A Next Generation Space Telescope

Shown above is a next generation space telescope called "The Planetary Finder" or "TPF" for short. This is a "nulling interferometer" which combines the images from four separate telescopes arrayed along a single truss to produce a "nulled" image. This is accomplished by having the light rays from the left side of the spacecraft be precisely a half wavelength out of synch from the light rays on the right. When combined, this produces an image that blocks out the light from a star and would allow the visible detection of any planets orbiting that star. This spacecraft will be deployed at the orbit of Jupiter early next century, and as part of NASA's "Origins" program, its goal will be the discovery of an earth-like planet around another star. Such a discovery would change forever our view of the Universe and our place in it.

Giant Parabolic Mirror

This is a still frame from the "asteroid killers" (see the quick time movies "Big, Dumb Booster" and "Solar Sails for Asteroids"). In this view, we are behind a giant parabolic mirror which would fry an asteroid or comet by focusing the light and heat from the Sun. Heat build-up on the mirror is an import issue in the design of this construct, so the vehicle sports a large amount of trusswork and radiators to keep the heat dampened.

Solar Sails for Asteroids

If the big, dumb booster doesn't work, another scenario for saving the Earth is to attach "solar sails" to the oncoming asteroid. First, several small, "smart" spacecraft containing the sails lodge themselves to the asteroid. Next, they deploy their sails, which are actually large balloons which inflate around the asteroid. Finally, the solar wind--a stream of light and cosmic particles emanating from the sun--fills the sails and pushes the asteroid away.

The Big Dumb Booster

Here's a view of the Big, Dumb Booster, which is actually pretty smart in some ways. The vehicle houses a monstrously powerful rocket engine which is used to shove an asteroid out of the way of the Earth. To guide the booster to the asteroid, there are video and radar sensors that feed information to an onboard central computer. Check out the quick time movie to see the booster in action.

Galileo Probe

This is a still-frame from a sequence showingthe parachute deployment of Galileo's atmospheric probe in a Jovian cloudscape. This is the first time a probe was inserted directly into Jupiter, or any other non-terrestrial planet.

The Moon, Io

In preparation of the sequence entitled, "Galileo Flies Past Io," (see SVL Quick Time Movies), it was necessary to render a series of tests to inspect the application of a "texture map" on the geometry of a sphere. The map, generated from Voyager data, enables our sphere to become Io, a moon of Jupiter.

The Planet at 51 Pegasus

This is an artist's conception of the newly discovered planet at the star "51 Pegasus". This planet is much bigger than any planet within our own Solar System, and yet much closer to its parent star than Mercury is to our Sun. There is some debate as to whether this is a planet or a "brown dwarf" star and therefore challenges our definition of a planet. Either way, the new planet at 51 Pegasus is not a place you would want to visit for long!

The DNA Double Helix

In preparation of our newest poster, "The Human Genome," we built this model of a DNA molecule, featuring three twists. Notice that the twists appear uneven. This is caused by the molecular structure itself, creating "major" and "minor" grooves. Also, we learned that there is a 36 degree rotation between the "rungs" in the ladder. Finally, once we assembled the molecule, we couldn't help noticing that the phosphates which help make-up the "sides" of the "ladder" resemble little green flowers. This proves that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The DNA Nucleotides

This image features the component parts of the DNA molecule. First, the little spheres are color coded to indicate which chemical element they represent. Red = hydrogen, Blue = nitrogen, Green = oxygen, Silver = carbon, and Yellow = phosphorus. The three molecules in the top row are: from the left: the Deoxyribose-Phosphate Group, Cytosine and Thymine. On the bottom row, the two molecules from left to right are Guanine and Adenine. It should be noted that the Cytosine is always bonded to Guanine, and Adenine to Thymine. These molecules were used to build the DNA Double Helix featured above. If you wish to receive a copy of the completed poster, write to us at the address listed under the "Educational Posters" section of our web site. Ask for the "Human Genome Poster."

Antimatter #1

This is an illustration of a spacecraft designed to use matter/antimatter annihilation as its means of propulsion. Originally proposed by Dr. Gerald Smith of Penn State at the Advanced Propulsion Workshop held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena California, this vehicle would reduce the flight from Earth to Mars from the currently estimated two years (using current technology) to approximately 45 days each way. Such significant reduction of time spent "on the road" makes human exploration our solar system a real possibility.

Antimatter #2

Here we see the antimatter spacecraft flying away from the viewer into the glorious Orion Nebula, a star-forming region in the Constellation of Orion, the hunter, (The nebula forms the middle "star" in the sword of Orion). The image of the nebula was taken by Dr. Robert O'Dell of Rice University, using the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. This nebula is a natural place to send the ICAN II vehicle since it contains objects O'Dell has termed "Proplyds"---a contraction of the phrase "proto-planetary disks." These Proplyds are thought to be placental disks around nascent stars; these disks, according to theory, are essentially primordial solar systems, undergoing planet-making processes similar to our own Solar System.