Earth, Moon and the Sun
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| Lighting Up the Darkside (October 7, 2009) |
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The Soviet Union's Luna 3 spacecraft snapped the first pictures of the far side of the Moon, which is often called the "darkside," in October 1959. The crude images showed several volcanic "seas" (the larger dark splotches) and several craters. The small spot at lower right is a crater that later was named in honor of Russian rocket pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovski. [NASA] For more information, see our October 7 program. |
| Lunar Water (September 25, 2009) |
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Instruments aboard several spacecraft have detected smatterings of water and related molecules mixed with the powdery soil on the surface of the Moon. This image shows a small section of the lunar surface (left), and regions with water (blue) and hydroxyl (red) molecules (right). Hydroxyl consists of one hydrogen atom and one oxygen atom. The amounts of water are minute, but are more than planetary scientists had expected to find. The quantity of water (in the form of individual molecules or small grains of ice) is greatest around the Moon's poles, where observations by earlier spacecraft had hinted at the presence of water ice in permanently shadowed craters. [ISRO/NASA/JPL/USGS/Brown Univ.] |
| High Moon (September 14, 2009) |
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The gibbous Moon climbs above Earth's atmosphere in this recent view from space shuttle Discovery, which ferried equipment and supplies to the International Space Station. [NASA] |
| A Big Bang (September 1, 2009) |
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A solar flare erupts from the surface of the Sun in this false-color image from the Sun-watching TRACE spacecraft. A solar flare occurs when lines of magnetic force intertwine, releasing enormous amounts of energy. The largest solar flare ever recorded erupted on September 1, 1859. [NASA] For more information, see our September 1 program. |
| Shooting the Moon (July 17, 2009) |
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A laser fires at the Moon from a telescope at McDonald Observatory. The laser beam will bounce off a reflector left on the Moon by Apollo astronauts, and a tiny bit of its light will return to the telescope. By measuring the round-trip travel time, scientists can determine the Earth-Moon distance to within a couple of inches. The measurements are used to study the interior of the Moon, Earth's rotation, and theories of gravity. The laser reflectors are the last of the Apollo experiments. [Frank Armstrong/University of Texas]
For more information, see our July 17 program. |
| First Glimpse (July 6, 2009) |
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One of the first views from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) shows details as small as a car in the Sea of Clouds, an ancient volcanic plain in the Moon's southern hemisphere. LRO, which entered lunar orbit June 23, is designed to scout out landing sites for future missions, hunt for water ice near the Moon's poles, and map the Moon's gravity and magnetic fields. Impact craters are the main features in this image, which was photographed with the Sun at a low angle in the sky. [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State] |
| Lunar Sunrise (June 12, 2009) |
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The Sun begins to rise on the Moon in this picture from one of the Apollo missions. Tall mountains catch the sunlight first, casting long shadows across the landscape. Each lunar "day" lasts about a month, with about 14 Earth days of sunlight followed by 14 days of darkness. [NASA] For more information, see our June 12 program. |
| Lots of Moonlight (December 11, 2008) |
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December's full Moon is known as the Long-Night Moon because the nights in the northern hemisphere are longest at this time of year, so the Moon remains in view for many hours. The Moon will be full at 10:37 a.m. December 12. [Copyright Fotolia]
For more information, see our December 11 program. |
| Not-So-Dark Side of the Moon (September 29, 2008) |
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This composite of thousands of images from the Clementine spacecraft shows the far side of the Moon -- the side that perpetually faces away from Earth. Since we never get to see it, it is sometimes called the "dark" side of the Moon, although it gets as much sunlight as the side that faces our way. The far side is more battered than the near side, with fewer smooth volcanic plains coating its surface. [NASA/JPL/USGS/NRL] For more information, see our September 29 program. |
| Relentless Beauty (September 12, 2008) |
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Outer bands of hurricane Ike sweep across the Gulf of Mexico in this image from Expedition 17 astronauts aboard the International Space Station. With landfall expected near Houston, NASA closed the Johnson Space Center and transferred control of the space station to Mission Control-Moscow. [NASA/JSC] |
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