Spacecraft images can tell us many tales. They can reveal what has been lost during our search for life elsewhere or encourage us to continue exploring what lies beyond.
Space enthusiasts cherish these photographs for both their beauty and excitement; but there’s much to be gained by understanding how these images are processed and distributed.
Voyager 1
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have both been collecting valuable data back to Earth for nearly 45 years, providing crucial insight. Each is composed of an electronic container shaped like an inverted hollow decagonal with a spherical tank for holding monopropellant fuel and an antenna similar to what you might see on satellite dishes pointing directly towards whatever planet or moon it’s studying.
The Voyagers have provided unprecedented images and data from Jupiter’s clouds, winds and storm systems; volcanic activity on Saturn’s moon Io; Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune’s rings structures as well as their Great Dark Spot on Neptune. Each Voyager boasts 10 scientific instruments including two cameras and one narrow-angle camera for gathering this vital information.
These probes have ventured far enough away from Earth that they have passed beyond a boundary known as the heliopause into interstellar space. Each has a golden record containing greetings in multiple languages as well as sounds from Earth for any alien civilizations that might find it and would then be able to play them back using phonographs.
Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble, the well-known space telescope, has captured breathtaking images of stars, galaxies and other celestial bodies. It has helped scientists estimate the age and size of the universe; discover black holes consuming everything around them including light; as well as provide insights into solar system formation and planet formation.
Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, or ACS, provides high-resolution images of the sky at visible and near-infrared wavelengths with incredible detail. In addition, its UV detector detects ultraviolet radiation while wide field imaging capabilities provide comprehensive coverage.
Hubble has used ACS to find flat disks of dust and gases – possibly precursors for planet formation – encasing many young stars. Additionally, it has discovered asteroid trails resembling curved lines or streaks in images; thousands of participants in a citizen science project helped classify and analyze these images, with results used to train an automated asteroid trail detection algorithm.
Internet Map Servers
Internet Map Servers make maps more accessible to the public and increase productivity. A utility company, for instance, may need to maintain multiple map stations; with an Internet Map Server they can make their data readily available online and save both time and money by not physically visiting each location themselves.
Manifold System’s Internet Map Server can publish maps, drawings and images to the Web using Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS). Asp files generate HTML streaming that browsers send over the Internet.
The Layers control menu option enables the Map Server to show all layers that contribute to a map when it is published, meaning that default web page templates with Layers panes respect layer restrictions such as whether or not it can be clicked upon and whether hyperlinks and Info tools can also be affected.
Satellites
Satellites are any objects that orbit another astronomical body such as the Moon or Earth, such as communications and weather satellites launched into space by humans and placed into orbit by them.
Satellites consist of two primary parts – an antenna for sending and receiving information, as well as power source (solar panels or batteries). Many satellites carry cameras or scientific sensors which allow them to gather information about Earth, such as land use and atmospheric conditions; or point them towards space for exploration of our solar system and universe.
Search the night sky for bright, slow-moving spots in a straight line; unlike stars or aircraft that twinkle. Satellites play important roles in governments, businesses, and societies all around the globe – though most people don’t see them. Communications satellites enable large manufacturing plants and department stores to perform inventory management; credit card companies to instantly authorize purchases at gas pumps in small towns; international corporations to hold video conferences.