Science Pictures of the Week: Comet tail, Year of Light and a rover's anniversary
Closeup of Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy, taken by Weather Network meteorologist Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn
Meteorologist/Science Writer
Saturday, January 24, 2015, 1:02 PM - Science gives us incredible discoveries each and every week, but sometimes it's enough just to marvel at the amazing imagery it provides us from the world around us, the depths of space, and even from the surfaces of other planets. Presented here is a small collection of what science had to offer us from the past week.
The above image is a closeup of Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy, the spectacular green comet that has been gracing our night skies for over a month now, and which just recently made its closest pass by the Earth for the next 8,000 years. It was taken, just this past week, by Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn, astrophotographer and meteorologist at The Weather Network. Below are the original photograph the closeup was taken from, and another showing off more of the comet's amazing tail, as well as a guest appearance by the Pleiades - the Seven Sisters (click the images to enlarge them).
According to Hepburn:
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| Both images were approx 20min total exposure in time. The conditions were not ideal. At the time with snow on the ground I believe it contributed to extra light pollution so it was hard to get more depth and fine structures in the tail. Regardless, the tail of this comet is actually very faint but the bright head provides a nice sight in binoculars especially if you go to a dark location. If you want to view this with the unaided eye I suggest going to a dark location outside of the GTA [Greater Toronto Area].
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Check out more of Hepburn's amazing photos on her website - www.weatherandsky.com.
Chandra helps celebrate the International Year of Light
NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope, which 'hangs out' in Earth's shadow and scans the universe at wavelengths we would never be able to see without it, offered us these incredible images, taking optical pictures and overlaying what it sees, to show us these familiar objects from a different perspective:
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; UV: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Optical: NASA/STScI; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech
According to the Chandra website, the images are, clockwise from upper left, Messier 51 (M51) - the 'Whirlpool' Galaxy, SNR E0519-69.0 - a supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud, MSH 11-62 - a nebula in the southern sky, the Cygnus A galaxy, and RCW 86, a supernova remnant from a stellar explosion that was first viewed nearly 2,000 years ago.
An anniversary panorama for the Opportunity rover
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ.
NASA's Opportunity rover celebrates its 11th year on the planet Mars on January 25, 2015, and in celebration of that momentous day, it climbed 135 metres up to a high point on the rim of Endeavour Crater, in a location the rover's team has named "Cape Tribulation" and snapped enough images to construct this 245-degree panorama (click the image to see the full version).
According to the NASA JPL website:
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| At the summit, Opportunity held its robotic arm so that the U.S. flag would be visible in the scene. The flag is printed on the aluminum cable guard of the rover's rock abrasion tool, which is used for grinding away weathered rock surfaces to expose fresh interior material for examination. The flag is intended as a memorial to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. The aluminum used for the cable guard was recovered from the site of the twin towers in the weeks following the attacks. Workers at Honeybee Robotics in lower Manhattan, less than a mile from the World Trade Center, were making the rock abrasion tool for Opportunity and NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit, in September 2001. |
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Why is this such a momentous occasion? Opportunity landed on Mars on January 25, 2005, and was scheduled for a 90 day mission there. The rover was built tough, to survive the journey, landing and the harsh environment on the surface, but it was not expected to last for 11 years (and still going)!
Happy Anniversary, Opportunity! Here's to many more to come!
