Space pictures
The wide angle camera on MESSENGER spacecraft’s Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) took this snapshot of an area on Mercury located north of Rachmaninoff. It captured a possible volcanic vent (near the far left of the picture) and craters to the right of the volcanic vent. These type of vents on are indicative of explosive volcanism that was prevalent in Mercury’s past.
The bright rocks in this picture of the Mars surface (taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) are believed by scientists to contain minerals that have water. Data from MRO’s scientific instrument known as the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) along with high-resolution images supplied by the HiRiSE platform were used to make this (still speculative) determination. This should help scientists further postulate and study the state of Mars’ past climate and geography.
Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is what remains of a supernova in the constellation Cassiopeia. Cas A is a massive star that exploded in a supernova more than 11,000 years ago and has long confounded astronomers and scientists.
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory took images (top) of Cassiopeia A using low-energy X-rays which showed certain elements, such as iron, that were heated by the shock waves released in the explosion of Cas A. The iron is seen mainly in the outer portions of the star.
NASA’s Terra satellite used its Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) to capture this thermal infrared view of wildfires burning in Dominican Republic’s Valle Nuevo National Park. The predominant area of this part of the national forest/park still has healthy vegetation which is shown in red. Active fires and hot spots are shown in yellow while the burned areas are dark gray.
NASA’s NEOWISE telescope spotted Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring shortly before it is expected to fly by Mars in the fall of this year. In this composite image encompassing four frames, the comet can be seen in multiple positions as it traverses through space relative to the stars in the background. At the time that these pictures were taken, Comet Siding Spring was approximately 175 million miles (1.88 astronomical units) from the Sun.
This picture of comet Siding Spring also provides a view of the radio galaxy Fornax A (NGC1316) near the upper right corner.
