Space
Exploring space
Today, the space shuttle Endeavor is on display at the California Science Center (Photo by NASA)
This is the space shuttle Endeavor just after its launch.
The rocket propulsion system produces a plume of smoke as the shuttle rises higher and higher in the atmosphere. The smoke ejected by the shuttle casts a shadow on the clouds. (We are looking down on the clouds!).
The glow of orange below the shuttle is created by a tremendous thermal reaction of fuel. Gases ignite and burn fast and hot. The release of thermal energy produces enough force to thrust the shuttle through our atmosphere .
The tremendous lifting power of the rockets hurls the space shuttle to an altitude just outside the Earth's atmosphere - between 100 and 300 miles above our planet. There, it orbits or docks with a space station which is in a stationary orbit around our planet.
The United States has ended space shuttle missions, but other countries have space vehicles similar to the shuttle and American astronauts now travel with them to the International Space Station. The space station is shared by scientists from many countries. Astronaut-scientists collect data and conduct experiments at the space station. They collect samples of the atmosphere and space surrounding our planet. They monitor and record data from their surroundings.
The International Space Station has been occupied continuously for 10 years! Astronauts sometimes stay there for a long time. For instance, Sunita Williams broke the world record for women in space by remaining at the International Space Station 196 days. The longest anyone has stayed is over 200 days!
The rocket propulsion system produces a plume of smoke as the shuttle rises higher and higher in the atmosphere. The smoke ejected by the shuttle casts a shadow on the clouds. (We are looking down on the clouds!).
The glow of orange below the shuttle is created by a tremendous thermal reaction of fuel. Gases ignite and burn fast and hot. The release of thermal energy produces enough force to thrust the shuttle through our atmosphere .
The tremendous lifting power of the rockets hurls the space shuttle to an altitude just outside the Earth's atmosphere - between 100 and 300 miles above our planet. There, it orbits or docks with a space station which is in a stationary orbit around our planet.
The United States has ended space shuttle missions, but other countries have space vehicles similar to the shuttle and American astronauts now travel with them to the International Space Station. The space station is shared by scientists from many countries. Astronaut-scientists collect data and conduct experiments at the space station. They collect samples of the atmosphere and space surrounding our planet. They monitor and record data from their surroundings.
The International Space Station has been occupied continuously for 10 years! Astronauts sometimes stay there for a long time. For instance, Sunita Williams broke the world record for women in space by remaining at the International Space Station 196 days. The longest anyone has stayed is over 200 days!
Sunita Williams (left) and shuttle astronaut Joan Higginbotham worked the controls of the space station's robotic arm in December 2006 (Image: NASA)
Earth and its moon from space
(Photo by NASA)
This is a picture of Earth (on the left) and the Moon from 6 million miles away!!!
The spacecraft that took this picture about a year after it left Earth (August 26, 2011). The spacecraft, called "Juno", is on its way to Jupiter. It will take two more years to get there. What will you be doing in 2 years? Will this spacecraft's mission succeed? Will it send new pictures of Jupiter to us two years from now? What changes will take place in our lives and the life of our planet in the next two years?
If you are curious about the mission, check out this website dedicated to Mission Juno.
The spacecraft that took this picture about a year after it left Earth (August 26, 2011). The spacecraft, called "Juno", is on its way to Jupiter. It will take two more years to get there. What will you be doing in 2 years? Will this spacecraft's mission succeed? Will it send new pictures of Jupiter to us two years from now? What changes will take place in our lives and the life of our planet in the next two years?
If you are curious about the mission, check out this website dedicated to Mission Juno.
The top of our atmosphere
(Photo by NASA)
Where does space begin?
About 75 miles up, the atmosphere becomes thinner and further up it starts to fade into the vacuum of space.
Why does the earth have a blue glow around it?
The earth has a "halo" of blue light surrounding it because gases in our atmosphere cause light to scatter more blue than other colors in the spectrum.
Weather systems on our planet
Follow this link to an amazing computer model of how clouds form and move around the planet: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003700/a003793/3659_GEOS-5_Models_Clouds_3_5km-MASTER_high.mp4weeblylink_new_window
Icebergs
See a variety of icebergs. This webpage features great photographs of icebergs:
http://triggerpit.com/2011/02/07/incredible-icebergs-37-pics/weeblylink_new_window
http://triggerpit.com/2011/02/07/incredible-icebergs-37-pics/weeblylink_new_window