human Spirit." Kersjes is the author of the book, "A Smile as Big as the Moon," which told the true story of how he worked to get special education students into Space Camp, a competitive education program at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. His book was made into a movie in 2012.
Michael Kersjes, author and former special education teacher and football coach from Michigan, speaks to workers during the Disability Awareness and Action Working Group, or DAAWG, event at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The theme of his presentation was "Power of the Human Spirit." Kersjes is the author of the book, "A Smile as Big as the Moon," which told the true story of how he worked to get special education students into Space Camp, a competitive education program at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. His book was made into a movie in 2012.
Michael Kersjes, author and former special education teacher and football coach from Michigan, speaks to workers during the Disability Awareness and Action Working Group, or DAAWG, event at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The theme of his presentation was "Power of the Human Spirit." Kersjes is the author of the book, "A Smile as Big as the Moon," which told the true story of how he worked to get special education students into Space Camp, a competitive education program at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. His book was made into a movie in 2012.
Michael Kersjes, author and former special education teacher and football coach from Michigan, speaks to workers during the Disability Awareness and Action Working Group, or DAAWG, event at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The theme of his presentation was "Power of the Human Spirit." Kersjes is the author of the book, "A Smile as Big as the Moon," which told the true story of how he worked to get special education students into Space Camp, a competitive education program at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. His book was made into a movie in 2012.
NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, left, presents a special plaque to Michael Kersjes, author and former special education teacher and football coach from Michigan, after his presentation to workers during the Disability Awareness and Action Working Group, or DAAWG, event. The theme of Kersjes' presentation was "Power of the Human Spirit." Kersjes is the author of the book, "A Smile as Big as the Moon," which told the true story of how he worked to get special education students into Space Camp, a competitive education program at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. His book was made into a movie in 2012.
The Soberanes fire, in northern California near Big Sur, had grown to more than 27,000 acres when the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft captured this image on July 28, 2016. More than 3,000 personnel are battling the blaze, that is only 10 percent contained. The fire has destroyed 36 homes and caused one fatality. Evacuation orders were issued for a number of nearby communities. The image covers an area of 29 by 30 miles (46 by 48 kilometers), and is located at 36.4 degrees north, 121.8 degrees west. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20722
Although Japan’s Sakura-jima volcano is one of the most active in the world, it rarely makes headlines. One or two small explosions typically occur every few days, with effects no greater than a light dusting of ash on the surrounding cities. On August 18, 2013, a large eruption sent ash 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) above Kagoshima Bay, breaking the established pattern. It was possibly the largest eruption ever from the Showa Crater, which formed in 1946. NASA Earth Observatory images by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using Landsat 8 data from the USGS Earth Explorer. Caption by Robert Simmon. Instrument: Landsat 8 - OLI More details: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/19WQpBQ" rel="nofollow">1.usa.gov/19WQpBQ</a> <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/NASA_GoddardPix" 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>
Michael Kersjes, center, author and former special education teacher and football coach from Michigan, accepts a special plaque after his presentation to workers during the Disability Awareness and Action Working Group, or DAAWG, event at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left, are Susan Kroskey, Kennedy's chief financial officer and executive champion of DAAWG, Center Director Bob Cabana, and Jessica Conner and Nicole DelVesco, DAAWG co-chairpersons. The theme of Kersjes' presentation was "Power of the Human Spirit." Kersjes is the author of the book, "A Smile as Big as the Moon," which told the true story of how he worked to get special education students into Space Camp, a competitive education program at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. His book was made into a movie in 2012.
Although Japan’s Sakura-jima volcano is one of the most active in the world, it rarely makes headlines. One or two small explosions typically occur every few days, with effects no greater than a light dusting of ash on the surrounding cities. On August 18, 2013, a large eruption sent ash 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) above Kagoshima Bay, breaking the established pattern. It was possibly the largest eruption ever from the Showa Crater, which formed in 1946. NASA Earth Observatory images by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using Landsat 8 data from the USGS Earth Explorer. Caption by Robert Simmon. Instrument: Landsat 8 - OLI More details: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/19WQpBQ" rel="nofollow">1.usa.gov/19WQpBQ</a> <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/NASA_GoddardPix" 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>
B59-00556 (9 Sept. 1959) --- U.S. Air Force photo of Big Joe launch vehicle after launching at Cape Canaveral, Florida, for a suborbital test of the Mercury capsule. The capsule was recovered successfully after the reentry test. Photo credit: NASA
The events surrounding the Big Bang were so cataclysmic that they left an indelible imprint on the fabric of the cosmos. We can detect these scars today by observing the oldest light in the universe. As it was created nearly 14 billion years ago, this light — which exists now as weak microwave radiation and is thus named the cosmic microwave background (CMB) — permeates the entire cosmos, filling it with detectable photons. The CMB can be used to probe the cosmos via something known as the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) effect, which was first observed over 30 years ago. We detect the CMB here on Earth when its constituent microwave photons travel to us through space. On their journey to us, they can pass through galaxy clusters that contain high-energy electrons. These electrons give the photons a tiny boost of energy. Detecting these boosted photons through our telescopes is challenging but important — they can help astronomers to understand some of the fundamental properties of the universe, such as the location and distribution of dense galaxy clusters. The NASA/ESA (European Space Agency) Hubble Space Telescope observed one of most massive known galaxy clusters, RX J1347.5–1145, seen in this Picture of the Week, as part of the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH). This observation of the cluster, 5 billion light-years from Earth, helped the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to study the cosmic microwave background using the thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich effect. The observations made with ALMA are visible as the blue-purple hues. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, T. Kitayama (Toho University, Japan)/ESA/Hubble & NASA <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://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
This is EXCITE’s moment of release. On August 31, 2024, the EXCITE (EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope) team conducted a test flight of their telescope from NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. This photo was taken moments after the telescope was released from the tractor vehicle (called Big Bill). Unseen above is the helium-filled scientific balloon that carried the telescope to the edge of space.
The Soberanes fire, in Central California near Big Sur, had grown to more than 67,000 acres when the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft captured this image on Aug. 6, 2016. More than 4,800 personnel are battling the blaze, which is now 50 percent contained. The fire has destroyed 57 homes and 11 outbuildings and caused one fatality. Evacuation orders are still in effect for a number of nearby communities. The fire was caused by an illegal unattended campfire. Vegetation is depicted in red colors; burned areas are dark grey; clouds are white; smoke and ash are light grey. Yellow indicates active fires, detected on ASTER's thermal infrared channels. The image covers an area of 19 by 26 miles (30 by 42 kilometers), and is located at 36.4 degrees north, 121.8 degrees west. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20725
This self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle at the "Big Sky" site, where its drill collected the mission's fifth taste of Mount Sharp. The scene combines dozens of images taken during the 1,126th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work during Mars (Oct. 6, 2015, PDT), by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera at the end of the rover's robotic arm. The rock drilled at this site is sandstone in the Stimson geological unit inside Gale Crater. The location is on cross-bedded sandstone in which the cross bedding is more evident in views from when the rover was approaching the area, such as PIA19818. The view is centered toward the west-northwest. It does not include the rover's robotic arm, though the shadow of the arm is visible on the ground. Wrist motions and turret rotations on the arm allowed MAHLI to acquire the mosaic's component images. The arm was positioned out of the shot in the images, or portions of images, that were used in this mosaic. This process was used previously in acquiring and assembling Curiosity self-portraits taken at sample-collection sites "Rocknest" (PIA16468), "John Klein" (PIA16937) and "Windjana" (PIA18390). This portrait of the rover was designed to show the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument atop the rover appearing level. This causes the horizon to appear to tilt toward the left, but in reality it is fairly flat. For scale, the rover's wheels are 20 inches (50 centimeters) in diameter and about 16 inches (40 centimeters) wide. The drilled hole in the rock, appearing grey near the lower left corner of the image, is 0.63 inch (1.6 centimeters) in diameter. MAHLI was built by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19920
This is a three-dimensional perspective view of a false-color image of the eastern part of the Big Island of Hawaii.
Located in Canberra, Australia, the Deep Space Network's Deep Space Station 43 spans 70 meters (230 feet), making it the largest steerable parabolic antenna in the Southern Hemisphere. Since March 2020, it has been undergoing upgrades — expected to be complete in January 2021 — to prepare the 48-year-old dish for future exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA operates three Deep Space Network stations, located in California, Spain, and Australia; each has a 70-meter (230-feet) antenna, plus several 34-meter (111-foot) dishes to support dozens of spacecraft exploring the solar system. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23797
The center of the Milky Way galaxy imaged by NASA Spitzer Space Telescope is displayed on a quarter-of-a-billion-pixel, high-definition 23-foot-wide 7-meter LCD science visualization screen at NASA Ames Research Center.
Comet C/2019 Q4 as imaged by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Hawaii's Big Island on Sept. 10, 2019. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23462
NASA in the Park on June 16 in Huntsville featured more than 60 exhibits and demonstrations by NASA experts, as well as performances by Marshall musicians, educational opportunities, games and hands-on activities for all ages. MSFC Summer Interns Eben Lenfest, Nick Bonini, and April Benedict display their artistic talents on Big Spring Park sidewalk during NASA in the Park festivities.
This image of the Mauna Loa volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii shows the capability of imaging radar to map lava flows and other volcanic structures.
Pavonis Mons is a giant shield volcano similar to although larger than those on the Big Island of Hawaii. This image is from NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
This MOC image shows a portion of Syrtis Major Planum, dominated in this area by two impact craters of differing age
This large fracture occurs on the lava flows of Ceraunius Tholus.
Shown in this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) are alluvial fans, fan-shaped deposits emerging from regions of steep topography. Alluvial fans on Mars are thought to be ancient and record past episodes of flowing water. This image shows part of one of those fans, which has been eroded. The old stream channels now stand above the rest of the fan as ridges, mostly in the southern (bottom) part of the image. This can occur because the channel materials are more resistant to erosion; perhaps they had larger grains (gravel) or because minerals deposited from the water cemented together. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22332
On Mercury, craters larger than approximately 10-12 km display a complex morphology, with slump terraces and central peaks, as compared to smaller bowl-shaped craters. At this complex crater, nearly 20 km in diameter, boulders created by the impact event can be seen outside the southwest rim and within the crater interior. The largest boulder observed here is around 180 m (590 feet) across! For comparison with humans for scale, check out the lunar House Rock at the Apollo 16 site, which is (only) 24 meters across. Date acquired: January 24, 2015 Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 64441328 Image ID: 7855678 Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Center Latitude: -2.66° Center Longitude: 83.54° E Resolution: 26 meters/pixel Scale: This crater is approximately 19.5 km (12.1 miles) in diameter Incidence Angle: 82.8° Emission Angle: 43.0° Phase Angle: 39.8° http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19202
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The big blob-like structure shown here, named Himiko after the legendary ancient queen of Japan, turns out to be three galaxies thought to be in the process of merging into one.
A big galaxy is stealing gas right off the back of its smaller companion in this new image from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope. The stolen gas is hot, but it might eventually cool down to make new stars and planets.
This artist concept shows what the night sky might look like from a hypothetical planet around a star tossed out of an ongoing four-way collision between big galaxies.
The terrain model of Vesta southern hemisphere shows a big circular structure, its rim rising above the interior of the structure. This false-color map of the giant asteroid Vesta is from the framing camera aboard NASA Dawn spacecraft.
Curiosity, the big rover of NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission, will land in August 2012 near the foot of a mountain inside Gale Crater. The mission project science group is calling the mountain Mount Sharp.
The landing target area for Curiosity, the big rover of NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission, has been revised, reducing the area size. It also puts the center of the landing area closer to Mount Sharp.
The view is a composite of images taken in visible and near-infrared light by NASA Hubble Space Telescope. Researchers have circled four unusually red objects that appear as they existed just 500 million years after the big bang.
This NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows many channels on a scarp in the Hellas impact basin. On Earth we would call these gullies. Some larger channels on Mars that are sometimes called gullies are big enough to be called ravines on Earth.
The Diomede Islands consisting of the western island Big Diomede, and the eastern island Little Diomede are two rocky islands located in the middle of the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska. This image was acquired by NASA Terra satellite.
A sea of dark dunes, sculpted by the wind into long lines, surrounds the northern polar cap covering an area as big as Texas in this false-color image from NASA Mars Odyssey, the longest-working Mars spacecraft in history.
NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer spacecraft and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory combined data making this diagram illustratrating the extent to which astronomers have been underestimating the proportion of small to big stars in certain galaxies.
This image from NASA Mars rover Curiosity provides a comparison for how big the moons of Mars appear to be, as seen from the surface of Mars, in relation to the size that Earth moon appears to be when seen from the surface of Earth.
The magnificent spiral arms of the nearby galaxy Messier 81 are highlighted in this NASA Spitzer Space Telescope image. Located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major which also includes the Big Dipper.
This graphic illustrates the evolution of satellites designed to measure ancient light leftover from the big bang that created our universe 13.8 billion years ago; NASA COBE Explorer left and WMAP middle, and ESA Planck right.
On the night of March 25, 2008, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer instrument on NASA Terra satellite captured these thermal infrared images of Kilauea volcano on Hawaii Big Island. Kilauea was active at two locations.
This image taken by NASA Spitzer Space Telescope shows in unprecedented detail the galaxy Centaurus A last big meal: a spiral galaxy seemingly twisted into a parallelogram-shaped structure of dust.