The week in pictures: July 30ò??August 5, 2011
This week'sÒšnews featuredÒšwater on Mars, oxygen in space, a cratered asteroid, a spacecraft's launch, and more.
Published: Friday, August 05, 2011
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
NASA spacecraft data suggests water flowing on Mars
Dark, finger-like features appear and extend down some martian slopes during late spring through summer, fade in winter, and return during the next spring.
Learn more ÒËVISTA finds 96 star clusters hidden behind dust
The European Southern Observatoryò??s infrared survey telescope is digging deep into dusty star-forming regions in the Milky Wayò??s disk.
Learn more ÒË
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
Dawn spacecraft begins science orbits of Vesta
The first images from orbit show that a variety of processes were once at work on the asteroidò??s surface.
Learn more ÒË ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
Mars' northern polar regions in transition
Studies show that the North Polar Cap is covered by frozen water and carbon dioxide ice in winter and spring, but the carbon dioxide ice warms and evaporates into the atmosphere during the Red Planetò??s summer. Learn more ÒË
Herschel telescope detects oxygen molecules in space
Scientists propose that oxygen is locked up in water ice that coats tiny dust grains.
Learn more ÒË The Perseid meteor shower peaks mid-August
You donò??t need any equipment to view this summer meteor shower, although a Full Moon will create some observing challenges. Learn more ÒË
Illustration by Martin Jutzi and Erik Asphaug (UCSC)/Nature
"Big splat" may explain the Moon's mountainous farside
In a new study, scientists used computer simulations of an impact between the Moon and a smaller companion, which coated one side of the Moon with an extra layer of solid crust.
Learn more ÒË NASA's Juno spacecraft launches to Jupiter
Upon arrival at the gas giant in 5 years, the orbiter will probe beneath the planetò??s obscuring cloud cover to learn more about its origins, structure, atmosphere, and magnetosphere, and look for a potential solid planetary core. Learn more ÒË
Found: Heart of darkness
Astronomers have confirmed that about 1,000 small, dim stars just outside the Milky Way constitute the darkest known galaxy, as well as a treasure-trove of ancient stars.
Learn more ÒËA European Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array antenna brings total to 16
The array is now ready to begin its first science observations.
Learn more ÒË