Supercharged Auroras May Be Visible Across Northern US Tonight
This aurora forecast by the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center shows the expected northern lights activity for Oct. 7, 2015 during a geomagnetic storm. The storm could make auroras visible as far south as Pennsylvania, Iowa and Oregon, according to an SWPC alert.Credit: Space Weather Prediction Center/NOAA Editor’s update for 6:20 pm ET: The Space […]
US Spysat Launch Early Thursday to Carry Fleet of Tiny Cubesats: Watch Live
The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office’s NROL-55 payload heads toward the launch pad at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base ahead of a planned Oct. 8, 2015 launch.Credit: ULA An American spy satellite will blast off early Thursday morning (Oct. 8), taking 13 tiny “cubesats” along for the ride, and you can watch all the action live. […]
For Stargazers' Delight, Uranus and Neptune: The Most Distant Planets
The planet Uranus will be at opposition on Oct. 11, 2015. This Starry Night Software sky map shows the location of Uranus, as well as Neptune, at midnight on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2015 as seen in the southern sky from mid-northern latitudes.Credit: Starry Night Software It’s officially autumn, and time once again to seek out […]
The Moon Goes Visiting: Bright Views in This Week's Early Morning Sky
If you’re delighted by the ever-changing sky, here are some of its brightest inhabitants to watch for this week just before dawn. Just before dawn, you’ll be able to view four bright planets. And now that October is here, and the days are getting shorter for those of us in the northern hemisphere, the sun […]
These Mysterious Blazing-Fast Ripples Racing Around a Star Defy Explanation
Scientists were looking for planets forming in the large disk of dust surrounding a young star when they encountered a surprise: fast-moving, wavelike arches racing across the disk like ripples in water. The team first spotted the five structures in data from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile while searching for lumps […]
Surprising Ripples Blast Through Star's Dust Disk | Video
Just 32 light-years from us, a star called AU Microscopii violently flares much more strongly than our Sun. The Hubble Space Telescope and Very Large Telescope have now picked up 5 distinct “fast-moving wave-like” arches in the flattened cloud of gas surrounding the star. (Full Story) Credit: ESO, Luis Calçada, Martin Kornmesser, Christoph Malin (christophmalin.com) and […]
Secrets, Sci-Fi & Uncertainty: Jeff Bezos and the Future of Private Spaceflight
The billionaire CEO of Amazon.com is also the founder of the private spaceflight company Blue Origin, which is slowly stepping into the public spotlight.Credit: Blue Origin In September, billionaire Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos announced that Blue Origin, the private spaceflight company he founded, would build a facility at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in […]
Hacking the Cosmos: Event Hopes to Solve Complex Data Challenges
At Astro Hack Week, hosted the week of September 2015 at New York University, astronomy researchers, programmers and data scientists spent mornings learning about different data topics and afternoons collaborating to put together new analysis tools and solve research questions.Credit: Daniela Huppenkothen NEW YORK — Last week, astronomers, astrophysicists, data scientists and programmers came together […]
All Along the Fractures
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter often takes images of Martian sand dunes to study the mobile soils. These images provide information about erosion and movement of surface material, about wind and weather patterns, even about the soil grains and grain sizes. To source
Humans To Mars? Here’s What We’ll Need | Video
RECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU Planning the Assault: Why Bomb the Moon? Rover Tracks: Spirit at Gusev – Lucky Again NASA’s Morpheus Lander Lights Engine Lucky Landing – Opportunity Mars Rover’s Bullseye for Science | Video Rover Tracks: Being There – Controlling Missions on Mars To See Big Bang, Space Probe Must Chill Out | Planck […]
All Along the Fractures
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter often takes images of Martian sand dunes to study the mobile soils. These images provide information about erosion and movement of surface material, about wind and weather patterns, even about the soil grains and grain sizes. To source
Testing asteroid camera
Technology image of the week: practical testing of the navigation camera planned to guide ESA’s proposed Asteroid Impact Mission around its double-asteroid target To source
Glowing Clouds from NASA Launch Tonight Visible from US East Coast: Watch Live
The clouds produced by five suborbital NASA rockets that launched on March 27, 2012, from the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia were reported to be seen from as far south as Wilmington, N.C., west to Charlestown, W. Va., and north to Buffalo, N.Y.Credit: NASA A NASA suborbital rocket launch Wednesday evening (Oct. 7) is […]