djxatlanta
Hubble: Timelapse of V838 Monocerotis (2002-2006) [1080p]
updated
After several years of lovingly maintaining this channel, I have arrived at the difficult decision to discontinue updates, effective 2012 June 1.
I have enjoyed collecting videos, animations and visualizations of natural
phenomena from around the universe, and I hope that this channel continues to be used as an educational and entertaining resource for many years to come.
For those interested in using any of these videos in their projects, each clip is accompanied by a text description, at the bottom of which are direct links to the original source files and proper credit attributions.
Thank you to every visitor and subscriber who has been a part of this online adventure!
background image: Arp 273 by the Hubble Space Telescope
image credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
credit: JPL / Caltech
source: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm?id=1082
This animation portrays how the LDCM satellite will orbit the Earth 13 times per day at an altitude of 705 km collecting landcover data. With a cross-track width of 185 km, the satellite will completely cover the globe in a 16 day period compiling a total of 233 orbits. A day number and the elapsed time are shown to clearly depict the passage of time which starts slowly in the beginning and increases to day-by-day steps at the end of the animation. The terrain is exaggerated by 6 times during the first day portrayed, but is increased to 12 times when the camera pulls out to a global view. An artificial orbit trail is shown following the spacecraft to indicate its position when the satellite itself is too small to be visible.
credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
source: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?3939
credit: JPL / Caltech
source: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm?id=1083
Projecting the motion of Andromeda's stars over the next 8 billion years, the astronomers now know the path that galaxy is taking through space. And it's heading straight for us! Computer simulations based on Hubble observations show how the two galaxies will crash together in around 4 billion years' time.
credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA/STScI
source: http://www.spacetelescope.org/videos/hubblecast55a
credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
source: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?10990
There are patches of brighter materials exposed within the wallrock and along the chasma floor. The bright massive rocks exposed in the wallrock likely represent weathered rocks that have altered to this brighter material.
Lower down the wallrock and along the chasma floor, the brighter material appears layered and could represent sediments deposited within the chasma when water or ice may have existed here. The image also shows finer material composed of eroded wallrock and eolian debris that is mass wasting downslope.
credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
source: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_027063_1655
There are many boulders in places, either on steep slopes or excavated by impact craters. The high hills are islands of older terrain surrounded by younger lavas.
credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
source: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_026356_1960
Clear margins of lava flows are visible as well as lava textures on the channel floor. In this location, the cover of wind-blown sand and the effect of many small impact craters has erased such obvious indicators of lava. This is likely because the lava coating is thin and can be easily erased.
However, it is also possible that no lava passed through this location. Further investigation of these data should help us better understand the role of water and lava in changing the Martian landscape.
credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
source: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_026435_1960
Because the valley emerges full bore from Ladon Basin (much like the Niagara river emerges from Lake Erie on the Earth), it has been hypothesized that it was formed when a lake overflowed the basin.
There are numerous valleys, including the large Ladon Valles, that end along the margin of Ladon Basin. Some of the outcrops visible in this image and elsewhere in the basin show evidence of layering due to deposition of sediments.
Comparison of the nature and extent of layers exposed here and elsewhere around Ladon basin should help to constrain their origin, by water flow or other processes.
credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
source: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_026007_1640
credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO); ESO; Y. Beletsky; Nick Risinger; music: Disasterpeace
source: http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1222
credit: NASA
source: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/18may_venustransit
The image shows light toned viscous debris that overlays a darker toned surface. Both surfaces sport irregular fracture patterns and evidence that substantial erosion has since taken place. The upper viscous-flow surface also contains abundance small, regular polygonal patterns. Such patterns are commonplace in permafrost on Earth, and are typically considered strong evidence for shallow subsurface ice.
Erosion and the formation of small scarps reveal a multitude of layers within the subsurface. Such structure is unusual for a single glacial flow and may indicate episodic glacial advance and retreat. Additionally, the sparse population of rocks on the surface and along the eroded scarps suggest that the debris eroding from the mesas consists largely of soil.
credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
source: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_025675_2255
This image is located at 50 degrees north latitude, where shallow ice has been mapped by the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. MRO has detected newly-formed impact craters in this broad region that exposed shallow ice, and also revealed that it is nearly pure ice.
One interpretation of the expanded craters visible here is that a group of small impacts, probably secondary craters from a much larger primary crater, exposed the clean, shallow ice in this region. Once exposed, the ice is unstable and sublimates (passes directly from ice to gas), and the shallow depressions could gradually expand.
credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
source: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_026510_2310
The basin formed during an epoch in Martian history called the Noachian period, and may have harbored a lake based upon the fluvial valleys that flow into it. If a lake once existed here then the trough is a window that could expose any sediments deposited within the lake, making this an exciting image to explore.
credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
source: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_026416_1620
The breccia layer, seen most easily near the center of this image, seems to be more resistant to erosion than the surrounding material, serving as a caprock to protect the layers beneath it.
The HiRISE team is planning on acquiring another image over this area in order to create a stereo (3-D) pair. This will help scientists better understand the topography and stratigraphy of the area.
credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
source: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_025600_1735
credit: NASA / GSFC / SDO
source: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/potw.php?v=item&id=100
source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aszUiI6J-L8
35 years after the launch of Meteosat, the first European weather satellite, Europe now has a full fleet of satellites with EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), delivering weather and climate-related satellite data, images and products, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The present system includes two generations of geostationary Meteosat satellites giving a global overview that is complemented by observations from the polar orbiting MetOp satellite.
credit: ESA
source: http://multimedia.esa.int/Videos/2012/05/Meteorology-via-satellite
credit: ESA
source: http://multimedia.esa.int/Videos/2012/05/Earth-from-Space-Mississippi-River-Delta
credit: ESA
source: http://multimedia.esa.int/Videos/2012/05/ESA-Euronews-Unveiling-Venus
credit: NASA / ESA / SOHO
source: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/pickoftheweek/old/18may2012
credit: Harokopio University of Athens/ESA
source: http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMEQUYWD2H_index_0.html
Later it was determined that the hypothesized volcanic ponds and lakes and flows were indeed related to the formation of the crater, but not as volcanic eruptions of subsurface magma. Rather, they were accumulations of massive amounts of lunar rock that was melted as the Tycho asteroid (or comet) slammed into the Moon and released unimaginable amounts of kinetic energy, in an instant. It was only in 1960 that Gene Shoemaker and colleagues proved that Meteor crater (aka Barringer crater) near Winslow, Arizona, was formed by an asteroid impact. Thus the idea that many craters on the Moon (and Earth) were formed by impacts was only coming into widespread acceptance at the time of the Lunar Orbiter missions. Today we have a growing catalog of impact melt deposits from many young craters across the face of the Moon.
credit: NASA / LRO / ASU
source: http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/news/?archives/572-View-From-The-Other-Side.html
credit: ESA
sourece: http://proba2.oma.be/index.html/outreach/breve/solar-eclipse-20-21-may-2012
credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center- Conceptual Image Lab
source: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?20097
credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Royal Military College of Canada/P.Chandra et al); Optical: NASA/STScI; Music: Riding Shotgun
source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/resources/podcasts/sd.html
To obtain the sharpest images of the sky, the VLT has to cope with two major effects that distort the images of celestial objects. The first one is mirror deformations due to their large sizes. This problem is corrected using a computer-controlled support system — active optics — that ensures that the mirrors keep their desired shapes under all circumstances. The second effect is produced by Earth's atmosphere, which makes stars appear blurry, even with the largest telescopes. Adaptive optics is a real-time correction of the distortions produced by the atmosphere using computer-controlled mirrors that deform hundreds of times per second to counteract the atmospheric effects.
As one demonstration of its power the VLT's sensitive infrared cameras, helped by adaptive optics, have been able to peer through the massive dust clouds that block our view to Milky Way's core. The images, taken over many years, have allowed astronomers to actually watch stars orbiting around the monstrous black hole that lies in the center of our galaxy. It was even possible to detect energetic flares from gas clouds falling into the black hole.
Watch this episode to discover more about why the Very Large Telescope is the planet's sharpest eye on the sky.
credit: ESO
source: http://www.eso.org/public/videos/esocast43a
credit: ESA
source: http://multimedia.esa.int/Videos/2012/05/Earth-from-Space-Desert-growth
The Living Planet Report measures changes in biodiversity by tracking 9000 populations of more than 2600 of the world's species. André wrote the introduction to the report and is doing his part to show how fragile our world really is.
André has been concerned about our planet since his last mission to the International Space Station in 2004. He has been sending us images that show the impact humans are having on our climate.
"We only have one Earth. From up here I can see humanity's footprint, including forest fires, air pollution and erosion -- challenges which are reflected in this edition of the Living Planet Report."
The GPM mission will help advance our understanding of Earth's water and energy cycles, improve the forecasting of extreme events that cause natural disasters, and extend current capabilities of using satellite precipitation information to directly benefit society.
credit: NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center
source: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?10989
source: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos
source: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos
source: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos
source: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos
source: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos
source: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos
source: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos
source: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos
Centaurus A, also known as NGC 5128, is a peculiar massive elliptical galaxy with a supermassive black hole at its heart. It lies about 12 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur) and has the distinction of being the most prominent radio galaxy in the sky. Astronomers think that the bright nucleus, strong radio emission and jet features of Centaurus A are produced by a central black hole with a mass of about 100 million times that of the Sun. Matter from the dense central parts of the galaxy releases vast amounts of energy as it falls towards the black hole.
This Wide Field Imager (WFI) picture allows us to appreciate the galaxy's elliptical nature, which shows up as the elongated shape of the fainter outer parts. The glow that fills much of the picture comes from hundreds of billions of cooler and older stars. Unlike most elliptical galaxies, however, Centaurus A's smooth shape is disturbed by a broad and patchy band of dark material that obscures the galaxy's center.
The dark band harbors large amounts of gas, dust and young stars. Bright young star clusters appear at the upper-right and lower-left edges of the band along with the red glow of star-forming clouds of hydrogen, while some isolated dust clouds are silhouetted against the stellar background. These features, and the prominent radio emission, are strong evidence that Centaurus A is the result of a merger between two galaxies. The dusty band is probably the mangled remains of a spiral galaxy in the process of being ripped apart by the gravitational pull of the giant elliptical galaxy.
The new set of images from WFI include long exposures through red, green and blue filters as well as filters specially designed to isolate the light from glowing hydrogen and oxygen. The latter help us to spot the known optical jet features around Centaurus A, which were barely visible in a previous image from the Wide Field Imager.
Extending from the galaxy to the upper left corner of the image are two groups of reddish filaments, which are roughly lined up with the huge jets that are prominent in radio images. Both sets of filaments are stellar nurseries, containing hot young stars. Above the left side of the dusty band, we find the inner filaments, lying about 30,000 light-years away of the nucleus. Further out, around 65,000 light-years away from the galaxy's nucleus and close to the upper left corner of the image, the outer filaments are visible. There is also possibly a very much fainter trace of a counter jet extending to the lower right.
Centaurus A has been extensively studied at wavelengths ranging from radio all the way to gamma-rays. In particular, radio and X-ray observations have been crucial for studying the interaction between the energetic output of the central supermassive black hole and its surroundings. Studies of Centaurus A with ALMA are just beginning.
Many of the observations of Centaurus A used to make this image were taken to see whether it was possible to use ground-based surveys to detect and study variable stars in galaxies like Centaurus A outside the local group. More than 200 new variable stars in Centaurus A were discovered.
credit: ESO / Nick Risinger / Disasterpeace (music)
source: http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1221
source: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?3945
credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
source: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?3944
credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
source: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?10893
credit: NASA
source: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/15may_sunday
At this location (latitude 52 S) and time the sun barely peeks over the horizon in the mid-afternoon when MRO passes overhead, and carbon dioxide frost is building up on most of the surface.
In enhanced color, the frost appears blue. Slopes that face north receive more heat from the sun and appear reddish, indicating less frost is present. There may also be a small amount of water frost on the surface.
Mars is very different from Earth in that its main atmospheric component can condense onto the surface. The nitrogen that dominates Earth's atmosphere never condenses onto the surface, although nitrogen in the atmospheres of frigid Triton and Pluto do form surface frost and ice.
credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
source: http://www.uahirise.org/ESP_026388_1280
One way we describe a crater as being young is to observe the crater rim. If the rim of a crater doesn't appear that eroded, we often call it "sharp" and "young," even though the impact may have occurred an extremely long time ago.
Given the latitude and proximity to gullies on mesas and massifs in this region, there could also be mid-latitude-type gullies in this crater. At HiRISE resolution, we can get a better look at the ejecta, its distribution and possibly characterize any subsequent modifications we can see in the crater walls.
credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
source: http://www.uahirise.org/ESP_026099_2320
There are also some interesting features on the crater floor, not to mention the ejecta blanket, the material surrounding the crater as a result of the original impact. In fact, when viewing this area with other images that have a wider range of view than HiRISE, the ejecta blankets for the craters located here take on the appearance of a flower.
This pattern of ejecta is common with Martian craters. The distinct sharp ends to the flower-shaped ejecta has led many scientists to suggest that water and ice were engulfed in the ejecta as it was thrown from the crater.
The crater is named after a town in Egypt.
credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
source: http://www.uahirise.org/ESP_025691_2030
The dunes here in Ganges Chasma--a canyon that's on the eastern end of Valles Marineris--could be strongly influenced by winds, and it's important not to underestimate the erosional power of wind. Because HiRISE has such good resolution, we can track these changes over time to tell us which way a dune is moving, how much, and in what direction. From these observations we can decipher present-day atmospheric processes.
credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
source: http://www.uahirise.org/ESP_026100_1725


