| Piú viste - Uranus and His Moons |
Oberon-V2-PIA01352_modest.jpgOberon, from far away...81 visiteOberon, la Luna Maggiore di Urano: la più esterna e la più grande.
In questa immagine (a differenza della precedente che, ad oggi, è la migliore disponibile!) la Sonda Voyager 2 era ancora troppo lontana da Oberon per catturarne i segreti (la fotografia è stata scattata da una distanza di circa 2.700.000 Km!), ma alcuni dettagli delle sua superficie (i quali peraltro evidenziano una scarsissima albedo: Oberon, in effetti, riflette - in media - circa il 20% della luce solare che riceve) appaiono già con una certa chiarezza.
|
|
Uranus-uppatm-PIA01488.jpgHaze in the upper atmosphere of Uranus81 visiteCaption NASA originale:"This is a computer enhancement of a Voyager 2 image, that emphasizes the high-level haze in Uranus' upper atmosphere. Notice how the clouds are obscured by the overlying atmosphere".
|
|
Uranus-HST-PIA01279.jpgUranus from Hubble Space Telescope81 visiteCaption NASA originale:"Uranus is sometimes called the sideways planet, because its rotation axis tipped more than 90° from the planet's orbit around the Sun. The year on Uranus lasts 84 Earth years, which creates extremely long seasons - winter in the Northern Hemisphere has lasted for nearly 20 years. Uranus has also been called bland and boring, because no clouds have been detectable in ground-based images of the planet. Even to the cameras of the Voyager spacecraft in 1986, Uranus presented a nearly uniform blank disk and discrete clouds were detectable only in the Southern Hemisphere. Voyager flew over the Planet's cloud tops near the dead of northern winter (when the northern hemisphere was completely shrouded in darkness).
Two images are shown here. The "aqua" image (on the left) is taken at 5,470 Angstroms, which is near the human eye's peak response to wavelength. Color has been added to the image to show what a person on a spacecraft near Uranus might see. Little structure is evident at this wavelength, though with image-processing techniques, a small cloud can be seen near the planet's northern limb (rightmost edge). The "red" image (on the right) is taken at 6,190 Angstroms, and is sensitive to absorption by methane molecules in the planet's atmosphere. The banded structure of Uranus is evident, and the small cloud near the northern limb is now visible".
|
|
Titania-vg2_p29509.jpgTitania in natural colors (HR)81 visitenessun commento
|
|
UMBRIEL-vg2-SV.jpgUmbriel's most prominent Surface Features: Skynd and Wunda Craters (Natural Colors; credits: NASA)81 visiteThe surface of Umbriel is an ancient one.
A collection of impact craters of various sizes was found to saturate the landscape. As Voyager 2 drew closer, became clear that most or all of the bright features are related to craters. On the Terminator, one can see 2 interesting craters.
One, Skynd, has a bright Central Peak. The other, Wunda, at the top of the image, has a bright rim and no apparent Central Peak. This is the best color image obtained by Voyager 2.MareKromium
|
|
VC-Belinda-V2.jpgBelinda - Voyager 280 visiteEd ora una carrellata relativa ad alcune delle Lune "minori" di Urano. La maggior parte di esse è stata scoperta ex-post, cioè analizzando le immagini mandateci alcuni anni fa dai nostri Messaggeri inviati ai confini del Sistema Solare: le Sonde Voyager 1 e 2. Si tratta di mondi assai minuscoli, dalle forme irregolari, probabilmente non originari del Sistema di Urano, ma "catturati" dal Gigante Gassoso in epoche più o meno remote. Forse, queste Lune minori, sono delle "comete mancate" o forse sono frammenti, schegge di corpi celesti più grandi entrati in collisione quando il Sistema Solare era ancora - relativamente - "giovane". Qualunque sia la verità (che, probabilmente, non conosceremo mai), noi Vi offriamo le immagini che abbiamo raccolto in giro per la Rete e desideriamo ringraziare l'Ing. Calvin J. Hamilton, creatore e curatore del bellissimo Sito conosciuto come "Views of the Solar System".
|
|
AB-AB-vg2_2686312.gifThe limb of Uranus80 visiteOriginal caption:"Voyager 2 image of the limb of Uranus from about 694.000 Km. This narrow angle view is about 5.100 Km across and was taken 12 hours after closest approach. The image is centered at -10, 212 and North is up. (Voyager 2, FDS 26863.12)".
|
|
Miranda-B.JPGThe "Chevron Grooves" of Miranda (perspective view)80 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
|
|
Titania-PIA01979.jpgTitania (possible Natural Colors; credits: Lunar Explorer Italia)80 visiteCaption NASA:"Voyager 2 obtained this full-disk view of Uranus' moon Titania in the early morning hours of Jan. 24, 1986, from a distance of about 500.000 Km (approx. 300.000 miles). Many circular depressions -- probably impact craters -- are visible in this clear-filter image returned by the Voyager narrow-angle camera.
Other bright spots are distinguished by radiating rays and are probably halo craters that mark relatively more recent impacts. Even more interesting are Linear Troughs (right) that are probably Fault Canyons (Tectonic Fractures). The Troughs break the crust in two directions, an indication of some tectonic extension of Titania's crust.
These features indicate that this icy satellite has a dynamic, active interior. Titania is about 1600 Km (approx. 1000 mi) in diameter; the resolution of this image is about 9 Km (approx. 6 mi) per pixel". MareKromium
|
|
VB-Uranus-EpsilonRing-V2-PIA01983_modest.jpgUranus' Rings (4) - the "Epsilon Ring"79 visitenessun commento
|
|
VM-Sycorax.jpgSycorax79 visitenessun commento
|
|
VO-Uranus-PIA00032.jpgUranus in natural and false colors79 visiteCaption NASA originale:"These two pictures of Uranus - one in true color (left) and the other in false color - were compiled from images returned Jan. 17, 1986, by the narrow-angle camera of Voyager 2. The spacecraft was 9,1 MKM (5,7 MMs) from the planet, several days from closest approach. The picture at left has been processed to show Uranus as human eyes would see it from the vantage point of the spacecraft. The picture is a composite of images taken through blue, green and orange filters. The darker shadings at the upper right of the disk correspond to the day-night boundary on the planet. Beyond this boundary lies the hidden northern hemisphere of Uranus, which currently remains in total darkness as the planet rotates.
The blue-green color results from the absorption of red light by methane gas in Uranus' deep, cold and remarkably clear atmosphere. The picture at right uses false color and extreme contrast enhancement to bring out subtle details in the polar region of Uranus. Images obtained through ultraviolet, violet and orange filters were respectively converted to the same blue, green and red colors used to produce the picture at left. The very slight contrasts visible in true color are greatly exaggerated here. In this false-color picture, Uranus reveals a dark polar hood surrounded by a series of progressively lighter concentric bands. One possible explanation is that a brownish haze or smog, concentrated over the pole, is arranged into bands by zonal motions of the upper atmosphere. The bright orange and yellow strip at the lower edge of the planet's limb is an artifact of the image enhancement. In fact, the limb is dark and uniform in color around the planet".
|
|
| 109 immagini su 10 pagina(e) |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
8 | |
|
