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DUKAS_117908949_EYE
Vega lifts off
Vega lifts off.
On 2 September 2020, Vega flight VV16 lifted off from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana to progressively deliver 53 light satellites into Sun-synchronous orbits at 515 km and 530 km altitude on a mission lasting 124 minutes.
This proof-of-concept flight demonstrates and validates a new rideshare launch service for light satellites using the Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) dispenser developed by ESA. The SSMS is light and has a modular design that can be configured to meet the requirements of the mission, securing anything from the smallest 1 kg CubeSats up to 500 kg minisatellites.
There were 21 customers sharing this launch.
ESA has contributed to the development of four payloads on board – the 113 kg ESAIL microsatellite and three CubeSats: Simba, Picasso and FSSCat which carries pioneering AI technology named ?-sat-1.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_119888959_EYE
Darmstadt, Germany
Darmstadt, Germany.
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Darmstadt (FOTO: DUKAS/EYEVINE)
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DUKAS_117908936_EYE
A Tilted Wonder
The blue and orange stars of the faint galaxy named NGC 2188 sparkle in this image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Although NGC 2188 appears at first glance to consist solely of a narrow band of stars, it is classified by astronomers as a barred-spiral galaxy. It appears this way from our viewpoint on Earth as the centre and spiral arms of the galaxy are tilted away from us, with only the very narrow outer edge of the galaxyÕs disc visible to us. Astronomers liken this occurrence to turning a dinner plate in your hands so you see only its outer edge. The true shape of the galaxy was identified by studying the distribution of the stars in the inner central bulge and outer disc and by observing the starsÕ colours. NGC 2188 is estimated to be just half the size of our Milky Way, at 50 000 light-years across, and it is situated in the northern hemisphere constellation of Columba (The Dove). Named in the late 1500s after NoahÕs dove in biblical stories, the small constellation consists of many faint yet beautiful stars and astronomical objects.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_120048516_EYE
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
The Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California, US, where the Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite will soon launch from, is featured in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.
Zoom in to see this image at its full 10 m resolution.
The area pictured here shows the Santa Barbara County in the southern region of the US state of California. Located around 200 km northwest of Los Angeles, the county spans across 7000 sq km and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and south.
The county includes the coastal city of Santa Barbara, partially visible in the lower right of the image. Santa Barbara lies between the steeply rising Santa Ynez Mountains, visible in dark green directly above, and the Pacific Ocean. The mountains rise dramatically behind the city with several peaks exceeding 1200 m.
Other mountain ranges in the county include the San Rafael Mountains, visible directly above, and the Sierra Madre Mountains. Most of the mountainous area is within the Los Padres National Forest Ð CaliforniaÕs second largest national forest.
The countyÕs most populous city is Santa Maria, visible in the top left of the image, surrounded by a patchwork of agricultural plots. Like many other cities in California, Santa Maria experiences a Mediterranean climate.
Below Santa Maria lies the Vandenberg Air Force Base Ð visible along the coast. It is here, where the Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite will launch from. A joint European-US satellite built to monitor sea levels, the satellite will liftoff atop a Space X Falcon 9 rocket on 21 November at 18:17 CET (09:17 PST). The satellite, named after Michael Freilich, the former NASA director who advocated for advancing satellite measurements, will extend a nearly 30-year continuous dataset on sea level.
It will be the first ESA-developed satellite to be given a ride into space on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Famously, Falcon 9 is pa
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DUKAS_120048513_EYE
Chaotic terrain in Mars’ Pyrrhae Regio
Chaotic terrain in MarsÕ Pyrrhae Regio.
This image from ESAÕs Mars Express shows craters, valleys and chaotic terrain in MarsÕ Pyrrhae Regio.
Chaotic terrain forms as a shifting subsurface layer of melting ice and sediment causes the surface above to collapse (a collapse that can happen quickly and catastrophically as water drains away rapidly through the soil). In the chaotic terrain seen here (to the right of the frame), ice has melted, the resulting water drained away, and a number of disparate broken ÔblocksÕ have been left standing in now-empty cavities (which once hosted ice). Remarkably, these cavities lie some four kilometres below the flatter ground near the craters to the left Ð a colossal difference in height. For reference, the highest mountain peaks of the Pyrenees and the Alps top out at just over 3.4 km and 4.8 km, respectively.
This image comprises data gathered by ESAÕs Mars Express using its High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on 3 August 2020 (orbit 20972). The ground resolution is approximately 16 m/pixel and the images are centred at about 322¡E/16¡S. This image was created using data from the nadir and colour channels of the HRSC. The nadir channel is aligned perpendicular to the surface of Mars, as if looking straight down at the surface. North is to the right.
Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_119600778_EYE
ancient triple crater on Mars
Mars Express spies an ancient triple crater on Mars. This image shows a triple crater in the ancient martian highlands. The largest crater measures 45 km across, and the smallest 28 km. There are also signs of other sizeable craters, such as the round patches of sunken surface seen to the top right and bottom left.
This image comprises data gathered by ESAÕs Mars Express using its High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on 6 August 2020 during orbit 20982. The ground resolution is approximately 15 m/pixel and the images are centred at about 19¡E/37¡S. This image was created using data from the nadir and colour channels of the HRSC. The nadir channel is aligned perpendicular to the surface of Mars, as if looking straight down at the surface. North is to the right.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117591655_EYE
California on fire
California on fire.
Captured on 19 August 2020, this Copernicus Sentinel-3 image shows the extent of the smoke from fires currently ablaze in California, US. Amid the blistering heatwave, which is in its second week, there are around 40 separate wildfires across the state. Record high temperatures, strong winds and thunderstorms have created the dangerous conditions that have allowed fires to ignite and spread. The fires are so extreme in regions around the San Francisco Bay Area that thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_118543341_EYE
Over the Moon
Over the Moon.
There it is Ð the first Orion spacecraft to travel to the Moon is seen here in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout facility at NASAÕs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
Already integrated and tested with the first European Service Module that will power and propel the craft and the Crew Module, Orion has now been fitted with the adaptor cone that will connect it to the Space Launch Systems (SLS) rocket. This is one of the final major hardware checkouts before being integrated with SLS for the Artemis I launch to the Moon next year.
Earlier this month at NASAÕs Kennedy, the last solar wing for Orion was unfolded, tested and folded for launch. This week, the four solar arrays will be connected to the main structure.
Each 7 m wing are hinged at two points so they can be folded to fit inside the fairing of the SLS rocket. After launch and in Earth orbit the four wings unfold to span 19 m and swivel and rotate to collect solar energy, turning it into electricity for the spacecraftÕs systems.
Needless to say, all teams involved Ð NASA, ESA and the 16 companies in ten European countries supplying the components that make up humankindÕs next generation spacecraft for exploration Ð are over the Moon.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117591653_EYE
Cosmic Fireworks
This image from theÊNASA/ESA Hubble Space TelescopeÊfeaturesÊthe spectacular galaxy NGC 2442. This galaxy was host to aÊsupernova explosion,Êknown as SN2015F, that was created by a white dwarf star. The white dwarf was part of a binary star system and syphoned mass from its companion, eventually becoming too greedy and taking on more than it could handle. This unbalanced the star and triggered runaway nuclear fusion that eventually led to an intensely violent supernova explosion.Ê SN2015F was spotted in March 2015 in the galaxy named NGC 2442, nicknamed the Meathook Galaxy owing to its extremely asymmetrical and irregular shape. The supernova shone brightly for quite some time and was easily visible from Earth through even a small telescope until later that summer.ÊCredit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_120859514_EYE
Ariane 5 liftoff
Ariane 5 liftoff. On 15 August 2020, Ariane 5 flight VA253 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana and delivered two telecom satellites Galaxy-30 and BSAT-4B, and the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-2), into their planned transfer orbits.
Also on this flight, there were four notable technical modifications to Ariane 5: an onboard autonomous tracking kit called Kassav, vented nose cone from RUAG in Switzerland and new materials for a lighter upper stage and vehicle equipment bay (VEB) – the ‘brain’ of the launch vehicle.
These modifications will continue to be used on all Ariane 5 flights and also incorporated in the upcoming Ariane 6.
Flight VA253 was the 109th Ariane 5 mission.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117591651_EYE
Ariane 5 liftoff
Ariane 5 liftoff.
On 15 August 2020, Ariane 5 flight VA253 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana and delivered two telecom satellites Galaxy-30 and BSAT-4B, and the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-2), into their planned transfer orbits.
Also on this flight, there were four notable technical modifications to Ariane 5: an onboard autonomous tracking kit called Kassav, vented nose cone from RUAG in Switzerland and new materials for a lighter upper stage and vehicle equipment bay (VEB) – the ‘brain’ of the launch vehicle.
These modifications will continue to be used on all Ariane 5 flights and also incorporated in the upcoming Ariane 6.
Flight VA253 was the 109th Ariane 5 mission.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117591650_EYE
Ariane 5 liftoff
Ariane 5 liftoff.
VA253 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana and delivered two telecom satellites Galaxy-30 and BSAT-4B, and the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-2), into their planned transfer orbits.
Also on this flight, there were four notable technical modifications to Ariane 5: an onboard autonomous tracking kit called Kassav, vented nose cone from RUAG in Switzerland and new materials for a lighter upper stage and vehicle equipment bay (VEB) – the ‘brain’ of the launch vehicle.
These modifications will continue to be used on all Ariane 5 flights and also incorporated in the upcoming Ariane 6.
Flight VA253 was the 109th Ariane 5 mission.
Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117591652_EYE
Flat out training
Flat out training.
French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet re-familiarises himself with the Grasp experiment at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. Thomas will continue running this experiment during his second mission on board the International Space Station.
Thomas commissioned the Grasp or Gravitational References for Sensimotor Performance experiment during his first mission to the Space Station, called Proxima, in 2017.
The experiment tests how the brain interprets visual cues without gravity. Using a VR headset, the subject must complete a series of tasks like catching a ball or pouring a glass of water. The astronaut subject is held in place by straps to avoid bumping into expensive or critical equipment while performing the experiment.
ÒIt was a bit disconcerting,Ó Thomas noted of the first time he performed the experiment on the Space Station, Òbut very fun to be in the Space Station which is already out-of-this-world while also being in another (virtual) reality.Ó
Watch a timelapse of Thomas setting up and performing the experiment in weightlessness here.
Thomas will perform this experiment again during his second mission, called Alpha, scheduled for launch in spring 2021. Read more about mission Alpha and the first European to travel to the Space Station on a SpaceX Crew Dragon here.
Astronaut training is more than just space suit-ups and spacewalk simulations in a big pool. They must also become familiar with experiment hardware and laboratory equipment they will use while performing scientific experiments on board the International Space Station.
All astronauts from ESA and international partners who fly to the International Space Station spend time at ESA's Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, where ESA instructors train them in the operation of all major European hardware on board the International Space Station, including theCredit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117477588_EYE
Ring of Stellar Wildfire
NGC 1614, captured here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,Ê is an eccentrically-shaped galaxy ablaze with activity. The galaxy resides about 200 million light-years from Earth and is nestled in the southern constellation of Eridanus (The River).Ê NGC 1614 is the result of a past galactic merger which created its peculiar appearance. The cosmic collision also drove a turbulent flow of interstellar gas from the smaller of the two galaxies involvedÊ into the nucleus of the larger one, resulting in a burst of star formation which started in the core and slowly spread outwards through the galaxy. Owing to its turbulent past and its current appearance, astronomers classify NGC 1614 as a peculiar galaxy, a starburst galaxy, and a luminous infrared galaxy. Luminous infrared galaxies are among the most luminous objects in the local Universe Ñ and NGC 1614 is, in fact, the second most luminous galaxy within 250 million light-years.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117477587_EYE
Installation of Orion adapter for first Artemis lunar flight
Installation of Orion adapter for first Artemis lunar flight. Technicians at NASAÕs Kennedy Space Center in Florida are working to install an adapter that will connect the Orion spacecraft to its rocket for the Artemis I mission around the Moon. This is one of the final major hardware operations for Orion prior to integration with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
The spacecraft adapter cone (seen at the bottom of the stack) connects to the bottom of the European Service Module and will later join another adapter connected to the top of the rocketÕs interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). During the process to install the cone on Orion, the spacecraft is lifted out of the Final Assembly and Systems Testing, or FAST, cell and placed into the Super Station support fixture.
Orion is NASAÕs next exploration spacecraft to transport astronauts to the vicinity of the Moon and to the Gateway orbiting the Moon. The spacecraft will hold four people and send them farther than any humans have travelled from Earth.
ESA is supplying the European Service Module for Orion, in an arrangement that stems from the International Space Station partnership. Based on ESAÕs proven Automated Transfer Vehicles for supplying the Space Station, the module will provide everything to keep the astronauts alive, including oxygen, water, thermal control, electricity and propulsion.
Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117346225_EYE
Dune fields in Mars' Green Crater
Dune fields in Mars' Green Crater.
The image, taken on 27 April 2020 and centred at 52.3¡S, 351.8¡E, shows part of an impact crater located inside the larger Green Crater in the Argyre quadrangle in the southern hemisphere of Mars.
The image reveals an almost black dune field on the right, surrounded by red soils that are partially covered with bright white ice. Gullies, also partially covered with ice, are visible in the crater wall in the centre of the image. Scientists are currently investigating the relationship between this seasonal ice and the presence of the gullies. The image was taken just after the spring equinox in the southern hemisphere of Mars, when the southernmost part of the crater (to the right) was almost completely free of ice while the northern part (centre) was still partially covered. The southern crater wall has had a longer exposure to the Sun (like on Earth equator-facing slopes receive more sunlight), so the ice in this area recedes faster.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117346223_EYE
Leaf-like structures in Antoniadi impact crater
Leaf-like structures in Antoniadi impact crater. This image, captured on 25 March 2020, shows the bottom of the 400 km in diameter Antoniadi impact crater, which is located in the northern hemisphere of Mars in the Syrtis Major Planum region. The blue colour of the image, centred at 21.0¡N, 61.2¡E, does not represent the real colour of the crater floor but highlights the diversity of the rock composition inside the impact crater.
In the centre of the image are dendritic structures which look like the veins on oak leaves. These structures, evidence of ancient river networks in this region, protrude from the surface, unlike channels, which are usually sunken in the surface. This is because the channels were filled with harder material Ð possibly lava Ð and over time the softer rocks surrounding these branching channels have been eroded, leaving an inverted imprint of this ancient river system.
Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117908946_EYE
European space laboratory
European space laboratory.
The European space laboratory that is part of the International Space Station, August 2020.
While much of Europe was on holidays in August, it was business as usual on the International Space Station. European science continued to collect data on a range of topics looking to enhance space exploration and life on Earth. Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117293064_EYE
First laser detection of space debris in daylight
ESA's Optical Ground Station.
A visible green laser shone from ESA's Optical Ground Station (OGS). Part of Teide Observatory, the OGS located 2400 m above sea level on the volcanic island of Tenerife, used for the development of optical communication systems for space as well as space debris and near-Earth orbject surveys and quantum communication experiments.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117346215_EYE
Seeing Near and Far
The barred spiral galaxy known as NGC 4907 shows its best side from 270 million light-years away to anyone who can see it from the northern hemisphere.This is a new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the face-on the galaxy, displaying its beautiful spiral arms, wound loosely around its central bright bar of stars. Shining brightly below the galaxy is a star that is actually within our own Milky Way galaxy. This star appears much brighter than the many millions of stars in NGC 4907 as it is 100 000 times closer, residing only 2500 light-years away. NGC 4907 is also part of the Coma Cluster, a group of over 1000 galaxies, some of which can be seen around NGC 4907Ê in this image. This massive cluster of galaxies lies within the constellation of Coma Berenices, which is named for the locks of Queen Berenice II of Egypt: the only constellation named after a historical person.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117272349_EYE
SpaceX Crew Dragon training
SpaceX Crew Dragon training.
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will be the first European astronaut to fly to the International Space Station on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon.
Here he is learning the systems ahead of his second space mission, Alpha, which is scheduled for launch in spring 2021. Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117346227_EYE
A penguin colony on Ninnis Bank, Antarctica.
Ninnis Bank, Antarctica.
A penguin colony near Ninnis Bank was spotted by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on 26 August 2019.
Zoom in to see this image at its full 10 m resolution.
Although penguins are too small to show up in satellite images, giant stains on the ice from penguin droppings Ð known as guano Ð are easy to identify. These brownish patches have allowed scientists to locate and track penguin populations across the entire continent.
Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117272264_EYE
elongated cloud on Mars
Return of the extremely elongated cloud on Mars.
A mysteriously long, thin cloud has again appeared over the 20-km high Arsia Mons volcano on Mars.
A recurrent feature, the cloud is made up of water ice, but despite appearances it is not a plume linked to volcanic activity. Instead, the curious stream forms as airflow is influenced by the volcano’s ‘leeward’ slope ? the side that does not face the wind.
These images of the cloud, which can reach up to 1800-km in length, were taken on 17 and 19 July by the Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC) on Mars Express, which has been studying the Red Planet from orbit for the past 16 years.
“We have been investigating this intriguing phenomenon and were expecting to see such a cloud form around now,” explains Jorge Hernandez-Bernal, PhD candidate at the University of the Basque Country (Spain) and lead author of the ongoing study.
“This elongated cloud forms every martian year during this season around the southern solstice, and repeats for 80 days or even more, following a rapid daily cycle. However, we don’t know yet if the clouds are always quite this impressive”.
A martian day, or sol, is slightly longer than an Earth day at 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds long. A year at the Red Planet consists of 668 sols, approximately 687 days, so the seasons last for twice as long.
The southern solstice is the period of the year when the Sun is in the southernmost position in the martian skies, just like 21 December on Earth. In the early mornings during this period, this fleeting cloud grows for approximately three hours, quickly disappearing again just a few hours later.
Most spacecraft in orbit around the Red Planet tend to observe in the afternoon, however Mars Express is in a privileged position to gather and provide crucial information on this unique effect.
“The extent of this huge cloud can't be seeCredit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117272267_EYE
Stellar Sweet Shop
Looking its best ever is the star cluster NGC 2203, here imaged by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Aside from its dazzling good looks, this cluster of stars contains lots of astronomical treats that have helped astronomers puzzle together the lifetimes of stars. A main sequence star, like our Sun, is the term applied to a star during the longest period of its life, when it burns fuel steadily. Our Sun’s fuel will run out in approximately 6 billion years, and it will then move on to the next stage of its life when it will turn into a red giant. Astronomers studying NGC 2203, which contais stars that are roughly twice as massive as our Sun, found that their rotation might be a factor as to why some of the stars stay longer than usual in this main-sequence phase of their life. This is the best resolution obtained of the star cluster to date.
Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_119146509_EYE
Zeeland, Netherlands
Zeeland, Netherlands.
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Zeeland à the westernmost province in the Netherlands.
Zoom in to see this image at its full 10 m resolution.
Located around 150 km from Amsterdam, Zeeland consists of a complex system of islands, peninsulas and waterways. It also comprises Zeeuwsch-Vlaanderen à a strip of the Flanders mainland between the Western Scheldt (Westerschelde) and Belgium.
The province of Zeeland lies on the large river delta at the mouth of several rivers, like the Scheldt (Schelde) and Meuse (Maas) rivers. The lighter aqua colours in the image depict the shallow waters of the delta with riverbeds and several sandbanks visible. The brown coloured waters indicate a higher sediment content, which contrasts with the darker waters of the North Sea.
The Port of Rotterdam, the largest seaport in Europe, is visible top-right in the image. Antwerp, in Belgium, is visible in the bottom-right and the quaint city of Bruges can be seen in the bottom-left of the image.
Zeeland is one of the main agricultural provinces in the Netherlands with one of the largest areas of arable farmland. The patchwork of agricultural fields visible on the islands and mainland show the fields in the various stages of growth or harvest. The area supports cereals, potatoes, beets, cattle and horticulture.
Large parts of Zeeland, which translates to Ôsea land,Õ lie below sea level. The province was the site of a deadly flood in 1953 brought on by a combination of high spring tides and a strong windstorm that severely damaged the low-lying coastal region.
As a result, the Dutch government began to implement the Delta Project à an elaborate system of dykes, canals, dams and bridges to hold back the North Sea. In this image, the 9km-long Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier (Oosterscheldekering) is visible between the islands of Schouwen-DuivCredit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117076036_EYE
Comet NEOWISE
Comet NEOWISE, or C/2020 F3, as observed from Flein, Germany on 12 July 2020.
Discovered in March 2020, Comet NEOWISE became visible to the naked eye in July, gifting observers in the northern hemisphere with one of the most scenic comets in over 20 years. The comet, which is on an almost parabolic orbit and had its closest approach to the Sun, or perihelion, in early July, reaches its closest point to Earth on 22Ð23 July, before zipping back towards the outer Solar System.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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DUKAS_117076038_EYE
The Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands.
The Falkland Islands are featured in this radar image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission.
The Falkland Islands lie in the South Atlantic Ocean, around 500 km northeast of the southern tip of South America. The Falklands comprise two main islands, West Falkland and East Falkland, as well as hundreds of other smaller islands and islets, which form a total land area approximately five times the size of Luxembourg. The two main islands are separated by the Falkland Sound, a channel that averages around 20 km in width.
This multi-temporal image combines two radar acquisitions from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission taken one month apart to show changes over time. The first image was captured on 29 December 2019, while the second was taken on 22 January 2020. Here, the main changes between acquisitions occurred in the open ocean, with the bright red colours showing wavy waters in December 2019.
The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission provides a continuous sampling of the seas, offering information on wind and waves. This is useful for understanding interactions between waves and currents and to improve efficiency for shipping and wave-energy applications, potentially producing economic benefits.
The landscape of the Falkland Islands comprises mountain ranges, flat plains, rugged coastline and cliffs. Hills run east-west across the northern parts of the two main islands, with the highest point being Mount Usborne on East Falkland (around 700 m). Two inlets, Berkeley Sound and Port William, visible in the far right of the image, run far into the land and provide anchorage for shipping. The majority of the population of the islands live in Stanley, on East Falkland.
The islands are covered with grasslands, but not trees, which are widely used as pastureland for sheep and cattle. The islands are also an important habitat and breeding grounds for birdCredit: ESA / eyevine
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Copernicus Sentinel-1C
Copernicus Sentinel-1C is the third Sentinel-1 satellite. The three satellites are identical, each carrying an advanced radar instrument to provide an all-weather, day-and-night supply of imagery of EarthÕs surface. When deployed in space, the radar measures a whopping 12 meters. Because the radar is folded to fit into the rocket fairing for liftoff, the deployment mechanism must be thoroughly tested to ensure that all will be well once it is in space. To simulate this operation in as near realistic environment as is possible on Earth, the radar is hung from a structure that helps to mimic weightlessness. The deployment test not only enables the hardware needed for the deployment to be tested, but also allows for the antenna planarity and flatness to be measured when fully deployed. The tests were carried out at Airbus in Germany.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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A Discovery of Ghostly Arms
A notable feature of most spiral galaxies is the multitude of arching spiral arms that seemingly spin out from the galaxyÕs centre. In this image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the stunning silvery-blue spiral arms of the galaxy NGC 4848 are observed in immense detail. Not only do we see the inner section of the spiral arms containing hundreds of thousands of young, bright, blue stars, but Hubble has also captured the extremely faint wispy tails of the outer spiral arms. This wispy barred spiral galaxy was first discovered in 1865 by the German astronomer Heinrich Louis dÕArrest. In his career, Heinrich also notably discovered the asteroid 76 Freia and many other galaxies and he also contributed to the discovery of Neptune. If you are situated in the Northern Hemisphere with a large telescope, you might just be able to observe the ghost-like appearance of this faint galaxyÊ within faint constellation of Coma Berenices (BereniceÕs Hair).Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Copernicus Sentinel-6
Ready to measure sea-surface height.
Copernicus Sentinel-6 carries a radar altimeter to observe changes in sea-surface topography with centimetre precision, providing insights into global sea levels. These measurements are not only critical for monitoring our rising seas, but also for climate forecasting, sustainable ocean-resource management, coastal management and environmental protection, the fishing industry, and more. The Copernicus Sentinel-6 mission will assume the critical role of monitoring sea-level change by extending the long-term measurement record of global mean sea level from space.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Objects in the night
Objects in the night. Skygazers across the Northern Hemisphere are being treated to stunning views of comet NEOWISE as it streaks past Earth. Amateur astrophotographer Javier Manteca got a bonus: the International Space Station and the comet are both seen transiting Madrid in this photo captured 11 July.
Taken at dawn, the picture is a composition of 17 stacked images exposed every 2.5 seconds to form the skyline.
Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE is named after NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mission that discovered it in March 2020. The comet completed its perihelion, or closest pass of the Sun, on 3 July and is headed back out of our Solar System, not to return for another 6800 years.
Comets are the icy remnants from the formation of the planets 4.6 billion years ago, prompting scientists to think of them as cosmic time capsules. Comets have distinctive tails caused by dust grains being swept away from the comet’s nucleus.
The comet's flyby of Earth is a rare opportunity to observe and collect data on these cosmic time capsules. Many spacecraft have observed the comet, including the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory as well as astronauts on board the International Space Station.
ESA’s comet chaser Rosetta trailed comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko for two years before landing the Philae probe on its surface. The mission amassed a wealth of data that will be studied for years to come.
As comet NEOWISE zooms past Earth at a comfortable (and safe) distance of 103 million kilometres, stargazers can catch more views of the comet through July. Consult Earth and Sky or Astronomy Now for times and positions.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Return of the LIDAR
Return of the LIDAR. In a peninsula far, far away, a laser shoots into the sky to study the Antarctic atmosphere at Concordia research station.
The Light Detection and Ranging instrument, or LIDAR, is a remote sensing technique that uses light to study an object.
A pulsed laser beam is aimed at the target and properties of the resulting scattered light are recorded by sensors. Using these measurements, researchers collect information about the atmosphere, including density, temperature, wind speed, cloud formation and aerosol particles.
LIDAR and SONAR (sonic detection and ranging) instruments help monitor the Atmospheric Boundary Layer, the 1 km thick bottom layer of the troposphere where changes on Earth’s surface strongly influence temperature, moisture and wind.
These changes to Earth’s surface are largely caused by human activity. Increased greenhouse gas emissions are raising temperatures and the release of chlorofluorocarbons is thinning the ozone layer, particularly in the Polar Regions.
The station operates two LIDAR instruments. The one imaged is the smaller of the two, located 500 m south of the station. A laser beam is emitted daily for one minute every five minutes during the winter period.
Atmospheric physics and chemistry is one field of research undertaken at Concordia to assess the Antarctic climate and overall climate change.
Concordia also runs biomedical studies as an analogue for space exploration. Each year ESA sponsors a research doctor to continue studies on the psychological, physiological and social effects of living in an isolated, confined and extreme environment. Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Return of the LIDAR
Return of the LIDAR.
In a peninsula far, far away, a laser shoots into the sky to study the Antarctic atmosphere at Concordia research station.
The Light Detection and Ranging instrument, or LIDAR, is a remote sensing technique that uses light to study an object.
A pulsed laser beam is aimed at the target and properties of the resulting scattered light are recorded by sensors. Using these measurements, researchers collect information about the atmosphere, including density, temperature, wind speed, cloud formation and aerosol particles.
LIDAR and SONAR (sonic detection and ranging) instruments help monitor the Atmospheric Boundary Layer, the 1 km thick bottom layer of the troposphere where changes on EarthÕs surface strongly influence temperature, moisture and wind.
These changes to EarthÕs surface are largely caused by human activity. Increased greenhouse gas emissions are raising temperatures and the release of chlorofluorocarbons is thinning the ozone layer, particularly in the Polar Regions.
The station operates two LIDAR instruments. The one imaged is the smaller of the two, located 500 m south of the station. A laser beam is emitted daily for one minute every five minutes during the winter period.
Atmospheric physics and chemistry is one field of research undertaken at Concordia to assess the Antarctic climate and overall climate change.
Concordia also runs biomedical studies as an analogue for space exploration. Each year ESA sponsors a research doctor to continue studies on the psychological, physiological and social effects of living in an isolated, confined and extreme environment.
Credit: ESA / eyevine
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A-68A in open waters
A-68A in open waters.A huge iceberg called A-68 calved from the Antarctic PeninsulaÕs Larsen C ice shelf on 12 July 2017. Three years on, it is in open waters near the South Orkney Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean Ð about 1050 km from its birthplace. The berg has already lost two chunks of ice, which were big enough to be given names: A-68B and A68C. Copernicus Sentinel-1 caCredit: ESA / eyevine
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Gulf of Kutch
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the Gulf of Kutch – also known as the Gulf of Kachchh – an inlet of the Arabian Sea, along the west coast of India.
Zoom in to see this image at its full resolution.
The Gulf of Kutch divides the Kutch and the Kathiawar peninsula regions in the state of Gujarat. Reaching eastward for around 150 km, the gulf varies in width from approximately 15 to 65 km. The area is renowned for extreme daily tides which often cover the lower lying areas – comprising networks of creeks, wetlands and alluvial tidal flats in the interior region.
Gujarat is the largest salt producing state in India. Some of the white rectangles dotted around the image are salt evaporation ponds which are often found in major salt-producing areas. The arid climate in the region favours the evaporation of water from the salt ponds.
Just north of the area pictured here, lies the Great Rann of Kutch, a seasonal salt marsh located in the Thar desert. The Rann is considered the largest salt desert in the world.
The Gulf of Kutch has several ports including Okha (at the entrance of the gulf), M?ndvi, Bedi, and Kandla. Kandla, visible on the northern peninsula in the left of the image, is one of the largest ports in India by volume of cargo handled.
The gulf is rich in marine biodiversity. Part of the southern coast of the Gulf of Kutch was declared Marine Sanctuary and Marine National Park in 1980 and 1982 respectively – the first marine conservatory established in India. The park covers an area of around 270 sq km, from Okha in the south (not visible) to Jodiya. There are hundreds of species of coral in the park, as well as algae, sponges and mangroves.
Copernicus Sentinel-2 is a two-satellite mission. Each satellite carries a high-resolution camera that images Earth’s surface in 13 spectral bands. The mission’s frequent revisits over the same area and high spatial resolution allow changes in water bodies to be closely mCredit: ESA / eyevi
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One galaxy, two asteroids
One galaxy, two asteroids.
At first sight, this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope portrays the sparkling stars of AGC111977, a dwarf galaxy located around 15 million light years away and visible in the lower left part of the image. Other galaxies appear sprinkled across the frame, along with foreground stars from our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
After closer inspection, something else comes to sight, much closer to home. Towards the lower right corner of the frame, two elongated streaks are faintly visible: the trails of asteroids Ð small rocky bodies in our Solar System Ð crossing their ways in the foreground of the stars and galaxies that Hubble was observing.
The image combines observations obtained on 16 November 2012 with HubbleÕs ACS instrument using two different filters (606 nm, shown in blue, and 814 nm, shown in red). As the asteroids moved relative to Hubble during the observation, both trails have been imaged subsequently in each filter and thus appear part red and part blue.
The two asteroids are located at different distances from us, so they did not actually collide as their intersecting streaks might suggest. They were uncovered by citizen scientists Sovan Acharya, Graeme Aitken, Claude Cornen, Abe Hoekstra and Edmund Perozzi, some of the volunteers who have been inspecting images from the iconic space telescope in search for rocky interlopers as part of the Hubble Asteroid Hunter citizen science project.
Launched one year ago, on International Asteroid Day 2019, the Hubble Asteroid Hunter is a collaboration between ESA and the Zooniverse, inviting members of the public to identify asteroids that had been serendipitously observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. Since then, 9000 volunteers from all over the world provided 2 million classifications of 140 000 composite Hubble images, finding 1500 asteroid trails Ð about one every hundred images.
In the projectÕs first phase, volunteers could explore a collection of archival Hu
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The ancient lakeshore of Jezero crater on Mars
The ancient lakeshore of Jezero crater on Mars.
An elevation map of Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site for NASA's 2020 Mars Perseverance rover. Lighter colours represent higher elevation.
Two recent studies based on ESA's Mars Express observations of Jezero crater have shed light on how and when this intriguing area formed Ð and identified the regions most likely to reveal signs of ancient life.
Full story: Mars Express helps uncover the secrets of Perseverance landing site
The crater rim stands out clearly in this colour map, making it easier to spot the shoreline of a lake that dried up billions of years ago. The oval indicates the landing ellipse, where the rover will be touching down on Mars. Scientists are interested in studying this shoreline because it may have preserved fossilised microbial life, if any ever formed on the Red Planet.
This image was created using data from a combination of instruments and spacecraft: NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and its Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA); NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and its Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and Context Camera (CTX); and the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA's Mars Express. It was originally published in November 2019.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Birds of a Feather
The spiral pattern shown by the galaxy in this image from theÊNASA/ESA Hubble Space TelescopeÊis striking because of its delicate, feathery nature. These "flocculent" spiral arms indicate that the recent history of star formation of the galaxy, known as NGC 2775, has been relatively quiet. There is virtually no star formation in the central part of the galaxy, which is dominated by an unusually large and relatively empty galactic bulge, where all the gas was converted into stars long ago. NGC 2275 is classified as a flocculentÊspiral galaxy, located 67 million light-years away in the constellation of Cancer.Ê Millions of bright, young, blue stars shine in the complex, feather-like spiral arms, interlaced with dark lanes of dust. Complexes of these hot, blue stars are thought to trigger star formation in nearby gas clouds. The overall feather-like spiral patterns of the arms are then formed by shearing of the gas clouds as the galaxy rotates. The spiral nature of flocculents stands in contrast to the grand design spirals, which have prominent, well defined-spiral arms.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Arctic fires
Arctic fires.
This image of the Siberia fires was captured on Tuesday 23 June 2020 by the Copernicus Sentinel3 mission.
Sea-ice can be seen to the north while smoke dominates the bottom part of the image with some active fires visible in the centre.
Sentinel-3 is a two-satellite mission to supply the coverage and data delivery needed for EuropeÕs Copernicus environmental monitoring programme. Each satelliteÕs instrument package includes an optical sensor to monitor changes in the colour of EarthÕs surfaces. It can be used, for example, to monitor ocean biology and water quality.
Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Hera and its asteroid target
Hera and its asteroid target.
ESAÕs Hera mission for planetary defence seen approaching the Dimorphos asteroid moonlet, which is destined to become the subject of an audacious deflection experiment.
The newly-named Dimorphos Ð at 160 m across, about the size of EgyptÕs Great Pyramid Ð orbits around the main 780 m mountain-sized Didymos near-Earth asteroid. Next year NASAÕs Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will leave Earth and in October 2022 will perform a kinetic impact with Dimorphos, in an attempt to deflect its orbit.
Then in 2024 ESAÕs Hera spacecraft will set off to perform a close-up investigation of the result: the sole object in the Solar System to have had its orbit shifted by humankind in a measurable way.
By gathering details of DimorphosÕs mass, composition and the crater left by DART, Hera Ð along with the two CubeSats it will carry with up, for close-up views Ð will let researchers assess the effectiveness of the deflection technique in as full a manner as possible, enabling its reuse if needed against an oncoming asteroid.
Hera will also return plentiful bonus science, with its Juventas CubeSat performing the first radar survey of an asteroidÕs interior, demonstrate inter-satellite link technology in deep space and provide experience of ultra-low gravity operations.
Given the go ahead at ESAÕs Space19+ Ministerial Council last November, Hera is set to undergo its preliminary design review in the autumn.
Credit: ESA / eyevine
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A panorama of the International Space Station
This panorama of the International Space Station is a wider view of what ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano was capturing on camera during the first of a series of historic spacewalks that took place in November 2019.
Author, journalist and researcher Lee Brandon-Cremer created this photo by stitching together three images taken by Luca as he made his way to the worksite during the first Extravehicular Activity or EVA to service the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), the StationÕs dark matter detector.
"For every spacewalk there are thousands of images taken. Sometimes a few images jump out at me,Ó he explains. ÒOne day I realised I could stitch these images together to expand the scene and show what the astronaut sees in a broader sense.Ó
To create this view, Lee first went looking for images with common points. This proved tricky: of the 1000 or so images he scanned, he found three that could be worked into two expanded photos of the Space Station.
He then joined and lightly edited the images to create a smooth photograph, a technique referred to as ÒstitchingÓ.
In the final image you can see the white panel radiators that keep the Space Station cool. The spacecraft on the left is a Soyuz. On the right is the Kibo module, with Japanese flag visible. The Space Station is flying to the right in this picture.
Nowadays we are spoiled for space imagery. From satellites circling the Earth and spacecraft taking selfies to astronaut snaps from the International Space Station, there is no shortage of photographs at which to marvel Ð and they are easy to access.
Aside from the critical role these images play in aiding scientific studies of Earth, the Solar System and outer space, they are important tools for science communication and public engagement.
One advantage of space imagery made public is how it engages citizen scientists and Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Bat Shadow (2018 Observation)
This image shows only the feature which was nicknamed the Bat Shadow. It is the shadow of a protoplanetary disc orbiting the star in the centre of the image.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Siberia wildfires
Siberia wildfires. This image of Siberian fires was captured on 23 June 2020 by the OLCI instrument on board the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission. Part of Sakha, Chukotka and the Magadan Oblast is pictured here. Sea-ice can be seen to the north while smoke dominates the bottom part of the image with a number of active fires visible in the centre.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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SpaceX Crew-2
SpaceX Crew-2 & Backup with ESA astronauts Thomas Pesquet & Matthias Maurer and NASA astronaut Megan Behnken during Emergency Vehicle Familiarization. Photo Date: June 23, 2020. Location: Bldg. 9NW, ISS Mockups. Photographer: Robert MarkowitzCredit: ESA / eyevine
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A Galaxy on Edge
The galaxy known as NGC 5907 stretches wide across this image. Appearing as an elongated line of stars and dark dust, the galaxy is categorised as a spiral galaxy just like our own Milky Way. In this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, we donÕt see the beautiful spiral arms because we are viewing it edge-on, like looking at the rim of a plate. It is for this reason that NGC 5907 is also known as the Knife Edge Galaxy. The Knife Edge Galaxy is about 50 million light-years from Earth, lying in the northern constellation of Draco. Although not visible in this image, ghostly streams of stars on large arching loops extend into space, circling around the galaxy; they are believed to be remnants of a small dwarf galaxy, torn apart by the Knife Edge Galaxy and merged with it over four billion years ago.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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Knowlton Church
Silver linings.
Strange times meet strange clouds. Noctilucent or Ônight shiningÕ clouds (NLC) are captured over Knowlton Church in Dorset, UK, by astrophotographer Ollie Taylor in the early hours of 22 June.
A summer phenomenon, these rare clouds are visible when the Sun is below the viewerÕs horizon, shining light on these tenuous wisps. First mentioned in 1885, just two years after the Krakatoa volcanic eruption, one of the most destructive on record, they were once considered a rare meteorological phenomenon. The clouds have been sited more frequently over the past few years, linked by many to increased greenhouse gas emissions.
Thanks to a dedicated network of NLC trackers, including live space weather updates, Czech-based NLC webcam observations and a Facebook group, Ollie got a great nightÕs worth of photography.
ÒIt was an excellent night of shooting, arriving at location in the evening already greeted by noctilucent clouds better than I had previously seen in the south of England,Ó says Ollie.
Taken between 2 and 2:50am, the clouds lend a ghostly glow to the 12th century church in the middle of a Neolithic henge monument. ÒThe electric blue complemented the misty landscape and eerie structure,Ó Ollie says of this picture-perfect moment.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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XMM-Newton observes baby magnetar
XMM-Newton observes baby magnetar. Composite image of Swift J1818.0?1607, the youngest pulsar ever observed, as seen by the EPIC-pn camera on ESA’s XMM-Newton. The image combines observations in the following energy bands: 2–4 keV (red), 4–7.5 keV (green) and 8.5–12 keV (blue).
Originally discovered by NASA’s Swift Observatory in March 2020, this the youngest pulsar among the 3000 known in our Milky Way galaxy, observed just 240 years after its formation. It also belongs to a very rare category of pulsars: magnetars, the cosmic objects with the strongest magnetic fields ever measured in the Universe. It is one of the fastest-spinning such objects known, whirling around once every 1.36 seconds – despite containing the mass of two Suns within a stellar remnant measuring just 25 kilometres across.
Immediately after the discovery, astronomers looked at this object in further detail using XMM-Newton, NASA’s Swift and NuSTAR X-ray satellites, and the Sardinia Radio Telescope in Italy. Unlike most magnetars, which are only observable in X-rays, the observations revealed that Swift J1818.0?1607 is one of the very few to also show pulsed emission in radio waves.
More information: XMM-Newton spies youngest baby pulsar ever discoveredCredit: ESA / eyevine
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Storm hunter turns two
Storm hunter turns two. The Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor or ASIM, mounted outside the European laboratory of the International Space Station, enters its second year of science operations.
Launched in April 2018, the payload began operating on 14 June 2018 and has been studying thunderstorms 400 km above Earth ever since.
Specifically, ASIM is on the hunt for elusive electrical discharges in the upper atmosphere, or lightning that extends upwards into space. These discharges have alluring names like red sprites, blue jets and elves and have been reported by pilots over the years.
Besides these phenomena ASIM is also studying terrestrial Gamma-ray flashes. These are high-energy discharges of photons that propagate out into space.
All these light shows appear to be more common than originally thought and scientists are eager to know more about how they could influence EarthÕs climate.
ASIM is outfitted with a collection of optical cameras, photometers and an X- and gamma-ray detector designed to track and record the Ôtransient luminous eventsÕ and terrestrial gamma-ray flashes.
Scientists knew these terrestrial Gamma-ray flashes existed because they were detected by astronomy spacecraft in the 1990s, but the ÔMXGSÕ instrument on ASIM is looking down at Earth from the International Space Station and scans the globe to pinpoint where the gamma-rays are coming from, the first high-energy instrument to generate images of our planet in X-rays.
After just one year in operation, the ASIM science team published the first image of Earth in X-rays at high spatial resolution.
As ASIM can better detect terrestrial gamma-ray flashes it is revealing more details than ever before, as well as showing where they originate. Scientists can then pool data from other spacecraft and ground-based weather stations to complete the overview.
ÒASIM is working reallyCredit: ESA / eyevine
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Peruvian Andes
Peruvian Andes.
The Andes mountains, in southern Peru, are featured in this false-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. This image was processed in a way that makes vegetation appear blue, while irrigated vegetation and agriculture is visible in bright blue.
The Andes are considered the longest continental mountain range in the world. They extend around 7000 km through seven South American countries Ð from Venezuela in the north all the way to Chile in the south.
The mountain range is the result of the Nazca and Antarctic tectonic plates moving under the South American plate in a geological process called subduction. Wind and water erosion are also a major factor for the shaping of the landscape.
In this image, captured on 16 June 2020, parts of the Ica, Ayacucho and Arequipa Regions in Peru are featured. Streams of water flowing from the high altitudes, and through the valleys, provide water for irrigation to the nearby agricultural fields. Some of these agricultural plots can be seen in bright blue in the image.
The small town of Puquio, with an elevation of over 3000 m, can be seen in the top right of the image Ð surrounded by vegetation. Directly to the left of Puquio, lies the Pampa Galeras National Reserve. This reserve protects the habitat of the threatened vicu–a, a wild camelid which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes.
The clouds in the bottom-left of the image are an example of marine stratocumulus. These low-lying clouds are caused by cooler waters in the Pacific Ocean being pulled up to the surface, cooling the air above it, and causing water vapour to condense into water droplets and, eventually, clouds. Marine stratocumulus clouds often develop off of Peru, with prevailing winds pushing the clouds inland. As the clouds are low, they are easily blocked by coastal mountains and hills, such as the Andes.
Under the smCredit: ESA / eyevine
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Keeping up with Thomas
Keeping up with Thomas.
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will serve as commander of the International Space Station towards the end of his second mission, called Alpha, currently slated to begin on 22 April this year. The announcement was made during todayÕs press briefing.
Thomas will be the fourth European to hold the post of commander, after ESA astronauts Frank De Winne, Alexander Gerst and Luca Parmitano. During the briefing, Thomas remarked how three back-to-back European commanders underscores the growing role of Europe in space exploration and is a testament to the hard work of ESA colleagues.
ÔI am unbelievably humbled and honouredÕ, said Thomas.
Thomas will be the first ESA astronaut to fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon launching on a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida, USA. He will accompany NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.
During his six-month Alpha mission, Thomas will continue the programme of research that often spans multiple missions and a wide range of scientific disciplines spanning materials science and radiation to educational activities.
The end of Thomas six-month stay on board will overlap with the start of German ESA astronaut Matthias MaurerÕs first mission to the Space Station, called Cosmic Kiss, which will be followed by Samantha CristoforettiÕs second tenure in space, marking three back-to-back missions for ESA astronauts.Credit: ESA / eyevine
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