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In 1981 , a proposal for an asteroid mission was submitted to the European Space Agency ( ESA ) . Named the Asteroidal Gravity Optical and Radar Analysis ( AGORA ) , this spacecraft was to launch some time in 1990 – 1994 and perform two flybys of large asteroids . The preferred target for this mission was Vesta . AGOR... |
In the early 1990s , NASA initiated the Discovery Program , which was intended to be a series of low @-@ cost scientific missions . In 1996 , the program 's study team recommended as a high priority a mission to explore the asteroid belt using a spacecraft with an ion engine . Funding for this program remained problem... |
It was launched on 27 September 2007 , as the space mission to make the first visits to both Vesta and Ceres . On 3 May 2011 , Dawn acquired its first targeting image 1 @.@ 2 million kilometers from Vesta . After orbiting Vesta for 13 months , Dawn used its ion engine to depart for Ceres , with gravitational capture o... |
Dawn 's mission profile calls for it to study Ceres from a series of circular polar orbits at successively lower altitudes . It entered its first observational orbit ( " RC3 " ) around Ceres at an altitude of 13 @,@ 500 km on 23 April 2015 , staying for only approximately one orbit ( fifteen days ) . The spacecraft wi... |
Dawn 's arrival in a stable orbit around Ceres was delayed after , close to reaching Ceres , it was hit by a cosmic ray , making it take another , longer route around Ceres in back , instead of a direct spiral towards it . |
The Chinese Space Agency is designing a sample retrieval mission from Ceres that would take place during the 2020s . |
= = Maps = = |
= = = Map of quadrangles = = = |
The following imagemap of the dwarf planet Ceres is divided into 15 quadrangles . They are named after the first craters whose names the IAU approved in July 2015 . The map image ( s ) were taken by the Dawn space probe . |
= = Gallery = = |
= = = True @-@ color images = = = |
= = = Animations = = = |
= Skye = |
Skye , or the Isle of Skye ( / skaɪ / ; Scottish Gaelic : An t @-@ Eilean Sgitheanach or Eilean a ' Cheò ) , is the largest and most northerly major island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland . The island 's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillins , the rocky slopes of which provide some o... |
The island has been occupied since the Mesolithic period and its history includes a time of Norse rule and a long period of domination by Clan MacLeod and Clan Donald . The 18th @-@ century Jacobite risings led to the breaking up of the clan system and subsequent Clearances that replaced entire communities with sheep ... |
The main industries are tourism , agriculture , fishing and forestry . Skye is part of the Highland Council local government area . The island 's largest settlement is Portree , known for its picturesque harbour . There are links to various nearby islands by ferry and , since 1995 , to the mainland by a road bridge . ... |
= = Etymology = = |
The first written references to the island are Roman sources such as the Ravenna Cosmography , which refers to Scitis and Scetis , which can be found on a map by Ptolemy . One possible derivation comes from skitis , an early Celtic word for winged , which may describe how the island 's peninsulas radiate out from a mo... |
In the Norse sagas Skye is called Skíð , for example in the Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar and a skaldic poem in the Heimskringla from c . 1230 contains a line that translates as " the hunger battle @-@ birds were filled in Skye with blood of foemen killed " . The island was also referred to by the Norse as Skuy ( misty is... |
Eilean a ' Cheò , which means island of the mist ( a translation of the Norse name ) , is a poetic Gaelic name for the island . |
= = Geography = = |
At 1 @,@ 656 square kilometres ( 639 sq mi ) , Skye is the second @-@ largest island in Scotland after Lewis and Harris . The coastline of Skye is a series of peninsulas and bays radiating out from a centre dominated by the Cuillin hills ( Gaelic : An Cuiltheann ) . Malcolm Slesser suggested that its shape " sticks ou... |
There are marcasites black and white , resembling silver ore , near the village Sartle : there are likewise in the same place several stones , which in bigness , shape , & c . , resemble nutmegs , and many rivulets here afford variegated stones of all colours . The Applesglen near Loch @-@ Fallart has agate growing in... |
The Black Cuillin , which are mainly composed of basalt and gabbro , include twelve Munros and provide some of the most dramatic and challenging mountain terrain in Scotland . The ascent of Sgùrr a ' Ghreadaidh is one of the longest rock climbs in Britain and the Inaccessible Pinnacle is the only peak in Scotland that... |
The northern peninsula of Trotternish is underlain by basalt , which provides relatively rich soils and a variety of unusual rock features . The Kilt Rock is named after the tartan @-@ like patterns in the 105 metres ( 344 ft ) cliffs . The Quiraing is a spectacular series of rock pinnacles on the eastern side of the ... |
Beyond Loch Snizort to the west of Trotternish is the Waternish peninsula , which ends in Ardmore Point 's double rock arch . Duirinish is separated from Waternish by Loch Dunvegan , which contains the island of Isay . The loch is ringed by sea cliffs that reach 295 metres ( 967 ft ) at Waterstein Head . Oolitic loam ... |
= = = Towns and villages = = = |
Portree in the north at the base of Trotternish is the largest settlement ( estimated population 2 @,@ 264 in 2011 ) and is the main service centre on the island . Broadford , the location of the island 's only airstrip , is on the east side of the island and Dunvegan in the north @-@ west is well known for its castle... |
= = = Climate = = = |
The influence of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream create a mild oceanic climate . Temperatures are generally cool , averaging 6 @.@ 5 ° C ( 43 @.@ 7 ° F ) in January and 15 @.@ 4 ° C ( 59 @.@ 7 ° F ) in July at Duntulm in Trotternish . Snow seldom lies at sea level and frosts are less frequent than on the mainla... |
= = History = = |
= = = Prehistory = = = |
A Mesolithic hunter @-@ gatherer site dating to the 7th millennium BC at An Corran in Staffin is one of the oldest archaeological sites in Scotland . Its occupation is probably linked to that of the rock shelter at Sand , Applecross , on the mainland coast of Wester Ross where tools made of a mudstone from An Corran h... |
Rubha an Dùnain , an uninhabited peninsula to the south of the Cuillin , has a variety of archaeological sites dating from the Neolithic onwards . There is a 2nd or 3rd millennium BC chambered cairn , an Iron Age promontory fort and the remains of other prehistoric settlement dating from the Bronze Age nearby . Loch n... |
= = = Early history = = = |
The late Iron Age inhabitants of the northern and western Hebrides were probably Pictish , although the historical record is sparse . Three Pictish symbol stones have been found on Skye and a fourth on Raasay . More is known of the kingdom of Dál Riata to the south ; Adomnán 's life of Columba , written shortly before... |
The Norse held sway throughout the Hebrides from the 9th century until after the Treaty of Perth in 1266 . However , apart from placenames , little remains of their presence on Skye in the written or archaeological record . Apart from the name " Skye " itself , all pre @-@ Norse placenames seem to have been obliterate... |
= = = Clans and Scottish rule = = = |
The most powerful clans on Skye in the post – Norse period were Clan MacLeod , originally based in Trotternish , and Clan Macdonald of Sleat . Following the disintegration of the Lordship of the Isles , the Mackinnons also emerged as an independent clan , whose substantial landholdings in Skye were centred on Strathai... |
After the failure of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 , Flora MacDonald became famous for rescuing Prince Charles Edward Stuart from the Hanoverian troops . Although she was born on South Uist her story is strongly associated with their escape via Skye and she is buried at Kilmuir in Trotternish . Samuel Johnson and Jam... |
Of the island in general , Johnson observed : |
I never was in any house of the islands , where I did not find books in more languages than one , if I staid long enough to want them , except one from which the family was removed . Literature is not neglected by the higher rank of the Hebrideans . It need not , I suppose , be mentioned , that in countries so little ... |
Skye has a rich heritage of ancient monuments from this period . Dunvegan Castle has been the seat of Clan MacLeod since the 13th century . It contains the Fairy Flag and is reputed to have been inhabited by a single family for longer than any other house in Scotland . The 18th @-@ century Armadale Castle , once home ... |
= = = Clearances = = = |
In the late 18th century the harvesting of kelp became a significant activity but from 1822 on cheap imports led to a collapse of this industry throughout the Hebrides . During the 19th century , the inhabitants of Skye were also devastated by famine and Clearances . Thirty thousand people were evicted between 1840 an... |
= = = Overview of population trends = = = |
As with many Scottish islands , Skye 's population peaked in the 19th century and then declined under the impact of the Clearances and the military losses in the First World War . From the 19th century until 1975 Skye was part of the county of Inverness @-@ shire but the crofting economy languished and according to Sl... |
The changing relationship between the residents and the land is evidenced by Robert Carruthers 's remark circa 1852 that , " There is now a village in Portree containing three hundred inhabitants . " Even if this estimate is inexact the population of the island 's largest settlement has probably increased sixfold or m... |
The island @-@ wide population increase of 4 per cent between 1991 and 2001 occurred against the background of an overall reduction in Scottish island populations of 3 per cent for the same period . By 2011 the population had risen a further 8 @.@ 4 % to 10 @,@ 008 with Scottish island populations as a whole growing b... |
= = = Gaelic = = = |
Historically , Skye was overwhelmingly Gaelic @-@ speaking , but this changed between 1921 and 2001 . In both the 1901 and 1921 censuses , all Skye parishes were more than 75 per cent Gaelic @-@ speaking . By 1971 , only Kilmuir parish had more than three quarters Gaelic speakers while the rest of Skye ranged between ... |
= = Government and politics = = |
In terms of local government , from 1975 to 1996 , Skye , along with the neighbouring mainland area of Lochalsh , constituted a local government district within the Highland administrative area . In 1996 the district was included into the unitary Highland Council , ( Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd ) based in Inverness and... |
Skye is in the Highlands electoral region and comprises a part of the Ross , Skye and Inverness West constituency of the Scottish Parliament , which elects one member under the first past the post basis to represent it . Currently this is David Thompson for the SNP . In addition , Skye forms part of the wider Ross , S... |
= = Economy = = |
The largest employer on the island and its environs is the public sector , which accounts for about a third of the total workforce , principally in administration , education and health . The second largest employer in the area is the distribution , hotels and restaurants sector , highlighting the importance of touris... |
Small firms dominate employment in the private sector . The Talisker Distillery , which produces a single malt whisky , is beside Loch Harport on the west coast of the island . Three other whiskies — Mac na Mara ( " son of the sea " ) , Tè Bheag nan Eilean ( " wee dram of the isles " ) and Poit Dhubh ( " black pot " )... |
Crofting is still important , but although there are about 2 @,@ 000 crofts on Skye only 100 or so are large enough to enable a crofter to earn a livelihood entirely from the land . Cod and herring stocks have declined but commercial fishing remains important , especially fish farming of salmon and shellfish such as s... |
The unemployment rate in the area tends to be higher than in the Highlands as a whole , and is seasonal in nature , in part due to the impact of tourism . The population is growing and in common with many other scenic rural areas in Scotland , significant increases are expected in the percentage of the population aged... |
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