2019年10月
丁顿修道院，威尔士 (© Lynda Morris Photography/Getty Images)
木星增强色彩后的一组镜头 Sequence of enhanced-color images of Jupiter (© Enhanced Image by Gerald Eichstädt and Sean Doran, CC BY-NC-SA, based on images provided Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS)
木星增强色彩后的一组镜头 Sequence of enhanced-color images of Jupiter (© Enhanced Image by Gerald Eichstädt and Sean Doran, CC BY-NC-SA, based on images provided Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS)
Images from NASA's Juno spacecraft as it swoops by Jupiter
For the start of World Space Week, today's homepage features a composite of images taken by NASA's Juno probe as it swooped past Jupiter. Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, also has the largest number of moons: 79. Jupiter is the Roman counterpart to Zeus, and so the planet's major moons are named after Zeus's, shall we say, extra-marital partners. So, when it came time to name NASA's most ambitious Jupiter probe, they decided to name it after his wife, Juno, so that she could keep an eye on him. Every 53 days in the course of its wide and complex orbit, the Juno probe makes its closest approach, snapping shots like these as it speeds past the gas giant in just two hours. World Space Week starts on the anniversary of the launch of the very first space probe, Sputnik, which entered orbit around the Earth on October 4, 1957.
Merced River in Yosemite National Park, California (© Robb Hirsch/Tandem Stills + Motion)
Merced River in Yosemite National Park, California (© Robb Hirsch/Tandem Stills + Motion)
Wild scene on the Merced River
Signed October 2, 1968, by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act preserves rivers with 'outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations.' It covers 13,416 miles of streams and protects parts of such natural treasures as the Allagash, Salmon, Snake, Concord, Fortymile, Trinity, Missouri (the longest river in the US)—and the Merced River, which we're looking at here.
California's Merced makes its way through canyons, mountains, and foothills, flowing from the Sierra Nevada mountains, through the southern part of Yosemite National Park, into the San Joaquin Valley. Rafters enjoy the Class III and IV rapids, and visitors can camp at several sites along the river's course while also exploring the Merced River Trail.
