Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's View of the Rim of Endeavour Crater
Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:00:00 -0500

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its panoramic camera to capture this view of Endeavour Crater's rim after a drive during the rover's 2,676th Martian day, or sol, of working on Mars (Aug. 4, 2011). The drive covered 396 feet (120.7 meters) and put the rover with about that much distance to go before reaching the chosen arrival site at the rim, called 'Spirit Point.' Endeavour Crater has been the rover team's destination for Opportunity since the rover finished exploring Victoria crater in August 2008. Endeavour, with a diameter of about 14 miles (22 kilometers), offers access to older geological deposits than any Opportunity has seen before. This view looks toward a portion of the rim south of Spirit Point, including terrain that Opportunity may explore in the future. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU

West Rim of Mars' Endeavour Crater
Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:00:00 -0500

A portion of the west rim of Endeavour crater sweeps southward in this color view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. This crater -- with a diameter of about 24 miles (22 kilometers) -- is more than 25 times wider than any that Opportunity has previously approached during 90 months on Mars. Endeavour crater has been the rover team's destination for Opportunity since the rover finished exploring Victoria crater in August 2008. Endeavour offers access to older geological deposits than any Opportunity has seen before. This view combines exposures taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera on the 2,678th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (Aug. 6, 2011) before driving on that sol. The subsequent Sol 2678 drive covered 246 feet (75.26 meters), more than half of the remaining distance to the rim of the crater. Opportunity arrived at the rim during its next drive, on Sol 2681 (Aug. 9, 2011). The closest of the distant ridges visible along the Endeavour rim is informally named Solander Point, an area that Opportunity may investigate in the future. The rover's first destination on the rim, called Spirit Point in tribute to Opportunity's now-inactive twin, is to the left (north) of this scene. The lighter-toned rocks closer to the rover in this view are similar to the rocks Opportunity has driven over for most of the mission. However, the darker-toned and rougher rocks just beyond that might be a different type for Opportunity to investigate. The ground in the foreground is covered with iron-rich spherules, nicknamed "blueberries," which Opportunity has observed frequently since the first days after landing. They are about 0.2 inch (5 millimeters) or more in diameter. This view combines images taken through three different filters, admitting light with wavelengths centered at 753 nanometers (near infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet). This natural color is the rover team's best estimate of what the scene would look like if humans were there and able to see it. Seams have been eliminated from the sky portion of the mosaic to better simulate the vista a person standing on Mars would see. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU

Dumbbell Nebula Pumps Out Infrared Light
Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:00:00 -0500

The Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 27, pumps out infrared light in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The nebula was named after its resemblance to a dumbbell when seen in visible light. It was discovered in 1764 by Charles Messier, who included it as the 27th member of his famous catalog of nebulous objects. Although he did not know it at the time, this was the first in a class of objects, now known as planetary nebulae, to make it into the catalog. Planetary nebulae, historically named for their resemblance to gas-giant planets, are now known to be the remains of stars that once looked a lot like our sun. When sun-like stars die, they puff out their outer gaseous layers, which are heated by the hot core of the dead star, called a white dwarf, and shine with infrared and visible-light colors. Our own sun will blossom into a planetary nebula when it dies in about five billion years. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA

A Cosmic Exclamation Point
Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:00:00 -0500

Chandra views a textbook example of colliding galaxies seen in the early stages of their interaction.

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