File:Jupiter-Family Comets Johnson and Shoemaker-Levy 3.jpg
Original file (1,600 × 1,600 pixels, file size: 1.34 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
Captions
Summary
[edit]DescriptionJupiter-Family Comets Johnson and Shoemaker-Levy 3.jpg |
English: These images of the Jupiter-family comets Johnson (top) and Shoemaker-Levy 3 (bottom) were both taken with Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer (MIPS) at a wavelength of 24 microns.
The fan-shaped region that stretches upward from Johnson's nucleus (yellow ball in the middle) represents the dust "tail" of the comet. Dust tails are created when small particles from a comet are swept backward by the Sun's radiation pressure. The image of Shoemaker-Levy 3 (bottom) does not show a dust tail. In both images the long thin trail of emission that precisely follows the orbit of the comet is believed to be a debris trail of solid material, ranging from millimeters to centimeters in size. Such particles, called meteoroids, are the same size as those that appear in meteor showers when they enter the Earth's atmosphere. Because any trace of water would evaporate in the Sun's heat, astronomers do not believe that debris trails contain ice. These meteoroids have evaded detection in previous comet images because they are relatively faint in visible light. At mid-infrared wavelengths, meteoroids give off infrared radiation. Any object with an internal temperature higher than absolute zero (-273.5 degrees Celsius or zero Kelvin) produces thermal radiation; objects in the inner solar system give off radiation at mid-infrared wavelengths. Consequently, MIPS allows astronomers to study the production of meteoroids by comets whose orbits do not cross the Earth's path. Spitzer images have also shown that there is more mass in the debris trails of comets than in their dust tails and gases. The results of Spitzer's observations are consistent with those obtained by space probes that encountered comet Halley in 1986. In Halley's case, large particles produced by the comet were not only detected, but caused significant damage to the probes. |
Date | |
Source | http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/2422-sig05-008-Jupiter-Family-Comets-Johnson-and-Shoemaker-Levy-3 |
Author | NASA/JPL-Caltech/W. Reach (SSC/Caltech) |
Image use policy: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy
Licensing
[edit]Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.) | ||
Warnings:
|
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
current | 16:27, 21 June 2011 | 1,600 × 1,600 (1.34 MB) | Spitzersteph (talk | contribs) |
You cannot overwrite this file.
File usage on Commons
The following page uses this file:
- File:Sig05-008.jpg (file redirect)
File usage on other wikis
The following other wikis use this file:
- Usage on en.wikipedia.org
- Usage on it.wikipedia.org
- Usage on ja.wikipedia.org
- Usage on mk.wikipedia.org
- Usage on pl.wikipedia.org
- Usage on sr.wikipedia.org
- Usage on uk.wikipedia.org
Metadata
This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.
Image title |
|
---|---|
Author | Spitzer Space Telescope |
Copyright holder | http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/mediaimages/copyright.shtml |
Short title |
|
Credit/Provider | NASA/JPL-Caltech/W. Reach (SSC/Caltech) |
Headline | These infrared images of the Jupiter-family comets Johnson (top) and Shoemaker-Levy 3 (bottom) were both taken with Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer (MIPS) at a wavelength of 24 microns. |
Source | Spitzer Space Telescope |
Usage terms |
|
Date and time of data generation | 18 July 2005 |
Width | 1,600 px |
Height | 1,600 px |
Bits per component |
|
Compression scheme | LZW |
Pixel composition | RGB |
Orientation | Normal |
Number of components | 3 |
Horizontal resolution | 300 dpi |
Vertical resolution | 300 dpi |
Data arrangement | chunky format |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh |
File change date and time | 14:31, 5 June 2009 |
Color space | sRGB |
Contact information |
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu 1200 E. California Blvd. Pasadena, CA, 91125 USA |
Keywords |
|
IIM version | 2 |