File:Radioisotope thermoelectric generator plutonium pellet.jpg

Summary

Description	English: This is an image of a glowing red hot pellet of plutonium-238 dioxide to be used in a radioisotope thermoelectric generator for either the Cassini mission to Saturn or the Galileo mission to Jupiter. This image was provided by the Department of Energy via email and was taken at the Department's Los Alamos National Laboratory. Each pellet produces 62 watts of heat and when thermally isolated, can glow brilliant orange. Excerpt from email: The pellet is glowing red because of the heat generated by the radioactive decay (primarily alpha) of the fuel. [Photos of glowing pellets are typically taken after insulating the pellet under a graphite blanket for a period of time (minutes), removing the blanket, and taking the picture.] These pellets were used in the RTGs that powered NASA's Galilleo and Cassini spacecraft on missions to Jupiter and Saturn, respectively. The pictures now being sent back from Saturn by the Cassini orbiter are made possible through this unique fuel source. To view the pictures from Saturn you may visit the NASA web site at www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini. To read more about the General Purpose Heat source, please visit the Department of Energy website at http://nuclear.gov/space/space-desc.html ^[note] Also, I am attaching another image of a Pu-238 fuel pellet that might be of better resolution that the one shown in the link below. If you use either of the images, please attribute it to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. ^[note] Dead link, new web page at http://www.nuclear.energy.gov/space/neSpace2g.html
Date	24 March 2005 (original upload date)
Source	Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons.
Author	The original uploader was Deglr6328 at English Wikipedia.

Licensing

This image comes from Los Alamos National Laboratory, a national laboratory privately operated under contract from the United States Department of Energy by Los Alamos National Security, LLC between October 1, 2007 and October 31, 2018. LANL allowed anyone to use it for any purpose, provided that the copyright holder is properly attributed. Redistribution, derivative work, commercial use, and all other use is permitted. LANL requires the following text be used when crediting images to it: (link)

Unless otherwise indicated, this information has been authored by an employee or employees of the Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS), operator of the Los Alamos National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC52-06NA25396 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The U.S. Government has rights to use, reproduce, and distribute this information. The public may copy and use this information without charge, provided that this Notice and any statement of authorship are reproduced on all copies. Neither the Government nor LANS makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any liability or responsibility for the use of this information.

Attribution

Original upload log

The original description page was here. All following user names refer to en.wikipedia.

2009-09-21 21:21 Raeky 884×696× (147431 bytes) reverting to the properly cropped version
2006-09-20 12:55 Johnny--Bravo 900×698× (155102 bytes) Reverted to earlier revision
2005-04-12 03:23 Aarchiba 884×696× (147431 bytes) Missed a bit of black border
2005-04-12 03:20 Aarchiba 900×698× (155102 bytes) Trimmed black border.
2005-04-12 02:36 Deglr6328 1000×808× (195783 bytes)
2005-03-24 05:23 Deglr6328 154×117× (5434 bytes)
2005-03-24 05:22 Deglr6328 154×117× (4895 bytes) This is an image of a glowing hot unencapsulated pellet of plutonium-238 dioxide to be used in a [[radioisotpe thermoelectric generator]] for the [cassini spacecraft|Cassini]] mission to [[Saturn (planet)]]. The image was obtained from this [http://www.f

Valued image

This image has been assessed under the valued image criteria and is considered the most valued image on Commons within the scope: Plutonium. You can see its nomination here.