Mars is a tiny planet with huge surface features. How come?
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PRWEB.COM NewswireSALISBURY, U.K. (PRWEB) May 23, 2013 Money spent on research to create and harness energy from hydrogen fusion is a waste, according to astronomy researcher and…
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Club President of GRAAA intoducing Prof. Adams /Allen WegenerProfessor Adams giving his presentation to visitors. /Allen WegenerQeustion and Answer time with Prof. Adams and audience. /Allen Wegener
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Archive for surface features
The Geographical Sciences are one of the new key categories covered by the Sciences Social Network ScienceIndex.com. This main category is subdivided into Astronomy, Geology and Meteorology. The users of the website monitor over 80 scientific Geography journals and submit the most significant scientific results of these journals for inclusion in ScienceIndex.com. ScienceIndex.com was established in 1998 to index the very latest news, headlines, references and resources from science journals, books and websites worldwide. The site covers news in all fields of biology, business, chemistry, engineering, geography, health, mathematics and society.
Mannheim, Germany (PRWEB) April 17, 2012
ScienceIndex.com is a Web 2.0 sciences social network established in 1998 to index the very latest news, headlines, references and resources from science journals, books and websites worldwide. The site covers news in all fields of biology, business, chemistry, engineering, geography, health, mathematics and society. The site has now included the Geographical Sciences which cover the physical characteristics of the earth including its surface features, and the distribution of life on earth. This main category is subdivided into the categories Astronomy, Geology and Meteorology. While the Astronomy category covers the physical characteristics of the earth including its surface features and the distribution of life on earth, the Geology category covers the origin, history, and structure of the earth, and the Meteorology category covers the phenomena of the atmosphere and especially weather and weather conditions.
ScienceIndex.com’s Geographical Sciences Category covers the physical characteristics of the earth including its surface features, and the distribution of life on earth. Its three subsections include Astronomy, Geology and Meteorology. Users can receive alerts if new content has been posted in this category by subscribing to ScienceIndex.com’s Geographical Sciences RSS feed.
ScienceIndex.com’s Astronomy Sciences category covers the physical characteristics of the earth including its surface features and the distribution of life on earth. It currently contains 13,795 articles partly derived from 50 scientific journals. The latest articles in this category are also available through a Astronomy Sciences RSS feed. One of the latest additions covers a high spectral resolution, sub-milliarcsecond precision, spectroastrometric study of the circumstellar disc around the Be star β CMi.
ScienceIndex.com’s Geology Sciences category covers the origin, history, and structure of the earth. It currently contains nearly 21,319 articles partly derived from almost 130 scientific journals. The latest articles in this category are also available through a Geology Sciences RSS feed. One recently included article in this category presents the development and evaluation of a hybrid approach to remote measurement of river morphology that combines LiDAR topography with spectrally based bathymetry. This fusion of LiDAR and passive optical image data provides an efficient means of characterizing river morphology that would not have been possible if either dataset had been used in isolation.
ScienceIndex.com’s Meteorology Sciences category covers the phenomena of the atmosphere and especially weather and weather conditions. It currently contains 9,000 articles partly derived from nearly 40 scientific journals. The latest articles in this category are also available through a Meteorology Sciences RSS feed. One of the latest additions covers the variability of 210Pb, 7Be and 10Be in coastal Antarctic aerosol samples based on continuous, monthly and annually resolved time series obtained from Neumayer Station over the period 1983 to 2008. The authors conclude that both, changes in the meridional transport and surface inversion strength appear to drive the seasonal 210Pb cycle, which generally peaks in November. In contrast, stratospheric air mass intrusions are proved to be the main reason for the Be-isotopes seasonality.
ScienceIndex.com currently contains almost 1.45 million stories distributed among 75 categories. 75,896 users monitor nearly 8,400 journals covering the broad spectrum of sciences. They share circa 2,500 new articles every day. Since new science content is discovered in real-time, the delay between original publication and appearance at ScienceIndex.com is no more than two days. ScienceIndex.com provides an advanced search feature which suggests up to ten closely related articles for a search and also for a selected story. Other features include a “Life Traffic Feed”, a “Top Content” sidebar, Google Translate functionality, and RSS feeds for every category. ScienceIndex.com also maintains the new Twitter account @ScienceIndex_.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/4/prweb9406163.htm
Article source: http://www.chron.com/business/press-releases/article/New-Geography-Resources-Published-at-3487194.php
Tags: scientific journals, Sciences Social Network, surface features, Geographical Sciences <BR/>- BLOG:
Pick a planet that both astronomers and the general public would favor as a possible harbor for life beyond Earth, and folks in both camps will probably name Mars.
While Martian life prospects are sketchy at best, the draw of the red planet as a place where life has or could flourish is unmistakable. Mars even looks earthlike with its polar caps, dark continent-looking areas and an approximately 24-hour day.
Science-fiction writer H.G. Wells wrote of Martians invading Earth in “War of the Worlds,” and distinctive surface features on the red planet have kept those “life wishers” talking for hundreds of years.
There’s another reason Mars is on the minds of astronomers heading into March. Any farfetched visit from Martians isn’t in the offing then, but the red planet will draw fairly close to us in early March, if you can call almost 63million miles close. That relative closeness gets amateur astronomers excited, particularly if they own moderate to large telescopes.
But enthusiasm of amateur astronomers is somewhat tempered because we know that just because Mars is closer, it’s still a very tiny target to see in a telescope.
Mars is only half the size of Earth, and when we put it at a distance of 62.6million miles, which is the distance of the upcoming “close” Martian swing in early March, we’re talking a tiny planet in the eyepiece.
That distance won’t stop telescope users from looking, though, for one simple reason. We can see surface features on Mars from backyards here on Earth. That’s a rare treat. It’s been that way for hundreds of years, ever since telescopes were turned skyward.
Mars is virtually the only planet on which we can observe surface detail using Earth-based telescopes. Tiny, cloudless Mercury can show us some of its larger surface features under good conditions, but Mars is the main attraction when we’re looking to see stuff on the surface of another planet. Other planets in our solar system are shrouded in clouds, and distant dwarf planet Pluto is too far away to make out any surface details from Earth.
Getting a good look at Mars, even with large telescopes only comes about every two years when the planet reaches a point called opposition. At opposition, the planet appears opposite the sun in our sky, so its distance from us is smallest. Oppositions of Mars vary in distance from a historically close passage in 2003 of around 34million miles to more distant oppositions of about the same distance as the upcoming one.
Given a telescope in the 4- to 12-inch range, the most prominent feature you’ll see on Mars right now is its northern polar cap. The Martian northern hemisphere is tipped toward Earth during this opposition so the polar cap is very prominent.
Even though Mars will rise around sunset and will be visible all night in early March, your best and sharpest views in a telescope will come late at night when Mars is riding higher in the sky. We’re looking through a lesser thickness of our distorting atmosphere when we observe objects high overhead versus low to the horizon.
Picking out Mars in the evening sky couldn’t be easier. Mars is getting nearer so it’s getting brighter. Just look to the east around 9 p.m. Mars, glowing reddish, is the brightest object in the eastern sky. It’s hanging in front of the stars of the constellation Leo, the Lion. Look for the moon to be near Mars on March 6 and 7.
After early March, the red planet again will recede from Earth, and its surface features will appear even more elusive to amateur astronomers. The backyard telescope users then will have to wait until the next opposition when this rather earthlike world grants us a few more memorable views.
I’ll have more information on the upcoming Mars opposition, as well as a few Mars pictures I hope to shoot posted on the Backyard Universe blog at fayobserver.com.
Article source: http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2012/02/22/1158221?sac=fo.life
Tags: surface features, amateur astronomers, the Red Planet <BR/>Categories : Mars News
Europe’s Venus Express spacecraft has measured a change in the so-called Morning Star’s spin. Peering through the heavy cloud cover with infrared instruments, it has found that surface features have shifted by up to 12 miles.
Tags: Venus Express spacecraft, morning star, infrared instruments, surface features <BR/>Categories : Galaxy
- BLOG:
Late December is the time of year amateur astronomers take a look at the coming year and what the skies have to offer.
Predictable astronomical events are the first to be noted, and there’s always the potential for a new bright comet discovery or a stunning display of the aurora borealis. The following items are some upcoming attractions that have been known about for years – even centuries.
The planet Mars is an elusive object as far as seeing surface features with a telescope. Being virtually the only planet that we can see surface details on from Earth, Mars spends most of its orbit very far from us. Combine that with its small size – half that of Earth – and you have an extremely small planet to try to see well with a telescope.
But every couple of years, Mars makes a relatively close pass by us, and amateur astronomers point their telescopes toward Mars.
Mars will be closest to us during the upcoming opposition on March 5 when about 60 million miles will separate Mars and Earth. That’s almost twice as far as the most favorable oppositions of the red planet. Still, it’s close enough for the Martian polar cap and some surface features to be seen in small telescopes. In early March, Mars will rise at sunset and be visible all night.
Our sun will be a big attraction during 2012.
The sun undergoes a cycle of activity, which peaks about every 11 years. We’re approaching that peak as we head into 2012. Sunspots, which are cooler, darker areas on the face of the sun, are expected to become more numerous next year along with solar flares and large-scale events called coronal mass ejections or “CMEs”
CMEs and flares can disrupt communications, and even cause power outages on Earth. The most visible evidence of high solar activity is the appearance of the aurora borealis or “northern lights.” Auroras are common at polar latitudes, but during times of intense solar activity, we can see the strange, colorful phenomena lighting up the skies at our southerly latitudes. The chances of that happening will increase during 2012.
Speaking of the sun, there will be a solar eclipse on May 20. But it won’t be visible from North Carolina.
The eclipse is annular, meaning the moon will be too distant to completely block the entire face of the sun. Though the moon will pass centrally over the sun, a ring or “annulus” of sun will remain at mid-eclipse.
The center line of the eclipse first encounters the United States near the Oregon-California border and then moves southeast, crossing near Redding, Calif., Reno, Nev., and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
If you’re luck enough to be west of Lubbock, Texas, on eclipse day, you should be able to watch the ring sun setting in the west.
Annular eclipses lack the dramatic darkening and stunning all-sky effects of a total eclipse of the sun, but what will make this one special will be the ring sun sinking in the western sky at sunset. For some of us, that possibly could be enough to convince us to take a trip to the southwest on May 20.
As with all eclipse viewing, clear skies are needed, so just traveling to the eclipse track doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see anything more that the bottoms of clouds. Checking forecasts at the last minute and having good mobility is key to successful eclipse watching.
Article source: http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2011/12/29/1144409?sac=Life
Tags: the planet Mars, face of the sun, amateur astronomers, aurora borealis, surface features <BR/>Categories : Astronomy News
WHEN a new Mars rover called Curiosity is launched into space next week it will head for a crater on the red planet named after the amateur Sydney astronomer Walter Gale.
But that’s not the only Australian link to this Mars mission. A second curiosity is the very familiar shape of the five-kilometre-high mountain that sits in the middle of Gale crater.
”Its resemblance to a map of Australia is uncanny,” Nick Lomb, a curator of astronomy at Sydney Observatory, said.
Dr Lomb was amazed when he first noticed the similarity in NASA’s most recent images of the crater. ”And the fact it is named after an Australian and looks like Australia seems to be a complete coincidence,” he said.
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A NASA spokesman also noted that the crater was named in 1991, years before the shape of the mountain was likely to have been revealed by high resolution images.
Walter Gale, who died in 1945, was a banker and an avid observer of the heavens from Paddington, discovering seven comets.
Jupiter, Saturn and Mars were also favourite objects of study. ”He examined surface features of Mars, being first to note some, and was an ardent supporter of the suggestion of life on the planet,” according to the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
Gale crater, which is about 150 kilometres across, was chosen in July as Curiosity’s landing site after a five-year process in which more than 100 scientists considered about 30 potential locations.
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”The site offers a visually dramatic landscape and also great potential for significant science findings,” Jim Green, the director of NASA’s planetary science division, said at the time.
Twice as long and five times as heavy as previous Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, Curiosity is the most advanced mobile robotic laboratory NASA has ever sent to another planet.
It has 10 scientific instruments, including a laser to study targets from a distance, and a 2-metre arm to observe close-up.
After it lands in August 2012, it will study the composition of rocks and soil to assess whether the planet could have supported microbial life. Curiosity will also monitor the weather and radiation levels that might effect a future manned mission.
To celebrate the launch, Sydney Observatory will premiere a new 3D movie about Mars on Friday, which uses images from NASA rovers. Bookings are essential.
Article source: http://m.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/australias-curious-connection-to-mars-20111118-1nndo.html
Tags: great potential, mars rovers spirit and opportunity, mars rover <BR/>Categories : Mars News
Tags : ardent supporter, australian dictionary, dramatic landscape, great potential, high resolution images, map of australia, mars mission, mars rover, mars rovers spirit and opportunity, nasa spokesman, planetary science division, red planet, robotic laboratory, science findings, scientific instruments, spirit and opportunity, surface features, sydney observatory
NASA scientists are tracking asteroid 2005 YU55 with antennas of the agency’s Deep Space Network at Goldstone, California, as the space rock safely flies past Earth, slightly closer than the Moon’s orbit, November 8. Scientists are treating the flyby of the 1,300-foot-wide (400 meters) asteroid as a science target of opportunity, allowing instruments on “spacecraft Earth” to scan it during the close pass.
Tracking the aircraft-carrier-sized asteroid began at 9:30 a.m. PDT November 4, using the massive 230-foot (70m) Deep Space Network antenna. The Goldstone facility is continuing to track the asteroid for at least four hours each day from November 6 through November 10. Radar observations from the Arecibo Planetary Radar Facility in Puerto Rico will begin November 8, the same day the asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at 3:28 p.m. PST.
The trajectory of asteroid 2005 YU55 is well understood. At the point of closest approach, it will be no closer than 201,700 miles (324,600 kilometers), or 0.85 the distance from the Moon to Earth. The gravitational influence of the asteroid will have no detectable effect on anything here on Earth, including our planet’s tides or tectonic plates. Although 2005 YU55 is in an orbit that regularly brings it to the vicinity of Earth (and Venus and Mars), the 2011 encounter with Earth is the closest this space rock has come for at least the past 200 years.
During tracking, scientists will use the Goldstone and Arecibo antennas to bounce radio waves off the space rock. Radar echoes returned from 2005 YU55 will be collected and analyzed. NASA scientists hope to obtain images of the asteroid from Goldstone as fine as about 7 feet (2m) per pixel. This should reveal a wealth of detail about the asteroid’s surface features, shape, dimensions, and other physical properties.
Arecibo radar observations of asteroid 2005 YU55 made in 2010 show it to be approximately spherical in shape. It is slowly spinning, with a rotation period of about 18 hours. The asteroid’s surface is darker than charcoal at optical wavelengths. Amateur astronomers who want to get a glimpse at YU55 will need a telescope with an aperture of 6 inches or larger.
The last time a space rock as big came this close to Earth was in 1976, although astronomers did not know about the flyby at the time. The next known approach of an asteroid this large will be in 2028.
You can find more information about observing the magnitude 10 asteroid at the Minor Planet Center.
Article source: http://www.astronomy.com/~/link.aspx?_id=64af73b3-f8fd-41d3-9ce4-3db8446d717e
Tags: nasa scientists, gravitational influence, encounter with earth, deep space network, aircraft carrier <BR/>Categories : Astronomy News
Tags : aircraft carrier, deep space network, encounter with earth, goldstone california, gravitational influence, nasa scientists, planetary radar, radar echoes, radar facility, radar observations, radio waves, rock radar, rotation period, science target, space rock, surface features, tectonic plates, venus and mars
(CBC News/NASA)
NASA is about to begin detailed observations of an asteroid nearly twice as wide as Canada’s largest stadiums, scheduled to pass between the Earth and the moon’s orbit next Tuesday.
The 400-metre-wide space rock known as 2005 YU55 will make its closest approach to Earth at 6:28 p.m. ET on Nov. 8. At that point, it will be just 324,600 kilometres away from Earth or roughly 85 per cent of the distance between the Earth and the moon. The last time an asteroid this big came this close to Earth was in 1976.
This radar image of asteroid 2005 YU55 was generated from data taken in April of 2010 by the Arecibo Radar Telescope in Puerto Rico. NASA/Cornell/AreciboHowever, it isn’t expected to pose any threat and its gravity will have “no detectable effect on anything here on Earth,” NASA reported.
Astronomers anticipate that the close encounter will allow them to bounce radio waves off it and get images of the asteroid as detailed as two metres per pixel. Those are expected to provide information about its surface features, shape, dimensions and other characteristics.
NASA was scheduled to begin its measurements using the Deep Space Network Antenna in Goldstone, Calif., at 12:30 p.m. ET Friday and to continue daily measurements until Nov. 10. Starting Nov. 8, radar observations of the asteroid will also be made using the Arecibo Planetary Radar Facility in Puerto Rico.
2005 YU55 regularly passes close to Earth, but hasn’t come this close in 200 years.
NASA said amateur astronomers interested in looking at the asteroid will need a telescope with an aperture of 15 centimetres or larger.
The asteroid known as 2005 YU55 is 400 metres wide – nearly twice the diameter of some of Canada’s largest stadiums. Duk Han Lee/CBC
Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/11/04/science-asteroid-earth-close.html
Tags: radar facility, planetary radar, arecibo radar, earth and the moon, amateur astronomers, radar observations <BR/>Categories : Nasa News
Tags : amateur astronomers, arecibo radar, cbc news, close encounter, deep space network, distance between the earth and the moon, earth and the moon, encounter with earth, largest stadiums, planetary radar, radar facility, radar image, radar observations, radar telescope, radio waves, space rock, surface features
NASA scientists will be tracking asteroid 2005 YU55 with antennas of the agency’s Deep Space Network at Goldstone, California, as the space rock safely flies past Earth, slightly closer than the Moon’s orbit, November 8. Scientists are treating the flyby of the 1,300-foot-wide (400 meters) asteroid as a science target of opportunity, allowing instruments on “spacecraft Earth” to scan it during the close pass.
Tracking the aircraft-carrier-sized asteroid will begin at 9:30 a.m. PDT November 4, using the massive 230-foot (70m) Deep Space Network antenna, lasting for about two hours. The Goldstone facility will continue to track the asteroid for at least four hours each day from November 6 through November 10. Radar observations from the Arecibo Planetary Radar Facility in Puerto Rico will begin November 8, the same day the asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at 3:28 p.m. PST.
The trajectory of asteroid 2005 YU55 is well understood. At the point of closest approach, it will be no closer than 201,700 miles (324,600 kilometers), or 0.85 the distance from the Moon to Earth. The gravitational influence of the asteroid will have no detectable effect on anything here on Earth, including our planet’s tides or tectonic plates. Although 2005 YU55 is in an orbit that regularly brings it to the vicinity of Earth (and Venus and Mars), the 2011 encounter with Earth is the closest this space rock has come for at least the past 200 years.
During tracking, scientists will use the Goldstone and Arecibo antennas to bounce radio waves off the space rock. Radar echoes returned from 2005 YU55 will be collected and analyzed. NASA scientists hope to obtain images of the asteroid from Goldstone as fine as about 7 feet (2m) per pixel. This should reveal a wealth of detail about the asteroid’s surface features, shape, dimensions, and other physical properties.
Arecibo radar observations of asteroid 2005 YU55 made in 2010 show it to be approximately spherical in shape. It is slowly spinning, with a rotation period of about 18 hours. The asteroid’s surface is darker than charcoal at optical wavelengths. Amateur astronomers who want to get a glimpse at YU55 will need a telescope with an aperture of 6 inches or larger.
The last time a space rock as big came this close to Earth was in 1976, although astronomers did not know about the flyby at the time. The next known approach of an asteroid this large will be in 2028.
NASA detects, tracks, and characterizes asteroids and comets passing close to Earth using both ground- and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object Observations Program, commonly called Spaceguard, discovers these objects, characterizes a subset of them, and plots their orbits to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet.
Article source: http://www.astronomy.com/~/link.aspx?_id=89b2d83f-56a8-4fbc-879a-e06a7d843b74
Tags: planetary radar, aircraft carrier, surface features <BR/>Categories : Astronomy News
Tags : aircraft carrier, deep space network, encounter with earth, goldstone california, gravitational influence, nasa scientists, planetary radar, radar echoes, radar facility, radar observations, radio waves, rock radar, science target, space rock, surface features, tectonic plates, venus and mars
MAX MASON
Imagine looking up into the night sky, there are no clouds, the stars are shining and the glow of two moons radiates down to earth.
The “two moon” theory introduced by Martin Jutzi and Erik Asphaug of the University of California at Santa Cruz is just one of the many mysteries NASA’s solar powered twin lunar Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) – which launched from Cape Canaveral on Saturday at 11:08pm (EST) – will attempt to solve.
It is widely accepted by scientists that about 4 billion years ago, a large planet sized object collided with Earth. The resulting debris is thought to have formed the moon, or moons, according to the new theory.
Talking to Fairfax Media, MIT research scientist and deputy principal investigator for the GRAIL Discovery Mission, Dr David E Smith, explained that by studying the moon, the “two moon” theory and a host of other mysteries about planet formation could be better understood.
“At the top level the objectives [of GRAIL] are to improve our knowledge of the interior of the moon from ‘crust to core’; to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon (how it cooled); and also to extend this knowledge of the moon to the other terrestrial planets (Mars, Earth, Venus, and Mercury),” he said.
All these planets went through the same early formation process at about the same time and suffered the same bombardment that we can see on the lunar surface and on Mercury, but it is not evident on the Earth or on Venus.
“For some reason those bodies evolved differently in the subsequent 3 to 4 billion years,” said Dr Smith.
GRAIL will measure the gravity field of the moon by recording the distance between the two spacecraft to about a micron (a human hair is 40 to 120 microns in diameter).
“As the spacecraft move over the surface features on the moon the distance between the two spacecraft will change as a result of the attraction of material on and in the moon, thus providing the acceleration of gravity everywhere over the lunar surface,” said Dr Smith. “The variation in the gravity measurement is a measure of the variation in density within the moon.”
Dr Smith said by understanding the composition of the moon, scientists will be able to infer the internal structure which will allow them to make more accurate assumptions on how structures such as basins and craters were formed.
It is here that the “two moon” theory could be explained. While the side of the moon facing Earth is relatively smooth, the dark side has what is known as the lunar highlands, full of uneven and mountainous formations.
The theory suggests that the second moon, suggested to be 1/3 of the size of the moon, collided with the lunar surface, resulting in the vast surface differences found between the two sides of the moon.
In the science journal Nature, deputy principal investigator for the GRAIL, Maria Zuber, suggested that the detail obtained by GRAIL and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will allow for more accurate simulations to prove or disprove the “two moon” theory, but ultimately a sample of materials would be needed.
If the “two moon” theory is correct, the age of the materials on either side of the moon will be different.
GRAIL’s two spacecrafts will be sent into the orbit of the moon on New Years Eve and New Years Day respectively and the team at NASA and MIT are excited about the months to come.
“We are delighted that GRAIL is on its way, and a great relief that the ‘dangerous’ part is over,” said Dr Smith. “Space is a more benign environment that Earth.”
– Sydney Morning Herald
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Article source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/5639575/NASA-To-Investigate-Two-Moon-Mystery
Tags: max mason, mission dr, dr smith <BR/>Categories : Mars News
Tags : david e smith, discovery mission, dr smith, erik asphaug, fairfax media, gravity field, gravity recovery, lunar gravity, lunar surface, many mysteries, max mason, mission dr, night sky, planet formation, research scientist, surface features, terrestrial planets, thermal evolution, two moons, university of california at santa cruz
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Pavlof Volcano From Station
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) photographed this striking view of Pavlof Volcano on May 18, 2013. The oblique perspective from the ISS reveals the three dimensional structure of the ash plume, which is often obscured by the top-down view of most remote sensing satellites. Situated in the Aleutian Arc about 625 miles (1,000 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage, Pavlof began erupting on May 13, 2013. The volcano jetted lava into the air and spewed an ash cloud 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) high. When photograph ISS036-E-2105 (top) was taken, the space station was about 475 miles south-southeast of the volcano (49.1° North latitude, 157.4° West longitude). The volcanic plume extended southeastward over the North Pacific Ocean. › Additional information/larger images. Image Credit: NASA
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