October 12, 2015 - Crash Flow Problem

Crash Flow Problem  This image from the Dawn spacecraft shows a puzzling flow of material inside and outside the crater Aelia on the asteroid Vesta. To the naked eye, these flow structures would not be seen, but here they stand out in blue and red. The crater has a diameter of 4.3 km (2.7 mi). The exact origin of the flow structures is unknown, but one theory is that the impact that produced the crater could have created liquid material with different minerals than the surroundings. The image was created by assigning ratios of color information collected from several color filters in visible light and near-infrared light to maximize subtle differences in lithology (the physical characteristics of rock units, such as color, texture and composition). The color scheme pays special attention to the iron-rich mineral pyroxene

Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLAMPS / DLR / IDA

Weekly Calendar

October 12-18, 2015

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

 

Monday 12

Thanksgiving Day (Canada)
Columbus Day

Uranus at opposition
New Moon 8:06 PM ET

1964: Voskhod 1 launched, first three-person space flight
1977: Shuttle Enterprise’s first glide test without aerodynamic tailcone
2008: ISS Expedition 18 crew launched

Tuesday 13

1773: Charles Messier observes M-51
1933: British Interplanetary Society founded
1968: Apollo 7 first live TV broadcast from space
2004: ISS Expedition 10 crew launched

Wednesday 14

1947: World’s first supersonic flight
1957: USAF announces X-20 Dyna-Soar project
1983: Venera 16 arrives in orbit around Venus

Thursday 15

Mercury at greatest elongation (18° W)

1829: Asaph Hall born
1997: Cassini-Huygens launched
2003: Shenzhou 5 launched, Yang Liwei becomes first Chinese astronaut

Friday 16

Saturn 3° south of Moon

Saturday 17

Mars 0.4° north of Jupiter

Sunday 18

1967: Venera 4 makes first direct studies of Venus’s atmosphere
1989: STS-34 Atlantis launched
1993: STS-58 Columbia launched
2003: ISS Expedition 8 crew launched