'Frozen Lake' on Pluto May Point to a Warmer Time
A frozen nitrogen lake on Pluto suggests that liquids may have once flowed across the dwarf planet’s surface. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has spotted evidence that liquids might have once flowed across the dwarf planet that stole everyone’s heart. The evidence comes in the form of a frozen lake that researchers think once […]
The Moon's 'Blue' Last Quarter Phase Explained
Thursday morning, March 31, marked the second last quarter moon in this month, perhaps a “blue” last quarter. Credit: Starry Night Software As the moon moves around Earth in its monthly orbit, there are four points at which it is in exact geometry with the sun and Earth: new moon, first quarter, full moon, and […]
Alien Earth May Be Forming Around Nearby Star (Photos)
This ALMA image shows the disk around the young star TW Hydrae. Image released March 31, 2016. Credit: S. Andrews (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA); B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF); ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) Scientists may have just snapped baby photos of an alien Earth. The planet-forming disk around a nearby sunlike star called TW Hydrae sports a gap at about the […]
[Aeronautical Technology Directorate] [PR brochure] JAXA Aeronautics Magazine "FLIGHT PATH" No. 11/12
Featuring hot topics at the Aeronautical Technology Directorate, our quarterly magazine “FLIGHT PATH” introduces JAXA’s R&D activities in aeronautical field with plain articles.(English version issued twice a year in March and October) Latest issue: No.11/12 | 2016 MARCH Main contents Feature 1The Next Generation Aeronautical Innovation Hub Center Facilitating collaboration with a wide variety of […]
Tracking Tim’s iceberg
Human spaceflight and operations image of the week: Iceberg seen from International Space Station To source
Three thousand drawings to fly into space on Cheops
Thousands of children across Europe have taken part in a competition to submit drawings that will be miniaturised and sent into space onboard ESA’s Cheops astronomy satellite. To source
'Destination: Mars': NASA Readies Virtual Red Planet Treks (with 'Buzz Aldrin'!)
Microsoft’s virtual reality headset, the HoloLens, isn’t yet commercially available, but the amazing new tech is coming to the Kennedy Space Center this summer, and offering visitors a “mixed-reality” tour of Mars. NASA has announced that the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Visitor Complex in Florida will host a new exhibit called “Destination: Mars” that will […]
Russia Launches Robotic Supply Ship Toward Space Station
A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the unmanned Progress 63P cargo ship from Baikonur Cosmodrome at 12:23 p.m. EDT (10:23 p.m. Local Time) on March 31, 2016. The Progress spacecraft is carrying 3 tons of supplies for the International Space Station. Reprocess Image? Credit: RSC Energia An unmanned Russian cargo ship packed with 3 tons of […]
NASA’s Spitzer Maps Climate Patterns on a Super-Earth
Observations from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope have led to the first temperature map of a super-Earth planet — a rocky planet nearly two times as big as ours. The map reveals extreme temperature swings from one side of the planet to the other, and hints that a possible reason for this is the presence of […]
New Alien Planet Boasts Rare Triple Suns
This artist’s concept of HD 1885 Ab, the first known planet to reside in a triple-star system, would have a similar sunset to KELT-4Ab. Both systems host a pair of stars distantly orbiting the planet-hosting single sun. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Eat your heart out, Tatooine: A newly discovered alien planet has not one, not two, but […]
Earth Art in Northwestern Australia
During an International Space Station flyover of Australia, NASA astronaut Jeff Williams captured a colorful image of the coast and shared it with his social media followers on March 29, 2016, writing, “The unique terrain of the northwestern Australian coast.” To source
Integral sets limits on gamma rays from merging black holes
Following the discovery of gravitational waves from the merging of two black holes, ESA’s Integral satellite has revealed no simultaneous gamma rays, just as models predict. To source
Orbital ATK: Cargo Ships to the ISS
The International Space Station’s robotic arm prepares to grapple the Cygnus cargo spacecraft as it arrives at the station Dec. 9, in this image taken by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly. Credit: NASA Orbital ATK is one of two private companies that currently hold a contract with NASA to fly unmanned cargo missions to the International […]