VLT Clears Up Dusty Mystery

ESO - European Southern Observatory logo.

9 July 2014

New observations reveal how stardust forms around a supernova

Artist’s impression of dust formation around a supernova explosion

A group of astronomers has been able to follow stardust being made in real time — during the aftermath of a supernova explosion. For the first time they show that these cosmic dust factories make their grains in a two-stage process, starting soon after the explosion, but continuing for years afterwards. The team used ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in northern Chile to analyse the light from the supernova SN2010jl as it slowly faded. The new results are published online in the journal Nature on 9 July 2014.

The origin of cosmic dust in galaxies is still a mystery [1]. Astronomers know that supernovae may be the primary source of dust, especially in the early Universe, but it is still unclear how and where dust grains condense and grow. It is also unclear how they avoid destruction in the harsh environment of a star-forming galaxy. But now, observations using ESO’s VLT at the Paranal Observatory in northern Chile are lifting the veil for the first time.

An international team used the X-shooter spectrograph to observe a supernova — known as SN2010jl — nine times in the months following the explosion, and for a tenth time 2.5 years after the explosion, at both visible and near-infrared wavelengths [2]. This unusually bright supernova, the result of the death of a massive star, exploded in the small galaxy UGC 5189A.

The dwarf galaxy UGC 5189A, site of the supernova SN 2010jl

“By combining the data from the nine early sets of observations we were able to make the first direct measurements of how the dust around a supernova absorbs the different colours of light,” said lead author Christa Gall from Aarhus University, Denmark. “This allowed us to find out more about the dust than had been possible before.”

The team found that dust formation starts soon after the explosion and continues over a long time period. The new measurements also revealed how big the dust grains are and what they are made of. These discoveries are a step beyond recent results obtained using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), which first detected the remains of a recent supernova brimming with freshly formed dust from the famous supernova 1987A (SN 1987A; eso1401).

The team found that dust grains larger than one thousandth of a millimetre in diameter formed rapidly in the dense material surrounding the star. Although still tiny by human standards, this is large for a grain of cosmic dust and the surprisingly large size makes them resistant to destructive processes. How dust grains could survive the violent and destructive environment found in the remnants of supernovae was one of the main open questions of the ALMA paper, which this result has now answered — the grains are larger than expected.

The dwarf galaxy UGC 5189A, site of the supernova SN 2010jl (annotated)

“Our detection of large grains soon after the supernova explosion means that there must be a fast and efficient way to create them,” said co-author Jens Hjorth from the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and continued: “We really don’t know exactly how this happens.”

But the astronomers think they know where the new dust must have formed: in material that the star shed out into space even before it exploded. As the supernova's shockwave expanded outwards, it created a cool, dense shell of gas — just the sort of environment where dust grains could seed and grow.

Results from the observations indicate that in a second stage — after several hundred days — an accelerated dust formation process occurs involving ejected material from the supernova. If the dust production in SN2010jl continues to follow the observed trend, by 25 years after the supernova, the total mass of dust will be about half the mass of the Sun; similar to the dust mass observed in other supernovae such as SN 1987A.

“Previously astronomers have seen plenty of dust in supernova remnants left over after the explosions. But they also only found evidence for small amounts of dust actually being created in the supernova explosions. These remarkable new observations explain how this apparent contradiction can be resolved,” concludes Christa Gall.

Notes:

[1] Cosmic dust consists of silicate and amorphous carbon grains — minerals also abundant on Earth. The soot from a candle is very similar to cosmic carbon dust, although the size of the grains in the soot are ten or more times bigger than typical grain sizes for cosmic grains.

[2] Light from this supernova was first seen in 2010, as is reflected in the name, SN 2010jl. It is classed as a Type IIn supernova. Supernovae classified as Type II result from the violent explosion of a massive star with at least eight times the mass of the Sun. The subtype of a Type IIn supernova — “n” denotes narrow — shows narrow hydrogen lines in its spectra. These lines result from the interaction between the material ejected by the supernova and the material already surrounding the star.

More information:

This research was presented in a paper “Rapid formation of large dust grains in the luminous supernova SN 2010jl”, by C. Gall et al., to appear online in the journal Nature on 9 July 2014.

The team is composed of Christa Gall (Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Denmark; Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Observational Cosmology Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA), Jens Hjorth (Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark), Darach Watson (Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark), Eli Dwek (Observational Cosmology Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA), Justyn R. Maund (Astrophysics Research Centre School of Mathematics and Physics Queen’s University Belfast, UK; Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, UK), Ori Fox (Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, USA), Giorgos Leloudas (The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, Sweden; Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark), Daniele Malesani (Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark) and Avril C. Day-Jones (Departamento de Astronomia, Universidad de Chile, Chile).

ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world’s most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world’s most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world’s largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning the 39-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become “the world’s biggest eye on the sky”.

Links:

Research paper: http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1421/eso1421a.pdf

ALMA Spots Supernova Dust Factory: http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1401/

More about X-Shooter: http://www.eso.org/sci/facilities/paranal/instruments/xshooter.html

More about the VLT: http://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/vlt/

Images, Text, Credits: ESO / M. Kornmesser.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

NASA Mars Orbiter Views Rover Crossing Into New Zone

NASA - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) patch / NASA - Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) patch.

July 8, 2014

NASA Mars rover Curiosity has driven out of the ellipse, approximately 4 miles wide and 12 miles long (7 kilometers by 20 kilometers), that was mapped as safe terrain for its 2012 landing inside Gale Crater.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed the rover on June 27 at the end of a drive that put Curiosity right on the ellipse boundary.  An image from that observation is online at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA18399

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The landing ellipse is the area within which the rover had a very high probability of touching down when it arrived at Mars on Aug. 5, 2012, PDT (Aug. 6, UTC). The area needed to meet requrements for providing access to scientifically interesting sites while presenting few landing hazards, such as steep slopes or large boulders. Many areas of scientific interest have slopes ineligible for landing safety, and Curiosity was designed to have the capability of driving far enough to get to slopes ouside of the landing ellipse. Since landing, Curiosity has driven slightly more than 5 miles (8 kilometers).

Image above: This June 27, 2014, image from the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on the rover's landing-ellipse boundary, which is superimposed on the image. The 12-mile-wide ellipse was mapped as safe terrain for its 2012 landing inside Gale Crater. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona.

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), alias "Curiosity" rover.  Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project is using Curiosity to assess ancient habitable environments and major changes in Martian environmental conditions. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Science Laboratory projects for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson. The instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado.

For more information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been studying Mars from orbit since 2006, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mro

For more information about Curiosity, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/msl and http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/

You can follow the mission on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA / JPL / Guy Webster.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

From the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch of spacecrafts Meteor-M № 2 and six small satellites

ROSCOSMOS patch.

08.07.2014

Soyuz-2.1b with these payloads on the lanch-pad

July 8 at 19 hours 58 minutes Moscow time from the launch complex Sq. 31 took the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch vehicle (LV) Soyuz-2.1b with the upper stage (RB) Frigate spacecraft (SC) Meteor-M № 2 and six small spacecraft MCA-FCI «SkySat-2», «DX-1», «TechDemoSat-1», «UKube-1», «AISSAT-2."

From the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch of spacecrafts Meteor-M № 2 and six small satellites

In accordance with cyclogram flight 20 hour 07 minutes after the regular department head unit from the third stage booster RB Fregat continued removal of spacecraft into the desired orbit.

Meteor-M № 2 is intended to provide timely global hydrometeorological information for weather forecasting, monitoring of the ozone layer and radiation environment in near-Earth space, as well as for monitoring the sea surface, determine its temperature, including ice conditions for the purpose of navigation in the polar areas. Spacecraft mass is 2778 kg, payload weight is approximately equal to 1250 kg, lifetime - 5 years.

Meteor-M № 2 satellite

Spacecraft Meteor-M successfully launched into the target orbit

In accordance with cyclogram flight Meteor-M № 2 (production of JSC "Corporation VNIIEM") displayed on the target orbit.

Trail of the Soyuz rocket into the skies of Baikonur

He will join the existing national meteorological orbital grouping. Meteor-M № 2 is designed for the global and local images of clouds, the earth's surface, ice and snow cover data to determine sea surface temperature and the radiation temperature of the underlying surface, the earth's surface radar images, data on the distribution of ozone in the atmosphere and its overall content, information about the geophysical conditions in near-Earth space.

Rocket Soyuz-2.1b created in JSC "RCC" Progress (Samara) and is a modification of Soyuz-2. Compared to option "1a" she has an engine with high power characteristics for the third stage. The Soyuz-2.1b in relation to a previous version of the above injection accuracy, stability and control, increased payload weight. Upper stage Fregat made ​​in FSUE "NPO. Lavochkin".

ROSCOSMOS Press Release: http://www.federalspace.ru/20761/ and http://www.federalspace.ru/20762/

Images, Text, Credits: Roscosmos press service / ROSCOSMOS / Translation: Orbiter.ch Aerospace.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Vortex and Rings

NASA / ESA - Cassini Mission to Saturn patch.

July 8, 2014

Vortex and Rings

The Cassini spacecraft captures three magnificent sights at once: Saturn's north polar vortex and hexagon along with its expansive rings.

The hexagon, which is wider than two Earths, owes its appearance to the jet stream that forms its perimeter. The jet stream forms a six-lobed, stationary wave which wraps around the north polar regions at a latitude of roughly 77 degrees North.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 37 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on April 2, 2014 using a spectral filter which preferentially admits wavelengths of near-infrared light centered at 752 nanometers.

The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.4 million miles (2.2 million kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 43 degrees. Image scale is 81 miles (131 kilometers) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://www.nasa.gov/cassini and http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
The Cassini ESA wesite: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens

Image, Text, Credits: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

Sun Sends More 'Tsunami Waves' to Voyager 1

NASA - Voyager-1 Mission patch.

July 7, 2014

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has experienced a new "tsunami wave" from the sun as it sails through interstellar space. Such waves are what led scientists to the conclusion, in the fall of 2013, that Voyager had indeed left our sun's bubble, entering a new frontier.

"Normally, interstellar space is like a quiet lake," said Ed Stone of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, the mission's project scientist since 1972. "But when our sun has a burst, it sends a shock wave outward that reaches Voyager about a year later. The wave causes the plasma surrounding the spacecraft to sing."

Voyager 1 Entering Interstellar Space (Artist Concept)

Image above: This artist's concept depicts NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft entering interstellar space, or the space between stars. Interstellar space is dominated by the plasma, or ionized gas, that was ejected by the death of nearby giant stars millions of years ago. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Data from this newest tsunami wave generated by our sun confirm that Voyager is in interstellar space -- a region between the stars filled with a thin soup of charged particles, also known as plasma. The mission has not left the solar system -- it has yet to reach a final halo of comets surrounding our sun -- but it broke through the wind-blown bubble, or heliosphere, encasing our sun. Voyager is the farthest human-made probe from Earth, and the first to enter the vast sea between stars.

"All is not quiet around Voyager," said Don Gurnett of the University of Iowa, Iowa City, the principal investigator of the plasma wave instrument on Voyager, which collected the definitive evidence that Voyager 1 had left the sun's heliosphere. "We're excited to analyze these new data. So far, we can say that it confirms we are in interstellar space."

Our sun goes through periods of increased activity, where it explosively ejects material from its surface, flinging it outward. These events, called coronal mass ejections, generate shock, or pressure, waves. Three such waves have reached Voyager 1 since it entered interstellar space in 2012. The first was too small to be noticed when it occurred and was only discovered later, but the second was clearly registered by the spacecraft's cosmic ray instrument in March of 2013.

Voyager Captures Sounds of Interstellar Space

Video above: The first two tsunami waves to reach Voyager 1 caused surrounding ionized matter to ring like a bell at frequencies expected in interstellar space. The third tsunami caused similar ringing, confirming that Voyager 1 continues it journey into interstellar space. Video Credit: NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft captured these sounds of interst.

Cosmic rays are energetic charged particles that come from nearby stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The sun's shock waves push these particles around like buoys in a tsunami. Data from the cosmic ray instrument tell researchers that a shock wave from the sun has hit.

Meanwhile, another instrument on Voyager registers the shock waves, too. The plasma wave instrument can detect oscillations of the plasma electrons.

"The tsunami wave rings the plasma like a bell," said Stone. "While the plasma wave instrument lets us measure the frequency of this ringing, the cosmic ray instrument reveals what struck the bell -- the shock wave from the sun."

This ringing of the plasma bell is what led to the key evidence showing Voyager had entered interstellar space. Because denser plasma oscillates faster, the team was able to figure out the density of the plasma. In 2013, thanks to the second tsunami wave, the team acquired evidence that Voyager had been flying for more than a year through plasma that was 40 times denser than measured before -- a telltale indicator of interstellar space.

Why is it denser out there? The sun's winds blow a bubble around it, pushing out against denser matter from other stars.

Now, the team has new readings from a third wave from the sun, first registered in March of this year. These data show that the density of the plasma is similar to what was measured previously, confirming the spacecraft is in interstellar space. Thanks to our sun's rumblings, Voyager has the opportunity to listen to the singing of interstellar space -- an otherwise silent place.

Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, were launched 16 days apart in 1977. Both spacecraft flew by Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 also flew by Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 2, launched before Voyager 1, is the longest continuously operated spacecraft and is expected to enter interstellar space in a few years.

JPL, a division of Caltech, built and operates the twin Voyager spacecraft. The Voyagers Interstellar Mission is a part of NASA's Heliophysics System Observatory, sponsored by the Heliophysics Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. NASA's Deep Space Network, managed by JPL, is an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe. The network also supports selected Earth-orbiting missions. The spacecraft's nuclear batteries were provided by the Department of Energy.

For more information on the Voyager mission, visit: http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov

Image (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA / JPL / Whitney Clavin.

Cheers, Orbiter.ch

Aquarius Returns Global Maps of Soil Moisture

NASA - Aquarius / SAC-D Mission logo.

July 7, 2014

Scientists working with data from NASA's Aquarius instrument have released worldwide maps of soil moisture, showing how the wetness of the land fluctuates with the seasons and weather phenomena.

Soil moisture, the water contained within soil particles, is an important player in Earth's water cycle. It is essential for plant life and influences weather and climate. Satellite readings of soil moisture will help scientists better understand the climate system and have potential for a wide range of applications, from advancing climate models, weather forecasts, drought monitoring and flood prediction to informing water management decisions and aiding in predictions of agricultural productivity.

Aquarius Returns Global Maps of Soil Moisture

Video above: This animated version of Aquarius' measurements reveals a dynamic pattern of worldwide shifts between dry and moist soils. Video Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Launched June 10, 2011, aboard the Argentinian spacecraft Aquarius/Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas (SAC)-D, Aquarius was built to study the salt content of ocean surface waters. The new soil wetness measurements were not in the mission's primary science objectives, but a NASA-funded team led by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers has developed a method to retrieve soil moisture data from the instrument's microwave radiometer.

The Aquarius measurements are considerably coarser in spatial resolution than the measurements from the upcoming NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission, which was specifically designed to provide the highest quality soil moisture measurements available, including a spatial resolution 10 times that offered by Aquarius.

Soils naturally radiate microwaves and the Aquarius sensor can detect the microwave signal from the top 2 inches (5 centimeters) of the land, a signal that subtly varies with changes in the wetness of the soil. Aquarius takes eight days to complete each worldwide survey of soil moisture, although with gaps in mountainous or vegetated terrain where the microwave signal becomes difficult to interpret.

Image above: This image shows what the soil moisture conditions around the planet were like in August 2013: dry areas are represented in the brown scale, while wetter areas are in blue and green. Image Credit: NASA Goddard's Science Visualization Studio/T. Schindler.

Tom Jackson, principal investigator for the Aquarius soil moisture measurements and a hydrologist with USDA, said that his agency uses soil wetness information to improve crop forecasts. These forecasts not only help farmers and markets adjust their prices according to worldwide production, but also allow relief agencies to plan for food emergency responses.

"There's a lot of precipitation data in our country, but outside the U.S. and Europe it gets pretty sparse," said Jackson. "By using soil moisture readings, we can better monitor the condition of soils."

An animated version of Aquarius' soil moisture measurements reveals a dynamic pattern of worldwide shifts between dry and moist soils. A look at the Eastern coast of Australia during late January and early February 2012 shows the impact of Cyclone Jasmine, a tropical storm that brought heavy rainfall to northern Queensland. In Africa, a wide band of wet soils that matches the rain belt travels north of the equator in the Southern Hemisphere’s winter and then moves south as summer progresses. The land-soaking effects of the monsoon are evident in the Indian subcontinent from June to October. The U.S. Midwest dramatically shifts from being bone-dry during the 2012 drought to waterlogged during the floods of April and May 2013.

Animation above: This visualization shows soil moisture measurements taken by NASA’s Aquarius instrument. Here, soil moisture in the top 2 inches of the land is visible. Image Credit: NASA Goddard's Science Visualization Studio/T. Schindler.

But Aquarius has some limitations in its soil moisture estimates, said USDA’s Rajat Bindlish, a co-investigator on the soil moisture maps. The instrument's 62-mile-wide (100-km) footprint prevents it from covering small islands, coastlines and any piece of land narrower than 62 miles, such as Baja California or Italy. Other factors interfere with soil moisture retrievals, too: The dense tree canopy of the Amazon rainforest distorts the microwave signal while snow and ice block it. These areas where the microwave signals are difficult to interpret are shown in dark gray in the Aquarius soil moisture animation.

NASA's Aquarius Satellite Maps Earth's Soil Moisture. Image Credit: NASA

Aquarius soil moisture data are coarser than those collected by the European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission. Still, having multiple missions in orbit that simultaneously measure the wetness of the land in the same band of the microwave spectrum ensures a more continuous record, said Peggy O'Neill, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, a co-investigator of the soil moisture project and deputy project scientist of NASA's upcoming soil moisture mission, SMAP.

Image above: This image of Africa, taken in January 2013, shows the typical rain pattern for the continent during the Southern Hemisphere's summer: a wide band of wet soil (in blue) matching the rain belt has moved south from the equator as summer progresses. Image Credit: NASA Goddard's Science Visualization Studio/T. Schindler.

"One of the things that having Aquarius and SMOS in orbit before SMAP has allowed us to do is to do inter-comparison studies between the sensors," O'Neill said. "By having the three instruments up there at the same time, we will be able to create a long-time series of soil moisture that starts with SMOS and continues with Aquarius and then SMAP. We won't have to worry that the earlier data were taken by SMOS and the later data by SMAP – we'll know they're telling us the same thing. If we hadn't been able to do inter-comparison studies and there had been no overlap between the three instruments, we wouldn’t know how to merge the measurements together."

SMAP, set to launch in November 2014, will advance soil moisture studies with its greater spatial and temporal resolution. The new mission will combine microwave radiometer readings, which are accurate but coarse, with the measurements taken by its onboard radar, which are less precise but have higher spatial resolution than the radiometer data. This approach will provide a footprint of 5.6 miles (9 kilometers), and it will produce worldwide soil moisture maps every three days. Taken together these features of SMAP will provide about 500 times the number of soil moisture measurements per day compared to SMOS or Aquarius.

"Weather and climate models now need information in the 10-kilometer scale," O'Neill said. "SMAP will also allow professionals who now do drought monitoring and flood forecasting at the county level to be able to do it at sub-county levels."

The Aquarius mission and radar were developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and the radiometer was developed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The Aquarius soil moisture product and sea surface salinity measurements are produced by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, which manages the mission. Soil moisture data from NASA's Aquarius microwave radiometer are now available at the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Related links:

For more information about Aquarius Mission, visit: http://aquarius.nasa.gov/

National Snow and Ice Data Center: http://nsidc.org/data/aquarius/index.html

NASA's "Earth Right Now" website: http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow/

Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA's Earth Science News Team / Maria-José Viñas.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

NASA Satellites See Neoguri Grow into a Super Typhoon

NASA - EOS TERRA Mission patch.

July 7, 2014

  Neoguri (Northwestern Pacific Ocean)

Image above: The MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured this visible image of Typhoon Neoguri on July 5 at 01:20 UTC (July 4 at 9:20 p.m. EDT) as it moved through the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. Image Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team.

From July 4 to July 7 Tropical Cyclone Neoguri strengthened from a tropical storm into a supertyphoon. NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites passed over the rapidly intensifying storm and provided forecasters with visible, infrared and microwave data on the powerful supertyphoon.

On July 4 at 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT) Neoguri had maximum sustained winds near 55 knots (63.2 mph/101.9 kph). It was located near 13.1 north and 141.4 east, about 207 nautical miles (238.2 miles/383.4 km) west of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. It was moving to the northwest at 13 knots (14.9 mph/24.0 kph). This visible image from the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite at 03:40 UTC on July 4 showed the bulk of the clouds and showers south and east of a clear eye.

NASA's Terra satellite passed over Neoguri as it became a typhoon on July 5. At 01:20 UTC (July 4 at 9:20 p.m. EDT) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer known as MODIS that flies aboard Terra captured a visible image of Neoguri as it moved through the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The MODIS image showed a clear eye, and a large, thick band of thunderstorms in the southern quadrant of the storm wrapping into the center.

NASA's Terra satellite. Image Credit: NASA / GFSC

On July 5 at 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT) satellite data helped confirm that Neoguri had become a typhoon in the Northwestern Pacific after it passed Guam. At that time it was centered near 16.0 north and 137.0 east, about 813 nautical miles (935.6 miles/1,506 km) southeast of Kadena Air Base. It was moving west-northwest at 14 knots (16.1 mph/25.9 kph) and had maximum sustained winds near 115 knots (132.3 mph/213.0 kph).

On July 6 Typhoon Neoguri continued to strengthen. Neoguri was located near 18.5 north and 131.4 east at 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT) on July 6. That's about 661 nautical miles (760.7 miles/1,224 km) southeast of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. It had maximum sustained winds near 120 knots (138.1 mph/222.2 kph) and was moving to the west-northwest at 15 knots (17.2 mph/27.7 kph). The Joint Typhoon Warning Center or JTWC noted that Neoguri was generating very rough and high seas as high as 32 feet (9.7 meters).

Image above: This false-colored infrared image of Supertyphoon Neoguri was taken by the AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite on July 6 at 17:17 UTC (1:17 p.m. EDT). Purple indicates strongest thunderstorms. Credit: Image Credit: NASA JPL, Ed Olsen.

A false-colored infrared image of Supertyphoon Neoguri on July 6 at 17:17 UTC (1:17 p.m. EDT) was made at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California using data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument. AIRS flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. The infrared imagery showed very cold, high, powerful thunderstorms around the center of Neoguri's 40-nautical-mile-wide-eye and in a thick band south of the center.

By July 7 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT), Neoguri had grown into a supertyphoon with maximum sustained winds near 130 knots (149.6 mph/240.8 kph). The JTWC expects Neoguri to strengthen further. Neoguri was located near 21.6 north latitude and 127.3 east longitude, about 246 nautical miles (283.1 miles/455.6 km) south-southwest of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. It was moving to the northwest at 15 knots (17.2 mph/27.7 kph). As Neoguri strengthened, the ocean has become more turbulent, and JTWC estimates maximum significant wave heights near 40 feet (12.1 meters).  

Tropical storm-force winds extend 210 nautical miles (241.7 miles/388.9 km) from the center, and hurricane-force winds extend up to 60 nautical miles (69.0 miles/111.1 km) from the center.

For a graphic of watches in warnings in effect in Japan, visit the Japan Meteorological Agency's page: http://www.jma.go.jp/en/warn/.

Neoguri is moving northwest and continuing to strengthen. The JTWC expects Neoguri to turn to the north late on July 7 (EDT) and pass Kadena Air Base. A landfall in Kyushu is expected by July 9. The JTWC noted in a July 7 discussion: by July 9, cooling sea surface temperatures, increasing vertical wind shear ahead of the mid-latitude westerlies (winds), and landfall into Kyushu, Japan, will slowly erode the system.

For more information about EOS Terra mission, visit: http://science.nasa.gov/missions/terra/

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center / Rob Gutro.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch