Mystery Feature Now Disappears in Titan Lake Mystery Feature Now Disappears in Titan Lake

What is that changing object in a cold hydrocarbon sea of Titan? Radar images from the robotic Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn have been recording the surface of the cloud-engulfed moon Titan for years. When imaging the flat -- and hence radar dark -- surface of the methane and ethane lake called Ligeia Mare, an object appeared in 2013 July just was not there in 2007. Subsequent observations in 2014 August found the object remained -- but had changed. In an image released last week, the mystery object seems to have disappeared in 2015 January. The featured false-color image shows how the 20-km long object has come, changed, and gone. Current origin speculative explanations include waves, bubbling foam and floating solids, but still no one is sure. Future observations, in particular Cassini's final close flyby of Titan in 2017 April, may either resolve the enigma or open up more speculation. via NASA http://ift.tt/1Rww7yY

First light from #MesaArch brings out an array of colors at #Canyonlands #NationalPark in #Utah. Mark Handy (@mark_handy_) captured this photo a few years ago on a cold March morning. We froze our butts off, but it was well worth it, he says. That’s because “we created some great memories, which is what photography is all about.” Photo courtesy of Mark Handy (@mark_handy_). by usinterior

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The vast majority of North Cascades #NationalPark (@ncascadesnps) is designated as #wilderness; a gorgeous, pristine landscape of mountains, valleys, lakes and forests. Here, #HiddenLake glimmers like a sapphire set into the snowy white #mountains. Photo by U.S. Geological Survey (@usgs). by usinterior

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Sunlight plays amazing tricks at #Yosemite National Park, illuminating the park’s towering granite rock formations and making them appear on fire. This pic shows @YosemiteNPS’s #ElCapitan on a stormy day, glowing in #sunset’s sweet light. Photo by Christine White Loberg, #NationalPark Service. #California by usinterior

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Cities at Night Cities at Night

Looking toward the south from an altitude of 400 kilometers, this stunning snapshot from orbit finds bright lights of Tokyo and cities across central and southern Japan, planet Earth shining upward through broken clouds. The spacefaring perspective was captured last July by astronaut Scott Kelly during his stay on board the International Space Station. Thin stripes of airglow follow the curve of the planet's dark limb, while beyond lie stars of the constellation Centaurus and the southern sky. Their solar panels extended, a docked Soyuz (bottom) and Progress spacecraft are posed in the foreground. Kelly returned to planet Earth this week after his one-year mission in space. via NASA http://ift.tt/1QAwY1D

Big enough to be overwhelming, still intimate enough to feel the pulse of time, #BlackCanyon of the Gunnison #NationalPark in #Colorado exposes you to some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock and craggiest spires in North America. With two million years to work, the Gunnison River -- along with the forces of weathering -- has sculpted this vertical wilderness of rock, water and sky @blackcanyonnps. Photo by Nina Mayer Ritchie (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl). by usinterior

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Sculptor Galaxy NGC 134 Sculptor Galaxy NGC 134

NGC 134 is probably not the best known spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor. Still, the tantalizing island universe is a clearly a telescopic treasure in southern skies. It shares a bright core, clumpy dust lanes, and loosely wrapped spiral arms with spiky foreground stars of the Milky Way and the more diminutive galaxy NGC 131 in this sharp cosmic vista. From a distance of about 60 million light-years, NGC 134 is seen tilted nearly edge-on. It spans some 150,000 light-years, making it even larger than our own Milky Way galaxy. NGC 134's warped disk and faint extensions give the appearance of past gravitational interactions with neighboring galaxies. Like the much closer and brighter Sculptor galaxy NGC 253, tendrils of dust appear to rise from a galactic disk sprinkled with blue star clusters and pinkish star forming regions. via NASA http://ift.tt/1LEhe0I

The soft colors of #sunset reflect off the snow, creating this breathtakingly beautiful shot from #CraterLake #NationalPark in #Oregon. Christian Schaffer (@christianannschaffer) snapped this pic a few months ago when the park’s snowpack was over 8 feet high. Of the experience, she says, “It was so incredibly beautiful and also incredibly cold -- all of our electronics died while we were out there except my one camera battery. The cold was worth it though; one of the most amazing sunsets I've ever seen.” Photo courtesy of Christian Schaffer (@christianannschaffer). by usinterior

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In this #sunset stunner, the steep cliffs of Chimney Rock dive to meet the Pacific Ocean at Point Reyes National Seashore in #California. Spectacular sunsets aren’t the only things to watch out for along this coastal trail: spring is the perfect time to spot wildflower displays and migrating whales. Located just north of the San Francisco Bay Area, @pointreyesnps makes an ideal day trip escape to a foggy wonderland of beaches, waterfalls and grasslands along 80 miles of protected coastline. Photo courtesy of Anela Ramos (@rangeranela). by usinterior

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Moons and Jupiter Moons and Jupiter

Some of the Solar System's largest moons rose together on February 23. On that night, a twilight pairing of a waning gibbous Moon and Jupiter was captured in this sharp telescopic field of view. The composite of short and long exposures reveals the familiar face of our fair planet's own large natural satellite, along with a line up of the ruling gas giant's four Galilean moons. Left to right, the tiny pinpricks of light are Callisto, Io, Ganymede, [Jupiter], and Europa. Closer and brighter, our own natural satellite appears to loom large. But Callisto, Io, and Ganymede are actually larger than Earth's Moon, while water world Europa is only slightly smaller. In fact, of the Solar System's six largest planetary satellites, only Saturn's moon Titan is missing from the scene. via NASA http://ift.tt/1Y57jDq