Gazing at Earth

NASA Image of the Day
Gazing at Earth	Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT
The STS-131 crew snapped this image as space shuttle Discovery remained docked with the International Space Station. The Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module can be seen in Discovery’s payload bay. Earth’s horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for the scene. Image Credit: NASA

国際宇宙ステーションにドッキングされているスペースシャトル
「ディスカバリー」。
日本の宇宙航空研究開発機構宇宙飛行士の山崎直子さん
を乗せてもうすぐ帰還ですね。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　夢宇民PaPa

Group Portrait「国際宇宙ステーションのきぼうの実験室での記念写真」

NASA Image of the Day
Group Portrait	Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT
The crews of STS-131 and Expedition 23 gathered for a group portrait in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station while space shuttle Discovery was docked at the station. STS-131 crew (in light blue shirts) are commander Alan Poindexter, pilot James P. Dutton Jr., and mission specialists Clayton Anderson, Rick Mastracchio, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Naoko Yamazaki. Expedition 23 crew Commander Oleg Kotov, cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Alexander Skvortsov, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, and NASA astronauts T.J. Creamer and Tracy Caldwell Dyson. Image Credit: NASA

国際宇宙ステーションのきぼうの実験室での記念写真ですね。
ここで問題、日本の宇宙航空研究開発機構宇宙飛行士の山崎直子
さんはどこでしょう。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　夢宇民PaPa

Galaxy Cluster Has Two 'Tails' to Tell

NASA Image of the Day
Galaxy Cluster Has Two 'Tails' to Tell	Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST
Two spectacular tails of X-ray emission have been seen trailing behind a galaxy using the Chandra X-ray Observatory. A composite image of the galaxy cluster Abell 3627 shows X-rays from Chandra in blue, optical emission in yellow and emission from hydrogen light -- known to astronomers as 'H-alpha' -- in red. The optical and H-alpha data were obtained with the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope in Chile. At the front of the tail is the galaxy ESO 137-001. The brighter of the two tails has been seen before and extends for about 260,000 light years. The detection of the second, fainter tail, however, was a surprise to the scientists. The X-ray tails were created when cool gas from ESO 137-001 (with a temperature of about ten degrees above absolute zero) was stripped by hot gas (about 100 million degrees) as it travels towards the center of the galaxy cluster Abell 3627. What astronomers observe with Chandra is essentially the evaporation of the cold gas, which glows at a temperature of about 10 million degrees. Evidence of gas with temperatures between 100 and 1,000 degrees Kelvin in the tail was also found with the Spitzer Space Telescope. Galaxy clusters are collections of hundreds or even thousands of galaxies held together by gravity that are enveloped in hot gas. The two-pronged tail in this system may have formed because gas has been stripped from the two major spiral arms in ESO 137-001. The stripping of gas is thought to have a significant effect on galaxy evolution, removing cold gas from the galaxy, shutting down the formation of new stars in the galaxy, and changing the appearance of inner spiral arms and bulges because of the effects of star formation. Image Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UVa/M. Sun et al; H-alpha/Optical: SOAR/MSU/NOAO/UNC/CNPq-Brazil/M.Sun et al.

久しぶりのNASAからの転載です。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　by　夢宇民PaPa

Jupiter's Moons[NASAの本日の一枚]

NASA Image of the Day
Jupiter's Moons	Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST
On Jan. 7, 1610, Galileo Galilei's improvements to the telescope enabled humanity to see Jupiter's four largest moons for the first time. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto--the so-called Galilean satellites--were seen by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager on the New Horizons spacecraft during its flyby of Jupiter in late February 2007. The images have been scaled to represent the true relative sizes of the four moons and are arranged in their order from Jupiter. Io is notable for its active volcanism, which New Horizons studied extensively. On the other hand, Europa's smooth, icy surface likely conceals an ocean of liquid water. New Horizons obtained data on Europa's surface composition and imaged subtle surface features, and analysis of these data may provide new information about the ocean and the icy shell that covers it. New Horizons spied Ganymede from 2.2 million miles away. Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, has a dirty ice surface cut by fractures and peppered by impact craters. New Horizons' infrared observations may provide insight into the composition of the moon's surface and interior. Scientists are using the infrared spectra New Horizons gathered of Callisto's ancient, cratered surface to calibrate spectral analysis techniques that will help them to understand the surfaces of Pluto and its moon Charon when New Horizons passes them in 2015. Image Credit: NASA/JHU-APL/Southwest Research Institute

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　夢宇民PaPa

Into the Heart of Darkness[NASAの本日一枚]

NASA Image of the Day
Into the Heart of Darkness	Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST
Astronomers have long known that the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, known as Sagittarius A* (or Sgr A* for short), is a particularly poor eater. The fuel for this black hole comes from powerful winds blown off dozens of massive young stars that are concentrated nearby. These stars are located a relatively large distance away from Sgr A*, where the gravity of the black hole is weak, and so their high-velocity winds are difficult for the black hole to capture and swallow. Scientists have previously calculated that Sgr A* should consume only about 1 percent of the fuel carried in the winds. However, it now appears that Sgr A* consumes even less than expected -- ingesting only about one percent of that one percent. Why does it consume so little? The answer may be found in a new theoretical model developed using data from a very deep exposure made by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This model considers the flow of energy between two regions around the black hole: an inner region that is close to the so-called event horizon (the boundary beyond which even light cannot escape), and an outer region that includes the black hole's fuel source -- the young stars -- extending up to a million times farther out. Collisions between particles in the hot inner region transfer energy to particles in the cooler outer region via a process called conduction. This, in turn, provides additional outward pressure that makes nearly all of the gas in the outer region flow away from the black hole. The model appears to explain well the extended shape of hot gas detected around Sgr A* in X-rays as well as features seen in other wavelengths. This Chandra image of Sgr A* and the surrounding region is based on data from a series of observations lasting a total of about one million seconds, or almost two weeks. Such a deep observation has given scientists an unprecedented view of the supernova remnant near Sgr A* (known as Sgr A East) and the lobes of hot gas extending for a dozen light years on either side of the black hole. These lobes provide evidence for powerful eruptions occurring several times over the last ten thousand years. The image also contains several mysterious X-ray filaments, some of which may be huge magnetic structures interacting with streams of energetic electrons produced by rapidly spinning neutron stars. Such features are known as pulsar wind nebulas. This new model of Sgr A* was presented at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in January 2009 by Roman Shcherbakov and Robert Penna of Harvard University and Frederick K. Baganoff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Image Credit: NASA/CXC/MIT/F. Baganoff, R. Shcherbakov et al. </>

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　夢宇民PaPa

Terra Turns Ten: Snow, Clouds and Sunlight[NASAの本日一枚]

NASA Image of the Day
Terra Turns Ten: Snow, Clouds and Sunlight	Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST
NASA flies three large, multi-sensor satellites that monitor Earth’s land, atmosphere, oceans and energy balance. Because the instruments on each satellite take measurements at the same time from the same vantage point, scientists are able to compare observations and tease out connections between different parts of the Earth system. The first of the three satellites, Terra, launched ten years ago on Dec. 18, 1999. In the decade since Terra launched, scientists have gained insight into the intricate connections that shape our planet's climate. The relationship between snow, clouds, and sunlight is a good example. In November, the chill and snow of a Northern Hemisphere winter is on the horizon. Snow covers the far north and high elevations, as shown in the map of percent snow cover in November 2009. White areas show where snow covers the ground completely, while blue points to areas with partial snow cover. At the peak of the northern winter, more than 40 percent of the Earth’s land will be covered in snow. In addition to being an important, life-sustaining source of water, the snow also reflects sunlight, limiting the amount of heat the Earth absorbs from the sun. Image Credit: NASA

この寒波で世界各地で雪が降っています。
衛星写真では、とても良くわかりますね。

皆さん風邪をひかないようにお気をつけて下さいね。

　　　　　　　　　　　夢宇民PaPa

Expedition 22 Lifts Off[NASAの本日の厳選の一枚]

NASA Image of the Day
Expedition 22 Lifts Off	Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST
The Soyuz TMA-17 rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:52 p.m. EST on Sunday, Dec. 20, carrying Expedition 22 NASA Flight Engineer Timothy J. Creamer of the U.S., Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov of Russia and Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi of Japan to the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASAの本日の厳選の一枚です。ソユーズの打ち上げの画像ですね。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　夢宇民PaPa

Soyuz Rolls to the Pad[NASAの本日の一枚]

NASA Image of the Day
Soyuz Rolls to the Pad	Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST
The Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft is rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Friday, Dec. 18, 2009. The launch of the Soyuz spacecraft with Expedition 22 NASA Flight Engineer Timothy J. Creamer of the U.S., Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov of Russia and Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi of Japan, is scheduled for Monday, Dec., 21, 2009 at 3:52a.m. Kazakhstan time. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

ちょっと遊ん、でNASAの本日の厳選の一枚をご覧ください。
好評であれば、時々転載しますね。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　夢宇民PaPa

タグ：NASA 写真