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View from Opportunity’s Hazcam

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The view from the Opportunity rovers Hazcam
The view from the Opportunity rovers Hazcam

We know that NASA’s Mars Opportunity rover is chocked full of cameras and instruments that have been sending back reams of data. Included are four wide angle black and white cameras that use visible light to help the rover avoid crashing into things and to keep it from getting lost on its Martian mission. These are appropriately labeled Hazard Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams). The above picture was taken by one of the Hazcams as Opportunity traversed through the western rim of Endeavour Crater in November of 2014. The picture shows us Opportunity’s robotic arm and portions of the pale Mars bedrock that were a subject of further study.

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Comet Lovejoy

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Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) captured by NEOWISE
Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) captured by NEOWISE

NASA’s NEOWISE mission had been on a ‘comet hunting’ mission for the about a year and had a few hits, including Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy).  This image shows Comet Lovejoy, which was about 245 million kilometers from Earth, moving in a (mostly) west and (slightly) southerly direction. The comet’s coma (this is what surrounds the nucleus of a comet) is made up of dust and gases which leads NEOWISE’s wavelength detector to capture the strong signals as seen in the red areas. Comet Lovejoy is expected to be the brightest comet in Earth’s sky for early 2015.

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Galaxies collide to form a monster black hole

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NUSTAR and Hubble look at the collision of two galaxies in Arp 299
NUSTAR and Hubble look at the collision of two galaxies in Arp 299

Arp 299 is a pair of galaxies (IC 694 and NGC 3690) in Ursa Major about 134 million light years from Earth. These galaxies have been interacting, that is colliding, and in the process creating a massive black hole. This composite image from NASA/JPL used data from both NuSTAR and Hubble. NuSTAR is able to capture and measure the high-energy X-rays that are being emitted by Arp 299, with the 4 to 6 kilo-electron volts appearing as red, energies of 6 to 12 kilo-electron volts being  green, and 12 to 25 kilo-electron volts as blue. This is thanks to a large black hole that is consuming gases at a very high rate and releasing the X-rays being measured.

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Balanchine, Ailey, Poe and Caloris

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Mercury's Poe, Ailey and Balanchine craters and the Caloris basin
Mercury’s Poe, Ailey and Balanchine craters and the Caloris basin

The planet Mercury is chalk full of craters and basins resulting from impacts from all sorts of cosmic debris. This view of the planet taken by the Messenger spacecraft’s wide angle camera shows the landscape with four such impact features. Starting at the lower right we have the Balanchine crater. Near the center of this image is the Ailey crater with its bright floor, resulting from a diverse subsurface composition. At the lower left edge of the above picture we have the Poe crater with its dark edges. And lastly we have part of the Caloris basin visible in the foreground of this image.

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Map of the asteroid Vesta

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Geological map of the asteroid Vesta
Geological map of the asteroid Vesta

In the fall of 2007, NASA launched a significant discovery mission to study Vesta and Ceres in the asteroid belt. The Dawn spacecraft mission has been going strong and studying these objects using its on-board instruments. This virtual map of the protoplanet Vesta shows various geological features and unifies 15 individual quadrangle maps. Here is a breakdown of the different coloured areas:

  • Brown – believed to be the oldest and most cratered
  • Purple(s) – affected by the Veneneia impact
  • Blue(s) – affected by the Rheasilvia impact
  • Greens and yellows – relatively young landslides
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