NASAs 'Curiosity' Search for Life Targets Water-Altered Rock. This rock's composition is unlike any other Opportunity has investigated during nine years on Mars -- higher in aluminum and silica, lower in calcium and iron. "Based on our current solar-array dust models, we intend to reach an area of 15 degrees northerly tilt before Opportunity's sixth Martian winter," said JPL's Scott Lever, mission manager. "Solander Point gives us that tilt and may allow us to move around quite a bit for winter science observations. " Northerly tilt increases output from the rover's solar panels during southern-hemisphere winter. Daily sunshine for Opportunity will reach winter minimum in February 2014. The rover needs to be on a favorable slope well before then. The first drive away from Esperance covered 81.7 feet (24.9 meters) on May 14. Three days earlier, Opportunity finished exposing a patch of the rock's interior with the rock abrasion tool.
The Daily Galaxy via NASA/JPL Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ. What is the relationship between the moon and the tide? a WebQuest. Links verified 1/1/2012 Written by Bill Byles Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teacher's section "OK, here's the deal. " The gruff inspector snarled as he spoke to your team of detectives. "For a long time people have been blamin' things on the moon! People claim to be crazy because of it, lovers claim to be under its spell, and even hospitals blame the full moon for loaded emergency rooms. " "Yeah! " The Moon l Phases, Orbit and distance from the Earth. The Moon is the only natural satellite of Earth: orbit: 384,400 km from Earth diameter: 3476 kmmass: 7.35e22 kg History of The Moon Called Luna by the Romans, Selene and Artemis by the Greeks, and many other names in other mythologies. The Moon, of course, has been known since prehistoric times. It is the second brightest object in the sky after the Sun.
Due to its size and composition, the Moon is sometimes classified as a terrestrial "planet" along with Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The Moon was first visited by the Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 in 1959. The gravitational forces between the Earth and the Moon cause some interesting effects. But the Earth is not completely fluid, either. The asymmetric nature of this gravitational interaction is also responsible for the fact that the Moon rotates synchronously, i.e. it is locked in phase with its orbit so that the same side is always facing toward the Earth. The Moon has no atmosphere. The Moon has no global magnetic field. Open Issues. The Earth's Moon.
The Earth's Moon NASA. The Earth's one natural satellite, the Moon, is more than one quarter the size of Earth itself (3,474 km diameter). Because of its smaller size, the Moon's gravity is one-sixth of the Earth's gravity, as we saw demonstrated by the giant leaps of the Apollo astronauts. While there are only two basic types of regions on the Moon's surface, there are many interesting surface features such as craters, mountain ranges, rilles, and lava plains. The structure of the Moon's interior is more difficult to study. The Moon's top layer is a rocky solid, perhaps 800 km thick.
Beneath this layer is a partially molten zone. Although it is not known for certain, many lunar geologists believe the Moon may have a small iron core, even though the Moon has no magnetic field. The footprints left by Apollo astronauts will last for centuries because there is no wind on the Moon. The Moon doesn't produce its own light, but looks bright because it reflects light from the Sun. Lunar Geology. Solar System, Solar System Information. Our Cosmic Neighborhood From our small world we have gazed upon the cosmic ocean for thousands of years. Ancient astronomers observed points of light that appeared to move among the stars. They called these objects "planets," meaning wanderers, and named them after Roman deities—Jupiter, king of the gods; Mars, the god of war; Mercury, messenger of the gods; Venus, the goddes of love and beauty, and Saturn, father of Jupiter and god of agriculture.
The stargazers also observed comets with sparkling tails, and meteors or shooting stars apparently falling from the sky. Since the invention of the telescope, three more planets have been discovered in our solar system: Uranus (1781), Neptune (1846), and, now downgraded to a dwarf planet, Pluto (1930). The four planets closest to the sun—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars—are called the terrestrial planets because they have solid rocky surfaces. Nearly every planet—and some of the moons—has an atmosphere. Moons, Rings, and Magnetospheres. Heavens-Above Home Page. Home and City || Version 2.0.
October 24, 1999 - The Magnetic Carpet Of The Sun. Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. October 24, 1999 The Magnetic Carpet Of The Sun Credit: SOHO Consortium, ESA, NASA Explanation: The Sun has a magnetic carpet. Its visible surface appears to be carpeted with tens of thousands of magnetic north and south poles joined by looping field lines which extend outward into the Solar Corona.
Recently, researchers have revealed maps of large numbers of these small magnetic concentrations produced using data and images from the space-based SOHO observatory. The above computer generated sunscape highlights these effects, with white and black field lines drawn in joining regions of strong magnetism. Tomorrow's picture: Neptune Past Red Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. October 8, 1998 - Far Side of the Moon. Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
October 8, 1998 Explanation: Locked in synchronous rotation, the Moon always presents its well-known near side to Earth. But from lunar orbit, Apollo astronauts also grew to know the Moon's far side. This sharp picture from Apollo 16's mapping camera shows the eastern edge of the familiar near side (left) and the strange and heavily cratered far side of the Moon. September 23, 1999 - Equinox and Eruptive Prominence. Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
September 23, 1999 Explanation: Today, the Sun crosses the celestial equator and seasons change from Summer to Fall in the north and Winter to Spring in the southern hemisphere. Defined by the Sun's position in sky the event is known as an equinox - the length of daylight is equal to the length of night. Just last week the active Sun produced the dramatic eruptive prominence seen in this extreme ultraviolet picture from the space-based SOHO observatory. The hot plasma is lofted above the solar surface by twisting magnetic fields.
How big is the prominence? 2008 June 1 - A Twisted Solar Eruptive Prominence. Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2008 June 1 A Twisted Solar Eruptive Prominence Credit: SOHO Consortium, EIT, ESA, NASA Explanation: Ten Earths could easily fit in the "claw" of this seemingly solar monster. The monster, though, visible on the lower left, is a huge eruptive prominence seen moving out from our Sun. The above dramatic image taken early in the year 2000 by the Sun-orbiting SOHO satellite. This large prominence, though, is significant not only for its size, but its shape. Tomorrow's picture: under Phoenix Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important NoticesA service of:ASD at NASA / GSFC& Michigan Tech.
2002 July 18 - Sunspot Region 30. Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 July 18 Sunspot Region 30 Credit: MDI, SOHO, ESA, NASA Explanation: The solar active region designated number 10030 (or simply region 30) is now appearing on the visible hemisphere of the closest star. Dwarfed by the Sun's disk, the group of sunspots which make up region 30 actually cover an enormous area -- nearly 10 times the size of Earth. The panels above were recorded July 15, 16, and 17 (top to bottom) by the MDI instrument on the space-based SOHO Observatory as the solar rotation slowly carried the large, dynamic sunspot group across the Sun's nearside. On July 15, a powerful solar flare erupted from this region followed by a coronal mass ejection.
Tomorrow's picture: all-sky candy Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. 2002 November 14 - The Sharpest View of the Sun. Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 November 14 Explanation: This stunning image shows remarkable and mysterious details near the dark central region of a planet-sized sunspot in one of the sharpest views ever of the surface of the Sun. Just released, the picture was made using the Swedish Solar Telescope now in its first year of operation on the Canary Island of La Palma. Along with features described as hairs and canals are dark cores visible within the bright filaments that extend into the sunspot, representing previously unknown and unexplored solar phenomena.
The filaments' newly revealed dark cores are seen to be thousands of kilometers long but only about 100 kilometers wide. March 26, 1999 - Impact Moon. Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. March 26, 1999 Impact Moon Image Credit: Galileo Project, JPL, NASA Explanation: The Moon's surface is covered with craters, scars of frequent impacts during the early history of the solar system. Now, recent results from the Lunar Prospector spacecraft support the idea that the Moon itself formed from the debris of a giant impact of a mars-sized planetary body with the Earth nearly 4.5 billion years ago. The impact theory of lunar origin can explain, for example, why Moon rocks returned by the Apollo missions have the same isotopic ratios as Earth rocks while the Moon seems deficient in heavy elements like iron.
Tomorrow's picture: Stars Without Galaxies Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. Earth View. Solstice & Equinox Dates 2010-2019. Predefined Locations for Sunrise Sunset Calendar. Complete Sun and Moon Data for One Day. Use these forms to obtain rise, set, and transit times for the Sun and Moon; civil twilight beginning and end times; and, lunar phase information. First, specify the date and location in one of the two forms below. Then, click the "Get data" button at the end of the form. Use Form A for cities or towns in the U.S. or its territories.
Use Form B for all other locations. Be sure to read the Notes section located after the two forms, especially if you wish to use these data for legal purposes. Form A - U.S. Form B - Locations Worldwide Notes Legal Use of the Calculated Data Please see Astronomical Data Used for Litigation if you are interested in using the data produced by this service for legal purposes. Definitions For more information on the terms used, see the Astronomical Almanac On-line Glossary, Rise, Set, and Twilight Definitions or Phases of the Moon and Percent of the Moon Illuminated in the Astronomical Information Center.
Computing Data for Multiple Days Time Formats Time Zones.