A Near Record Ozone Hole in 2003

A Near Record Ozone Hole in 2003



As expected, the ozone hole near Earth's South Pole is back again this year.This year's hole, being slightly larger than North America, is larger than last year but short of the record set on 2000 September 10 Ozone is important because it shields us from damaging ultraviolet sunlight. Ozone is vulnerable, though, to CFCs and halons being released into the atmosphere. Inte national efforts to reduce the use of these damaging chemicals appear to be having a positive effect on their atmospheric abundance. The relatively large size of the ozone hole this year, however, is attributed partly to colder than normal air in the surrounding stratosphere. The above picture of the ozone hole was taken on September 11 by TOMS on board the orbiting Earth Probe satellite.

Apollo 12 Visits Surveyor 3

Apollo 12 Visits Surveyor 3



Apollo 12 was the second mission to land humans on the Moon.The landing site was picked to be near the location of Surveyor 3, a robot spacecraft that had landed on the Moon three years earlier.In the above photograph, taken by lunar module pilo Alan Bean,mission commander Pete Conrad jiggles the Surveyor spacecraft to see how firmly it is situated.The lunar module is visible in the distance. Apollo 12brought back many photographs and moon rocks. Among the milestones achieved byApollo 12 was the deployment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package, which carried out many experiments including one that measured the solar wind.