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Animated Spacecraft
Published:
September 17, 2004
Animated Spacecraft
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December 2, 2020, marked the 25th anniversary of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO – a joint mission of the European Space Agency and NASA. Since its launch on that date, the mission ...
Decades of Sun from SOHO
No one really knew what Vesta looked like until NASA’s Dawn spacecraft decided to drop in on it. Now, images taken by the spacecraft have been stitched together to create a virtual flyover of the j...
Meet Vesta
Known as the "Mother of Hubble," Dr. Nancy Grace Roman was instrumental in taking the Hubble Space Telescope from an idea to reality.
NASA's First Chief Astronomer, the Mother of Hubble
The Dawn spacecraft visited the asteroid 4 Vesta for the time period May 3, 2011 to Sept. 5, 2012.
Dawn's Approach to Vesta
The Sun as seen in multiple wavelengths of light by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory over four days in August 2018.
The Sun in Multiple Wavelengths
See highlights from the scene at JPL on April 26-27, 2017, and some of the first raw images the spacecraft sent back from its closest-ever look at Saturn’s atmosphere.
Cassini's First Dive Between Saturn and Its Rings
The flight over Charon begins high over the hemisphere New Horizons saw on its closest approach, then descends over the deep, wide canyon of Serenity Chasma.
Flyover: Pluto Moon Charon
The most prominent jets of vapor and icy particles emerging from the south polar terrain of Saturn’s moon Enceladus are shown here in graphical form in a movie clip of a “rotating” Enceladus.
Enceladus' Jets
New science, mined from the archives. Data from NASA's Galileo orbiter launched a generation ago yields new evidence of plumes, eruptions of water vapor, from Jupiter's moon Europa.
Re-analyzing Old Data Reveals New Evidence at Europa
For 13 years the spacecraft’s incredible, truly otherworldly images have revealed the wonder of Saturn in surprising, often awe-inspiring ways.
Cassini: The Wonder of Saturn (Video)
Explore. Create. Share. How has Cassini inspired you?
Cassini Inspires
Astronomy highlights for February 2020: it's the best time of the year to view Mercury; Mars disappears behind the Moon; and the bright red star on Orion’s shoulder, Betelgeuse, has been acting wei...
What's Up: February 2020 [Video]
This is an animated artist interpretation of the area surrounding the Huygens landing site, based on images and data returned Jan. 14, 2005.
Huygens Landing Site Revisited
November 2020 skywatching highlights: Look for the Pleiades, the Moon with Jupiter and Saturn, and Earthshine illuminating the Moon.
What's Up: November 2020 Skywatching Tips from NASA
Celebrate Earth Day 2018 with these images of Earth from afar.
Earth from Afar
What can you see in the March sky? Jupiter and other planets in the morning, the start of spring with the spring equinox and viewing an open star cluster called the Beehive.
What's Up: March 2019 Skywatching from NASA
When NASA’s Perseverance rover travels to Mars to search for signs of life, it’s important that the spacecraft doesn’t bring along any Earth bacteria.
Protecting Mars from Earth Bacteria
NASA's Cassini has found salt in Saturn's E ring, hinting that the moon Enceladus could have an underground liquid reservoir, perhaps even an ocean.
Briny Breath of Enceladus
What's Up for January? Morning meteors, Mars meets its "rival," and the Moon comes around for another visit with Venus.
What's Up: January 2020 [Video]
My name is Mana. Europa is my favorite It is that it is one of the very few places in our solar system that could potentially have life.
Scientist for a Day Option 3: Europa
Dark spokes dance around Saturn's B ring in this series of movies comprised of images taken with Cassini's wide-angle camera.
'Tis the Season for Spokes
Actual images of the July 4, 2005 impact of the Deep Impact probe into comet Tempel 1.
Deep Impact: Approach and Impact
The Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory takes a series of images every 45 seconds in a very narrow range of wavelengths in visible light of the solar photospher...
The Active Sun from SDO: HMI Dopplergram
This simulated voyage over the surface of Neptune's large moon Triton was produced using topographic maps derived from images acquired by NASA's Voyager spacecraft during its August 1989 flyby, 20 ...
Flight Over Triton
: This mosaic combines views captured by Cassini as it made the first dive of the mission's Grand Finale on April 26, 2017, and shows details in bands and swirls in the atmosphere.
Cassini Noodle Mosaic of Saturn
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NASA's Perseverance Drives on Mars' Terrain for First Time
NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover performed its first drive on Mars on March 4, 2021, covering 21.3 feet (6.5 meters) across the Martian landscape.
NASA's Perseverance Drives on Mars' Terrain for First Time
A one-time visitor to our inner solar system is helping explain more about our own origins.
Comet Catalina Suggests Comets Delivered Carbon to Rocky Planets
During Parker Solar Probe’s seventh swing by the Sun, celestial geometry posed a special opportunity for other observatories.
Observations Around Solar System During Parker Solar Probe's 7th Solar Encounter
NGC 2336 is the quintessential galaxy – big, beautiful, and blue – and it is captured here by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Hubble Beholds a Big, Beautiful Blue Galaxy
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