The Week in Pictures: July 20–26, 2013
In the past seven days, NASA released images of Earth taken from the orbits of Mercury and Saturn, IRIS captured its first views of the Sun, Spitzer observed gas emissions from Comet ISON, and much more.
Published: Friday, July 26, 2013
NASA/JPL-Caltech/JHUAPL/UCF
Spitzer observes gas emission from Comet ISON
Images with Spitzer’s Infrared Array Camera indicate carbon dioxide is slowly and steadily “fizzing” away from the comet, along with dust.
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Telescope on IRIS sees first light
The observatory has produced its first images of a little understood region of the Sun.
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ALMA sheds light on mystery of missing massive galaxies
New images show enormous outflows of molecular gas ejected by star-forming regions in the Sculptor Galaxy.
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Mission discovers particle accelerator in heart of Van Allen radiation belts
Knowing the location of the acceleration within the radiation belts will help scientists improve predictions of space weather.
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
NASA releases images of Earth by distant spacecraft
The Cassini and MESSENGER spacecraft captured images of Earth and our Moon from millions of miles away.
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Large coronal hole near the Sun’s north pole
Such holes are the source of a high-speed wind of solar particles that streams off the Sun some three times faster than the solar wind elsewhere.
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Image courtesy of Alan Boss
Solar system’s youth gives clues to planet search
A new set of theoretical models shows how an outburst event in the Sun’s formative years could have implications for the hunt for habitable planets outside our solar system.
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Valley networks suggest ancient snowfall on Mars
A study finds that water-carved valleys at four different locations on Mars appear to have been caused by runoff from orographic precipitation.
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A warmer planetary haven around cool stars
Planets orbiting cool stars may be much warmer and less icy than their counterparts orbiting much hotter stars, even though they receive the same amount of light.
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Reports detail Mars rover clues to atmosphere’s past
Measurements of the martian atmosphere’s composition by NASA’s Curiosity rover provide evidence about the loss of much of Mars’ original atmosphere.
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