Artist's concept of the Hubble Space Telescope in orbit above Earth. *Image Credit*: NASA and STScI
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Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Hubble Space Telescope (HST),...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1867

When a meteorite is found, the ANSMET (Antarctic Search for Meteorites) team records its location, size, color, amount of fusion crust, probable type, and anything else that might be important. Some of their tools are similar to those used by the Apollo astronauts to collect samples, and some are the latest high-tech (like Global Positioning Satellite navigation). The team takes great care not to contaminate the meteorites. Meteorites are handled only with stainless steel instruments, and are...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, Where -- Johnson Space Center (JSC),...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=848

In July 1994, 21 chunks of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which had broken apart a year earlier, slammed into Jupiter. The Hubble telescope recorded this spectacular event. These images, beginning at lower right, chronicle the results of one such collision. Hubble began snapping pictures of the impact area just five minutes after the collision. Nothing can be seen. Less than two hours later, a plume of dark debris is visible [bull's-eye pattern, image second from bottom]. Two impact sites are visible...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Jupiter, What -- Snapshot,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1852

All the planetary moons in our solar system are shown here at their correct relative size and true color. Their diversity of size and appearance is testament to the unique and fascinating geologic history that each of these bodies has undergone. Two of the moons are larger than the planet Mercury, and eight of them are larger than Pluto. Earth's Moon is the fifth largest of the set, with a diameter of 3476 kilometers (2160 miles). Most of the moons are thought to have formed from a disk of...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mercury, What -- Pluto, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=181

Voyager 2 false-color image of Saturn's rings. Subtle color variations due to differences in surface composition of the particles making up the rings are enhanced in this image produced by combining ultraviolet, clear, and orange frames. The frame was taken from a distance of 8.9 million km on August 17, 9 days before closest approach, and measures about 68,000 km from top to bottom. (Voyager 2, P-23953) *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Voyager 2
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2048

A selection of our solar system's natural satellites are shown here to scale compared to the Earth and its moon. *Image Credit*: NASA
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Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Earth, What -- Moon
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2823

In general, the surface temperature of the planets decreases with increasing distance from the Sun. Venus is an exception because its dense atmosphere acts as a greenhouse and heats the surface to above the melting point of lead (3280C). Mercury rotates slowly and has a thin atmosphere, and consequently, the nightside temperature can be more than 5000C lower than the dayside temperature shown on the diagram. Temperatures for the gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) are shown at a...
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Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Sun, What -- Venus, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=169

Artist's concept of a catastrophic asteroid impact with the early Earth. An impact with a 500-km-diameter asteroid would effectively sterilize the planet. The Earth may have experienced such gigantic impacts in its youth, but fortunately today there are no projectiles this large to threaten our planet. *Image Credit*: Don Davis, NASA
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Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Earth
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2304

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has found an iron meteorite, the first meteorite of any type ever identified on another planet. The pitted, basketball-size object is mostly made of iron and nickel according to readings from spectrometers on the rover. Only a small fraction of the meteorites fallen on Earth are similarly metal-rich. Others are rockier. As an example, the meteorite that blasted the famous Meteor Crater in Arizona is similar in composition. "This is a huge surprise,...
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Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars Exploration Rover (MER),...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=3643

A large body of scientific evidence now exists that support the hypothesis that a major asteroid or comet impact occurred in the Caribbean region at the boundary of the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods in Earth's geologic history. Such an impact is suspected to be responsible for the mass extinction of many floral and faunal species, including the large dinosaurs, that marked the end of the Cretaceous period. Until now, the remains of such an impact crater have escaped detection. The...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Crater
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2305

This artist's conception shows Titan's surface with Saturn appearing dimly in the background through Titan's thick atmosphere of mostly nitrogen and methane. The Cassini spacecraft flies overhead with its high-gain antenna pointed at the Huygens probe as it nears the surface. Image Credit:* Craig Attebery
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Saturn, What -- Cassini, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=3963

*Mercury* Mercury has an average density of 5430 kilograms per cubic meter, which is second only to Earth among all the planets. It is estimated that the planet Mercury, like Earth, has a ferrous core with a size equivalent to two-thirds to three-fourths that of the planet's overall radius. The core is believed to be composed of an iron-nickel alloy covered by a mantle and surface crust. *Venus* It is believed that the composition of the planet Venus is similar to that of Earth. The planet...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mercury, What -- Earth, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=168

The terrestrial planets are the four innermost planets in the solar system; Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. They are called terrestrial because they have a compact, rocky surface like the Earth's. The planets Venus, Earth, and Mars have significant atmospheres, while Mercury has almost none. This diagram shows the approximate relative sizes of the terrestrial planets. Distances are not to scale. *Image Credit*: Lunar and Planetary Institute
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mercury, What -- Venus, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=179

This is an artist's concept of a comet dust trail and dust tail. The trail can only be seen in the light of radiated heat. The dust trail is made of particles that are the size of sand grains and pebbles. They are large enough that they are not affected much by the Sun's light and solar wind. The dust tail, on the other hand, is made of grains the size of cigarette-smoke particles. These grains are blown out of the dust coma near the comet nucleus by the Sun's light. *Image Credit*: K. Jobse,...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, Where -- Ames Research Center (ARC)
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=903

The bootprint marks one of the first steps human beings took on the Moon in July 1969. It was made by American astronaut Buzz Aldrin during the Apollo 11 mission. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, Who -- Buzz Aldrin, What -- Moon,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1794

Global mosaic of 102 Viking 1 Orbiter images of Mars taken on orbit 1,334, 22 February 1980. The images are projected into point perspective, representing what a viewer would see from a spacecraft at an altitude of 2,500 km. At center is Valles Marineris, over 3000 km long and up to 8 km deep. Note the channels running up (north) from the central and eastern portions of Valles Marineris to the dark area, Acidalic Planitia, at upper right. At left are the three Tharsis volcanoes and to the south...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Viking 1 Orbiter, What -- Mars
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2050

Artist's concept of the New Horizons spacecraft during a planned encounter with Pluto and its moon, Charon. The craft's miniature cameras, radio science experiment, ultraviolet and infrared spectrometers and space plasma experiments would characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's atmosphere in detail. The spacecraft's most prominent design feature is a nearly 8-foot (2.1-meter) dish antenna,...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- New Horizons, What -- Pluto,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=546

This meteorite is a sample of the crust of the asteroid Vesta, which is only the third solar system object beyond Earth where scientists have a laboratory sample (the other extraterrestrial samples are from Mars and the Moon). The meteorite is unique because it is made almost entirely of the mineral pyroxene, common in lava flows. The meteorite's mineral grain structure also indicates it was once molten, and its oxygen isotopes are unlike oxygen isotopes found for all other rocks of the Earth...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Vesta, What -- Earth, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1854

A cut-away illustration of Earth's interior. At the heart of our planet lies a solid iron ball, about as hot as the surface of the sun. Researchers call it "the inner core", which is 70% as wide as the moon. It spins at its own rate, as much as 0.2o of longitude per year faster than the Earth layers above it. Surrounding the iron ball is an ocean of liquid iron known as "the outer core." This inner and outer core duo is referred to as Earth's geodynamo. Surrounding the core...
Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/earths-dynamiccore.html

During its flight, the Galileo spacecraft returned images of the Moon. The Galileo spacecraft took these images on December 7, 1992 on its way to explore the Jupiter system in 1995-97. The distinct bright ray crater at the bottom of the image is the Tycho impact basin. The dark areas are lava rock filled impact basins: Oceanus Procellarum (on the left), Mare Imbrium (center left), Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquillitatis (center), and Mare Crisium (near the right edge). This picture contains...
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Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Galileo, What -- Moon, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2094

Charles Conrad Jr., Apollo 12 Commander, examines the unmanned Surveyor III spacecraft during the second extravehicular activity (EVA-2). The Lunar Module (LM) "Intrepid" is in the right background. This picture was taken by astronaut Alan L. Bean, Lunar Module pilot. The "Intrepid" landed on the Moon's Ocean of Storms only 600 feet from Surveyor III. The television camera and several other components were taken from Surveyor III and brought back to earth for scientific...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Apollo 12, What -- Surveyor,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1753

Ham, the chimpanzee who took the first flight into space aboard a Mercury Redstone rocket, is greeted by a U.S. Navy officer after a 16-minute suborbital flight. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mercury
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=683

*Jupiter* Jupiter's composition is mainly hydrogen and helium. In contrast to planetary bodies covered with a hard surface crust (the Earth, for example), the jovian surface is gaseous-liquid, rendering the boundary between the atmosphere and the planet itself almost indistinguishable. Below the roughly 1000-kilometer-thick atmosphere, a layer of liquid hydrogen extends to a depth of 20,000 kilometers. Even deeper, it is believed that there is a layer of liquid metallic hydrogen at a pressure...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Earth, What -- Jupiter, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=166

Mathilde, Gaspra, and Ida (left to right, all at the same scale). The image of Mathilde was taken by the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft on June 27, 1997. Images of Gaspra and Ida were taken in 1991 and 1993, respectively, by the Galileo spacecraft. The visible part of Mathilde measures 37 miles (59 kilometers) wide and 29 miles (47 kilometers) high. Mathilde has more large craters than the other two asteroids. Mathilde is shown at about the same brightness as the other two asteroids,...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Earth, What -- Galileo
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=891

These four panels show the location of the newly discovered planet-like object, dubbed "Sedna," which lies in the farthest reaches of our Solar System. Each panel, moving counterclockwise from the upper left, successively zooms out to place Sedna in context. The first panel shows the orbits of the inner planets, including Earth, and the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter. In the second panel, Sedna is shown well outside the orbits of the outer planets and the more...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Sedna, What -- Earth, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1504

Mars Global Surveyor was greeted with this view of 'Happy Face Crater' smiling back at its camera from its location on the east side of Argyre Planitia. This crater is officially known as Galle Crater, and it is about 215 kilometers (134 miles) across. The picture was taken by the MOC's red and blue wide angle cameras. The bluish-white tone is caused by wintertime frost. Illumination is from the upper left. For more information and Viking Orbiter views of "Happy Face Crater," see...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2119

Scientists believe this small rock - NWA 1669 - was blasted from Mars to the Earth several million or even billions of years ago. Discovered in North Africa, it is one of only 27 known Mars meteorites. *Image Copyright*: Bruno Fectau and Carine Bidaut)
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars, What -- Earth
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=144

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are known as the jovian (Jupiter-like) planets because they are all gigantic compared with Earth, and they have a gaseous nature like Jupiter's. The jovian planets are also referred to as the gas giants, although some or all of them might have small solid cores. This diagram shows the approximate relative sizes of the jovian planets. *Image Credit*: Lunar and Planetary Institute
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Jupiter, What -- Saturn, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=180

Looming like a giant flying saucer in our outer solar system, Saturn puts on a show as the planet and its magnificent ring system nod majestically over the course of its 29-year journey around the Sun. A series of Hubble Space Telescope images, captured from 1996 to 2000, show Saturn's rings open up from just past edge-on to nearly fully open as it moves from autumn towards winter in its Northern Hemisphere. Saturn's equator is tilted relative to its orbit by 27 degrees, very similar to the...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Saturn, What -- Sun, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2183

The Giotto space probe, launched in 1985 on an Ariane 1 V14 launcher, brushed past the hidden nucleus of Halley's comet in 1986. *Image Credit*: European Space Agency
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Giotto
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=583

This true color mosaic of Jupiter was constructed from images taken by the narrow angle camera onboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft on December 29, 2000, during its closest approach to the giant planet at a distance of approximately 10 million kilometers (6.2 million miles). It is the most detailed global color portrait of Jupiter ever produced; the smallest visible features are approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) across. The mosaic is composed of 27 images: nine images were required to cover...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Jupiter, What -- Cassini,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=342

Venera 10 Lander image of the surface of Venus at about 16 N, 291 E. The Lander touched down at 5:17 UT on 25 October 1975 and returned this image during the 65 minutes of operation on the surface. The sun was near zenith during this time, the lighting was about what would be seen on Earth on an overcast summer day. The objects at the bottom of the image are parts of the spacecraft. The image shows flat slabs of rock, partly covered by fine-grained material, not unlike a volcanic area on Earth....
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Venera 10, What -- Venus,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2044

Voyager 1 image of the clouds of Jupiter to the southeast of the Great Red Spot. This is a false color image of Jupiter, with exaggerated colors to enhance subtle variations in color and shading in order to bring out details of the cloud structure and atmospheric dynamics. (Voyager 1, P-21224) *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Voyager 1, What -- Jupiter
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2047

From a ridgeline vantage point overlooking slopes, valleys and plains, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has returned its latest color panorama of the martian landscape. The approximately true color image shows a full 360-degree view from a site informally named "Larry's Lookout," about halfway up "Husband Hill." Dr. Jim Bell of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., lead scientist for the panoramic cameras on both the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, said, "Spirit and...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars Exploration Rover (MER),...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=3843

This false color photograph of Neptune was made from Voyager 2 images taken through three filters: blue, green, and a filter that passes light at a wavelength that is absorbed by methane gas. Thus, regions that appear white or bright red are those that reflect sunlight before it passes through a large quantity of methane. The image reveals the presence of a ubiquitous haze that covers Neptune in a semitransparent layer. Near the center of the disk, sunlight passes through the haze and deeper...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Neptune, What -- Voyager 2,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2069

A white arrow marks Pluto in this New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) picture taken Sept. 21, 2006. Seen at a distance of about 4.2 billion kilometers (2.6 billion miles) from the spacecraft, Pluto is little more than a faint point of light among a dense field of stars. Mission scientists knew they had Pluto in their sights when LORRI detected an unresolved "point" in Pluto's predicted position, moving at the planet's expected motion across the constellation of...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Pluto, What -- New Horizons,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=5243

This amazing perspective view captures battered Mimas against the hazy limb of Saturn. It is obvious in such close-up images that Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) has been badly scarred by impacts over the eons. Its 130 kilometer- (80 mile-) wide crater, Herschel, lies in the darkness at right. North on Mimas is up and rotated 19 degrees to the right. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 21, 2006 using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mimas, What -- Saturn, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=4466

On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. News of his successful launch stunned the world and spurred the American space program to catch up. The name of his spacecraft was Vostok 1. Vostok 1 had two sections. One section was for Yuri. The second section was for supplies needed for Gagarin to live such as oxygen and water. Vostok 1 circled Earth at a speed of 27,400 kilometers per hour. The flight lasted 108 minutes. Vostok's reentry was controlled by a computer. Gagarin...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, Who -- Yuri Gagarin, What -- Vostok...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1832

This "family portrait," a composite of the Jovian system, includes the edge of Jupiter with its Great Red Spot, and Jupiter's four largest moons, known as the Galilean satellites. From top to bottom, the moons shown are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The Great Red Spot, a storm in Jupiter's atmosphere, is at least 300 years old. Winds blow counterclockwise around the Great Red Spot at about 400 kilometers per hour (250 miles per hour). The storm is larger than one Earth diameter...
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Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Jupiter, What -- Io, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2098

Extending above the photosphere or visible surface of the Sun , the faint, tenuous solar corona can't be easily seen from Earth, but it is measured to be hundreds of times hotter than the photosphere itself. What makes the solar corona so hot? Astronomers have long sought the source of the corona's heat in magnetic fields which loft monstrous loops of solar plasma above the photosphere. Still, new and dramatically detailed observations of coronal loops from the orbiting TRACE satellite are now...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Sun, What -- Earth, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=191

The atmosphere of Neptune, similar to Uranus, consists of mainly hydrogen, methane, and helium. Below it is a liquid hydrogen layer including helium and methane. The lower layer is liquid hydrogen compounds, oxygen, and nitrogen. It is believed that the planet core comprises rock and ice. Average density, as well as the greatest proportion of core per planet size, is the greatest among the gaseous planets. *Image Credit*: Lunar and Planetary Institute
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Neptune, What -- Uranus
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=283

A magnetosphere is that area of space, around a planet, that is controlled by the planet's magnetic field. The shape of the Earth's magnetosphere is the direct result of being blasted by solar wind. The solar wind compresses its sunward side to a distance of only 6 to 10 times the radius of the Earth. A supersonic shock wave is created sunward of Earth called the Bow Shock. Most of the solar wind particles are heated and slowed at the bow shock and detour around the Earth in the Magnetosheath....
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Source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/multimedia/magnetosphere2.html

Voyager 2 sent back this stunning image of storms at work in Neptune's windy atmosphere in August 1989. This photograph of Neptune was reconstructed from two images taken by Voyager 2's narrow-angle camera, through the green and clear filters. The image shows three of the features that Voyager 2 photographed during its Neptune flyby. At the north (top) is the Great Dark Spot, accompanied by bright, white clouds that undergo rapid changes in appearance. To the south of the Great Dark Spot is the...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Voyager 2, What -- Neptune,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=138

Asteroids are material left over from the formation of the solar system. One theory suggests that they are the remains of a planet that was destroyed in a massive collision long ago. More likely, asteroids are material that never coalesced into a planet. In fact, if the estimated total mass of all asteroids was gathered into a single object, the object would be less than 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) across, less than half the diameter of our Moon. The asteroid belt lies in the region between...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Moon, What -- Mars, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=850

At first glance, Jupiter looks like it has a mild case of the measles. Five spots - one colored white, one blue, and three black are scattered across the upper half of the planet. Closer inspection by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveals that these spots are actually a rare alignment of three of Jupiter's largest moons - Io, Ganymede, and Callisto - across the planet's face. In this image, the telltale signatures of this alignment are the shadows [the three black circles] cast by the moons....
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Jupiter, What -- Hubble Space...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=3083

This photograph shows the last face-on view of the Great Dark Spot that Voyager will make with the narrow angle camera. The image was shuttered 45 hours before closest approach at a distance of 2.8 million kilometers (1.7 million miles). The smallest structures that can be seen are of an order of 50 kilometers (31 miles). The image shows feathery white clouds that overlie the boundary of the dark and light blue regions. The pinwheel (spiral) structure of both the dark boundary and the white...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Voyager, What -- Neptune,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2066

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took this close-up of the red planet Mars when it was just 55,760,220 km (34,648,840 miles) away. The picture was taken only 11 hours before Mars made its closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years. The next closest approach is in 2287. *Image Credit*: NASA
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Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Hubble Space Telescope (HST),...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=124

Melba Roy headed a group of NASA mathematicians, known as "computers," who tracked early Echo satellites in Earth orbit. Roy's computations helped produce the orbital element timetables by which millions saw the satellite from Earth as it passed overhead. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Earth
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=165

The Luna 3 spacecraft returned the first views ever of the far side of the Moon. The first image was taken at 03:30 UT on 7 October at a distance of 63,500 km after Luna 3 had passed the Moon and looked back at the sunlit far side. The last image was taken 40 minutes later from 66,700 km. A total of 29 photographs were taken, covering 70% of the far side. The photographs were very noisy and of low resolution, but many features could be recognized. This is the first image returned by Luna 3....
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Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Luna 3, What -- Moon, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1963

Jules Verne's 1865 science fiction novel "From the Earth to the Moon" inspired rocketry pioneers like Robert Goddard and Konstantin Tsiolovsky to work out the real mathematics and engineering of space flight. One-hundred-and-four years later, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first human beings to walk on the Moon. This illustration from one edition of the book shows passengers in Verne's space ship - fired to the Moon from a giant cannon on Earth -...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, Who -- Neil A. Armstrong, Who -- Buzz...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1826

After much anticipation, Cassini has finally spotted the elusive spokes in Saturn's rings. Spokes are the ghostly radial markings discovered in the rings by NASA's Voyager spacecraft 25 years ago. Since that time, spokes had been seen in images taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope but had not, until now, been seen by Cassini. These three images, taken over a span of 27 minutes, show a few faint, narrow spokes in the outer B ring. The spokes are about 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) long and...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Cassini, What -- Voyager,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=4083

False-color image of gully channels in a crater in the southern highlands of Mars, taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The gullies emanating from the rocky cliffs near the crater's rim (upper left) show meandering and braided patterns typical of water-carved channels. North is approximately up and illumination is from the left; scale, 26 centimeters per pixel. A link to the full HiRISE image that includes this view is...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Crater, What -- Mars, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=5663

This is the first image ever taken of Earth from the surface of a planet beyond the Moon. It was taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit one hour before sunrise on the 63rd Martian day, or sol, of its mission. The image is a mosaic of images taken by the rover's navigation camera showing a broad view of the sky, and an image taken by the rover's panoramic camera of Earth. The contrast in the panoramic camera image was increased two times to make Earth easier to see.The inset shows a...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Earth, What -- Moon, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1483

Almost 30 years ago, NASA's Voyagers 1 and 2 (lower left) made their historic rendezvous with the Jupiter system and first revealed Europa's icy-covered surface. In 1995, the Galileo spacecraft entered orbit about Jupiter, and for years studied the giant planet and its major moons. From this mission we learned that Europa is a world covered with a global ocean about 100 kilometers (60 miles) deep, and that this ocean was capped, liked Earth's Arctic Ocean, with a shell of solid ice. To learn...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Jupiter, What -- Galileo,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=5863

This illustration shows the approximate sizes of the planets relative to each other. Outward from the Sun, the planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Jupiter's diameter is about 11 times that of the Earth's and the Sun's diameter is about 10 times Jupiter's. Pluto's diameter is slightly less than one-fifth of Earth's. The planets are not shown at the appropriate distance from the Sun. *Image Credit*: Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Sun, What -- Mercury, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=178

This photo composite shows an aerial view of FedEx Field in Landover, Md., home of the Washington Redskins, superimposed on Mars' Victoria Crater to give a sense of the crater's scale. Image Credit: FedEx Field: Screenshot (c) Google Inc. and reproduced with permission. Victoria Crater: NASA/JPL/UA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars, What -- Crater, Where...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=4704

A powerful electrical storm created an eerie tapestry of light in the skies near Complex 39A in the hours preceding the launch of STS-8. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- STS-8
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1774

Galaxies, galaxies everywhere - as far as NASA's Hubble Space Telescope can see. This view of nearly 10,000 galaxies is the deepest visible-light image of the cosmos. Called the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, this galaxy-studded view represents a "deep" core sample of the universe, cutting across billions of light-years. The snapshot includes galaxies of various ages, sizes, shapes, and colors. The smallest, reddest galaxies, about 100, may be among the most distant known, existing when the...
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Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Hubble Space Telescope (HST),...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1463

Famous for his television series "Cosmos," Dr. Carl Sagan poses with a model of the Viking lander in Death Valley, Calif. *Image Credit*: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Viking, Where -- Jet...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=244

Magellan radar image of Wheatley crater on Venus. This 72 km diameter crater shows a radar bright ejecta pattern and a generally flat floor with some rough raised areas and faulting. The crater is located in Asteria Regio at 16.6N,267E. (Portion of Magellan C1-MIDR 15N266;1,framelets 21 and 22) *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Magellan, What -- Crater,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2029

The Sputnik 1 (PS-1) satellite is shown here on a rigging truck in the assembly shop in the fall of 1957 as a technician puts finishing touches on it. When the development of the first advanced scientific satellite, Object D, proved to be more difficult than expected, the Soviets decided to launch a simpler, smaller satellite. PS-1, or Sputnik 1, began development in November 1956. On October 4, 1957, Sputnik 1 successfully launched and entered Earth's orbit. Sputnik shocked the world, giving...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Sputnik 1, Where -- United...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1626

An artist's concept portrays a NASA Mars Exploration Rover on the surface of Mars. Two rovers, Spirit and Opportunitylanded on Mars in January 2004. Each has the mobility and toolkit to function as a robotic geologist. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Cornell University/Maas Digital
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars Exploration Rover (MER),...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2209

Miranda, innermost of Uranus' large satellites, is seen at close range in this Voyager 2 image, taken Jan. 24, 1986, as part of a high-resolution mosaicing sequence. Voyager was some 36,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) away from Miranda. This clear-filter, narrow-angle image shows an area about 250 km (150 mi) across, at a resolution of about 800 meters (2,600 feet). Two distinct terrain types are visible: a rugged, higher-elevation terrain (right) and a lower, striated terrain. Numerous craters...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Miranda, What -- Uranus, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2107

This image of the moon was obtained by the Galileo Solid State imaging system on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. PST as the Galileo spacecraft passed the Earth and was able to view the lunar surface from a vantage point not possible from the Earth. On the right-hand side of the image is seen the dark maria of Oceanus Procellarum, also visible from the Earth. The dark spots in the center are Mare Orientale, on the western limb of the nearside of the moon, a region barely visible from the Earth. This region and...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Moon, What -- Galileo, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2091

This artist's impression shows the Rosetta spacecraft, its lander, and a comet. Rosetta's 11-year mission began on March 2, 2004, with an Ariane-5 launch from Kourou in French Guiana. The three-tonne spacecraft will first be inserted into a parking orbit around Earth, before being sent on its way towards the outer Solar System. *Image Credit*: ESA 2001
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Rosetta, What -- Earth, Where...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1403

The Space Shuttle Atlantis - carrying the Galileo spacecraft - soars above Florida on Oct. 18, 1989. The scene was recorded with a 70mm camera by astronaut Daniel Brandenstein. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, Who -- Daniel Brandenstein, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2063

An ultraviolet image of Venus' clouds as seen by the Pioneer Venus orbiter in 1979. Pioneer Venus used an orbiter and several small probes to study the planet from above and within the clouds. This image is from the orbiter. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Venus, What -- Pioneer Venus...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=112

Color mosaic of Olympus Mons volcano on Mars from the Viking 1 Orbiter. The mosaic was created using images from orbit 735 taken 22 June 1978. Olympus Mons is about 600 km in diameter and the summit caldera is 24 km above the surrounding plains. The complex aureole terrain is visible at the top of the frame. North is up. (Viking 1 Orbiter MH20N133-735A) *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Mars, What -- Viking 1 Orbiter
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2051

This true color picture was assembled from Voyager 2 Saturn images obtained Aug. 4 from a distance of 21 million kilometers (13 million miles) on the spacecraft's approach trajectory. Three of Saturn's icy moons are evident at left. They are, in order of distance from the planet: Tethys, 1,050 km. (652 mi.) in diameter; Dione, 1,120 km. (696 mi.); and Rhea, 1,530 km. (951 mi.). The shadow of Tethys appears on Saturn's southern hemisphere. A fourth satellite, Mimas, is less evident, appearing as...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Voyager 2, What -- Saturn,...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=2108

The Earth's surface is broken. Cracks in the Earth's crust known as faults can run for hundreds of kilometers. These faults are frequently the sites of major earthquakes as the tectonic plates that cover the surface of the Earth shift. Pictured above is San Andreas Fault in California, one of the longest and most active faults. Visible as the linear feature to the right of the mountains, San Andreas Fault reaches 15 kilometers deep and is about 20 million years old. The above exaggerated-height...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Earth, What -- Space Shuttle...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=4403

This view of the rising Earth greeted the Apollo 8 astronauts as they came from behind the Moon after the lunar orbit insertion burn. Earth is about five degrees above the horizon in the photo. The unnamed surface features in the foreground are near the eastern limb of the Moon as viewed from Earth. The lunar horizon is approximately 780 kilometers from the spacecraft. Width of the photographed area at the horizon is about 175 km (109 miles). On the Earth 386,000 km (240,000 miles) away, the...
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Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Earth, What -- Apollo 8, What...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=1793

The landing site selected for Apollo 14 was in the Fra Mauro formation near Cone Crater, with the primary objective of sampling material excavated by the Imbrium impact. The hilly terrain covering much of the left portion of the photograph is the Fra Mauro formation, material interpreted to be ejecta from the Imbrium Basin. The low-illumination angle emphasizes the undulating surface texture of the Fra Mauro formation. The sharp-rimmed crater on the northern rim of Fra Mauro Crater is Fra Mauro...
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Apollo 14, What -- Crater
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=823

A model of Sputnik 1, the first human-made object in space. *Image Credit*: NASA History Office
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Sputnik 1
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=382

This illustration shows the approximate size of Earth compared to the Sun. The giant coronal mass ejection in the image blasted off the Sun in October 2003. The image was taken by the international SOHO spacecraft. *Image Credit*: NASA and European Space Agency
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Earth, What -- Sun, What --...
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=188

An artist's impression of the Voyager spacecraft. *Image Credit*: NASA
Topics: Solar System Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Planets, What -- Voyager
Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=182