Archive | Solar system

For the first time in 99 years, a total solar eclipse will cross the entire nation Aug. 21. Representatives from NASA, other federal agencies, and science organizations, will provide important viewing safety, travel and science information during two briefings at the Newseum in Washington starting at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, June 21. To source

Early science results from NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter portray the largest planet in our solar system as a complex, gigantic, turbulent world, with Earth-sized polar cyclones, plunging storm systems that travel deep into the heart of the gas giant. To source

Media are invited to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to view the James Webb Space Telescope and talk to experts about upcoming cryogenic vacuum tests at 10:15 a.m. CDT Wednesday, May 31. To source

Two veteran NASA missions are providing new details about icy, ocean-bearing moons of Jupiter and Saturn, further heightening the scientific interest of these and other “ocean worlds” in our solar system and beyond. The findings are presented in papers published Thursday by researchers with NASA’s Cassini mission to Saturn and Hubble Space Telescop To source

The moon no longer has a magnetic field, but NASA scientists are publishing new research that shows heat from crystallization of the lunar core may have driven its now-defunct magnetic field some 3 billion years ago. To source

NASA will discuss new results about ocean worlds in our solar system from the agency’s Cassini spacecraft and the Hubble Space Telescope during a news briefing 2 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 13. To source

Mars has electrically charged metal atoms (ions) high in its atmosphere, according to new results from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. The metal ions can reveal previously invisible activity in the mysterious electrically charged upper atmosphere (ionosphere) of Mars. To source

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn since 2004, is about to begin the final chapter of its remarkable story. On Wednesday, April 26, the spacecraft will make the first in a series of dives through the 1,500-mile-wide (2,400-kilometer) gap between Saturn and its rings as part of the mission’s grand finale. To source

Solar wind and radiation are responsible for stripping the Martian atmosphere, transforming Mars from a planet that could have supported life billions of years ago into a frigid desert world, according to new results from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. To source

NASA will hold a news conference at 3 p.m. EDT Tuesday, April 4, at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, to preview the beginning of Cassini’s final mission segment, known as the Grand Finale, which begins in late April. The briefing will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website. To […]

NASA has selected a science mission that will measure emissions from the interstellar medium, which is the cosmic material found between stars. To source

In an effort to advance basic and applied research for lunar and planetary science, and advance human exploration of the solar system though scientific discovery, NASA created the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute or SSERVI. To source

NASA is partnering with the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and the Northrop Grumman Corporation to highlight the James Webb Space Telescope at South by Southwest (SXSW) from March 12 to 18, 2017. To source