NASA Probe Flies Through Saturn Moon Enceladus' Plume
In 2005, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft discovered that geysers blast water ice, organic molecules and other material into space from the south polar region of the Saturn moon Enceladus.Credit: NASA/JPL/SSI NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has made its deepest dive yet through the plume emanating from the south pole of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus. Cassini flew low through […]
First detection of molecular oxygen at a comet
ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft has made the first in situ detection of oxygen molecules outgassing from a comet, a surprising observation that suggests they were incorporated into the comet during its formation. To source
A Year After Private Rocket Explosion, Orbital ATK Aims to Soar Again
One year after the explosive loss of an Antares rocket, as well as the Cygnus spacecraft riding atop it, Orbital ATK is getting ready for both Cygnus and Antares to return to flight. Meanwhile, the company continues to build its reputation as one of the most diverse aerospace businesses in the industry. On Oct. 28, […]
Zooming along Mars' Surface | Space Wallpaper
[unable to retrieve full-text content]SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft speeds over the surface of the Red Planet on its mission in one artist’s conception. To source
Einstein Is Right About General Relativity — Again
Scientists have confirmed, with amazing precision, Einstein’s general theory of relativity. To do so, they looked at how each planet’s elliptical orbit shifts over time.Credit: NASA Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity has been proven right again — and this time, physicists have pinned down just how precise it is: Any deviations from his theory […]
Halloween Asteroid Flyby: Here's What We Know About 2015 TB145
As a big asteroid flies by at a close but safe distance from Earth on Saturday (Oct. 31), astronomers will likely get a better radar view of the surface than ever before. Asteroid 2015 TB145 — discovered earlier this month, on Oct. 10 — will fly by slightly outside the moon’s orbit. In celestial terms, […]
Colors After the Storms
Damaging heavy rains fell on South Carolina in the southeastern United States at the beginning of October 2015. Much of that water had, by mid-October, flowed into the Atlantic Ocean bringing with it heavy loads of sediment, nutrients, and dissolved organic material. The above VIIRS image shows the runoff as it interacts with ocean currents. […]
Colors After the Storms
Damaging heavy rains fell on South Carolina in the southeastern United States at the beginning of October 2015. Much of that water had, by mid-October, flowed into the Atlantic Ocean bringing with it heavy loads of sediment, nutrients, and dissolved organic material. The above VIIRS image shows the runoff as it interacts with ocean currents. […]
Halloween's 'Great Pumpkin' Asteroid Snapped By Observatory | Video
Space rock 2015 TB145 is the size of a skyscraper at an estimated 1300 feet long (~400m) and will zoom past Earth on Oct. 31st, 2015 at a distance of roughly 300,000 miles. ESA’s Optical Ground Station in the Canary Islands (Teide Observatory) captured a few frames of the asteroid on Oct. 27th. (See the […]
'Alien Megastructure' Mystery May Soon Be Solved
Artist’s illustration of NASA’s Kepler space telescope, which observed that the star KIC 8462852 dimmed dramatically numerous times between 2009 and 2013.Credit: NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T Pyle The mystery behind a strangely dimming star could soon be solved. Astronomers around the world are keeping a close eye on the star KIC 8462852, which has dimmed dramatically numerous […]
New Disk of Young Stars Found in Milky Way
A group of young stars has been caught loitering near the center of the Milky Way galaxy, a region previously thought to be dominated by a more mature population. Astronomers say the stars form a disk (previously unknown to scientists) that passes through the outer part of the dusty, peanut-shaped bulge at the galactic center. […]
Watch This Amazing World View Test Flight for Balloon-Based Space Tourism
Balloon-based space tourism is one big step closer to becoming a reality. Arizona-based World View Enterprises, which aims to loft paying customers to the stratosphere beneath a giant balloon, launched an uncrewed test flight Saturday (Oct. 26). The company sent a 10-percent-scale version of its passenger capsule to an altitude of 100,475 feet (30,624 meters) […]
Surprisingly Young Stars Found In Milky Way’s Central Bulge | Video
Sifting datasets from the VISTA Telescope survey have detected 35 very young stars hiding in the thick dust of our galaxy’s “central bulge.” This area has long been regarded as an old age home of Milky Way stars. Credit: ESO/Microsoft Worldwide Telescope To source