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| Risultati della ricerca nelle immagini - "some" |
0-SMART-1.jpgSMART-1 and the Moon89 visiteThe solar electric primary propulsion on-board SMART-1 is a Stationary Plasma Hall-effect thruster, the PPS-1350 developed by SNECMA, France. Using Xenon gas as propellant and the power from the spacecraft's solar arrays, the thruster is capable of providing a thrust of something like 70 milliNewtons. Using the thrust of the electric propulsion system, SMART-1 progressively expanded its orbit, spiralling out from Earth and was caught by the Moon's gravitational field on 15 November 2004, nearly 14 months after launch. In order to enhance the capture opportunities and to save precious fuel, SMART-1 also made use of celestial mechanics, including Moon resonances and swing-bys. The spacecraft exploited the unstable regions of space where the gravity field of Earth and Moon compete and which are normally avoided by conventional trajectories. It passed through the L1 point of the Earth-Moon System which allowed for the spacecraft to be caught by the Moon's gravity.
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0-Saturn and Friends.jpgSaturn and His Moons190 visiteThe dozens of moons orbiting Saturn vary drastically in shape, size, age and origin. Some of these moons have rocky surfaces, while others are porous, icy bodies. Many have craters, ridges and valleys and some show evidence of tectonic activity. Some appear to have formed billions of years ago, while others appear to be pieces of a bigger, fragmented body. The most interesting one is Titan, the biggest of them all. Larger than Earth's Moon, Titan even has its own thick atmosphere - the only natural satellite in the Solar System with such a luxury. During its 4-year mission in this immense region, the Cassini spacecraft will extensively photograph many of these moons and collect data that will increase our understanding of their composition.
To date, 34 moons have been officially named. In alphabetic order, they are: Albiorix, Atlas, Calypso, Dione , Enceladus, Epimetheus, Erriapo, Helene, Hyperion, Iapetus, Ijiraq, Janus, Kiviuq, Methone, Mimas, Mundilfari, Narvi, Paaliaq, Pallene, Pan, Pandora, Phoebe, Polydeuces, Prometheus, Rhea, Siarnaq, Skadi, Suttung, Tarvos, Telesto, Tethys, Thrym, Titan and Ymir.
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00-M-FAGONE-GreenMars.jpgThe "True Colors" of Mars?767 visiteLun-Ex-It has decided to open a new Main Section of its "Library" which will be entirely dedicated to the Readers (we thought that some Works that were sent to us deserved some kind of recognition and...Here we are!).
We are not all Scientists so, please, do not expect any "graduated-like" Work here: this Section is just given to those who have something to 'Show&Tell', no matter what their "cv" might say: anybody can come to this (small) Tribune and speak-up (but nobody needs to scream, because Lunar Explorer's Friends are not deaf).
A small space for the Readers had already been created in the Deep Sky Section and, we must say, after a little more than a year, the stats show that the experiment was successful. Now therefore, after Writers&Poets, it is time to listen to what our Truth-Seeking Friends have to say about the Moon, Mars and the Universe.
So, if you are not scared of your own ideas and opinions being - let's say - "exposed", write us!
(in English or French; pictures are welcome)
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00-SMART1.jpgSMART-1 and the Moon77 visiteSMART-1's science payload, with a total mass of some 15 Kg, features many innovative instruments and advanced technologies. These are:
- AMIE, a miniaturised HR camera for Lunar Surface imaging;
- SIR, a Near-Infrared Point-Spectrometer for Lunar mineralogy investigation;
- D-CIXS, a very compact X-ray Spectrometer with a new type of detector and micro-collimator which will provide fluorescence spectroscopy and imagery of the Moon's surface elemental composition;
- XSM, an X-ray monitor to support D-CIXS by providing measurements of solar X-ray emission for calibration:
- KaTE, an experiment aimed at demonstrating deep-space telemetry and telecommand communications in the X and Ka-bands;
- RSIS, a Radio-Science Experiment relying on KaTE. It monitors the electric propulsion by means of tracking techniques. In lunar orbit it will, with AMIE, also study the Moon's libration.
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004-Ceres.jpgMoments of 1-Ceres (1)52 visiteDa "NASA - Picture of the Day", del 21 Agosto 2006:"Is 1-Ceres an Asteroid or a Planet?
Although a trivial designation to some, the recent suggestion by the Planet Definition Committee of the International Astronomical Union would have 1-Ceres reclassified from Asteroid to Planet.
A change in taxonomy might lead to more notoriety for the frequently overlooked world. Ceres, at about 1000 Km across, is the largest object in the main Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Under the newly proposed criteria, Ceres would qualify as a planet because it is nearly spherical and sufficiently distant from other planets. Pictured above is the best picture yet of Ceres, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope as part of a series of exposures ending in 2004 January. Currently, NASA's Dawn mission is scheduled to launch in 2007 June to explore Ceres and Vesta, regardless of their future designations".
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006-Ceres.jpg1-Ceres (natural colors, from HST - credits: NASA/ESA et al.)53 visiteThe Hubble image of Ceres on the reveals bright and dark regions on the asteroid's surface that could be topographic features, such as craters, and/or areas containing different surface material. Large impacts may have caused some of these features and potentially added new material to the landscape. The Texas-sized asteroid holds about 30 to 40% of the mass in the Asteroid Belt.
Ceres' round shape suggests that its interior is layered like those of terrestrial planets such as Earth. The asteroid may have a rocky inner core, an icy mantle, and a thin, dusty outer crust. The asteroid may even have water locked beneath its surface. It is approx. 590 miles (950 Km) across and was the first asteroid discovered in 1801.
The observation was made in visible and ultraviolet light between December 2003 and January 2004 with the HST Advanced Camera for Surveys. The color variations in the image show either a difference in texture or composition on Ceres' surface.
Astronomers need the close-up views of the Dawn spacecraft to determine the characteristics of these regional differences.
MareKromium
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009-1-Ceres-PIA19884-PCF-LXTT-IPF-1.jpgWhite Unnamed Crater on 1-Ceres (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)59 visiteToday's APOD is an Extra Detail Magnification (or "EDM", for short) of yesterday's Contextual (or "CTX", for short) Frame, taken by the NASA - Dawn Spacecraft that shows us a small White Crater (---> also informally known as "White Spot") that is located in the Northern Hemisphere of the Dwarf Planet named 1-Ceres.
Now, we ask you one (extremely complicated, in fact) question that you, however, should try to answer: why, on 1-Ceres, the huge and deep Impact Craters do not show "White Material" inside them, while, on the other hand, the small and shallow ones (Impact Craters) do? Probably because, but we, as IPF, cannot be sure of this (just like everyone else), the White Material, in the end, does not belong to/comes from the Sub-Surface of 1-Ceres (as we thought, at the beginning), but it belongs to/comes from the Impactors. And you, what do you think?...If you want to share your opinion, please, write us at alphacentauri@intercom.it
The picture was taken from an altitude of approx. 915 miles (such as about 1472,5461 Km) from the Surface, with a resolution of roughly 450 feet (such as about 137,16 meters) per pixel, was taken on August 21, 2015.
This image (which is a crop taken from an Original NASA - Dawn Spacecraft's b/w and NON Map-Projected frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 19884 - Dawn HAMO Image 8) has been additionally processed, extra-magnified to aid the visibility of the details, contrast enhanced and sharpened, Gamma corrected and then colorized (according to an educated guess carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga-LXTT-IPF) in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a normal human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - Dawn Spacecraft and then looked ahead, towards the Surface of 1-Ceres), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team.MareKromium
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010-1-Ceres-PIA19898-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgUnnamed Crater on the Terminator of 1-Ceres (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)59 visiteThis simply beautiful Contextual (or "CTX", for short) Frame, taken by the NASA - Dawn Spacecraft on August, 26, 2015, shows us, among other interesting things, an Ancient and extremely Complex Unnamed Impact Crater (which seems to be characterized by the presence of an unusually-looking - we would say, as IPF, "columnarly-shaped", maybe? - Central Peak) that is located near the Terminator Line of the Dwarf Planet named 1-Ceres.
If you will pay attention to the frame, you might agree on the fact that the long shadows - which are very well visible all over the picture - make the whole scene - with its deeply complex Surface Details - even more suggestive.
The picture was taken from an altitude of approx. 915 miles (such as about 1472,5461 Km) from the Surface, with a resolution of roughly 450 feet (such as about 137,16 meters) per pixel, was taken on August 21, 2015.
This image (which is an Original NASA - Dawn Spacecraft's b/w and NON Map-Projected frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 19898 - Dawn HAMO Image 20) has been additionally processed, extra-magnified to aid the visibility of the details, contrast enhanced and sharpened, Gamma corrected and then colorized (according to an educated guess carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga-LXTT-IPF) in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a normal human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - Dawn Spacecraft and then looked ahead, towards the Surface of 1-Ceres), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team.MareKromium
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012-1-Ceres-PIA19620-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgHuge Mountain on 1-Ceres (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)64 visiteLocated just on the Limb (obviously, only from our point of view) of the so-called "Dwarf Planet" 1-Ceres, at about 7 o'clock of 1-Ceres' (highly uneven) disk, we can see - once again - the large Flat-Topped Mountain - about 3 miles (such as approx. 4,82802 Km) high, surrounded by (relatively) smooth Terrain - that we have already shown you in yesterday's APOD. Probably it is useless to say - but it is a good thing, in our opinion, as IPF, to underline this specific circumstance - the so-called Emission Angle here is very high. The "new" White Spot, as well as the white Material that we have noticed still in yesterday's APOD, are also clearly visible here, in this picture.
As we have already said in the past, also this specific frame is just one among the first snapshots coming from Dawn's second Mapping Orbit of 1-Ceres, which is carried out from an altitude of approx. 2700 miles (such as about 4345,218 Km). Even in this case, the Resolution is roughly 1400 feet (such as approx. 426,72 meters) per pixel.
The image (which is an Original NASA - Dawn Spacecraft's b/w and NON Map-Projected frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 19587 - Dawn Survey Orbit Image 19) has been additionally processed, magnified to aid the visibility of the details, contrast enhanced and sharpened, Gamma corrected and then colorized (according to an educated guess carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga-LXTT-IPF) in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a normal human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - Dawn Spacecraft and then looked ahead, towards the Limb and Surface of 1-Ceres), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team.MareKromium
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015-Ceres_and_Vesta.jpg4-Vesta and 1-Ceres from HST (natural colors)52 visiteThese Hubble Space Telescope images of Vesta and 1-Ceres show two of the most massive asteroids in the Asteroid Belt, a Region between Mars and Jupiter.
The images are helping astronomers plan for the Dawn spacecrafts tour of these hefty asteroids. On July 7, 2007, NASA is scheduled to launch the spacecraft on a 4-year journey to the Asteroid Belt. Once there, Dawn will do some asteroid-hopping, going into orbit around Vesta in 2011 and Ceres in 2015. Dawn will be the first spacecraft to orbit two targets. At least 100.000 asteroids inhabit the Asteroid Belt, a reservoir of leftover material from the formation of our Solar-System planets some 4,6 Billion Years (BY) ago.MareKromium
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019-Vesta-5-PIA13427.jpg4-Vesta from Hubble Space Telescope102 visiteThe Asteroid 4-Vesta is somewhat like our Moon, with ancient Lava Beds (the dark patches) and powdery Debris (or Regolith), such as the pulverized remains of impacts (the orange-colored areas). A flattened area on one end of 4-Vesta is a giant Impact Crater formed by a collision that perhaps occurred billions of years ago.
The crater is approx. 460 Km (285,66 miles) across, which makes it close to 4-Vesta's roughly 530-Km (329,13-mile) diameter. The asteroid is about the size of Arizona.
4-Vesta is one of the largest of a reservoir of about 100.000 Asteroids, the leftover material from the formation of our Solar System.
Astronomers combined images of Vesta in Near-UltraViolet and blue light to make this picture movie. The Hubble observations were made on Feb. 25 and Feb. 28, 2010.MareKromium
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021-Vesta-3.jpgMoments of 4-Vesta52 visiteTo prepare for the Dawn spacecraft's visit to Vesta, astronomers used Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 to snap new images of the asteroid. These images were taken on May 14 and 16, 2007. Each frame shows time in hours and minutes based on Vesta's 5,34-hour rotation period. Using Hubble, astronomers mapped Vesta's Southern Hemisphere, a Region dominated by a giant impact crater formed by a collision billions of years ago. The crater is 285 miles (456 Km) across, which is nearly equal to Vesta's 330-mile (530-Km) diameter.
Hubble's sharp "eye" can see features as small as about 37 miles (60 Km) across. The images show the difference in brightness and color on the asteroid's surface. These characteristics hint at the large-scale features that the Dawn spacecraft will see when it arrives at Vesta in 2011.
Hubble's view reveals extensive global features stretching longitudinally from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere.
The images also show widespread differences in brightness in the east and west, which probably reflects compositional changes. Both of these characteristics could reveal volcanic activity throughout Vesta. The size of these different regions varies. Some are hundreds of miles across.
The brightness differences could be similar to the effect seen on the Moon, where smooth, dark regions are more iron-rich than the brighter highlands that contain minerals richer in calcium and aluminum. When Vesta was forming 4.5 billion years ago, it was heated to the melting temperatures of rock. This heating allowed heavier material to sink to Vesta's center and lighter minerals to rise to the surface.
Astronomers combined images of Vesta in two colors to study the variations in iron-bearing minerals. From these minerals, they hope to learn more about Vesta's surface structure and composition. Astronomers expect that Dawn will provide rich details about the asteroid's surface and interior structure.
MareKromium
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