The comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as seen by Europe’s orbiting Rosetta spacecraft on March 22, 2015.Credit: ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0 The outbursts of water vapor seen emanating from comets are fueled by subsurface ice reservoirs, a new study suggests. Observations by the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft show that surface ice on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which […]
ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft has provided evidence for a daily water-ice cycle on and near the surface of comets. To source
This schlieren image of a T-38C aircraft was captured using the patent-pending BOSCO technique and then processed with NASA-developed code to reveal shock wave structures. Researchers at Armstrong and NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, have developed new schlieren techniques based on modern image processing methods. To source
Timothy “TJ” Creamer is the first astronaut in NASA’s history to be named a flight director in Mission Control.Credit: NASA TV Timothy “TJ” Creamer, who this week joined the ranks of Christopher Kraft, Eugene Kranz and Glynn Lunney as one of NASA’s flight directors, is no stranger to Mission Control. Over the course of his […]
Future residents of the Moon’s Nearside will be treated to a ‘fire-ringed’ Earth during lunar eclipse totality (as Earth’s shadow completely envelops the Moon, turning it “blood red”). On September 27th, 2015, an eclipse of the rare Supermoon/Harvest Moon will produce quite a show for many here on Earth. [Sadly, no one yet lives on […]
Omega Nebula, Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, Horseshoe Nebula, Lobster Nebula — whatever you call it, the spectacular star-forming Messier 17 sparkles in a new photo. On Space.com alone, namers have called out the nebula’s similarity to a swan , the Greek letter omega and a horseshoe or lobster (although there’s another Lobster Nebula , too). […]
Swan, Omega, Horseshoe, Checkmark Lobster and the names don’t end there for Messier 17 (its proper astronomical designation). Located 5500 light-years from Earth in the Sagittarius constellation, this star forming region is full of red and pink gas excited by ultraviolet radiation from “short-lived blue stars.” Credit: ESO / mash mix: Space.com To source
How do you capture the moon’s majesty in song? Astrophotographer Stephan Kogelman captured this photograph of the August 2014 supermoon on the Island of Bonaire in the Caribbean, off the coast of Venezuela.Credit: Stephan Kogelman As you settle in Sunday night (Sept. 27) to watch the supermoon lunar eclipse, kick back with some moon tunes […]
The whiskey company Ardbeg found differences in the taste of whiskey after it spent two years on the International Space Station.Credit: Ardbeg After spending more than two years in a weightless environment, whiskey distillate on the International Space Station (ISS) tastes different from samples on Earth, a whiskey company reported. Scotch whiskey company Ardbeg rocketed […]
NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE image of recurring slope lineae (RSL) in Melas Chasma, Valles Marineris. Arrows point out tops and bottoms of a few lineae.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona The dark, fingerlike features that creep down steep Martian slopes in warm weather continue to puzzle scientists. These “recurring slope lineae” (RSL), which have been spotted […]
This weekend’s rare supermoon total lunar eclipse will offer a mix of risk and scientific opportunity for a NASA moon-orbiting spacecraft. Earth’s nearest neighbor will be plunged into darkness Sunday evening (Sept. 27) North American time, during an eclipse that takes place when the moon is closest to Earth during its elliptical orbit (and therefore […]
Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon, and his new book encourages kids to take the first steps onto Mars. “Welcome to Mars: Making a Home on the Red Planet,” by Buzz Aldrin, with Marianne J. DysonCredit: National Geographic Children’s Books In “Welcome to Mars: Making a Home on the Red Planet ” (National Geographic […]
Saturn’s dark side looms large in this image taken by the Cassini spacecraft in January 2015. Barely visible in the bottom-left corner is Tethys, one of Saturn’s moons.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute A spectacular photo of Saturn’s night side and its rings plus a glimmer of moon, from the Cassini spacecraft, shows just how dark the […]