Images Dated 8th August 2003

IR image of Uranus atmosphere

Uranus atmosphere. Coloured infrared image of three layers of the atmosphere of Uranus. The red around the planet's edge represents a thin haze at high altitude. The haze is so thin that it can only be seen by looking at the edge of the planet's disk. The yellow near the bottom of the disk is a lower, hazy layer. The blue near the top of Uranus is a clear layer which is beneath the haze. Around the planet are the rings of Uranus. Uranus atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen with traces of methane. Its layers are created by different mixtures of gases. Image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on 3 July 1996

© NASA/ESA/STSCI/E.KARKOSCHKA, U.ARIZONA/ SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Techncian welds with an oxyacetylene torch

Welding. Technician in protective clothing welds a section of an oil and gas pipeline with an oxyacetylene torch. Welding involves heating two pieces of metal so that they melt and fuse together. Oxyacetylene torches use a mixture of oxygen and acetylene to create the heat needed to melt the metal. The acetylene burns in oxygen to form carbon monoxide; this reaction provides most of the heat. The carbon monoxide then reacts with atmospheric oxygen to give the blue flame. The flame from an oxyacetylene torch is "neutral", meaning that it burns without leaving oxides in the cut region. Photographed during work on the Urengol-Ushgorod pipeline in Russia

© RIA NOVOSTI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY