Media Gallery

High-resolution images and videos such as those shown at SC12 help scientists and engineers better understand their simulations and experimental data, and make new discoveries for NASA missions.

Click on a thumbnail to view the associated caption and image. Then, use the previous/next arrows to navigate through the images in each theme area. Click on a video thumbnail (marked by the superimposed "play" icon) to view the video and caption. Please note: Some of the videos are several megabytes in size and may take a few moments to load.

Aeronautics

Image of UH-60 Blackhawk
UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter (top) and Navier-Stokes detached eddy simulation of a flexible UH-60 rotor (bottom) in forward flight. Time-dependent tip vortices and the vortex wake are rendered with an isosurface of the q-criterion. Magenta and blue colors correspond to high and low values of vorticity, respectively. Tim Sandstrom, NASA/Ames
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Image of vorter wake
Aft view of the UH-60 helicopter rotor detached eddy simulation showing the 3D nature of the vortex wake. Note the separated flow leaving the centerbody in the middle of the image, and the uneven wake separation due to the blade motion. Tim Sandstrom, NASA/Ames
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Image of Upstream propagation
Upstream propagation of adjoint solution for a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in forward flight. Contours indicate where the lift is sensitive to perturbations in both space and time. Eric Nielsen, NASA/Langley; Boris Diskin, National Institute of Aerospace
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Image of Downstream propagation
Downstream propagation of flow solution for a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in forward flight. Eric Nielsen, NASA/Langley; Boris Diskin, National Institute of Aerospace
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Image of Isosurfaces
Isosurfaces (top images) and centerplane slices (bottom images) of flow in the University of Virginia scramjet combustor at two fuel-flow rates. Silver isosurfaces show gaseous hydrogen mass fraction, indicating the shape of the fuel plume; colored isosurfaces show water vapor mass fraction. Centerplane slices show temperature. Vortices generated by the flow mix fuel and air, providing conditions suitable for combustion. Jesse Fulton, North Carolina State University
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Images of Coherent Absorption Raman Scattering
Comparison of predicted temperature contours with experimental Coherent Absorption Raman Scattering (CARS) measurements at three cross-flow planes downstream of the injector. From left: Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes predictions; large-eddy simulation (LES) predictions; CARS measurements; LES predictions interpolated to CARS measurement points. Jack Edwards, North Carolina State University
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Image of Simulated Flowfield
Two visualizations of the simulated flowfield for a Gulfstream aircraft high-lift configuration depict the complex, unsteady flow features at both flap tips. The upper image shows the formation of vortex filaments and their roll-up into a single, prominent vortex at each tip. The lower image shows the corresponding surface pressure fluctuation field (noise sources), corroborating wind tunnel measurements that were obtained at NASA Langley Research Center. Raymond Mineck, NASA/Langley; Patrick Moran, NASA/Ames
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Image of Simulated Flap noise
A comparison of the simulated flap noise sources for a Gulfstream aircraft, using a two-dimensional planar cut of the acoustic field, shows the radiated sound waves (noise) emanating from the tips of the deployed flap. The upper image shows the baseline configuration (without noise treatment). The lower image shows the effect of the noise reduction concept applied to the flap tips. Raymond Mineck, NASA/Langley; Patrick Moran, NASA/Ames
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Image of Extended Formation Flight
The need to resolve many disparate length scales and compute small quantities with high accuracy drives computational requirements for high-performance computing systems. The mesh shown here has approximately 500 million unknown quantities. Michael Aftosmis, James Kless, NASA/Ames
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Our Planet

Image of the UV-CDAT
The Ultrascale Visualization Climate Data Analysis Tools (UV-CDAT) graphical user interface shows plots generated by NASA's climate data analysis workflow modules. The interface includes palettes of plot types, data access interfaces, a project management panel, plot configuration widgets, and a calculator plus command-line interface for configuring data processing and analysis operations. Thomas Maxwell, NASA/Goddard
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Image of ModelE
Top: Simulations of January 2100 with CO2 concentrations 1.25 times (left) and 3.5 times (right) January 2012 levels; near-surface temperature increases (yellow) or decreases (blue) are shown. Bottom: May 2010 precipitation from ModelE historical hindcast (left) and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission observations (right). Ellen Salmon, NASA/Goddard
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Image of GEOS-5
Left: Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5) decadal simulation of August 2019 Aerosol Optical Thickness shows the degree to which aerosols prevent the transmission of light. Right: GEOS-5 seasonal forecast for a Dec. 2012-Feb. 2013 anomaly in near-surface temperature, relative to December-February averages. Ellen Salmon, Siegfried Schubert, NASA/Goddard
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Image of Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis
These seasonal average temperatures were generated using Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications/Analytic Services (MERRA/AS). Users can specify the time span and period for a variety of operations, whose results are then stored in the Virtual Climate Data Server (vCDS). Glenn Tamkin, NASA/Goddard
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Image of Global Aerosols
A portrait of global aerosols from a 10-kilometer Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5) simulation. Dust (red) is lifted from the surface, sea salt (blue) swirls inside cyclones, smoke (green) rises from fires, and sulfate particles (white) stream from volcanoes and fossil fuel emissions. William Putman, NASA/Goddard
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Image of Global Aerosols
The atmospheric winds near the surface (white) and at mid- to upper-levels (colored) that transport and disperse global aerosols within the GEOS-5 atmospheric model. William Putman, NASA/Goddard
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Image of WELD
Global monthly composites from the Web-enabled Landsat Data (WELD) project, executed using NASA Earth Exchange (NEX) resources. The project goal is to provide consistent, cloud-free, high-resolution data for assessing land surface dynamics. The composites represent over 80,000 scenes from the Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, and over 40 terabytes of processed data. David Roy, South Dakota State University; Petr Votava, NASA/ Ames.
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Image of Accelerating analysis with NEX
Accelerating analysis with NEX: Rapid assessment of the impacts of 2012 summer drought in the United States on regional ecosystems. Sangram Ganguly, NASA/Ames
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Space Exploration

Image of Simulation of an Orion Multi-Purpose Crew
Simulation of an Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle model tested in a wind tunnel at Mach 8. Surface contours indicate heat flux and the lines represent stream traces colored by the local velocity magnitude. David Saunders, NASA/Ames
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Image of simulaton of the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft
Snapshot from a simulaton of the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft flying into Mars at 11,300 mph. The image shows temperature contours on the surface and at a plane on the centerline of the vehicle. The black lines illustrate the flow direction (going from left to right) on the centerline plane. Chun Tang, NASA/Ames
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Image of CFD
These images show a close correlation between the comparison of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to a wind tunnel test of 1-nozzle supersonic retropropulsion. The CFD simulations closely matched shock standoff distances as well as plume shape and behavior. Karl Edquist, NASA/Langley; Kerry Zarchi, NASA/Ames
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Image of Pressure contours
Snapshot of pressure contours through the centerline of a simulation as the overpressure propagates through the launch tower and an evaporation cloud of water forms in the flame trench. Gabriel Putnam, NASA/Marshall
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Image of Lauch plume gass
Diagram of the above simulation illustrating the geometry of the test article and the interaction between the launch plume gas and the evaporating suppression water. Gabriel Putnam, NASA/Marshall
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Image of valve simulation
Velocity magnitude snapshots from the moving valve simulation. The top images show valve closure from left to right. The bottom image shows the valve reopening from left to right. Brian R. Richardson, NASA/Marshall
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Image of CFD Simulation
Snapshots from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation results of a Reusable Solid Rocket Motor V (RSRMV) during the ignition transient. The images on the left show the internal Mach number. The images on the right show surface temperatures, which indicate the progression of the propellant ignition from the fins through the bore. Philip Davis, NASA/Marshall
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Image of Isosurfaces
Isosurfaces of core stage engine combustion gas (blue) and solid rocket booster effluent (red) show the evolution and mixing of the plumes. These isosurfaces represent regions where the local composition contains a 10% mass fraction of each gas. Brandon Williams, NASA/Marshall
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Image of Pressure contours
Pressure contours (top row) and gradients of pressure (bottom row) illustrate the formation of the IOP wave in the flame trench and the upward reflections that interact with the vehicle. Brandon Williams, NASA/Marshall
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Image of Space Launch and SpaceX
A potential Space Launch System (left) and SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket (right) launch site configuration showing exhaust plume structure at an instantaneous time. Michael Barad, Cetin Kiris, NASA/Ames
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Image of SLS
Side view of the Space Launch System (SLS) launch configuration shown in the previous figure. Michael Barad, Cetin Kiris, NASA/Ames
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Image of simulation of SLS
Power-on simulations of the Space Launch System (SLS) were performed to analyze the base pressure and nozzle hinge moments. The plot shows contours of pressure coefficient on the cutting plane and streamlines that indicate the velocity flow patterns. The plume structure displays rich shock diamond structures generated by the underexpanded solid rocket booster (SRB) jets, and the bow shock from the SRB nose interacts with the boundary layer along the core stage. Jeffrey Housman, Cetin Kiris, NASA/Ames
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Image of Surface line integral convolution
Surface line integral convolution, colored by the pressure coefficient, is shown on the surface of the SLS. Protuberances along the body of the vehicle disrupt the velocity field near the surface, changing the separation patterns. This is most evident at the liquid oxygen feedline fairing where the bow shock of the SRB hits the core stage, travels downstream, and then interacts with the fairing. Similar behavior is also observed at the aft attachment ring. Jeffrey Housman, Cetin Kiris, NASA/Ames
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Image of MarsWRF model
The four-layer nested structure within the MarsWRF model enables seamless zooming into local surface features. From left to right: Global domain (180º x 360º Lat./Long.), regional domain (60º x 60º), mesoscale domain (10º x 10º), and local domain (5º x 5º). Contours reflect surface elevation above Mars geodetic datum. Michael Mischna, JPL/Caltech
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Image of Gale Winds
Diurnal variation in winds at the Gale Crater landing site reveals influence of diurnal tides and local topography. Daytime winds come largely from the north, while nighttime winds reverse flow and come from the south. This is consistent with the overall topography of the crater, which consists of a large central peak ringed by a deep moat within the crater walls. Michael Mischna, JPL/Caltech
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Primitive unit cell of a La<sub>3</sub>Te<sub>4</sub> structure. Lanthanum (La) is shown in yellow; tellurium (Te) is shown in blue. Trinh Vo, Paul Von Allmen, JPL/Caltech
Primitive unit cell of a La3Te4 structure. Lanthanum (La) is shown in yellow; tellurium (Te) is shown in blue. Trinh Vo, Paul Von Allmen, JPL/Caltech
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Image from inside Gale Crater
From inside Gale Crater, NASA's Curiosity rover used its Mast Camera (MastCam) to take this image of Mount Sharp, rising nearly six kilometers above the floor of the crater. JPL/Caltech
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Image of Curiosity
Curiosity, inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory before it was shipped to Kennedy Space Center for launch to Mars. JPL/Caltech
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Supercomputing

Image of Pleiades
During the Pleiades supercomputer's recent upgrade, 27 racks installed in 2008 were replaced with 24 SGI ICE X racks, increasing the overall peak processing by 409 teraflops, yet maintaining the same electricity budget. Marco Librero, NASA/Ames
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Image of Pleiades
NASA's High-End Computing Capability (HECC) archive system was updated by increasing the library storage capacity from 31 petabytes (PB) to over 90 PB. The eight-frame Spectra Logic T950 libraries are pictured at right. Marco Librero, NASA/Ames
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Image of the Pleiades supercomputer
The Pleiades supercomputer at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) facility currently contains 11,776 nodes, with four generations of processors and three generations of InfiniBand technology. Dominic Hart, NASA/Ames
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Image of NASA Center for Climate Simulation
The newest scalable unit of the NASA Center for Climate Simulation's Discover supercomputer contains 7,680 Intel Xeon Sandy Bridge cores and 480 Intel Xeon Phi Many Integrated Core (MIC) co-processors. Discover now has a peak performance of more than 1 petaflops. Jarrett Cohen and Michael Chyatte, NASA/Goddard
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Image of Discover
A 10-kilometer-resolution simulation run on the Discover supercomputer captured how winds lift up aerosols from the Earth's surface and transport them around the globe. Depicted aerosols are dust (red), sea salt (blue), black and organic carbon (green), and sulfate (white). William Putman, NASA/Goddard
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Image of Global atmospheric simulation
The NASA Center for Climate Simulation's Discover supercomputer hosted a 2-year, 10-kilometer global atmospheric simulation, which included revisiting the extraordinary 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Besides spawning 23 storms (compared to 28 in reality), the simulation demonstrated an increased ability to model sometimes rapidly changing intensities. William Putman and Alex Kekesi, NASA/Goddard
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Image of IBM iDataPlex
The newest addition to Discover is an IBM iDataPlex cluster integrating 480 Intel Xeon Phi Many Integrated Core (MIC) co-processors with 7,680 Intel Sandy Bridge processor cores. Jarrett Cohen and Michael Chyatte, NASA/Goddard
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Image of Clouse Simulation
A cloud simulation from the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble code, using 260x260 horizontal grid points (with 250-meter grid spacing) and 72 vertical levels. White isosurfaces depict the outer boundary of the clouds, and surface color shading represents the low-level temperature perturbation (showing cold outflow from thunderstorms). Also shown are the horizontal wind vectors just above the freezing level, at 5.5 kilometers above the surface. Derek J. Posselt, University of Michigan
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The Universe

Image of Cosmic Web
Visualization of the Cosmic Web. A 50-million-light-year-thick slice from a single snapshot of the BigBolshoi simulation (8 billion particles, 4 billion light years across) made with the Adaptive Refinement Tree (ART) code. BigBolshoi predictions of the properties and distribution of clusters of galaxies closely match observations. Anatoly Klypin, New Mexico State University; Stefan Gottlöber, Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam
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Image of Sunrise observation
Sunrise observations of a simulated galaxy. Using the radiative-transfer code Sunrise enables the prediction of many observable properties of simulated galaxies, including the effects of stellar evolution and dust, spectral energy distributions (SEDs) out to the far-IR, star-formation histories, and kinematics. Daniel Ceverino, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; Christopher Moody, University of California Santa Cruz.
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Image of Stellar Cluster
Volume rendering of a turbulent, star-forming cloud, showing a complex gas density distribution, with a network of intersecting filaments where stars are formed. In this simulation snapshot, bright spots show the position of stars, approximately one million years after the beginning of star formation, when 2% of the cloud mass has been turned into approximately 2,000 stars. Tim Sandstrom, NASA/Ames
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Image of Stellar Cluster
Close-up simulation snapshot of a turbulent, star-forming cloud, showing a complex gas density distribution, with a network of intersecting filaments where stars are formed. Bright spots show the position of stars, approximately one million years after the beginning of star formation, when 2% of the cloud mass has been turned into approximately 2,000 stars. Tim Sandstrom, NASA/Ames
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Image of geyser-like eruptions
Visualization of kinetic helicity showing geyser-like eruptions above the subsurface, turbulent, convective layer of the Sun. The height of eruptions in this image is about 1,000 kilometers. Tim Sandstrom, NASA/Ames; Irina Kitiashvili, Stanford University
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Image of Eruptions
Eruptions and spicules above the solar limb, as observed by NASA's Hinode space mission in the ultraviolet light emitted by ionized atoms of calcium. The spicules can reach 6-8 megameters above the Sun's surface. Alexander Kosovichev, Stanford University
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Image of Emerging magnetic flux
Emerging magnetic flux at a continuum optical depth of 0.1. Red and blue indicate opposite polarity vertical fields; green is the horizontal field. In this image, horizontal tops of loops emerge over granules with vertical legs at the granule boundaries, and the field is rapidly swept to the granule boundaries. The loops expand into the upper atmosphere leaving behind their vertical legs, which accumulate into flux tubes that pierce the solar surface and form pores and sunspots. Robert Stein, Michigan State University
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Image of Complex magnetic loop
Complex magnetic loop structure produced by magnetoconvection. Visualized as log|B|, with axes in megameters. Tim Sandstrom, NASA/Ames
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Image of Formation of turbulence
Formation of turbulence driven by the presence of velocity shear. This turbulence gives rise to structures at the smallest, electron-level scales, and mixes solar wind plasma and fields with those in the Earth's magnetosphere. Homa Karimabadi, University of California, San Diego; Burlen Loring, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
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Image of Earths magnetosphere
3D global hybrid simulation of the Earth's magnetosphere. The magnetic field from the solar wind is colored in red. The regions with mixed colors indicate areas where the magnetic field from the solar wind has entered and mixed with the magnetic field of the Earth. These turbulent regions amplify the adverse effects of space weather on Earth and its technological systems. Homa Karimabadi, University of California, San Diego; Burlen Loring, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
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Image of Keplers planet candidates
Kepler's planet candidates: This relatively small patch of sky being observed is potentially teaming with planetary systems, with planets spanning a vast range of sizes compared to Earth. Are we alone? Natalie Batalha, San Jose State University
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Image of Kepler pipeline
The Kepler Science Operations Center data processing pipeline is divided into modules, each performing a specific task. As more data is collected during the extended mission, more of the pipeline software will need to be migrated to the Pleiades supercomputer to support both code development and data processing to meet NASA science goals. William Rapin, ISAE/SUPAERO (Superior Institute for Aeronautics & Space)
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Image of Vertical Flow
Snapshot of vertical flow velocity on the surface of 1.47-solar mass star (Kepler ID 9962653) shows convection cells (granulation) that can be 10 times bigger than those on the Sun. The dark lines and small-scale features are material downdrafts flowing from the surface to the interior. Volume rendering of kinetic helicity below the stellar surface illustrates ubiquitous, turbulent, swirling motions that generate stellar sounds. Tim Sandstrom, NASA/Ames; Irina Kitiashvili, Stanford University.
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Image of the Surface Density
A small area of the surface density simulations of 1.35-solar mass star (Kepler ID 11342880) shows stellar vortices as compact swirling structures of reduced plasma density (dark features). The bright lines are intergranular lanes of higher density. Irina Kitiashvili, Stanford University.
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Videos

video of UH60 Black Hawk
A UH60 Black Hawk helicopter rotor in forward flight, created from a detached eddy simulation used to accurately model vortex size and turbulence in the wake. Magenta indicates strong vorticity, blue is low vorticity. Tim Sandstrom, NASA/Ames.
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video of UH60 Black Hawk
From a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter rotor detached eddy simulation showing the 3D nature of the vortex wake. Note the separated flow leaving the centerbody in the middle of the image, and the uneven wake separation due to the blade motion. Magenta indicates strong vorticity, blue is low vorticity. Tim Sandstrom, NASA/Ames.
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video of computational fluid dynamics
Comparison of computational fluid dynamics simulations to a wind tunnel test of 3-nozzle supersonic retropropulsion. Bil Kleb, NASA/Langley; Guy Schauerhamer, NASA/Johnson.
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video of computational fluid dynamics
Comparison of computational fluid dynamics simulations to a wind tunnel test of 1-nozzle supersonic retropropulsion. Karl Edquist, NASA/Langley; Kerry Zarchi, NASA/Ames.
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video of water suppression simulation
Pressure contours through the centerline of the water suppression simulation as the rocket ignites, the ignition over-pressure propagates, and the plume stabilizes. Liquid water droplets can be seen as sprays of blue dots, while evaporated steam is visible as a translucent cloud. Gabriel Putnam, NASA/Marshall.
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video of computational fluid dynamics
Clip of a computational fluid dynamics simulation of Mach number (velocity magnitude) contours of a moving valve for the Space Launch System as it opens and closes. Brian Richardson, NASA/Marshall.
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video of solid rocket motor
This animation shows the internal Mach number of the reusable solid rocket motor during the ignition transient. Blue surface cells signify propellant that has not ignited. Pink surface cells signify ignited propellant. Philip Davis, NASA/Marshall.
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video of surface temperature
This animation shows the surface temperature of the reusable solid rocket motor during the ignition transient. Philip Davis, NASA/Marshall.
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video of star forming cloud
Volume rendering of a turbulent, star-forming cloud, showing a complex gas density distribution, with a network of intersecting filaments where stars are formed. In the final frame of this simulation, bright spots show the position of stars approximately one million years after the beginning of star formation, when 2% of the cloud mass has been turned into approximately 2,000 stars. Tim Sandstrom, NASA/Ames.
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video of GEOS5
Surface wind speeds from the GEOS-5 operational assimilation system (consisting of a 50-kilometer analysis coupled with a 25-kilometer model) – beginning September 1, 2012 preceding a 7-kilometer global simulation with the GEOS-5 atmospheric model initialized at 09Z on October 26, 2012 – reveal the massive size of Hurricane Sandy versus the other storms for this period, including the persistent Hurricane Nadine, as well as hurricanes Michael and Raphael. The 7-kilometer simulation depicts the strong onshore winds in New York and New Jersey even after landfall and the dramatic influence of the land surface slowing down Sandy's inland surface winds. William Putman, NASA/Goddard.
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video of GEOS5
Near-surface (850 hPa) wind speeds from the GEOS-5 operational assimilation system (consisting of a 50-kilometer analysis coupled with a 25-kilometer model) – beginning September 1, 2012 preceding a 7-kilometer global simulation with the GEOS-5 atmospheric model initialized at 09Z on October 26, 2012 – reveal the massive size of Hurricane Sandy versus the other storms for this period, including the persistent Hurricane Nadine, as well as hurricanes Michael and Raphael. The 7-kilometer simulation depicts the strong onshore winds in New York and New Jersey even after landfall and the dramatic influence of the land surface slowing down Sandy's inland surface winds. William Putman, NASA/Goddard.
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video of aerosols from Earths surface
This 10-kilometer-resolution simulation captures how winds lift up aerosols from the Earth's surface and transport them around the globe. Winds (white) raise sea-salt (blue) from the oceans and dust (red) from the surface, disperse plumes of sulfates (ash brown) from volcanic eruptions and fossil fuel emissions, and carry organic and black carbon (green) within smoke from wildfires and human-initiated burning (red-yellow dots). The visualization covers September 1, 2006 to January 31, 2007. William Putman, NASA/Goddard.
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video of GEOS5
This 10-kilometer global mesoscale simulation using the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS-5) explores the evolution of surface temperatures as the sun heats the earth and fuels cloud formation in the tropics and along baroclinic zones; the presence of water vapor and precipitation within these global weather patterns; the dispersion of global aerosols from dust, biomass burning, fossil fuel emissions, and volcanoes; and the winds that transport them from the surface to upper levels. William Putman, NASA/Goddard.
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video of magnetic flux
Emerging magnetic flux at a continuum optical depth of 0.1. Red and blue indicate opposite polarity vertical fields; green is the horizontal field. In this image, horizontal tops of loops emerge over granules with vertical legs at the granule boundaries, and the field is rapidly swept to the granule boundaries. The loops expand into the upper atmosphere leaving behind their vertical legs, which accumulate into flux tubes that pierce the solar surface and form pores and sunspots. Robert Stein, Michigan State University.
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