Tag Archives | space

Learning From 'The Martian' – Matt Damon Talks Movies As Teaching Tools

Lead actor Matt Damon describes how Ridley Scott’s film – and Andy Weir’s book – can perk students’ curiosity, in this conversation with Space.com’s @DavidSkyBrody at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. Also discussed: inhabiting a snarky character, astronauts (and actors) on too much time away from home, and the search for water worlds in space. The […]

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Arrested in NASA Shirt, Ahmed Sets Internet Abuzz with #IStandWithAhmed

High-school freshman Ahmed Mohamed was arrested Monday for bringing a clock he built to school after it was mistaken for a bomb. Scientists, engineers and tech organizations have responded en masse with their support.Credit: The Dallas Morning News (via YouTube ) NASA, Obama, MIT and more hailed teenaged Ahmed Mohamed, who was arrested at school […]

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Big Iron gets technology boost

ESA deploys ‘big iron’ to communicate with its deep-space missions: three 35 m-diameter dishes employing some of the world’s most advanced tracking technology. And it’s about to get a boost. ESA’s three Deep Space Antenna stations at New Norcia, Australia, Cebreros, Spain and Malargüe, Argentina, beam commands and receive data from spacecraft voyaging hundreds of […]

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Supermoon Lunar Eclipse: How Science Explains the Epic Night Sky Event

Astrophotographer Maxwell Palau captured this view of a total lunar eclipse from San Diego, California, on Oct. 8, 2014.Credit: Maxwell Palau/StarDude Astronomy This month’s highly anticipated “supermoon eclipse” may be a magical treat for skywatchers, but there’s nothing supernatural about the event. On Sept. 27, skywatchers throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa, western Asia […]

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Awesome SpaceX Images Show How Its Dragon Spaceship Will Land on Mars

This SpaceX conceptual illustration depicts how the private spacecraft company plans to send their Dragon capsule to Mars. Image released Sept. 14, 2015.Credit: SpaceX (via Flickr as SpaceX Photos) A gallery of gorgeous new images shows a cone-shaped space capsule shooting like a meteor through the atmosphere of Mars, and descending quickly toward the surface […]

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Giant Radio Telescope Could Detect E.T.'s Call

An artist’s impression of the completed Square Kilometer Array, which will be constructed in South Africa and Western Australia.Credit: SKA Organisation A huge telescope array will allow scientists to conduct the most sensitive and exhaustive search for signs of alien civilizations to date when it comes online, the project’s backers say. The Square Kilometer Array […]

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Seconds Before Philae's 1st Comet Touchdown Visualized | Video

On Nov. 12th, 2014, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe deployed its lander to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Seven images were taken by Philae’s ROLIS instrument from 219 Feet (67 meters) to 30 Feet (9 meters) of the surface of the comet. The images have been used to create a real-time look at the […]

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Sungrazing Comets: How They Dive-Bomb the Sun (Infographic)

By Karl Tate, Infographics Artist   |   September 16, 2015 05:45pm ET Sungrazing comets are comets that pass very close to the sun, sometimes to within a few thousand miles of its surface. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is a joint NASA/ESA mission to probe the corona, or outer layer of the sun’s atmosphere. The […]

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Whoa! Sun-Watching Spacecraft Finds 3,000th Comet

A spacecraft that launched in 1995 to study the sun has discovered its 3,000th comet, further bolstering its credentials as history’s greatest comet hunter. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint effort of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), spotted comet number 3,000 on Sunday (Sept. 13). The landmark discovery was pulled out […]

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'The Martian' Lands at NASA: Actors Meet Real-Life Counterparts in Houston

Actors Sebastian Stan and Mackenzie Davis from the movie “The Martian” take a spin in NASA’s Modular Robotic Vehicle, or MRV, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.Credit: collectSPACE.com /Robert Z. Pearlman HOUSTON — NASA rolled out the red carpet for two “Red Planet” movie actors on Tuesday (Sept. 15), sharing a behind-the-scenes look at […]

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Nichelle Nichols, African-American Astronauts Honored at Gala

Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura on “Star Trek,” received an award on Aug. 31 from the organization Shades of Blue for her work as a NASA astronaut recruiter.Credit: Stefan Petryszyn DENVER — “Beyond and beyond and beyond,” sings Nichelle Nichols. The 82-year-old actress-singer’s voice sails over draped round tables and wafts through the crowd […]

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Space, astronomy and science