Your online guide to deep space imagery, photos showing the wonders of our universe, and pictures of the earth as seen from space.
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on April 30, 2009 under Discussion | 
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“Your guide to constellations, deep sky objects, planets and events,” Tonight’s Sky is produced monthly by the Space Telescope Science Institute and is the ideal resource for the amateur astronomer. The guide is produced from the vantage point of the northern hemisphere. In June, Venus and Mars draw close before sunrise.
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“Your guide to constellations, deep sky objects, planets and events,” Tonight’s Sky is produced monthly by the Space Telescope Science Institute and is the ideal resource for the amateur astronomer. The guide is produced from the vantage point of the northern hemisphere. In May, the Eta Aquarid meteor shower lights up the night sky.
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on April 29, 2009 under Unmanned Missions | Be the First to Comment
What could be better than pictures from an alien world? How about interactive 3d and a virtual flyover? NASA’s Cassini continues to return remarkable photos from Saturn and its moons. NASA’s JPL has cooperated with the US Geological Survey to create topographical flyover maps of Titan. And by the way, if you haven’t tried out Cassie 3D, the Cassini Virtual Tour, it’s worth taking the time to download the extra software. My recommendation: select moon mode to access the latest information and detailed 3d imagery for 7 of Saturn’s moons and visit Iapetus - the moon with a “seam”.
Earlier post:
http://spaceimagesonline.com/2009/01/19/cassini-huygens-multimedia-gallery/
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on April 27, 2009 under Collections, Unmanned Missions | Be the First to Comment
Don P. Mitchell has pulled together hard-to-find space imagery from the Soviet space program. While this is a small collection, it provides a unique historical glimpse into the past. Included are lunar photos datng back to 1959 (Luna-3) along with images returned from Mars, Venus and even Halley’s Comet. Also of interest is a special section, Venera: The Soviet Exploration of Venus.
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on April 25, 2009 under Collections, Manned Spaceflight | Be the First to Comment
Earth from Space - Astronauts’ Views of the Home Planet bills itself as a “national treasure”. This site features hand selected photographic imagery taken from the unique vantage point offered by space. These images are chosen for their unique perspective and interesting features of our home planet. These pictures can be searched by cities, by features or even by weather patterns.
Hurricane Claudette as seen by the crew of Expedition 7 July 15, 2003
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on April 22, 2009 under Deep Space Imagery | Be the First to Comment
Scientificblogging previews an article from the May 2009 Astrophysical Journal. Researchers have located a mysterious “blob” 55 light-years across, 12.9 billion light years away with the mass of 40 billion suns. This one-of-a-kind distant object is intriguing to researchers. “Even for astronomers, we don’t understand,” Carnegie Institution researcher, Masami Ouchi told Space.com.
Update (4-30): Scientific Blogging has added a good video about Himiko that explains this phenomenon better than I could.
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on April 16, 2009 under Deep Space Imagery, Unmanned Missions | Be the First to Comment
Kepler, NASA’s first mission capable of finding Earth-size and smaller planets around other stars, has returned its first pictures revealing millions of stars within its field of view.
“Kepler’s first glimpse of the sky is awe-inspiring,” said Lia LaPiana, Kepler’s program executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “To be able to see millions of stars in a single snapshot is simply breathtaking.”
One new image from Kepler shows its entire field of view — a 100-square-degree portion of the sky, equivalent to two side-by-side dips of the Big Dipper. The regions contain an estimated 14 millions stars, more than 100,000 of which were selected as ideal candidates for planet hunting.
Over the next three-and-a-half years, Kepler will scan pre-selected stars for planetary evidence. It is the first NASA mission optimized specifically to seek out Earth-sized planets.
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on April 14, 2009 under Unmanned Missions | Be the First to Comment
While Mars has been stealing all the headlines, ESA’s Venus Express has been quietly exploring the planet’s atmosphere and environment. It’s mission, due to end end May of this year has been extended again until December 2009.
Venus Express has detected water molecules escaping into space, evidence of lightning in the venusian atmosphere, and provided infrared glimpses of the hot surface. The spacecraft has revealed astonishing details of the planet’s dynamic cloud system, including its striking double-eyed atmospheric vortex that dominates the south pole. This gallery includes over 150 images and videos providing a glimpse inside Venus’ mysterious atmospheric cloud.
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on April 13, 2009 under Manned Spaceflight | Read the First Comment
Richard Garriott’s Space Mission
Richard Garriott, son of astronaut Owen Garriott, has been active in various space-related ventures such as the Zero-G corporation, X-Prize, Spacehab, and is currently vice-chairman of Space Adventures. He became the world’s sixth private space explorer on October 12, 2008, traveling to the International Space Station on board Soyuz TMA-13. His website includes photos, videos, and information from Garriott’s 12-day flight.
Posted by SpaceSightSeer on April 12, 2009 under Manned Spaceflight | Be the First to Comment
STS-1
On April April 12, 1981 at 7:00:03 a.m. EST, NASA began a new chapter in manned spaceflight with the maiden voyage of the Space Shuttle Columbia. In a mission lasting 2 days, 6 hours astronaut John Young and Robert Crippen tested the performance of the shuttle and demonstrated a safe launch and return. Payloads included the Developmental Flight Instrumentation (DFI) and the Aerodynamic Coefficient Identifications Package (ACIP) pallet containing equipment for recording temperatures, pressures and acceleration levels at various points on the vehicle. Linked is NASA’s gallery of press release images from the mission as we mark the anniverry of the shuttle’s maiden voyage.
