Archive for 2009
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Fish – It's What's for Dinner
October 30, 2009
News and Features -
The oceans of Earth play an essential role in making our planet habitable for life as we know it. The future of our oceans, however, may be in jeopardy.
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A Blast From the Deep, Dark Past
October 30, 2009
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Astronomers have imaged the most distant object ever seen--a star collapsing into a black hole more than 13 billion light-years away.
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Life's Ancient Island in the Ice
October 29, 2009
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Scientists may have uncovered how Beringia supported such diversity at a time when conditions for life were harsh.
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Volcanoes Set the Stage for an Ice Age
October 28, 2009
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Researchers have discovered connections between volcanoes and a deadly ice age that occurred 450 million years ago.
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Fire at Fuel Storage Facility in Puerto Rico
October 27, 2009
News and Features -
On the morning of October 23, 2009, an explosion rocked fuel storage tank facilities near San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the same force as a 2.8-magnitude earthquake, according to CNN.
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Spotting Spores
October 27, 2009
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Chemists have developed a technology to rapidly assess the presence of microbial life on spacecraft. The method will help in decontaminating spacecraft before launch, and could have medical and pharmaceutical uses on Earth.
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NASA's Fermi Telescope Celebrates First Year of Gamma-Ray Science
October 27, 2009
News and Features -
NASA will hold a news teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Oct. 28, to discuss the first-year science results from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.
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NASA Science Flights in the Antarctic Study Sea Ice
October 27, 2009
News and Features -
Currently underway, Operation Ice Bridge is the largest airborne survey of Earth's polar ice ever flown.
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IBEX Maps Our Place in the Galaxy
October 26, 2009
News and Features -
NASA's IBEX spacecraft has made it possible for scientists to construct the first comprehensive sky map of our solar system and its location in the Milky Way. The new view will help researchers study the interaction between our galaxy and sun, and the conditions that allow for habitability in our solar system.
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El Niño, La Niña, and Rainfall
October 26, 2009
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For many people, El Niño and La Niña mean floods or drought, but the events are actually a warming or cooling of the eastern Pacific Ocean that impacts rainfall. These sea surface temperature and rainfall anomaly images show the direct correlation between ocean temperatures and rainfall during El Niño and La Niña events.
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Science At NASA on Flickr
October 26, 2009
RSS Feeds -
Science At NASA on Flickr (http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_public.gne?id=28445820@N02&lang=en-us&format=rss_200) - View images from science education and outreach events.
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A Long Night Falls Over Saturn's Rings
October 26, 2009
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As Saturn's rings orbit the planet, a section is typically in the planet's shadow, experiencing a brief night lasting from 6 to 14 hours. However, once approximately every 15 years, night falls over the entire visible ring system for about four days.
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Detecting Life-Friendly Moons
October 26, 2009
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The search for life-friendly real estate around distant stars doesn't have to be limited to planets. New research shows that habitable exomoons can be detected with a new method using current technology.
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Ares I-X Rocket Set for Test Flight
October 23, 2009
News and Features -
The Ares 1-X rocket is currently targeted to make its test flight between 8 a.m. and noon EDT on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
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Galaxy Cluster Smashes Distance Record
October 22, 2009
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The most distant galaxy cluster yet has been discovered by combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and optical and infrared telescopes. The cluster is located about 10.2 billion light years away.
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NASA Researchers Explore Lightning's NOx-ious Impact on Pollution, Climate
October 22, 2009
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Every year, scientists learn something new about the inner workings of lightning. With satellites, they have discovered that more than 1.2 billion lightning flashes occur around the world every year.
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Sailing With NASA
October 22, 2009
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Liberty Star Doing Well Despite Challenging Weather
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Building Planet Earth
October 22, 2009
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A new study shows how rocky planets are formed from the manic swirl of gas and dust that surround a young star, and determines what chemical building blocks are used to construct the planets. Understanding the dynamics and chemistry that create planetary systems can help astronomers in their search for Earth-like planets in the galaxy.
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Oases for Life on the Mid-Caymen Rise
October 21, 2009
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A team of oceanographers and astrobiologists is currently exploring one of the deepest points in the Caribbean Sea. Follow their blog as they search for life in this extreme seafloor environment.
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GOES-P Satellite Preparing for Launch in March 2010
October 21, 2009
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GOES-P is being prepared for an early March 2010 launch and if the launch schedule holds, it boasts an unprecedented two launches in approximately 8 months.
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The 2009 Orionid Meteor Shower
October 21, 2009
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The Orionid meteor shower peaks this week and it could be a very good show.
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Astronomers Find Organic Molecules Around Gas Planet
October 21, 2009
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Researchers have detected the basic chemistry for life in a second hot gas planet, advancing astronomers toward the goal of being able to characterize planets where life could exist.
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Category 5 Hurricane Rick
October 20, 2009
News and Features -
Hurricane Rick was a Category 5 storm on October 18, 2009, near the time when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image.
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Team Runs Operational Test to Prepare for Extracting Spirit
October 20, 2009
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Engineers using test rovers on Earth to prepare for extracting the sand-trapped Spirit rover on Mars have added a new challenge to their preparations.
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32 New Exoplanets Found
October 20, 2009
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Astronomers have reported 32 new exoplanets discovered using the HARPS spectrograph for ESO's 3.6-meter telescope. HARPS has provided a boost in the number of planets that are only a few times more massive than Earth. Some of these low-mass planets rest close to the habitable zone of their host stars.
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Ice Bridge Blog: Up and Down Thwaites Glacier
October 20, 2009
News and Features -
On Sunday, Oct. 18, researchers and crew flew on the DC-8 aircraft’s second Antarctic flight of the Operation Ice Bridge Campaign.
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Building an Astrobiology Tool Kit
October 19, 2009
News and Features -
In this blog entry, Juan Diego Rodriguez Blanco from the AMASE 2009 team discusses how instruments for future Mars missions are tested on Earth. This year, equipment for ESA's ExoMars mission and NASA's Mars Science Laboratory were put through the ropes on the arctic island of Svalbard.
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LCROSS Captures All Phases of Centaur Impact
October 19, 2009
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NASA’s Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) was a smashing success, returning tantalizing data about the Centaur impact before the spacecraft itself impacted the surface of the moon.
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NASA Science Flights in the Antarctic Study Sea Ice
October 19, 2009
News and Features -
Currently underway, Operation Ice Bridge is the largest airborne survey of Earth's polar ice ever flown. It is currently in its sixth year as a NASA field campaign.
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Battle of the Bands
October 19, 2009
News and Features -
Banded rocks scattered across the upper Midwest and elsewhere around the world are providing information about the environment of the early Earth. Once mined as a source of iron, these rocks can tell scientists about the geochemical conditions that existed on Earth more than 2 billion years ago.
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Cassini Data Help Redraw Shape of Solar System
October 16, 2009
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Images from the Ion and Neutral Camera on NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggest that the heliosphere, the region of the sun's influence, may not have the comet-like shape predicted by existing models.
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NASA Spacecraft Provides First View of Our Place in the Galaxy
October 16, 2009
News and Features -
The Interstellar Boundary Explorer has helped scientists construct the first comprehensive map of our solar system and its location in the Milky Way galaxy.
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Europa Has Enough Oxygen For Life
October 16, 2009
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New research suggests that there is plenty of oxygen available in the subsurface ocean of Europa to support oxygen-based metabolic processes for life similar to that on Earth. In fact, there may be enough oxygen to support complex, animal-like organisms with greater oxygen demands than microorganisms.
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Operation Ice Bridge Campaign Takes Flight in Antarctica
October 16, 2009
News and Features -
Currently underway, Operation Ice Bridge is the largest airborne survey of Earth's polar ice ever flown. It is currently in its sixth year as a NASA field campaign.
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Interstellar Boundary Explorer Science Update Today on NASA TV
October 15, 2009
News and Features -
Tune if for the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) Science Update today, Thurs. Oct. 15, 2:15 p.m. EDT on NASA TV.
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IBEX Explores Galactic Frontier, Releases First-Ever All-Sky Map
October 15, 2009
News and Features -
NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft has made it possible for scientists to construct the first comprehensive sky map of our solar system and its location in the Milky Way galaxy. The new view will change the way researchers view and study the interaction between our galaxy and sun.
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FIRST Makes New Observations of Earth's Atmosphere
October 15, 2009
News and Features -
High in Chilean desert, one of the driest places on Earth, NASA researchers are studying water vapor.
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Earthquake off Samoa Generates Tsunami
October 15, 2009
News and Features -
On September 29, 2009, a tsunami struck the southern shoreline of Upolu, the easternmost of the Samoan islands. These false-color satellite images show damage to vegetation on Upolu’s coast.
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Migrating Microbes
October 15, 2009
News and Features -
With every spacecraft that leaves Earth, millions of microbes hitch a ride into space. As astrobiologists search for life in other worlds, preventing forward and back contamination remains a key priority.
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Diviner Observes LCROSS Impact
October 14, 2009
News and Features -
LRO's Diviner instrument obtained a series of thermal maps before and after the impact at approximately two hour intervals at an angle of approximately 48 degrees off nadir.
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NASA participates in the Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition
October 14, 2009
News and Features -
Throughout most of the month of August, an international team of scientists participated in the Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition (AMASE) in Norway, conducting scientific research and testing instruments for future NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Mars robotic missions.
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Science and Astronomy Night for Students hosted by the White House
October 14, 2009
News and Features -
See photos from an Astronomy Night event hosted on the White House lawn. Local middle school students had an opportunity to learn about the solar system and the vast universe beyond on Wednesday, Oct 7.
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Green Rocket Fuel
October 14, 2009
News and Features -
Researchers are developing a new type of rocket fuel made from a frozen mixture of water and 'nanoscale aluminum' powder. The fuel would be more environmentally friendly, and could be manufactured on the moon, Mars or other water-bearing bodies. Such fuels could play an important role in future missions beyond our planet.
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NASA Celebrates Earth Science Week
October 13, 2009
News and Features -
During the week of October 11-17, the world will be celebrating Earth Science Week and NASA has a major part in that celebration. NASA studies a variety of topics on Earth science, from climate change to hurricanes.
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A Hazy View of Early Earth
October 13, 2009
News and Features -
The atmosphere of the early Earth may have been filled with particulate haze, much like a smoggy day in Los Angeles. This hazy air would have affected the ancient climate and even may have influenced the origin and evolution of life.
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LCROSS Impacts the Lunar Surface
October 13, 2009
News and Features -
LCROSS and its Centaur rocket stage hit near the lunar south pole in a search for water ice.
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Hubble's Amazing Rescue
October 13, 2009
News and Features -
PBS tells the story of how the world's most beloved telescope was saved, which premieres Oct. 13.
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New Antenna May Reveal More Clues About Lightning
October 09, 2009
News and Features -
Many launches at Kennedy and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are scrubbed because they are within "Lightning Alley."
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LCROSS animation of impact
October 09, 2009
News and Features -
Watch an animation of LCROSS impacting the moon!
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LCROSS Impacts the Lunar Surface
October 09, 2009
News and Features -
LCROSS and its Centaur rocket stage hit near the lunar south pole in a search for water ice.
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Arctic Sea Ice Extent is Third Lowest on Record
October 08, 2009
News and Features -
U.S. satellite measurements show Arctic sea ice extent in 2009 – the area of the Arctic Ocean covered by floating ice – was the third lowest since satellite measurements were first made in 1979.
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Dirty Stars are Popular Hosts
October 08, 2009
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New research indicates that the composition of a star may indicate whether or not the star supports orbiting planets. 'Dirty' stars form from clouds of dust and gas that contain lots of heavy elements... and scientists believe these stars are good candidates for hosting solar systems.
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LCROSS Set For Lunar Impact Friday
October 08, 2009
News and Features -
LCROSS and its Centaur rocket stage will hit near the lunar south pole in a search for water ice.
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NASA Refines Asteroid Apophis' Path Toward Earth
October 08, 2009
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Using updated information, NASA scientists have recalculated the path of a large asteroid. The refined path indicates a significantly reduced likelihood of a hazardous encounter with Earth in 2036.
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White House to Host Science and Astronomy Night for Students
October 07, 2009
News and Features -
The White House will host 150 D.C. area students to star gaze and conduct hands-on experiments with astronomers from across the country.
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LCROSS Flight Director's Blog
October 07, 2009
News and Features -
Once More Around the Earth: September 4 - October 5
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STEREO Captures Sun's Eruption
October 06, 2009
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The twin STEREO spacecraft (called “Behind” and “Ahead” denoting their relative positions in space), captured a large and dramatic prominence eruption over about a 30-hour period between Sept. 26-27, 2009.
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LCROSS Mission Set For Oct. 9 Lunar Impact
October 06, 2009
News and Features -
The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite and its Centaur rocket stage will hit near the lunar south pole in a search for water ice.
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Local LCROSS Impact Events
October 06, 2009
News and Features -
Find LCROSS impact events near you. Are you hosting an LCROSS impact event that's open to the public? Please email the name of the organization, location, web site, details of the event and contact information to us. We'll add you to the map and list!
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Islands of Life Across Space and Time
October 06, 2009
News and Features -
Scientists have provided the first quantitative evaluation of planetary habitability. The study shows how the habitability of Earth has changed in the past, and will aid astrobiologists in evaluating the habitability of other planets in our solar system and beyond.
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Streams of the Sun
October 05, 2009
News and Features -
Contrary to popular belief, the number of sunspots visible on the sun may not be an indication of changes in the sun's impact on Earth. Last year, the Earth was bombarded with high levels of solar energy - even though the sun was in a quiet phase of its 11-year cycle and sunspots had virtually disappeared.
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Study Highlights Data on How Pollution Travels
October 05, 2009
News and Features -
JPL satellite data on the global transport of carbon monoxide are highlighted in a new National Academy of Sciences report on long-range transport of air pollutants.
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Cloudy, with Pebble Showers
October 05, 2009
News and Features -
A newly-discovered exoplanet has an atmosphere that contains the same ingredients as rocks. In fact, a storm on COROT-7b may include pebbles condensing out of the air to rain into lakes of lava. COROT-7b is less than twice the size of Earth and can help astronomers understand how small, rocky planets form and evolve.
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Herschel's Multi-Hued View of the Sky
October 05, 2009
News and Features -
A new image from the Herschel Observatory shows off the observatory's talents for seeing multiple wavelengths of light.
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LCROSS Mission Set For Oct. 9 Lunar Impact
October 02, 2009
News and Features -
The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite and its Centaur rocket stage will hit near the lunar south pole in a search for water ice.
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Dinosaur-Killer was Soft on Algae
October 02, 2009
News and Features -
Molecular fossils of algae in the so-called “K-P boundary” point to a very fast recovery of these organisms following the meteorite impact that killed the dinosaurs.
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Space Radar Reveals Topography of Tsunami Site
October 02, 2009
News and Features -
Two color-coded perspective views of the Independent State of Samoa (left) and American Samoa (right), generated with digital elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, illustrate the varying topography of the islands.
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Earthquake off Samoa Generates Tsunami
October 01, 2009
News and Features -
On the morning of September 29, 2009, a large undersea earthquake near Samoa generated a destructive tsunami that killed more than 100 people, said news reports.
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Seeking Life’s Shadow
October 01, 2009
News and Features -
New research on ancient fossils also may offer insight into finding signs of life in Martian rocks.
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Cleaner Water, Lower Cost
October 01, 2009
News and Features -
Water technology from life in space is providing cleaner water on Earth.
