Images Dated 23rd November 2004

Amelia Earhart, US aviation pioneer

Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), American aviation pioneer. Earhart was the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air as a passenger (1928), fly solo across the Atlantic, setting a new record of 13 hours and 30 minutes (1932), and fly from Hawaii to California (1935). In 1937, Earhart attempted to become the first woman to fly around the world. Her plane, with her navigator Fred Noonan also on board, disappeared on 2 July 1937 whilst flying over the Pacific Ocean from New Guinea to Howland Island. No trace of the plane or crew was ever found

© SCIENCE, INDUSTRY & BUSINESS LIBRARY/NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Mosaic of images showing one of Mars hemispheres

Mars. Mosaic of images taken by the Viking I and II probes showing the globe of Mars. The image is centred on 90 degrees longitude and 0 degrees latitude. The equatorial band and the southern hemisphere of the planet are marked by heavily cratered areas whereas the northern hemisphere is occupied by vast, sparsely cratered plains. The south polar cap (white bottom) is believed to consist mainly of frozen carbon dioxide; the north polar cap is formed by a mixture of carbon dioxide and water ice. The Tharsis region (upper centre left) hosts many volcanoes (round features), the largest of which being Olympus Mons (centre left) with a diameter of about 540km

© US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Colony of E. coli bacteria

False-colour scanning electron micrograph of a colony of the rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacterium, Escherichia coli. E. coli, as it is commonly known, is found in the human intestines, where it is normally harmless. Under certain conditions, however, it may become pathogenic, causing urinogenital infections and diarrhoea. It is also the organism most commonly used in microbiological studies and genetic engineering experiments. Magnification: x6600 at 6x4. 5 cm size

© A.B. DOWSETT/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY