Space pictures
This image of the 17 km long and 10 km wide asteroid was taken by the Galileo spacecraft as it flew by the asteroid Gaspra (951 Gaspra) on October 29, 1991. Gaspra resides near the inner edge of the asteroid belt and has a 7 hour rotation period. This picture is believed to have been taken at a range of 16,000 kilometers (10,000 miles) using Galileo’s solid-state imaging camera. Galileo’s encounter with Gaspra marked the first instance of an asteroid being (so) closely examined by a spacecraft.
The Ahmad Baba crater, named after a 16th/17th century African writer, is a classic peak rising basin on the planet Mercury. This picture was taken by NASA’s Messenger spacecraft at low altitude (just 184 km above Mercury’s surface) during its second extended mission exploring the planet Mercury.
5,000 light years from Earth, towards the Sagittarius constellation, lies the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8). Hubble Space Telescope took pictures in 1995 using its Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) which were combined by NASA to create this image of what looks like violent twisters or funnels occurring within this nebula. These twisters are believed to be formed due to the combination of large difference in temperature between the hot surface and cold interior of the clouds and the pressure of starlight. The bright pinkish light near the bottom right of the image is the central star, O Herschel 36, which is also the main source of ionizing radiation for the region.
The advanced capabilities of Curiosity Mars rover have allowed us to do more in the (unmanned) exploration of this planet than has ever been possible. This picture by the Mars Hand Lens Imager shows the shallow drill hole (and the residue piled up around it) completed by the Curiosity Mars rover. This experiment is part of the Mars Science Laboratory initiative and will be evaluating a rock target called “Windjana“. Curiosity is expected to drill deeper (up to 2.5 inches) and evaluate both the drilling and the martian samples it collects.
Every 76 years, the famous Halley’s Comet makes its way through the inner solar-system and is visible from Earth. This periodicity was first determined in 1705 by English astronomer Sir Edmond Halley, after whom the comet is named. This picture of Comet Halley (1P/Halley) was taken in 1986 which was its most recent foray into this part of our solar system. The European Space Agency space craft Giotto snapped this picture and became one of the first spacecraft ever to encounter and photograph the nucleus of a comet. Giotto was able to pass and image Halley’s nucleus as it receded from the Sun.
