Posts Tagged ‘pictures’

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NASA lands car-sized Curiosity rover on Mars – first images released

August 6, 2012

by yaska77

NASA has successfully landed the most advanced Mars rover ever built on the surface of the Red Planet.

The one-tonne, car-sized Curiosity, hanging by cables from a “sky crane” (rocket  backpack essentially) touched down earlier this morning ending a 36-week flight, and was greeted by cheers and hi-fives in the NASA control room monitoring the descent.

Artist’s concept shows how the “sky crane” slowly and precisely lowered Curiosity onto the surface of Mars – Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft that carried Curiosity reportedly succeeded in every step of the most complex landing ever attempted on Mars, including the final severing of the bridle cords and flyaway maneuver of the rocket backpack.

One of the first images received from Curiosity after landing on Mars. You can see dust around the sides of the image kicked up during the landing (which will clear when the lens covers come off) – Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said of the achievement “Today, the wheels of Curiosity have begun to blaze the trail for human footprints on Mars. Curiosity, the most sophisticated rover ever built, is now on the surface of the Red Planet, where it will seek to answer age-old questions about whether life ever existed on Mars – or if the planet can sustain life in the future.”

“This is an amazing achievement, made possible by a team of scientists and engineers from around the world and led by the extraordinary men and women of NASA and our Jet Propulsion Laboratory. President Obama has laid out a bold vision for sending humans to Mars in the mid-2030′s, and today’s landing marks a significant step toward achieving this goal.”

Another higher-res image from the rover (received a few hours after landing) shows more detail of the Martian surface, and one of the rear wheels of Curiosity – Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Curiosity landed at 22:32 PDT on 5th August (05:32 UTC/06:32 BST on 6th August) near the foot of a mountain three miles tall and 96 miles in diameter inside Gale Crater. During its two-year primary mission, the rover will investigate whether the region ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life.

NASA will now be taking time to check all systems over the next few days (into weeks) before embarking on their primary mission.  We’ll be following developments closely and will share any new images as they’re released, with the first colour image of Curiosity’s surroundings expected in the next couple of days.

This is the fourth rover NASA has put on Mars, but the scale (and sophistication) of Curiosity dwarfs all previous projects.

You can watch the moment NASA received confirmation of success below via NASA TV Channel on YouTube.

You can read more detail about the Mars Science Laboratory and it’s fascinating mission here!

Source: NASA

Posted in Astronomy, Curiosity, Mars, NASA, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Venus, Moon and Jupiter conjunction photos

March 27, 2012

by yaska77

Following on from our last post which featured a couple of conjunction images from the middle of March, we’ve been out snapping again to capture the conjunction with the new crescent Moon!

Shot with a Canon Eos 550D and a 50mm lens at f/2.8 ISO100 on a 3 sec exposure - Venus, Jupiter and the Moon on 24th March 2012 (click to enlarge) Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

The photograph above was taken on Saturday 24th March. Venus shines at the top of the image above Jupiter with three of its moons visible.

The crescent Moon glows faintly with earthshine, where light reflected from the Earth helps show features usually lost in the shadow.

This time a 4 second exposure, f/3.5 ISO100 - More of the Moon is lit by the Sun as it shines next to Venus (Jupiter is below the cloud) from 26th March 2012 (click to enlarge) Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

The image above was taken two days after the first photo on Monday 26th March, and you can see how much more of the waxing crescent Moon is lit.  Some of Jupiter’s moons are also visible again (at full size).

This evening the Moon sits between the Hyades and Pleiades clusters (see our Monthly Guide for details) and if it stays clear we’ll be out there again trying to get more shots.

Who could ever get bored of imaging the night sky?!

Clear skies all :)

Posted in Astronomy, Blog gallery, Jupiter, Moon, Planets, Stars, Venus, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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Jupiter and Venus conjunction images

March 15, 2012

by yaska77

There has been a fair amount of coverage in the media recently about the conjunction between Jupiter and Venus. Typically when they appeared closest (on 13th March) the clouds settled in firmly overhead and refused to move.

Thankfully yesterday and this evening it has been relatively clear by comparison! A little bit of haze failed to ruin the opportunities for some photos, so here are a few from over the last two evenings.

Taken using a Canon Eos 550D and a 50mm lens at f/2.5 ISO200 on a 4 sec exposure - Jupiter and Venus on 14th March 2012 (click to enlarge) Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

The image above, taken on Wednesday 14th March shows the bright Venus above Jupiter (with a few of its moons).

Venus will gradually move up and past the top of Jupiter over the next two weeks.

The same camera (and settings) as above captured Jupiter and Venus on 15th March 2012, this time on 3 sec exposure (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

The image above was taken one day later on Thursday 15th March, and you can see how Venus has moved in relation to Jupiter. In this image now only one moon of Jupiter (Callisto) is visible next to the planet.

There are many more photo opportunities involving Jupiter and Venus this month, check our monthly guide for details (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

We can’t be sure the weather will continue to be kind, but should it be generous we’ll try and get some more interesting photos! Perhaps if the haze lifts we’ll even be able to get our telescopes out again!

Now I’ve gone and jinxed it…

Clear skies :)

Posted in Astronomy, Blog gallery, Jupiter, Planets, Stars, Venus, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

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Sky-Watching Images of the Year 2011

December 31, 2011

by yaska77

You might not have noticed but we love posting astro related imagery here at Sky-Watching. With that in mind we decided to put together our favourite images from throughout the year, as voted for by us :)

Sky-Watching Image of the Year 2011

50 stacked images helped the dust lane details stand out in my image of Andromeda (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

At the risk of sounding like blowing our own trumpet, chosen independently as their favourite blog image from 2011 by both tte-77 and mattelk (with no coercion from me whatsoever!) this was one of the first ever stacked images I captured and processed.

Galaxies are fascinating for their variety and magnitude, so to photograph one so clearly using our own equipment through our own light polluted skies helped my M31 Andromeda image stand out.

Creating images like this was one of the main reasons I bought a telescope and camera in the first place, so astrophotography can be very rewarding when your efforts pay off.

The original post (also featuring the Orion Nebula and The Pleiades) can be viewed here.

Sky-Watching Best Planetary Image 2011

The rings of Saturn shine brightly as the planet eclipses the Sun (click to enlarge) - Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA

As soon as mattelk first posted this image of Saturn from the Cassini spacecraft we knew it would be a contender for the best planetary image of the year.

Taken by Cassini as it drifted in the shadow of the planet Saturn (looking towards the eclipsed sun) the night side of the planet is illuminated by sunlight reflected from its own ring system, and the rings themselves are lit by sunlight scattering off of the particles in the ring system.

The small white dot just top left of the main ring system is us, planet Earth!

Jaw-dropping.

Sky-Watching Historic Images of 2011

We followed the last months of NASA’s space shuttle program incredibly closely, so as 2011 saw the end of the iconic spacecraft (with all 3 remaining orbiters retired to museums) it’s only right that we picked a couple of historic shuttle photos for images of particular historic interest.

Docked together 220 miles above the Earth, the penultimate shuttle flight STS-134 Endeavour and the ISS as photographed by ESA Astronaut Paolo Nespoli (Click to enlarge) - Credit: NASA

The image captured above by Paolo Nespoli from a Soyuz capsule returning to Earth were historic, as the first ever images taken from space of a shuttle docked to the ISS. Nothing like waiting for the penultimate mission!

NASA officials said this spacecraft “family portrait” served as a reminder of the contributions the shuttle program made to the construction of the International Space Station.  The 100 billion dollar station began assembly in 1998 with the Russian module Zarya, and then a certain orbiter called Endeavour (STS-88) took the first US built section (the Unity Module) into orbit the same year.

The NASA gallery page features several more photographs, take a look here.

Launching into history, the iconic shuttle Atlantis spears skyward beginning the last ever shuttle mission (click to enlarge) - Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) blasted into orbit on 8th July 2011 on the 135th and final space shuttle mission, launching from Kennedy Space Center (on a 13 day mission delivering supplies to the ISS) with thousands of spectators lining the roads and beaches nearby.

With the shuttle flying no more, we’re eagerly awaiting NASA’s next innovation in launch systems.

It’s been a good year for great images, and we’re now eagerly waiting to see what 2012 will bring.

Different images evoke different responses in different people, but we managed to agree what images should feature, even if I abstained from voting for one of them (for obvious reasons of favouritism) ;)

And on that note all of us at Sky-Watching wish all our visitors, subscribers and Twitter followers a very Happy New Year, may 2012 be great for all of you.

So let’s finish 2011 with a smile, this little image posted through Twitter made me laugh, and from comments made it caused a few chuckles in others too!

Just for Fun

NASA claim plans to send humans back to the Moon haven't been hit by budget cuts... (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

Just kidding :)

Happy New Year!

Posted in Galaxy, Image gallery, ISS, NASA, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Our beautiful planet – Lakes and Waterways

August 9, 2011

by yaska77

A while back we highlighted some images from NASA’s Earth Observatory of some of the beautiful islands and atolls found on our fair planet. The EO gathers together satellite images and photographs taken from the ISS, forming a comprehensive library of stunning pictures and scientifically important images, often used to track natural disasters and environmental changes.

Featured in this post are some examples of fantastic lakes and waterways, all photographed from space. Nice aren’t they?

Click the image to go full size (opens in new tab).

Bombetoka Bay, northwestern coast of Madagascar - Credit: ASTER Science Team/NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS

On the northwestern coast of Madagascar the saltwater of the Mozambique Channel merges with the freshwater from the Betsiboka River, forming Bombetoka Bay. The sandbars and islands formed by those waters have created an estuary out of the huge quantity of sediment carried by the outflowing water from the Betsiboka River.

The Great Lakes of North America - Credit: Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Rapid Response Team/Goddard Space Flight Center

Perhaps surprisingly the Great Lakes of North America are the largest collective body of fresh water on Earth, containing around 18% of our total supply. Only the huge polar ice caps have more! Taking advantage of this source, the region around the Lakes houses around 25% of the population of Canada, and 10% of the entire United States.

From upper left to right, you have Lake Superior, Lake Michigan (with Green Bay), Lake Huron (and Georgian Bay), with Lake Erie (bottom right) and Lake Ontario (right).

Barrier islands along the northeast coast of Brazil - Credit: Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon (Landsat data from the United States Geological Survey)

This image shows the barrier islands along the northeast coast of Brazil, midway between the mouth of the Amazon River and the coastal city of São Luís. Brazil is thought to have the longest continuous chain of barrier islands in the world, stretching for more than 355 miles (571 kilometers) along the Atlantic coast.

The Lake District of northwest England - Credit: Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon (Landsat data from the United States Geological Survey)

Despite being called the “Lake District“only Bassenthwaite Lake is actually called a lake, the rest are made up of meres, waters, tarns or reservoirs. Surrounded by mountains (fells), the geology of the district has been primarily created by glacial processes, however there has been complex geological activity here going back half a billion years.

In the hundreds of millions of years since the rocks of the Lake District formed they have travelled northward, as those found in the national park today originated south of the Equator some 500 million years ago.

Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, Canada - Credit: Jesse Allen/NASA EO-1 team

In Banff National Park in Canada at the eastern tip you’ll find Lake Minnewanka. Twisting across the landscape this lake is fed by the Cascade river, and has seen its water levels increase over the years with the building of three dams, the first in 1895, the second in 1912 and the third in 1941.

Also a product of glacial activity, this region was sculpted some 25,000 years ago.

For the final image I picked something that never fails to inspire awe and wonder in me, a shot of the (last ever) space shuttle Atlantis, performing her graceful ballet on approach to the ISS to dock for the last time on 10th July 2011. Below NASA’s iconic orbiter you can see Long Island of the Bahamas.

STS-135 Atlantis over Long Island in the Bahamas - Credit: NASA/JSC

Photographed by a member of the ISS Expedition 28 crew, similar photographs of Earth can be found at the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth site.

There is a lot of awesome natural beauty that can be found on our planet, and images like these should serve to remind us how precious and fragile it is.

Source: NASA Earth Observatory

Posted in Image gallery, NASA, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

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