Pic Of The Day 17th March
Todays pic is quite different to the usual offerings found in this post, and could easily be mistaken for something from a sci-fi movie.
Solar Sail
Nearly 400 years ago astronomer Johannes Kepler observed comet tails blown by a solar breeze and suggested that vessels might likewise navigate through space using appropriately fashioned sails. It is now widely recognized that sunlight does indeed produce a force which moves comet tails and a large, reflective sail could be a practical means of propelling a spacecraft. In fact, the illustration above represents one concept explored by NASA centers to develop an interstellar probe pushed along by sunlight reflected from an ultrathin sail. Nearly half a kilometer wide, the delicate solar sail would be unfurled in space. Continuous pressure from sunlight would ultimately accelerate the craft to speeds about five times higher than possible with conventional rockets -- without requiring any fuel! If launched in 2010 such a probe could overtake Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft bound for interstellar space, in 2018 going as far in eight years as the Voyager will have journeyed in 41 years.
Credit: NASA / MSFC Illustration
A larger version of this piccy can be found here, this is a 198K Jpeg image.
A site with further explainations about solar sails can be found here.
Previous Pic Of The Day posts
16th Mar 03
15th Mar 03
14th Mar 03
13th Mar 03
11th Mar 03
09th Mar 03
08th Mar 03
Todays pic is quite different to the usual offerings found in this post, and could easily be mistaken for something from a sci-fi movie.
Solar Sail
Nearly 400 years ago astronomer Johannes Kepler observed comet tails blown by a solar breeze and suggested that vessels might likewise navigate through space using appropriately fashioned sails. It is now widely recognized that sunlight does indeed produce a force which moves comet tails and a large, reflective sail could be a practical means of propelling a spacecraft. In fact, the illustration above represents one concept explored by NASA centers to develop an interstellar probe pushed along by sunlight reflected from an ultrathin sail. Nearly half a kilometer wide, the delicate solar sail would be unfurled in space. Continuous pressure from sunlight would ultimately accelerate the craft to speeds about five times higher than possible with conventional rockets -- without requiring any fuel! If launched in 2010 such a probe could overtake Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft bound for interstellar space, in 2018 going as far in eight years as the Voyager will have journeyed in 41 years.
Credit: NASA / MSFC Illustration
A larger version of this piccy can be found here, this is a 198K Jpeg image.
A site with further explainations about solar sails can be found here.
Previous Pic Of The Day posts
16th Mar 03
15th Mar 03
14th Mar 03
13th Mar 03
11th Mar 03
09th Mar 03
08th Mar 03
Last edited:
