Released today, this is one of several new images taken with the full-frame camera aboard NASA’s Dawn spacecraft currently in orbit around the asteroid Vesta. Look at the detail in the surface! Incredible! This image shows the southern hemisphere of Vesta, and around its equator are long, deep grooves. Many different sizes of craters can…
Tag: new images
Yes, They’re Real
The craters Spitteler and Holberg are prominently featured in this new image from the MESSENGER spacecraft, in orbit around Mercury. (Spitteler, about 42 miles wide, is the one on the left.) These two craters were previously observed by the Mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974 but MESSENGER’s close polar orbit gives scientists a new look. The craters…
Is Mercury Hiding Water Ice?
A new image from MESSENGER showing craters amidst smooth plains. Acquired March 29, 2011. A new image from MESSENGER, released today March 30, 2011, shows relatively smooth plains near Mercury’s north pole dotted by some relatively large craters. Seen at an oblique angle, the low angle of sunlight emphasizes the relief of the…
A Patchwork Pluto
The New Horizons spacecraft may still be several years away from its flyby of the outermost ex-planet, but the Hubble Space Telescope is meanwhile grabbing glimpses of the frozen world at the edge of our solar system. The video above is composed of hundreds of individual images of Pluto, assembled over the course of four…
Prometheus Passing
Prometheus, shepherd moon of Saturn’s F ring, is featured in this dramatic image from Cassini taken as it passed by at a distance of 23,000 miles (37,014 km) on January 27, 2010. This is the closest Cassini has come to Prometheus. The image above has been extensively cleaned up in regard to CCD pixel noise…
Lights in the Dark 