NASA APOD #31-37

#31 The Grand Canyon of Mars July 20, 1995

“July 20, 1995 The Grand Canyon of Mars Picture Credit: NASA,Viking Project,USGS Explanation: The Mariner Valley, also known as the Valles Marineris canyon system, appears in this mosaic of images from NASA's Viking spacecraft as a huge gouge across the red planet. This "Grand Canyon" of Mars is about 2500 miles long and up to 4 miles deep. By comparison, the Earth's Grand Canyon is less than 500 miles long and 1 mile deep. For more information about Mars see Calvin J. Hamilton's Mars Page. The exploration of Mars is chronicled by the Center For Mars Exploration. We keep an archive of Astronomy Pictures of the Day. Astronomy Picture of the Day is brought to you by Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell . Original material on this page is copyrighted to Robert J. Nemiroff and Jerry T. Bonnell."

#32 The Search for Life on Mars July 21, 1995

“July 21, 1995 The Search for Life on Mars Picture Credit: NASA,Viking Project, Explanation: Although images of Mars taken from space revealed the planet to have a barren and cratered surface, scientists did not give up the search for martian life. In 1976 NASA's Viking project succeeded in landing two robot probes on the surface of Mars. These landers were able to carry out sophisticated chemical experiments to look for signs of microscopic life in the martian soil. However, the experiments failed to produce any convincing evidence for life on Mars. Cameras onboard the Viking Landers also returned spectacular photos of the rocky martian landscape, like the one above, which showed no sign of martian animal or plant life. For more information about the picture see The NSSDC Mars Photo Gallery. The exploration of Mars is chronicled by the Center For Mars Exploration. We keep an archive of Astronomy Pictures of the Day. Astronomy Picture of the Day is brought to you by Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell . Original material on this page is copyrighted to Robert J. Nemiroff and Jerry T. Bonnell."

#33 The Face on Mars July 22, 1995

“July 22, 1995 The Face on Mars Picture Credit: NASA,Viking Project, Explanation: This image, showing what looks to be a human face sculpted on the martian surface, was produced using data from NASA's Viking 1 orbiter in 1976. Described in a press release as a "face-like hill" it caused some to offer the sensational speculation that it was an artificial construct built by an intelligent civilization on Mars! As a result, this image was splashed across the covers of many grocery store tabloids at the time. A detailed analysis of multiple images of this feature reveals a natural looking martian hill whose illusory face-like appearance depends on viewing angle and angle of illumination. For more information about the picture see the NSSDC Photo Gallery of Mars. For a detailed discussion of the "Face on Mars" see Calvin J. Hamilton's Face on Mars page. We keep an archive of Astronomy Pictures of the Day. Astronomy Picture of the Day is brought to you by Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell . Original material on this page is copyrighted to Robert J. Nemiroff and Jerry T. Bonnell."

#34 M20: The Trifid Nebula July 23, 1995

“July 23, 1995 M20: The Trifid Nebula Credit: Hopkins Observatory, Karen Gloria Explanation: The vivid blue and violet colors present in the Trifid Nebula result from the abundance of young stars there. The light from young massive stars is quite blue and has the ability to remove electrons from surrounding gas. When these electrons re-combine with the gas, radiation rich in blue and violet light is emitted. Some of the nebula's light also results from the reflection of star light off of extremely small carbon specks known as 'dust'. This object is known to astronomers as M20 - the twentieth object on Charles Messier's list of diffuse sky objects. This image was taken with a 6-inch refracting telescope. For more information on M20 see The Electronic Universe Project's write-up. Many images of Messier objects can be found in The Electronic Universe Project's The Galaxy Gallery: Messier Objects."

#35 M31: The Andromeda Galaxy July 24, 1995

“July 24, 1995 M31: The Andromeda Galaxy Credit: The Electronic Universe Project Explanation: Andromeda is the nearest major galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy. Our Galaxy is thought to look much like Andromeda. Together these two galaxies dominate the Local Group of galaxies. The diffuse light from Andromeda is caused by the hundreds of billions of stars that compose it. The several distinct stars that surround Andromeda's image are actually stars in our Galaxy that are well in front of the background object. Andromeda is frequently referred to as M31 since it is the 31st object on Messier's list of diffuse sky objects. M31 is so distant it takes about 2 million years for light to reach us from there. For more information on M31 see The Electronic Universe Project's write-up. Many images of Messier objects can be found in The Electronic Universe Project's The Galaxy Gallery: Messier Objects."

#36 M1: The Crab Nebula July 25, 1995

“July 25, 1995 M1: The Crab Nebula Credit: The Electronic Universe Project Explanation: In the year 1054 a star in the constellation of Taurus exploded in a spectacular supernova so bright it appeared to dominate the sky except for the Sun and Moon for many days. It left behind one of the most brilliant nebulae, listed first in Charles Messier's list of nebulous sky objects. Today we know that the center of the nebula houses the remnant of the explosion: a spinning neutron star called a pulsar. The Crab pulsar is visible in almost every part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and has been a useful astronomical tool. It is still unclear how the the pulsar emits the light that we see. For more information on M1 see The Electronic Universe Project's write-up. Many images of Messier objects can be found in The Electronic Universe Project's The Galaxy Gallery: Messier Objects."

#37 M15: A Great Globular Cluster July 26, 1995

“July 26, 1995 M15: A Great Globular Cluster Credit: The Electronic Universe Project Explanation: A globular cluster is a system of about one million stars that together orbit a galaxy. One of the brightest globular clusters in our Milky Way galaxy is the pictured M15, the fifteenth object on Messier's list of diffuse objects on our sky. Most stars in globular clusters are older and redder than our Sun, which is about 5 billion years old. For more information on M15 see The Electronic Universe Project's write-up. Many images of Messier objects can be found in The Electronic Universe Project's The Galaxy Gallery: Messier Objects."

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