2000
Sunspot Numerology
April 5, 2000
The Boulder sunspot number exceeded 300 this week as the sunspot cycle continued its march toward Solar Max. Do these high sunspot counts mean that the solar maximum will be bigger than expected?
Brown Dwarf Solar Flare
July 12, 2000
The Chandra X-ray Observatoryhas detected the first-ever flare from what's known as a brown dwarf, or failed star. Scientists were surprised at the outburst, which unleashed an amount of energy comparable to a small solar flare.
Twin Rovers Headed for Mars
Aug. 10, 2000
The traffic on Mars is expected to double in the near future. NASA today announced plans to launch two large scientific rovers to The Red Planetin 2003, rather than the original plan for just one. This story includes a striking new video of the planned Mars 2003rover mission.
Impact!
May 11, 2000
Images made by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatoryshow for the first time the full impact of the actual blast wave from Supernova 1987A. The observations are the first time that X-rays from a shock wave have been imaged at such an early stage of a supernova explosion.
Yukon Glossary
May 31, 2000
How to become an Astronaut 101
April 19, 2000
To the average person, words and phrases like polymer synthesis and olefin metathesis reaction represent little more than good Scrabble scores. But to Lt. Col. Catherine G. "Cady" Coleman, they mean so much more, and her interest in what these words mean has led to an exciting career as a scientist and astronaut.
5/5/2000: The Meteor Shower
May 2, 2000
The eta Aquarid meteor shower, caused by bits of debris from Halley's Comet, will peak on May 5-6, 2000. Lunar observers will be watching The Moonon the nights after the shower for possible signs of meteorite impacts.
Amateurs Catch a Gamma-ray Burst
March 14, 2000
For the first time amateur astronomers, using a 40-yr old telescope and a homemade CCD camera, have detected the faint afterglow from a gamma-ray burst billions of light years away.
Now Just a Blinkin' Picosecond!
April 28, 2000
NASA scientists are working to solve the need for computer speed using light itself to accelerate calculations and increase data bandwidth. Research in Optical Computingtechnology is helping to fuel a worldwide boom in photonics development.
Some CometsLike it Hot
July 7, 2000
Amateur astronomers are discovering pieces of a giant comet that broke apart in antiquity as the fragments zoom perilously close to the Sun. You can join the hunt, too. All you need is a computer and an internet connection to view realtime data from the orbiting ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.