Shop Windows to the Universe

Please help support Windows to the Universe, and our activities to help Earth and space science teachers, with a tax-exempt donation today!

Space Missions

 

The spinning vortex of <a href="https://www.windows2universe.org/saturn/saturn.html">Saturn</a>'s north polar storm resembles a giant deep red rose surrounded by green foliage in this false-color <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia14944.html">image</a> from NASA's <a href="https://www.windows2universe.org/missions/cassini.html">Cassini spacecraft</a>. The eye is 2,000 kilometers across with cloud speeds as fast as 150 meters per second. It is not known how long this newly discovered north-polar <a href="https://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/hurricane.html">hurricane</a> has been active. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 419,000 kilometers from Saturn.<p><small><em>NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI</em></small></p>According to <a href="http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-277">NASA scientists</a>, the Voyager 1 spacecraft entered interstellar space in August 2012, becoming the first spacecraft to leave the <a href="/our_solar_system/solar_system.html&edu=elem">solar system</a>. The space probe is about 19 billion km from the <a href="/sun/sun.html&edu=elem">Sun</a>. <a href="/space_missions/voyager.html&edu=elem">Voyager 1 and 2</a> were launched in 1977 on a <a href="/space_missions/voyager.html&edu=elem">mission</a> that flew them both by <a href="/jupiter/jupiter.html&edu=elem">Jupiter</a> and <a href="/saturn/saturn.html&edu=elem">Saturn</a>, with Voyager 2 continuing to <a href="/uranus/uranus.html&edu=elem">Uranus</a> and <a href="/neptune/neptune.html&edu=elem">Neptune</a>. Voyager 2 is the longest continuously operated spacecraft. It is about 15 billion km away from the <a href="/sun/sun.html&edu=elem">Sun</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA</em></small></p>

Windows to the Universe Community

News

Opportunities

Upcoming W2U Events
Join Today - Benefits,
No Ads!
Special Offers for Teachers
Member Benefits
Teacher Newsletter
Partnership Opportunities

Explore Space Missions

Space Exploration

For as long as there have been people on Earth, we have looked up at the sky and wondered ...Read more

Human Spaceflight

It was not long after the first space satellites were launched that we succeeded in getting ...Read more

Satellites and Robotic Spacecraft

Satellites and robot spacecraft are important to space exploration. They let us explore space ...Read more

Space Missions Links

These are links to other great web sites about Space Missions. But beware: you don't want ...Read more

Tours

Take off on an Exploratour! Click on one of the many tours listed below to follow a guided ...Read more

Historical Events

10/24 Tycho Brahe,a Danish astronomer, died on this date in 1601 Details
11/3 On this date in 1957 satellite Sputnik 2 that carried a dog, named Laika, was launched into space Details
11/5 James Clerk Maxwell, a Scottish physicist, died on this date in 1879 Details

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

Teacher Opportunities

Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)

Did you know?

Did you know that many cultures have studied the heavens in the past?

Did you know that different cultures imagined different constellations, based on their own cultural context?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Seiche
xSeiche : A standing wave in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water. Seiches and seiche-related phenomena have been observed on lakes, reservoirs, swimming pools, bays, and seas. The key requirement for formation of a seiche is that the body of water

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

Pollution from Asia Circles Globe at Stratospheric Heights

Air pollution can get high in the atmosphere – high above most of the clouds you see in the sky. Scientists are finding air pollution more than 20 miles above the surface of the Earth. That’s in the stratosphere...Read more


Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA