Science News
Flying Through a Geomagnetic Storm
March 2, 2012
Science@NASA Headline News — 2012
Lately, the International Space Station has been flying through geomagnetic storms, giving astronauts an close-up view of the aurora borealis just outside their windows.
Camera on NASA Mars Odyssey Tops Decade of Discovery
March 1, 2012
Ten years ago, on Feb. 19, 2002, the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), a multi-band camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, began scientific operations at the Red Planet. Since then the camera has circled Mars nearly 45,000 times and taken more than half a million images at infrared and visible wavelengths.
Watching the planet breathe
March 1, 2012
Scientists have come up with an entirely new way to monitor the health of Earth’s plants from space. In work published in Geophysical Research Letters [1], researchers working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and in Germany and Japan report on how measurements taken from space can open a whole new window onto the planet’s carbon cycle.
Next-Gen Weather Satellites to Improve Tornado Warnings
Feb. 29, 2012
Science@NASA Headline News — 2012
NOAA and NASA are working on a series of next-generation weather satellites called "GOES-R" that will improve warnings of deadly tornadoes and other severe weather.
Galaxy May Swarm with Nomad Planets
Feb. 29, 2012
A new study shows that our galaxy could host 100,000 times more 'nomad planets' than stars.
Young Stars Flicker Amidst Clouds of Gas and Dust
Feb. 29, 2012
Astronomers have spotted young stars in the Orion nebula changing right before their eyes.
Ultra-fast Outflows Help Monster Black Holes Shape Their Galaxies
Feb. 29, 2012
A new type of black-hole-driven outflow that appears to be both powerful and common.
The Many Moods of Titan
Feb. 24, 2012
Recent data collected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft show a shifting, Earth-like environment at Saturn's moon Titan.
Extending the Habitable Zone for Red Dwarf Stars
Feb. 24, 2012
Scientists have long thought that planets had to orbit very close to small and dim red dwarf stars in order to be warm enough for life. New research challenges that assumption.
Curiosity, the Stunt Double
Feb. 23, 2012
Science@NASA Headline News — 2012
En route to the Red Planet, Mars rover Curiosity has experienced the strongest solar radiation storm since 2005. Researchers say this is part of Curiosity's job as a 'stunt double' for human astronauts.