Author: Fraser Cain

Here are some space shuttle pics. You can turn any of these images into your computer desktop wallpaper. Just click on an image to enlarge it. Then right-click and choose “Set as Desktop Background”.

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Here’s a photo of the aft of the space shuttle Atlantis, including its 3 main engines. The space shuttle do a flip as part of every mission, so astronauts on board the International Space Station can examine the shuttle to see if it was damaged during launch.

This is a picture of the space shuttle Atlantis waiting on the launch pad, in preparation for mission STS-129 to visit the International Space Station.

Here’s a photo of the space shuttle Endeavour rising up to dock with the International Space Station. This image was taken as part of mission STS-130, when Endeavour delivered the Tranquility module.

This is a model of the space shuttle being tested in a wind tunnel. It was used by engineers to figure out what would happen if the space shuttle lost an engine during the launch.

Here’s a time lapse photo of the space shuttle Discovery blasting off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral. You can see how the bright rocket glare lights up the surroundings.

We have written many articles about the space shuttle for Universe Today. Here’s an article about how you could get a space shuttle of your own, and here’s an article about the space shuttle Columbia.

If you’d like more information on the shuttle, here’s a link to NASA’s Official space shuttle page, and here’s the homepage for NASA’s Human Spaceflight.

We’ve recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast all about the space shuttle. Listen here, Episode 127: The US Space Shuttle.

Here are some pictures of moons, from across the Solar System. You can make any of these images into your computer desktop wallpaper. Just click on an image to enlarge it. Then right-click and choose “Set as Desktop Background”.

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Here’s an image of Mars’ moon Phobos, taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The orbit of Phobos is slowly spiraling inward, and astronomers think it will collide with Mars in the next few million years.

Here’s a global view of Jupiter’s moon Io captured by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft. Because of the powerful tidal gravitational forces from Jupiter, Io is extremely volcanic, and can blast lava hundreds of kilometers into space.

Here’s an image of Saturn’s moon Mimas with Saturn as a backdrop. This photo was taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, currently orbiting around Saturn. Mimas has a huge crater from an asteroid impact that almost destroyed it millions of years ago; this makes it look like the Death Star.

Here’s a montage of Neptune and Triton captured by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft, which flew past the planet in 1989. Voyager 2 was the first and still only spacecraft to ever reach Uranus and Neptune, and have given us the only close up pictures taken of the planets.

This is a familiar moon… it’s the Moon, seen from the International Space Station. You can see how the Earth’s tenuous atmosphere transitions from the planet into the blackness of space.

We’ve written many articles about moons for Universe Today. Here’s an article about how many moons Earth has, and here’s an article about how many moons there are in the Solar System.

If you’d like more info on the Solar System, check out NASA’s Solar System exploration page, and here’s a link to NASA’s Solar System Simulator.

We’ve also recorded a series of episodes of Astronomy Cast about every planet in the Solar System. Start here, Episode 49: Mercury.

Want some space shuttle photos? Here are some photos that you can use for your computer wallpaper. Just click on an image to enlarge it, and then right-click and choose “Set as Desktop Background”.

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Here’s an image of the space shuttle Endeavour docked to the International Space Station. You can see how the atmosphere at the Earth’s horizon fades slowly into the blackness of space.

This is a closeup picture of the space shuttle Atlantis taken by astronauts on board the International Space Station. Many images are taken during each mission to study the shuttle and evaluate if there was any damage during the launch that could risk the lives of the crew during re-entry.

Here’s a picture of the space shuttle Atlantis landing at night in Cape Canaveral, ending mission STS-115. During this mission, astronauts attached the P3/P4 integrated truss to the International Space Station.

Here’s an image of the space shuttle Enterprise being mated to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. This was for a test of the space shuttle to see how vibrations experienced during launch would affect the shuttle.

Here’s a photograph of the space shuttle Endeavour blasting off to begin mission STS-118. During this mission, Endeavour delivered the starboard truss segment S5 to the International Space Station.

We’ve written many articles about the space shuttle for Universe Today. Here’s an article about the last night launch of the shuttle, and here’s an article with some cool images from a recent shuttle mission.

If you’d like more information on the shuttle, here’s a link to NASA’s Official space shuttle page, and here’s the homepage for NASA’s Human Spaceflight.

We’ve recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast all about the space shuttle. Listen here, Episode 127: The US Space Shuttle.

Here are some cool desert pictures, taken from space.

This is an image of the Gobi Desert taken from space. The top part of the image looks pockmarked, but that’s because the wind generated an enormous dust storm that obscured a large part of the region.

This is the Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, on the border between India and Pakistan. Not much grows here, so farmers mostly raise grazing animals, moving to different pastures depending on the season. You can see how the Himalayas rise up at the top of the image.

This is a view of the Sahara Desert in Africa, seen from space. Large clouds of dust obscure parts of the desert. There’s so little rainfall that farming is impossible.

Here’s a photo of the Simpson Desert in Queensland, Australia. Normally this region is very dry, but this photo was taken after a period of heavy rainfall and flooding, where huge flooded areas are seen from space.

This is a photo of the Taklimakan Desert in China. This is a depression that sits between two mountain ranges, preventing rain clouds from reaching the desert. At the top of the image are the Tien Shan Mountains, and the Kunlun Mountains are at the bottom of the image.

We’ve written many articles about deserts for Universe Today. Here’s an article about the largest desert on Earth, and here’s an article about the Atacama Desert.

If you’d like more info on Earth, check out NASA’s Solar System Exploration Guide on Earth. And here’s a link to NASA’s Earth Observatory.

We’ve also recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast all about planet Earth. Listen here, Episode 51: Earth.

Here are some amazing deep space pictures.

This is an image of the Bullet Cluster taken by Hubble. It’s a beautiful photograph, but it’s also evidence for dark matter. This cluster was formed through the collision of two clusters of galaxies. The strange thing is that the dark matter was separated away from the gas and dust in the cluster.

This is a picture of the active galaxy M82 taken by the three Great Observatories: Hubble, Chandra and Spitzer. This picture was released to celebrate 16 years of activity for Hubble.

This is a picture of a massive star forming region called the Papillon Nebula. This is just a smaller region in the much larger nebula N159.

Here’s a classic picture of the Sombrero Galaxy, located about 28 million light-years from Earth. This galaxy measures 50,000 light-years across.

This is an image of a strange disk of gas at the core of galaxy NGC 4261. Astronomers think that this is the result of a supermassive black hole feeding on gas and dust.

We’ve written many articles about deep space for Universe Today. Here’s an article about new deep space photos taken by Hubble, and here’s an article about alcohol in deep space.

If you’d like more amazing photographs, the best place to look is NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day. I also recommend you check out the website for the Hubble Space Telescope.

We’ve recorded many episodes of Astronomy Cast, including one about Hubble. Check it out, Episode 88: The Hubble Space Telescope.