Deep gashes – called grabens – slice across the surface in the Nili Fossae region of Mars, seen above in an image from the Mars Express orbiter taken in February 2008. A German word meaning “ditch”, a graben is a downthrust strip of land bordered by scarps on either side. They are typically caused by…
Tag: solar system
Ride Along With Rhea
Assembled from 29 raw images taken by the Cassini orbiter on Monday, April 25, this animation brings us along an orbital ride with Rhea as it crosses Saturn’s nighttime face, the planet’s shadow cast across the ringplane. Sister moons Dione and Tethys travel the opposite lane in the background, eventually appearing to sink into Saturn’s…
Prime PDS Picks
Every six to nine months or so the Cassini Imaging Center dumps orbiter image data into NASA’s Planetary Data System, or PDS. This data is accessible to anyone with an internet connection, but it can be a little awkward to find exactly what you’re looking for (unless you’re familiar with the technical nomenclature of the…
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…
Ring Racer (Take Two)
I came across this image today while going through the latest Cassini PDS (Planetary Data System) release, and remembered how excited I was to see it the first time when it came in last June. If you missed it, here it is again (with an image fresh off the PDS!) Man, I just LOVE this…
A New Look at Neptune
Ok, ok… it’s not “new” (it’s from a HubbleNews article released in 2005) but since I just came across it myself, it’s new to me! So maybe it’s new to you too. 🙂 The video above was created from images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, showing distant Neptune (we’re talking four and a half…
From the LITD Archives: Saturn’s Southern Storm
Originally posted on March 3, 2009: A great spiraling whirlpool of wind-whipped clouds wraps around Saturn’s southern pole, photographed here in polarized infrared light by Cassini on July 15, 2008. Towering white clouds mark areas of rising heat from deep within the atmosphere. The winds around the vortex have been measured at over 300 mph….
The Colors of Mercury
Another new wide-angle image from MESSENGER in orbit, this is a color image of Mercury made from data taken in red, green and blue visible light wavelengths. Variations in surface textures and colorations can be seen, as well as long bright streaks running horizontally – these are the ejecta rays extending from Hokusai Crater, off-frame…
Catchin’ Some Rays
One of the newest images from MESSENGER, now nice and comfy in orbit around Mercury, is of the bright Debussy crater and part of its extensive system of surrounding ejecta rays. The crater’s jagged central peak can be seen in this top-down view from the spacecraft’s narrow-angle camera (NAC). Also, here’s a new image of…
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…
First Image from Mercury Orbit!
It’s been over 11 days since MESSENGER established orbit around the planet Mercury, and we now have THE first image from orbit! The image above was obtained this morning, March 29 at 5:20am EDT as MESSENGER was above Mercury’s south pole – a portion of which has never previously been imaged by spacecraft. Click here…
From the LITD Archives: But What About Venus?
Originally posted on April 7, 2009, only two months after Lights in the Dark launched: I haven’t posted anything yet about our other neighboring planet, Venus, mostly because the currently active mission exploring it, the European Space Agency’s Venus Express orbiter, hasn’t been updating much with new images since I’ve begun this site. Still, Venus…
Lights in the Dark 