Winter Solstice: The Science of the Shortest Day of 2016
On the winter solstice, the sun is at its southernmost point in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere. Winter officially kicks off Wednesday (Dec. 21), which marks the December solstice — the day with the fewest hours of sunlight of 2016. Although the solstice gets an entire day of recognition, it happens in an instant: […]
A Deep Space Illusion: Mimas, Saturn's Rings and Cassini
Mimas, one of Saturn’s moons, seems to be on a collision course with the planet’s rings. No fear though, it’s simply an illusion in this image snapped by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Collision course! … or not. Saturn’s battered moon Mimas appears to be headed for a crash through the planet’s trademark rings, but it’s all an […]
Bizarre Antimatter Emits Same Light As Regular Matter
One of the big questions lingering about our universe is why there is so much more matter than antimatter. For the first time, physicists have shown that atoms of antimatter appear to give off the same kind of light that atoms of regular matter do when illuminated with lasers, a new study finds. More precise […]
Total Solar Eclipse 2017: Path, Viewing Maps and Photo Guide
<div data-cycle-pager-template=”” readability=”31″> Solar Eclipse Geometry Credit: NASA Graphic depicting the geometry of a total solar eclipse <div data-cycle-pager-template=”” readability=”31.5″> Time of Local Greatest Eclipse Credit: Michael Zeiler, GreatAmericanEclipse.com This map shows the different times at which the solar eclipse will be at its peak across the United States. <div data-cycle-pager-template=”” readability=”32″> Eclipse Schedule This […]
International Space Station Solar Transit
This composite image, made from ten frames, shows the International Space Station, with a crew of six onboard, in silhouette as it transits the sun at roughly five miles per second, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, from Newbury Park, California. To source
Japanese Satellite Launches to Study Earth's Radiation Belts
A Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Epsilon rocket launches the Exploration of energization and Radiation in Geospace satellite (ERG) into orbit from Uchinoura Space Center in southern Japan on Dec. 20, 2016. A Japanese spacecraft designed to help scientists better understand the radiation environment of near-Earth space has made it to orbit. The Exploration of energization […]
Real Science Inspires Voyage to the Stars in 'Passengers'
The new space flick “Passengers” takes place in a far-off, science-fiction future, but modern-day science is laying the groundwork to turn some of those fictional elements into reality. At a panel discussion Sony Pictures held earlier this month, two real-world scientists talked about two key scientific elements that were portrayed in the film: the search […]
A Cosmic Wikipedia: Massive Digital Sky Survey Is Unveiled for Scientists
This compressed view of the entire sky visible from Hawai’i by the Pan-STARRS1 Observatory is the result of half a million exposures, each about 45 seconds in length, taken over a period of 4 years. Call it a cosmic Wikipedia: A massive catalog of astronomical data collected over four years using one of the largest […]
Curiosity's Most Incredible Mars Snapshots of 2016
Since August 2012, NASA’s Curiosity rover has been carving a path across the Martian surface, trying to understand more about the environment of the Red Planet. Where did water flow? Was it habitable? And what other geologic history took place in Gale Crater and Mount Sharp? Now that Curiosity is on the lower reaches of […]
Lunar Eclipses: What Are They & When Is the Next One?
Lunar eclipses occur when Earth’s shadow blocks the sun’s light, which otherwise reflects off the moon. There are three types — total, partial and penumbral — with the most dramatic being a total lunar eclipse, in which Earth’s shadow completely covers the moon. The next lunar eclipse will be a partial lunar eclipse on Aug. […]
Preparing for air traffic control via satellite
ESA recently completed its first flight trials using satellites to help bring Europe closer to its goal of modernising air traffic control. To source
Our year in space
A look back at the highlights of 2016 for Europe in Space To source
![[JAXA President Monthly Press Conference] JAXA President Monthly Regular Press Conference November 2016](http://space.mindofamadman.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/66/files/2016/03/jaxa.png "[JAXA President Monthly Press Conference] JAXA President Monthly Regular Press Conference November 2016")
[JAXA President Monthly Press Conference] JAXA President Monthly Regular Press Conference November 2016
JAXA President Monthly Regular Press Conference Date and time: From 11:00 – 11:30 a.m. on November 9 (Wed), 2016Venue: JAXA Tokyo Office Presentation Room (B1 floor)MC: Yoshikazu Shoji, JAXA Public Affairs Department Director Astronaut Onishi Returns As you are well informed, on October 30 JAXA’ astronaut Takuya Onishi safely returned to Earth. At this moment […]