Cool Erupting Volcano Photo Taken From Space!

From Denny: Did you see this awesome photo on the news last night? If you missed it then take a look.

From NASA's Earth Observatory site: "A fortuitous orbit of the International Space Station allowed the astronauts this striking view of Sarychev Volcano (Kuril Islands, northeast of Japan) in an early stage of eruption on June 12, 2009. Sarychev Peak is one of the most active volcanoes in the Kuril Island chain, and it is located on the northwestern end of Matua Island.

Prior to June 12, the last explosive eruption occurred in 1989, with eruptions in 1986, 1976, 1954, and 1946 also producing lava flows. Ash from the multi-day eruption has been detected 2,407 kilometers east-southeast and 926 kilometers west-northwest of the volcano, and commercial airline flights are being diverted away from the region to minimize the danger of engine failures from ash intake.

This detailed astronaut photograph is exciting to volcanologists because it captures several phenomena that occur during the earliest stages of an explosive volcanic eruption. The main column is one of a series of plumes that rose above Matua Island on June 12. The plume appears to be a combination of brown ash and white steam. The vigorously rising plume gives the steam a bubble-like appearance. The eruption cleared a circle in the cloud deck. The clearing may result from the shockwave from the eruption or from sinking air around the eruption plume: as the plume rises, air flows down around the sides like water flowing off the back of a surfacing dolphin. As air sinks, it tends to warm and expand; clouds in the air evaporate.

In contrast, the smooth white cloud on top may be water condensation that resulted from rapid rising and cooling of the air mass above the ash column. This cloud, which meteorologists call a pileus cloud, is probably a transient feature: the eruption plume is starting to punch through. The structure also indicates that little to no shearing wind was present at the time to disrupt the plume. (Satellite images acquired 2-3 days after the start of activity illustrate the effect of shearing winds on the spread of the ash plumes across the Pacific Ocean.)

By contrast, a cloud of denser, gray ash—probably a pyroclastic flow—appears to be hugging the ground, descending from the volcano summit. The rising eruption plume casts a shadow to the northwest of the island (image top). Brown ash at a lower altitude of the atmosphere spreads out above the ground at image lower left. Low-level stratus clouds approach Matua Island from the east, wrapping around the lower slopes of the volcano. Only about 1.5 kilometers of the coastline of Matua Island (image lower center) are visible beneath the clouds and ash.

Astronaut photograph ISS020-E-9048 was acquired on June 12, 2009, with a Nikon D2XS digital camera fitted with a 400 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by the Expedition 20 crew. The image in this article has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast. Lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by M. Justin Wilkinson, NASA-JSC."

Astronomy: Countdown to Space Shuttle Launch

Launch Pad 39a Image via Wikipedia

Space Shuttle STS-127 Endeavour's crew in June 2009

From Denny:

How favorable is the launch?

Two days and counting! Good weather by 90% is predicted for the launch on Saturday in Cape Canaveral, Florida at the NASA Kennedy Space Center. Considering I also live on the Gulf of Mexico, I know that is a very favorable weather outlook. There is one concern, lightning, which could be triggered by the slight chance for clouds over the launch pad.
Even if they "happen to delay launch the weather still looks good," says the Shuttle's weather officer Kathy Winters. The shuttle's liftoff is planned for 7:17 AM EDT (1117 GMT) from the launch pad 39a. If they cannot launch Saturday it still looks 90% favorable for the next 24 hours into Sunday and 80% for Monday.



What is the mission of the 7 person Endeavour crew?

The 16-day mission is all about visiting the International Space Station to deliver a porch-like experiment platform to the Japanese Kibo lab as well as other gear.

The mission's schedule will be nocturnal so the crew is sleeping in today, according to the veteran astronaut Mark Polansky. They are scheduled to wake up tonight at 8:15 PM EDT (2415 GMT). The two Canada Space Agency mission specialists, Julie Payette and Chris Cassidy, will conduct practice flights in NASA's T-38 training jets.

In order to install the new piece to the Kibo lab there will be at least five difficult spacewalks and a series of challenging robotic arm operations. They will also install a set of spare equipment for the space station.

Once Endeavour's STS-127 crew is onboard it will be quite crowded quarters as the population will double to thirteen. Mike Moses, the Endeavour's mission management team remarked, "It's like having your family descend on you for the holidays and they're gonna stay for a very long time ... and they're going to bring all their stuff!" Moses expects things to go smoothly as the team was able to train together before launch. He even thinks there "will be unprecedented efficiencies."

If, for some reason, Endeavour is unable to launch it will have to stand down after Monday. Why? There is another launch scheduled nearby at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on June 17th. What is set to launch is an unmanned spacecraft headed toward the moon.

Another window for launch opportunity if this June date is missed for Endeavour is July 11th. So far "all systems are go" as the launch countdown for Saturday began on Wednesday for liftoff.

Written by Denny Lyon