Nuclear and Space Photography

Aerial views of nuclear detonations, orbital sunsets from the ISS, and star trails, highlighting atmospheric phenomena and space exploration.

Panoramas of Apollo sites were created to familiarize various Constellation projects with the actual nature of the lunar surface. Image is a view taken from northeast of the Lunar module (LM) looking west at panel and Flag, then to southwest at LM and counterclockwise to south and west looking into Surveyor Crater. View was created using Apollo 12 images - mag 47 frames 6982 thru 7006.

Project 30-18 - Operation Upshot/Knothole (Nevada Test Site) Detonation. NANCY blast and fireball, aerial view (1 of 2). Photographs of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at Pacific Island and Nevada Test Sites.

. iss068e054893 (Feb. 17, 2023) - The last rays of an orbital sunset penetrate Earth's horizon in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 269 miles above the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of southern Argentina.

Project 30-18 - Operation Upshot/Knothole (Nevada Test Site) Detonation. RUTH fireball, aerial view. Photographs of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at Pacific Island and Nevada Test Sites.

iss063e054986 (July 23, 2020) --- The launch plume of Russia's Progress 76 (76P) resupply ship, after it blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, is pictured from the International Space Station. The 76P was packed with nearly three tons of food, fuel and supplies, and would dock to the station's Pirs docking compartment less than three-and-a-half hours later.

A four hour exposure of the stars.

ISS017-E-015451 (5 Sept. 2008) --- Backdropped by Earth's horizon and the blackness of space, European Space Agency's (ESA) "Jules Verne" Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) begins its relative separation from the International Space Station. The ATV undocked from the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 4:29 p.m. (CDT) on Sept. 5, 2008 and was placed in a parking orbit for three weeks, scheduled to be deorbited on Sept. 29 when lighting conditions are correct for an ESA imagery experiment of reentry.

Panoramas of Apollo sites were created to familiarize various Constellation projects with the actual nature of the lunar surface. Image is a view taken from northeast of the Lunar module (LM) looking west at panel and Flag, then to southwest at LM and counterclockwise to south and west looking into Surveyor Crater. View was created using Apollo 12 images - mag 47 frames 6982 thru 7006.

. iss068e039227 (Jan. 6, 2023) - The Full Moon is pictured from the International Space Station along with a portion the SpaceX Dragon Endurance crew ship while orbiting 264 miles above southern Brazil.

Project 30-18 - Operation Upshot/Knothole (Nevada Test Site) Detonation. HARRY detonation, fireball and cloud: series of 12 aerial photos (8 of 12). Photographs of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at Pacific Island and Nevada Test Sites.

Project 30-18 - Operation Upshot/Knothole (Nevada Test Site) Detonation. NANCY blast and fireball, aerial view (1 of 3). Photographs of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at Pacific Island and Nevada Test Sites.

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A vortex, or large atmospheric storm, is visible in this color composite of NASA's Voyager 2 Saturn images obtained Aug. 25, 1979 from a range of 1 million kilometers (620,000 miles).

ISS034-E-024622 (5 Jan. 2013) --- Polar mesospheric clouds over the South Pacific Ocean are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 34 crew member on the International Space Station. Polar mesospheric cloudsalso known as noctilucent, or “night shining” cloudsare formed 76 to 85 kilometers above Earth’s surface near the mesosphere-thermosphere boundary of the atmosphere, a region known as the mesopause. At these altitudes, water vapor can freeze into clouds of ice crystals. When the sun is below the horizon such that the ground is in darkness, these high clouds may still be illuminatedlending them their ethereal, “night shining” qualities. Noctilucent clouds have been observed from all human vantage points in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres - from the surface, in aircraft, and in orbit from the space stationand tend to be most visible during the late spring and early summer seasons. Polar mesospheric clouds also are of interest to scientists studying the atmo

Slice of melon, X-ray

Project 30-18 - Operation Upshot/Knothole (Nevada Test Site) Detonation. BANDGER fireball, aerial view. Photographs of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at Pacific Island and Nevada Test Sites.

This color-enhanced image of Jupiter and two of its largest moons -- Io and Europa -- was captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft as it performed its eighth flyby of the gas giant planet. The image was taken on Sept. 1, 2017 at 3 14 p.m. PDT (6 14 p.m. EDT). At the time the image was taken, the spacecraft was about 17,098 miles (27,516 kilometers) from the tops of the clouds of the planet at a latitude of minus 49.372 degrees. Closer to the planet, the Galilean moon of Io can be seen at an altitude of 298,880 miles (481,000 kilometers) and at a spatial scale of 201 miles (324 kilometers) per pixel. In the distance (to the left), another one of Jupiter's Galilean moons, Europa, is visible at an altitude of 453,601 miles (730,000 kilometers) and at a spatial scale of 305 miles (492 kilometers) per pixel. Citizen scientist Roman Tkachenko processed this image using data from the JunoCam imager.

Project 30-18 - Operation Upshot/Knothole (Nevada Test Site) Detonation. HARRY detonation, fireball and cloud: series of 12 aerial photos (9 of 12). Photographs of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at Pacific Island and Nevada Test Sites.

Montage of Uranus' five largest satellites taken by NASA's Voyager 2. From to right to left in order of decreasing distance from Uranus are Oberon, Titania, Umbriel, Ariel, and Miranda.

Project 30-7 - Operation Tumbler/Snapper (Nevada Test Site) Detonation. HOW fireball, aerial view. Photographs of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at Pacific Island and Nevada Test Sites.

MOREHOUSE'S COMET photographed from Greenwich Date: 1908

Tracings on the range height indicator monitor of the San Pedro Joint Surveillance System indicate the height of aircraft. The system, operated by the Air Force and maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration, detects unauthorized aircraft and manages air traffic control. Base: San Pedro State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

ISS028-E-009363 (23 June 2011) --- An unpiloted ISS Progress resupply vehicle approaches the International Space Station, carrying three tons of fuel, air and supplies to the Expedition 28 crew. Progress 43 docked automatically to the aft port of the station's Zvezda service module via the Kurs automated rendezvous system at 12:37 p.m. (EDT) on June 23, 2011.

The Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with Cygnus resupply spacecraft onboard, is seen as it launches from Pad-0A in this 25 second exposure, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman's 10th contracted cargo resupply mission for NASA to the International Space Station will deliver about 7,400 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew.

This artist's concept shows a view of NASA's EPOXI mission spacecraft during its Nov. 4, 2010 flyby of comet Hartley 2. The fluffy shell around the comet, called a coma, is made up of gas and dust that blew off the comet's core, or nucleus.

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Middle school students across the country photographed the fires and smoke over southern Sumatra from a camera aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis September 27, 1997.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Falcon 9 rocket lifts off Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying the SpaceX CRS-4 mission to orbit. Liftoff was at 1:52 a.m. EDT.The mission is the fourth of 12 SpaceX flights NASA contracted with the company to resupply the space station. It will be the fifth trip by a Dragon spacecraft to the orbiting laboratory. The spacecrafts 2.5 tons of supplies, science experiments, and technology demonstrations include critical materials to support 255 science and research investigations that will occur during the station's Expeditions 41 and 42.

The second manned lunar landing mission, Apollo 12, launched from launch pad 39-A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 14, 1969 via a Saturn V launch vehicle. The Saturn V vehicle was developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun. Aboard Apollo 12 was a crew of three astronauts Alan L. Bean, pilot of the Lunar Module (LM), Intrepid; Richard Gordon, pilot of the Command Module (CM), Yankee Clipper; and Spacecraft Commander Charles Conrad. The LM, Intrepid, landed astronauts Conrad and Bean on the lunar surface in whats known as the Ocean of Storms while astronaut Richard Gordon piloted the CM, Yankee Clipper, in a parking orbit around the Moon. Lunar soil activities included the deployment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP), finding the unmanned Surveyor 3 that landed on the Moon on April 19, 1967, and collecting 75 pounds (34 kilograms) of rock samples. This is the sixteenth of 25 images captured by the

An orbital sunset is pictured from the International Space Station as it was soaring 267 miles above the south Pacific Ocean.

Project 24 - Operation Hardtack (Enewetak/Bikini/Johnnston Island Area) Detonation. WAHOO detonation: series of 27 photos, aerial view of burst & base surge (12 of 27). Photographs of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at Pacific Island and Nevada Test Sites.

European Space Agency's 'Jules Verne' Automated Transfer Vehicle ATV-1 re-entry in Earth's atmosphere over Pacific Ocean. The breakup ad fragmentation of the ESA's ATV-1 was captured in dramatic fashion by scientists aboard NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory and a Gulfstream V aircraft as it re-entered the atmosphere early Monday morning over the South Pacific.

A Frosty Rim In False Color

Vector illustration of dust and sand powder explosion scattered isolated on transparent background. Texture of thick desert dust fog and clouds smoke.

STS-133 Discovery on Pad 39A with Winter Solstice Moon Eclipse - scrubbed Rollback to VAB

ISS030-E-015491 (22 Dec. 2011) --- Comet Lovejoy is visible near Earths horizon in this nighttime image photographed by NASA astronaut Dan Burbank, Expedition 30 commander, onboard the International Space Station on Dec. 22, 2011.

S65-65257 (4-18 Dec. 1965) --- Sunrise and Earth's limb, as photographed by astronauts Frank Borman and James A. Lovell Jr. during their Earth-orbital 14-day mission in the Gemini-7 (GT-7) spacecraft.

S66-46249 (18-21 July 1966) --- Agena Target Docking Vehicle docked to Gemini-10 spacecraft. Excellent view of Agena display panel. Glow from Agena's primary propulsion system.

ISS033-E-015399 (23 Oct. 2012) --- This view of Earths horizon, shows smoke trails from the launch of the Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft, was photographed by an Expedition 33 crew member on the International Space Station. The Soyuz, with Expedition 33 crew members Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy, Flight Engineer Kevin Ford of NASA, and Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin of Roscosmos onboard, launched at 4:51 p.m. Kazakhstan time (5:51 a.m. CDT) on Oct. 23, 2012, from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

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Storms on Venus, illustration

S69-33994 (18 May 1969) --- The Apollo 10 Lunar Module, still attached to the Saturn IVB stage, is seen in this color reproduction taken from the first television transmission made by the color television camera aboard the Apollo 10 spacecraft. This picture was made following CSM/LM-S-IVB separation, and prior to LM extraction from the S-IVB. The Command and Service Modules were making the docking approach to the LM/S-IVB. The circular object is the docking drogue assembly on the LM. Aboard the Command Module were astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, commander; John W. Young, command module pilot; and Eugene A. Cernan, lunar module pilot.

A UFO appearing at the 1984 Olympics

STS070-386-027 (13-22 JULY 1995) --- High-speed film provided this close-up view of the Space Shuttle Discoverys aft, featuring the ignition of one of the primary thrusters. Note the impact of the firing on the starboard side of the vertical stabilizer. Crew members told a August 11, 1995, gathering of Johnson Space Center (JSC) employees that the Window Experiment (WINDEX) paid close attention to surface glow, jet plumes, water dumps, aurora and airglow. The data collection is part of an effort to avoid misinterpretation of measurements of Earth, the solar system and starts taken from satellites in low Earth-orbits and prevent damage to sensitive systems and solar arrays during rendezvous and docking. Such firings of the thrusters increase local densities of gases in the atmosphere dramatically and introduce non-natural elements that react with the atmosphere dramatically and spacecraft systems enveloped by the thruster plume. WINDEX recorded phenomena associated with thruster s

STS059-58-018 (9-20 April 1994) --- Part of the Space Shuttle Endeavour and its Space Radar Laboratory (SRL-1) payload are backdropped against a colorful display of the Southern Lights (aurora australis). The vehicle was firing a reaction control subsystem thruster (below center) when the 35mm image was exposed.

Gemini 8 spacecraft approaching the Agena Target Docking vehicle. The mission conducted the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit. March 16, 1966.

The Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 59 crew members Anne McClain of NASA, David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, and Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos, Tuesday, June 25, 2019 Kazakh time (June 24 Eastern time). McClain, Saint-Jacques, and Kononenko are returning after 204 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 58 and 59 crews onboard the International Space Station.

An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test, May 1, 2019, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

Mountaineer at entrance to the Imax Crevasse, large dangerous crevasse requires ropes and guides, Antarctica

Project 30-18 - Operation Upshot/Knothole (Nevada Test Site) Detonation. HARRY fireball, aerial view (1 of 2). Photographs of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at Pacific Island and Nevada Test Sites.

Asteroid belt

Project 30-65 - Operation Plumbob (Nevada Test Site) Detonation. HOOD detonation: Series of 10 aerial fireball views (1 of 10). Photographs of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at Pacific Island and Nevada Test Sites.

Bluespotted Cornetfish Malpelo Colombia Pacific Ocean

Saturn's moon Enceladus drifts before the rings and the tiny moon Pandora in this view captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Nov. 1, 2009. The entire scene is backlit by the Sun, providing striking illumination for the icy particles that make up both the rings and the jets emanating from the south pole of Enceladus, which is about 314 miles (505 km) across. Pandora, which is about (52 miles, 84 kilometers) wide, was on the opposite side of the rings from Cassini and Enceladus when the image was taken. This view looks toward the night side on Pandora as well, which is lit by dim golden light reflected from Saturn. This natural-color image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft's narrow-angle camera at a distance of approximately 149,600 miles (240,800 kilometers) from Enceladus and 352,200 miles (566,800 kilometers) from Pandora. The Cassini spacecraft ended its mission on Sept. 15, 2017.

Project 23 - Redwing (Enewetak/Bikini) Detonation. Inca Cloud, Aerial View. Photographs of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at Pacific Island and Nevada Test Sites.

Ship Airwake investigation 7x10FT#2 W.t. settling Chamber. Shows test setup and model flow visuaization using microtufts and UV ilumination

ISS035-E-014971 (6 April 2013) --- This is a close-up image photographed during a run of the Burning and Suppression of Solids (BASS) experiment onboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station. Following a series of preparations, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy (out of frame) conducted runs of the experiment, which examines the burning and extinction characteristics of a wide variety of fuel samples in microgravity. The experiment is planned for guiding strategies for extinguishing fires in microgravity. BASS results contribute to the combustion computational models used in the design of fire detection and suppression systems in microgravity and on Earth.

Night Launch

A UFO appearing at the 1984 Olympics

ISS019-E-015229 (6 May 2009) --- Earths horizon against the blackness of space is featured in this image, photographed by an Expedition 19 crewmember on the International Space Station.

Mimas Floats Past Saturn As Seen By Cassini

Sputnik I, the first russian satellite to enter space, displayed on a stand shortly before its launching on October 4, 1957.

Close-up of dense filaments of dark matter particles, called 'hairs,' are sprouting from Earth, according to a new study based on computer simulations.

ISS031-E-143143 (19 June 2012) --- Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia at night is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 31 crew member on the International Space Station. The city of Al Jubayl (or Jubail) is located on the Saudi Arabian coastline of the Persian Gulf. The city has a history extending back more than 7,000 years, but since 1975 it has been associated with the heavy industries of petrochemical refining and production, fertilizer production and steel works. At night, these industrial areas form a brightly lit region (center) to the south of the residential and commercial center of Al Jubayl (characterized by green-gray lighting). An artificial peninsula extending into the Persian Gulf to the northeast hosts supertanker docks and petroleum storage facilities. The Persian Gulf to the north and northeast is devoid of lights; likewise, the open desert to the south-southeast provides a stark contrast to the well-lit urban and industrial areas. A bright circle of light locate

This photograph of Neptune was reconstructed from two images taken by NASA's Voyager 2. At the north (top) is the Great Dark Spot.

ISS028-E-015093 (10 July 2011) --- This nose cone view is one of a series of images showing various parts of the space shuttle Atlantis in Earth orbit as photographed by one of the six crewmembers on the International Space Station as the shuttle posed” for photo and visual surveys and performed a back-flip for the rendezvous pitch maneuver (RPM).An 800 millimeter lens was used to capture this particular series of images.

Expedition 70 Launch. The Soyuz rocket is launched with Expedition 70 NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

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