A Cosmic Cobweb

 

NASA / ESA - Hubble Space Telescope (HST) patch.

Oct. 27, 2022

Hubble celebrates the spooky season with Abell 611 — a cobweb of galaxies held together by a dark secret

A Cosmic Cobweb

Nowadays, all galaxies and galaxy clusters are thought to be dominated by dark matter — an elusive quantity whose nature astronomers are still working to determine. Abell 611, the glowing galaxy cluster shown in this Hubble image, is no exception. In fact, Abell 611 is a popular target for investigating dark matter, in part because of the numerous examples of strong gravitational lensing visible amongst the cluster’s intricate web of galaxies.

In celebration of Halloween, Hubble brings you this inky image of the galaxy cluster Abell 611, located over 1000 megaparsecs [1], or roughly 3.2 billion light years, from Earth. Like all galaxy clusters, the continued existence of Abell 611 poses a mystery to astronomers. Specifically, there does not appear to be enough mass contained within its web of rapidly rotating constituent galaxies to prevent the cluster from flying apart. This is a well-established issue in astronomy with very massive structures, such as galaxies and galaxy clusters — they just do not seem to contain enough combined mass to remain whole. Interestingly, this problem does not present itself on smaller cosmic scales. For example, the passage of the planets of the Solar System around the Sun can be calculated relatively easily using the masses and locations of the planets and the Sun. No extra mass is needed to explain the integrity of the Solar System, or other star-planet systems. So why does this intuitive rule break down at larger scales?

Wide-Field View Abell 611

The prevalent theory is that the Universe contains vast amounts of a substance known as dark matter. Whilst the name might sound ominous, ‘dark’ simply refers to the fact that this unknown quantity does not seem to interact with light as other matter does — neither emitting nor reflecting nor absorbing any part of the electromagnetic spectrum.  This dark quality makes dark matter incredibly difficult to characterise, although various possibilities have been postulated.  Essentially, most dark matter candidates fall into one of two categories: some type of particle that exists in vast quantities throughout the Universe, but for some reason does not interact with light as other particles do; or some type of massive object the also exists in great abundance throughout the Universe, but does not lend itself to detection using current telescope technology. Two of the most whimsically named dark matter candidates fall into the first and second category respectively. Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) are hypothetical subatomic particles that do not interact with photons [2] — in other words, they do not interact with light. Massive astrophysical compact halo objects (MACHOs) are a hypothetical set of very massive objects made (unlike WIMPs) of a type of matter that we already know of, but that are extremely hard to observe as they emit so little light. Despite tremendous effort, however, no conclusive evidence has been found of WIMPs, MACHOs, or any other form of dark matter.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

If dark matter remains stubbornly undefinable, fortunately it is readily quantifiable. In fact, galaxy clusters such as Abell 611 are ideal laboratories for the quantification of dark matter, owing to the abundant evidence of gravitational lensing [3] visible within the cluster. An example of lensing is perhaps most clearly visible in the centre of the image, to the left of the cluster’s glowing core, where a curve of light can be seen. This curve is light from a more distant source that has been bent and distorted (or ‘lensed’) by Abell 611’s vast mass. The extent to which light has been bent by the cluster can be used to measure its true mass. This can then be compared with an estimate of its mass derived from all the visible components of the cluster. The difference between the calculated mass and the observed mass is staggering. In fact, zooming out, astronomers currently estimate that roughly 85% of the matter in the Universe is dark matter.

Pan of a Cosmic Cobweb

Even whilst the mystery of what holds the cosmic cobweb of galaxies within Abell 611 together remains unsolved, we can still enjoy this image and the fascinating science — both well established and theorised — taking place within it.

 
Notes:

[1] A megaparsec is an astronomical unit of measurement used for very large distances. A single megaparsec is equivalent to roughly 3.2 million light years, or 30 quintillion kilometres — that’s 30 with 18 additional zeros after it!

[2] Photons are the smallest known unit of the electromagnetic field. They are often conceptualised as particles of light, and also as force carriers of light.

[3] Gravitational lensing is the phenomenon whereby an extremely massive cosmic object — such as a galaxy cluster — can cause the light from a more distant object to be bent and distorted. You can read more about gravitational lensing in the dedicated word bank entry.

More information:

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.

This image was taken as part of the HST observation programmes #16729, #12460, #12197, and #9270.

Links:

Space Sparks Episode 5: https://esahubble.org/videos/spacesparks005a/

#16729: https://archive.stsci.edu/proposal_search.php?mission=hst&id=16729

#12460: https://archive.stsci.edu/proposal_search.php?mission=hst&id=12460

#12197: https://archive.stsci.edu/proposal_search.php?mission=hst&id=12197

#9270: https://archive.stsci.edu/proposal_search.php?mission=hst&id=9270

Images of Hubble: https://esahubble.org/images/archive/category/spacecraft/
 
Hubble Word Bank entry on gravitational lensing: https://esahubble.org/wordbank/gravitational-lensing/

ESA's Hubblesite: https://esahubble.org/

Images, Animation Credits: NASA, ESA, P. Kelly, M. Postman, J. Richard, S. Allen/ESA/Hubble, Digitized Sky Survey 2/Acknowledgement: D. De Martin/Video Credits: NASA, ESA, P. Kelly, M. Postman, J. Richard, S. Allen, N. Bartmann/Music: zero project - The Lower Dungeons (zero-project.gr)/Text Credits: ESA/Hubble/Bethany Downer.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

ESA astronauts help map Europe’s light pollution from space

 

ISS - International Space Station emblem.

Oct. 27, 2022

In brief

Milan at night in 2015

Most Europeans live under light-polluted skies. The first colour map of Europe at night created with images from the International Space Station shows a sharp increase in light pollution, and the resulting picture is not a pretty one for the environment.

Paris at night – A decade of changes in street lighting

In-depth

Over the last two decades, astronauts on the Station have witnessed how cities shine whiter at night as new street lighting technologies were introduced.

Madrid at night – A decade of changes in street lighting

When ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti gazed at Earth from orbit during her recent Minerva mission, cities glowed brighter than the stars. Since 2003, Samantha and other European astronauts have taken over a million pictures of Earth at night with digital cameras to demonstrate the true extent of light pollution.

Berlin at night – A decade of changes in street lighting

A team of European researchers processed the pictures and compared them over time, showing a clear increase of lighting pollution in urban areas, and a shift towards whiter and bluer emissions. This is due to the widespread introduction of light-emitting diode lamps, or LED technology.

London at night – A decade of changes in street lighting

“As seen from space, the resulting image looks like a cancer scan or a fluorescent spider’s web that keeps growing,” says Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel, research fellow at the UK’s University of Exeter. Their recent paper highlights how invasive night lights are and their negative effects for the environment.

Warsaw at night – A decade of changes in street lighting

As Europe turns lights down in an urge to save energy, scientists warn that it should not only be about reducing bills – brighter nights are disrupting the night cycle for humans, animals and plants.

Milan at night – A decade of changes in street lighting

Astronauts’ contribution

Colour pictures taken from the International Space Station are the best source for scientists to map artificial light at night. Current satellite images are not fit for purpose because their colour sensitivity does not show low wavelength emissions with enough quality.

“Without the images taken by the astronauts, we would be driving blind into the environmental impact of the LED transition,” says Alejandro. “Astronaut photos have always been – and will always be – the baseline for nighttime Earth observations,” he adds.

Colour map of Europe at night

The composite nighttime colour maps created before and after the spread of LED streetlight technology show a pronounced whitening of artificial light.

The changes vary per country, and reflect different systems and policies when it comes to light the streets. Whereas there has been a marked increase in light pollution in Italy and the United Kingdom, countries like Germany and Austria show a less dramatic change in spectral emissions.

Berlin at night in 2012

Milan was the first city in Europe to do a total conversion of its street lighting to white LEDs, and more than half of all the public street lighting in the UK was converted by early 2019.

Germany’s glow is whitening, and the country has a lot of fluorescent and mercury vapour lights still in use.

“By the end of this decade, all Europe could look white from space,” says Alejandro.

On the warmer side of the spectrum, Belgium shines in deep orange due to the widespread use of low-pressure sodium lights. High-pressure sodium lights make the Netherlands emit a golden glow.

In a bad light

According to the scientists, the transition towards white and blue-rich light radiation is eroding the natural nighttime cycles across the continent.It disturbs the circadian day-and-night rhythm of living organisms, including humans, with negative health effects on species and whole ecosystems.

The study focuses on three major negative impacts: the suppression of melatonin, the phototaxic response of insects and bats, and the visibility of stars in the night sky.

“When we turn the streetlights on, we deprive our body of the hormone melatonin and disrupt our natural sleep pattern,” explains Alejandro.

Iberian Peninsula at night in 2022

Most insects and nocturnal animals are extremely sensitive to light. Not only moths, but almost all the bat species that bread in Europe live in regions where the spectral composition of nighttime lighting has become whiter. Scientists claim that this has a direct impact in their ability to move and react to a light source, also called phototaxic response.

Along with other animals, humans have long used the stars for navigation. In modern times, a worsening in the visibility of stars goes beyond geolocation and astronomical observations. Scientists are concerned that not seeing the night sky may have negative impacts on people’s sense of ‘nature’ and their place in the universe.

The lighting paradox

While the LED lighting revolution promised to reduce energy consumption and improve human vision at night – and with it, a sense of safety –, the study shows that overall emissions have increased. Paradoxically, the cheaper and better the lighting, the higher is society’s addiction to light.

The paper speculates with the existence of a ‘rebound effect’ in outdoor lighting, where power efficiency and associated cost reduction increases the demand for lighting and diminishes any efficiency gains.

London nightlife

Urban nights in Europe are growing a little darker though. Pushed by a looming energy crisis, wasted light is financially more painful. Several European cities are switching off the lights – from Madrid to Paris and via Berlin, hundreds of monuments and public buildings are no longer illuminated at night.

These initiatives are all part of efforts to reduce energy consumption by 15 percent, following plans laid out by the European Commission last month. The objective is two-fold: to foster a resilient and more autonomous economy ahead of the winter, and to responsibly reduce carbon emissions.

Related links:

Plans laid out by the European Commission: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/58929/presidency-summary-220909.pdf

Human and Robotic Exploration: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/International_Space_Station

Images, Text, Credits: NASA/B. Hines/ESA/S. Cristoforetti/A. Sánchez de Miguel.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Crew Awaits Space Cargo and Works Eye and Heart Health

 

ISS - Expedition 68 Mission patch.

October 26, 2022

A Roscosmos resupply ship is in orbit today chasing the International Space Station for a Thursday night docking. Meanwhile, the seven Expedition 68 crew members scanned their veins, studied plasma physics, reviewed U.S. cargo mission procedures, and practiced controlling a new robotic arm on Wednesday.

Three tons of food, fuel, and supplies are packed inside the ISS Progress 82 cargo craft and orbiting Earth headed for the station’s Poisk module where it will dock at 10:49 p.m. EDT on Thursday. The Progress 82 blasted off from a chilly, cloud-covered Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 8:20 p.m. on Tuesday. Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will be on duty in the Zvezda service module monitoring the Progress during its automated approach and docking and will be on standby to take manual control if required. They will open the hatches and begin offloading the new cargo a few hours later.

Image above: The ISS Progress 82 cargo craft blasts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazkakhstan beginning a two-day trip to the space station. Image Credits: RSC/Energia.

The orbiting lab’s four astronauts kept up a busy schedule of human research on Wednesday studying how space affects their bodies. Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) powered on the Ultrasound 2 device in the morning for a series of vein scans. The veteran astronaut then took turns with NASA Flight Engineers Frank Rubio and Josh Cassada using the Ultrasound 2 to obtain imagery of their neck, shoulder, and leg veins.

Cassada also joined NASA Flight Engineer Nicole Mann and used the same ultrasound device to image their eye’s cornea, lens, and optic nerve. Cassada would later join Rubio in the afternoon for more eye scans using biomedical imaging gear, similar to that found in an eye doctor’s office on Earth, to view their retinas. The optic exams help doctors understand how weightlessness affects eye pressure, shape, anatomy, and vision.

International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: ESA

Cassada, Mann, and Wakata started the day with health checks checking temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and respiratory rate. Cassada and Mann then spent about two hours reviewing operations to robotically capture the U.S. Cygnus space freighter planned to arrive in early November.

Prokopyev was back on space physics research studying how plasma crystals form in space that could advance fundamental knowledge, improve spacecraft designs, and benefit industries on Earth. Petelin attached sensors to himself for an experiment observing how microgravity affects the blood circulation system. Finally, cosmonaut Anna Kikina trained to operate the European robotic arm, the station’s third and newest manipulator, for future external payload activities.

Related links:

Expedition 68: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition68/index.html

Poisk module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/poisk-mini-research-module-2

Zvezda service module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/zvezda-service-module.html

Ultrasound 2: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=736

Plasma crystals: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1192

Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Webb Offers Never-Before-Seen Details of Early Universe

 

NASA / ESA / CSA-ASC - James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) patch.

October 26, 2022

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was specially designed to detect the faint infrared light from very distant galaxies and give astronomers a glimpse at the early universe. The nature of galaxies during this early period of our universe is not well known nor understood. But with the help of gravitational lensing by a cluster of galaxies in the foreground, faint background galaxies can be magnified and also appear multiple times in different parts of the image.

Image above: The massive gravity of galaxy cluster MACS0647 acts as a cosmic lens to bend and magnify light from the more distant MACS0647-JD system. It also triply lensed the JD system, causing its image to appear in three separate locations. These images, which are highlighted with white boxes, are marked JD1, JD2, and JD3; zoomed-in views are shown in the panels at right. In this image from Webb’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument, blue was assigned to wavelengths of 1.15 and 1.5 microns (F115W, F150W), green to wavelengths of 2.0 and 2.77 microns (F200W, F277W) and red to wavelengths of 3.65 and 4.44 microns (F365W, F444W). Image Credits: SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and Tiger Hsiao (Johns Hopkins University) IMAGE PROCESSING: Alyssa Pagan (STScI).

Today, we sit down with three astronomers working on Webb to talk about their latest findings. The team members are Dan Coe of AURA/STScI for the European Space Agency and the Johns Hopkins University; Tiger Hsiao of the Johns Hopkins University; and Rebecca Larson of the University of Texas at Austin. These scientists have been observing the distant galaxy MACS0647-JD with Webb, and they’ve found something interesting.

Dan Coe: I discovered this galaxy MACS0647-JD 10 years ago with the Hubble Space Telescope. At the time, I’d never worked on high redshift galaxies, and then I found this one that was potentially the most distant at redshift 11, about 97 percent of the way back to the big bang. With Hubble, it was just this pale, red dot. We could tell it was really small, just a tiny galaxy in the first 400 million years of the universe. Now we look with Webb, and we’re able to resolve TWO objects! We’re actively discussing whether these are two galaxies or two clumps of stars within a galaxy. We don’t know, but these are the questions that Webb is designed to help us answer.

Tiger Yu-Yang Hsiao: You can also see that the colors between the two objects are so different. One’s bluer; the other one is redder. The blue gas and the red gas have different characteristics. The blue one actually has very young star formation and almost no dust, but the small, red object has more dust inside, and is older. And their stellar masses are also probably different.

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Animation Credits: NASA/ESA

It’s really interesting that we see two structures in such a small system. We might be witnessing a galaxy merger in the very early universe. If this is the most distant merger, I will be really ecstatic!

Dan Coe: Due to the gravitational lensing of the massive galaxy cluster MACS0647, it’s lensed into three images: JD1, JD2, and JD3. They’re magnified by factors of eight, five, and two, respectively.

Rebecca Larson: Up to this point, we haven’t really been able to study galaxies in the early universe in great detail. We had only tens of them prior to Webb. Studying them can help us understand how they evolved into the ones like the galaxy we live in today. And also, how the universe evolved throughout time.

I think my favorite part is, for so many new Webb image we get, if you look in the background, there are all these little dots—and those are all galaxies! Every single one of them. It’s amazing the amount of information that we’re getting that we just weren’t able to see before. And this is not a deep field. This is not a long exposure. We haven’t even really tried to use this telescope to look at one spot for a long time. This is just the beginning!

Animation above: This is a comparison between the Hubble Space Telescope images of MACS0647-JD from 2012 (filter information on Hubblesite.org) and the 2022 images from the James Webb Space Telescope (using the same color assignments as the image above). Note that MACS0647-JD appears as a faint, red dot in the Hubble image, but Webb reveals much more detail. Animation Credits: SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and Tiger Hsiao (Johns Hopkins University) IMAGE PROCESSING: Alyssa Pagan (STScI).

About the authors:

Dan Coe is an astronomer of AURA/STScI for the European Space Agency and the Johns Hopkins University. Tiger Hsiao is a Ph.D. graduate student at the Johns Hopkins University. Rebecca Larson is a National Science Foundation fellow and Ph.D. graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin. These NIRCam observations of MAC0647-JD are part of the team’s Cycle 1 program GO 1433 (PI Coe). The team is planning more a detailed study of the physical properties of MACS0647-JD with Webb spectroscopy in January 2023. Read the team’s science paper here: https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.14123

Editor’s Note:

This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review process.

Related links:

GO 1433: https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science-execution/program-information.html?id=1433

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/webb/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Animations (mentioned), Text Credits: Ann Jenkins, Principal Science Writer, Office of Public Outreach, Space Telescope Science Institute.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Ozone Hole Continues Shrinking in 2022, NASA and NOAA Scientists Say

 

NASA & NOAA - Suomi NPP Mission patch.

Oct 26, 2022

The annual Antarctic ozone hole reached an average area of 8.9 million square miles (23.2 million square kilometers) between Sept. 7 and Oct. 13, 2022. This depleted area of the ozone layer over the South Pole was slightly smaller than last year and generally continued the overall shrinking trend of recent years.

“Over time, steady progress is being made, and the hole is getting smaller,” said Paul Newman, chief scientist for Earth sciences at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “We see some wavering as weather changes and other factors make the numbers wiggle slightly from day to day and week to week. But overall, we see it decreasing through the past two decades. The elimination of ozone-depleting substances through the Montreal Protocol is shrinking the hole.”

Image above: This map shows the size and shape of the ozone hole over the South Pole on Oct. 5, 2022, when it reached its single-day maximum extent for the year. Image Credits: NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens.

The ozone layer – the portion of the stratosphere that protects our planet from the Sun’s ultraviolet rays – thins to form an “ozone hole” above the South Pole every September. Chemically active forms of chlorine and bromine in the atmosphere, derived from human-produced compounds, attach to high-altitude polar clouds each southern winter. The reactive chlorine and bromine then initiate ozone-destroying reactions as the Sun rises at the end of Antarctica’s winter.

Researchers at NASA and NOAA detect and measure the growth and breakup of the ozone hole with instruments aboard the Aura, Suomi NPP, and NOAA-20 satellites. On Oct. 5, 2022, those satellites observed a single-day maximum ozone hole of 10.2 million square miles (26.4 million square kilometers), slightly larger than last year.

Ozone 101: What Is the Ozone Hole?

Video above: An explainer video outlining the fundamentals of what causes the Ozone Hole, its effects on the planet, and what scientists predict will happen in future decades. Video Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

When the polar sun rises, NOAA scientists also make measurements with a Dobson Spectrophotometer, an optical instrument that records the total amount of ozone between the surface and the edge of space – known as the total column ozone value. Globally, the total column average is about 300 Dobson Units. On Oct. 3, 2022, scientists recorded a lowest total-column ozone value of 101 Dobson Units over the South Pole. At that time, ozone was almost completely absent at altitudes between 8 and 13 miles (14 and 21 kilometers) – a pattern very similar to last year.

Some scientists were concerned about potential stratospheric impacts from the January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano. The 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption released substantial amounts of sulfur dioxide that amplified ozone layer depletion. However, no direct impacts from Hunga Tonga have been detected in the Antarctic stratospheric data.  

View the latest status of the ozone layer over the Antarctic with NASA’s ozone watch:

https://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Related links:

Air: https://www.nasa.gov/subject/3126/air

Aura: https://www.nasa.gov/subject/3184/aura

Suomi NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership): http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Kate Ramsayer/NASA's Earth Science News Team/By Kathryn Cawdrey.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Craters and cracks on Mars

 

ESA - Mars Express Mission patch.

Oct. 26, 2022

Terra Sirenum, Mars (click on the image for enlarge)

This complex region of craters and fractures in the Terra Sirenum region highlights the varied history of Mars.  The image was taken by ESA’s Mars Express on 5 April 2022.

Making an impact

The image, taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), is dominated by a large impact crater on the left (south) of the image, which measures about 70 km wide. This crater is in the Terra Sirenum region of Mars, which lies in the southern hemisphere. Another area of the same region was imaged by Mars Express in 2017.

Labelled view of Terra Sirenum on Mars (click on the image for enlarge)

The imprint of martian wind is detectable within the crater – in the lower, eastern part of the crater, rough features known as yardangs are visible signatures of wind erosion.  The contrasting dark-toned sand within the crater may have been transported into the flat base by wind.

Clues left by water

Nestled within the large crater is a smaller crater measuring about 20 km wide. The smaller crater and its neighbour can be seen in staggering detail in the perspective view. The structure and outline of the crater, and its smaller neighbour in the background of the perspective image, suggest that water or ice may have covered this surface when the impact occurred.

Perspective view inside the large crater in Terra Sirenum

Signatures of past glaciers are visible in the smooth surface of the two neighbouring craters in the perspective image. The glaciers are thought to be made from a mixture of debris and ice, which flow downhill. The sedimented debris leaves clues about the direction and movement of the ice through the small sweeping channels in the base of the craters.

Water also leaves its mark in other parts of the scene. The winding valley on the far left of the main colour image measures up to 1.8 km in width. It is thought to have been a pathway for water which melted in the basin to the east.

The right (north) side of the image showcases a complex region of twisting valleys, known as dendritic valleys, whose origins are believed to be due to rain or snow early in martian history.

Topography of Terra Sirenum (click on the image for enlarge)

Tectonic stress

The surface of the Red Planet is marked by the results of tectonic stress on the martian crust. Parallel to the large valley at lower left in the main colour image, and about 10 km away, lies a fracture which cuts through the basin.

When the crust is pulled apart by tectonic stress, parts of the surface drop downward creating the faults. These 'graben' can also be found in a region called Icaria Fossae, marked on the context map.

The broader Terra Sirenum region

Lava also makes its mark on the surface in two sections of the image of the region. While the larger crater has glacial signatures, the impact crater in the north (right) shows signs of a layer of lava on the crater floor (labelled as the 'lava filled crater' in the annotated image).

f

Terra Sirenum in 3D (click on the image for enlarge)

Small slivers, called wrinkle ridges, are marked in the lower right corner of the image. These are formed when a soft lava sheet is compressed by tectonic forces, causing a ridge where the material buckles over the lava sheet.

The array of features visible in one image shines a light on the varied physical processes and history of the Red Planet.

Exploring Mars

Mars Express has been orbiting the Red Planet since 2003, imaging Mars’ surface, mapping its minerals, identifying the composition and circulation of its tenuous atmosphere, probing beneath its crust, and exploring how various phenomena interact in the martian environment.

Mars Express

The mission’s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), responsible for these new images, has revealed much about Mars’ diverse surface features, with recent images showing everything from water-shaped basins through impact craters and channels that once carried liquid water to craters and crust-rupturing canyons.

Related link:

EAS's Mars Express: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express

Images, Text, Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO/NASA/MGS/MOLA Science Team.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

ISS with the help of Progress evaded space debris

 

ROSCOSMOS - Russian Vehicles patch.

Oct. 25, 2022

On Tuesday, October 25, 2022, the International Space Station, using the Progress MS-20 cargo spacecraft, avoided a collision with space debris.

The engines of the spacecraft docked to the Zvezda service module of the Russian segment of the ISS were turned on at 03:25 Moscow time and gave out an impulse of 0.5 m/s.

International Space Station (ISS)

As a result of the maneuver, the average height of the station's orbit increased by 880 m.

For the entire duration of the ISS flight, 328 corrections of its orbital height were made, including 177 with the help of Progress cargo spacecraft engines.

Currently, the crew of the 68th long-term expedition is working on board the ISS, consisting of cosmonauts of the State Corporation Roscosmos Sergey Prokopiev, Dmitry Petelin and Anna Kikina, NASA astronauts Francisco Rubio, Nicole Mann and Josh Kassada, as well as JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata.

Related links:

ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/38420/

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/mks/

Image, Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/NASA/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch