To Pluto and Beyond: Planetarium Show Wows Space Fans
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft obtained this view of Pluto at a distance of about 280,000 miles (450,000 kilometers) on July 14, 2015.Credit: NASA NEW YORK — The first-ever flyby of Pluto left scientists and the public wide-eyed, and the surprises will likely keep on coming. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft zoomed through the Pluto system on […]
Lagrange Points: Parking Places in Space
Diagram of the Lagrange points associated with the sun-Earth system. Credit: NASA / WMAP Science Team A Lagrange point is a location in space where the combined gravitational forces of two large bodies, such as Earth and the sun or Earth and the moon, equal the centrifugal force felt by a much smaller third body. The […]
Radical! Neon Found on the Moon
An illustration depicts NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft in orbit above the moon.Credit: NASA Ames/Dana Berry The moon doesn’t have any gaudy casinos or buzzing diner signs, but it does have neon. NASA’s LADEE spacecraft has made the first-ever detection of neon in the wispy lunar atmosphere, which is properly known […]
Starship Enterprise vs. Superman: Who's the Fastest Sci-Fi Spacefarer? (Graphic)
If the fictional USS Enterprise raced the ship from “Battlestar Galactica” to the nearest star system, which would get there first? A new graphic from Travelmath.com seeks to answer that question, which sounds like a typical opening argument over beers. The graphic shows fictional travel times across the universe for spaceships from several sci-fi franchises […]
Enormous Red Sprites Seen From Space (Update)
NASA photo ISS044-E-45576 showing storms over southern Mexico on Aug. 10, 2015.Credit: NASA Editor’s note: Updated to include a second photo of another sprite captured moments later by the same camera (added at bottom of article). This gorgeous photo, captured from the International Space Station on the night of Aug. 10, 2015, shows an orbital view of thunderstorms over the […]
'Eiffel Tower' Prominence Towers Over The Sun
From his backyard in Östersund, Sweden, professional photographer and astrophotographer Göran Strand took a look at the sun using his portable solar telescope “to see if something interesting was going on.” And sure enough, there was something VERY interesting going on . Something was towering over the solar disk — something that looked like… the Eiffel Tower? Of course, […]
Viking Aurora: Northern Lights Wow Photographer in Newfoundland
This stunning image of an aurora was taken was taken in Norstead, a Viking village replica. The Norstead Viking Village in L’anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland is the only confirmed Viking site in North America. Astrophotographer Adam Woodworth took the image on June 22 while visiting the area. “The aurora was coming from all directions it […]
Mars Hoax Returns to Mislead Stargazers
The image that accompanied the “Mars Spectacular” email of 2003, which sparked the recurring Mars Hoax.Credit: Origin Unknown Here we go again. The infamous Mars Hoax that has circulated widely through the Internet since its first appearance in 2003, when it originated in the form of an email message titled “Mars Spectacular,” has reared its ugly […]
Yes, Even the Equator Can Get Slammed by Solar Storms
On Jan. 7, 2014, the sun unleashed a major solar flare and coronal mass ejection (the bright spot at center right), but the Earth’s magnetic field channeled the worst of the solar storm away from the planet, scientists say.Credit: Möstl et al., Nature Communications This article was originally published on The Conversation . The publication […]
[Project Topics] KOUNOTORI5 launch rescheduled to 8:50:49 p.m. on August 19 (Wed.) 2015
Topics List Aug. 17, 2015 UpdatedKOUNOTORI5 launch rescheduled to 8:50:49 p.m. on August 19 (Wed.) 2015 The KOUNOTORI5(HTV5)/H-IIB F5 launch was postponed to 8:50:49 p.m. on August 19 due to adverse weather.Accordingly, the live launch report will begin at 8:00 p.m. on August 19 (Wed. , JST). The report will be broadcast through the Internet.Please […]
[Project Topics] KOUNOTORI5 launch postponed to Aug. 19 (Wed., JST)
Topics List Aug. 17, 2015 UpdatedKOUNOTORI5 launch rescheduled to 8:50:49 p.m. on August 19 (Wed.) 2015 The KOUNOTORI5(HTV5)/H-IIB F5 launch was postponed to 8:50:49 p.m. on August 19 due to adverse weather.Accordingly, the live launch report will begin at 8:00 p.m. on August 19 (Wed. , JST). The report will be broadcast through the Internet.Please […]
Week In Images
Our week through the lens: 10-14 August 2015 To source
Hubble Sees a "Mess of Stars"
Bursts of pink and red, dark lanes of mottled cosmic dust, and a bright scattering of stars — this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows part of a messy barred spiral galaxy known as NGC 428. To source