Images Dated 24th February 2004

open-uri20120928-24848-g3fljq

2004 Formula One Testing
Imola, Italy. 24th February 2004.
Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F2004, tries a radical new wing, mounted on the cars engine cover, action.
World Copyright: Photo4/LAT Photographic
ref: Digital Image Only

Optical image of the nebula NGC 1977 in Orion

NGC 1977 reflection nebula. True-colour optical image of the nebula NGC 1977, part of the great Orion Nebula in Orion. This nebula is slightly above the rest of the Orion nebula (M42 & M43), which are here out of frame at the bottom. This nebula is known as a reflection nebula as it does not produce its own light. Instead, the fine dust particles reflect the light of nearby bright stars. Reflection nebulae usually appear blue because blue light is scattered more than red light. The light comes from the stars 42 and 45 Orionis (just below centre). This image was produced by digitally combining photographs taken by the UK Schmidt Telescope in blue and red light

© CELESTIAL IMAGE CO./SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Death of the dinosaurs

Death of the dinosaurs. Artist's impression of a pair of Tyrannosaurus rex succumbing to the savage onslaught of a global winter brought on by a comet impact with Earth. The dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago, along with thousands of other life-forms, at the end of the Cretaceous Period. The theory that the mass extinction was caused by a cometary impact has recently received support from geological evidence, though numerous other explanations for the death of the dinosaurs have been put forward. It is suggested that a comet hitting Earth would have thrown millions of tons of dust & rocks into the atmosphere, blocking the Sun's light & causing a global cooling

© JULIAN BAUM/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY