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Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 January 20 Io at Sunset Credit: Galileo Project, JPL, NASA Explanation: How tall are mountains on Jupiter's moon Io? One way to find out is to view them at sunset. Tall structures facing the Sun are then better-lit and cast long shadows. The above image highlights Mongibello Mons on the far left, a sharp ridge rising so high it would rank among the highest mountains on Earth....

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 November 30 Surveyor Hops Credit : Surveyor Project, NASA Explanation: This panorama of the cratered lunar surface was constructed from images returned by the US Surveyor 6 lander. Surveyor 6 was not the first spacecraft to accomplish a soft landing on the Moon ... but it was the first to land and then lift off again! After the spacecraft touched down near the center of the Moon's...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 November 26 Name This Martian Robot Drawing Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission Team, JPL, NASA Explanation: NASA will launch two robots to Mars next year and you can help name them. The Mars Exploration Rovers are scheduled for launch on or near this coming June, when Mars and Earth are relatively close in their orbits. The landing craft are expected to touch down on Mars in January...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 November 23 Credit: NASA, Lunar Orbiter 4 Explanation: Like a target ring bull's-eye, the Mare Orientale is one of the most striking large scale lunar features. Located on the Moon's extreme western edge, this impact basin is unfortunately difficult to see from an earthbound perspective. It is over 3 billion years old, about 600 miles across and was formed by the impact of an asteroid sized object....

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 October 29 A Lunar Rille Credit: Apollo 10, NASA Explanation: What could cause a long indentation on the Moon? First discovered over 200 years ago with a small telescope, rilles (rhymes with pills) appear all over the Moon. Three types of rilles are now recognized: sinuous rilles, which have many meandering curves, arcuate rilles which form sweeping arcs, and straight rilles, like Ariadaeus Rille pictured above. Long...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 October 24 Gullies on Mars Credit: Malin Space Science Systems, MGS, JPL, NASA Explanation: The Gullies of Mars would probably not have been sensational enough for the title of a vintage Edgar Rice Burroughs story about the Red Planet. But it would get the attention of planetary scientists today. First identified in high resolution images of Mars recorded by the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, the gullies...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 October 19 Io's Surface: Under Construction Credit: Galileo Project, JPL, NASA Explanation: Like the downtown area of your favorite city, the roads you drive to work on, and any self-respecting web site ... Io's surface is constantly under construction. This moon of Jupiter holds the distinction of being the Solar System's most volcanically active body -- its bizarre looking surface continuously formed and reformed by lava flows....

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 October 1 Rectangular Ridges on Mars Credit: Malin Space Science Systems, MGS, JPL, NASA Explanation: What could cause rectangular ridges on Mars? As data flows in from the two spacecraft currently orbiting Mars, surface structures are seen that are not immediately understood. These structures pose puzzles that planetary geologists are eager to solve, as they might provide clues to past processes that have shaped Mars over billions...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 September 19 Asteroid 1998 KY26Credit: NASA, JPL, image courtesy of Steve Ostro Explanation: A day is just under 11 minutes long on 1998 KY26, a 30 meter wide, fast-spinning, water-rich asteroid. This computer simulated view of its lumpy surface has a resolution of about 3 meters and is based on radar and optical observations (click on the image for a series of surface views). The observations were...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 September 3 A Dust Devil on Mars Credit: Malin Space Science Systems, MGS, JPL, NASA Explanation: Does the surface of Mars change? When inspecting yearly images of the Martian surface taken by the robot spacecraft Mars Global Surveyor currently orbiting Mars, sometimes new dark trails are visible. Although originally a mystery, the culprit is now usually known to be a dust devil, a huge swirling gas-cloud with...

Series of EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning the Threat of Usage of Shoulder-fired Anti-aircraft Missiles: 31 May 2002 to 01 June 2002 From: ERRI DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT-ERRI Risk Assessment Services-Saturday, June 1, 2002-Vol. 8 - 152U.S. COUNTERTERRORISM OPERATIONS:U.S. Forces Capture Cache Of Portable Missiles In AfghanistanAFGHANISTAN: The Washington Times was reporting on Saturday that U.S. military forces in Afghanistan confiscated a cache of 30 anti-aircraft missiles as a new general took control of the U.S.- led campaign there. A Pentagon official said that the missiles were described as a Chinese-made version of the SA-7 surface-to-air missile. Disclosure of the missile...

The findings were made by the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Ice reservoirs found on Mars By Dr David Whitehouse BBC News Online science editor Water-ice has been found in vast quantities just below the surface across great swathes of the planet Mars. The finding by the American space agency (Nasa) is undoubtedly one of the most important made about the Red Planet. It solves one of its deepest mysteries, points the way for manned exploration and reignites the question of whether life may exist on the planet. Insiders suggest that, partly as a result of this finding, Nasa may now commit...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 March 30 Venus Unveiled Credit: Magellan Project, JPL, NASA Explanation: The surface of Venus is perpetually covered by a veil of thick clouds and remains hidden from even the powerful telescopic eyes of earth-bound astronomers. But in the early 1990s, using imaging radar, the Venus orbiting Magellan spacecraft was able to lift the veil from the face of Venus and produced spectacular high resolution images of the...