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2000

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  • Watching the Angry Sun

    Dec. 22, 2000

    As the Sun's stormy season approaches its zenith, scientists are using the largest coordinated fleet of spacecraft and ground observatories ever assembled to observe outbursts of solar radiation.

  • Solar Ups and Downs

    May 9, 2000

    The Sun appeared nearly featureless this weekend as the total sunspot area dropped ten times below its average value. It's all part of the normal "ups and downs" of the sunspot cycle, say scientists. Despite the low sunspot number in early May, the solar maximum is still on the way.

  • Lighting Up the Ecosphere

    Nov. 15, 2000

    Using satellite images of city lights at night, NASA scientists are mapping the spread of urban areas around the globe and monitoring their impact on our planet's ecosystem.

  • Evil-doers Beware! Space Scientists are on the Case

    Aug. 31, 2000

    Two NASA scientists are working with the police and the FBI to track down criminals using out-of-this-world video technology. The new technique, called VISAR, is also expected to improve military reconnaissance, medical research and video on home computers.

  • A Lot Less Snow

    July 27, 2000

    An instrument on board NASA's Terra satellite recorded much less snow than usual over parts of North America during the winter of 1999-2000. This story includes a snow map of North America in March 2000 and sample pictures from Terra's snow-mapping "MODIS" instrument.

  • Christmas Eclipse

    Dec. 15, 2000

    A solar eclipse is coming on Christmas Day, 2000. The winter landscape across parts of North America will assume an eerie cast, and cooler-than-usual winds might swirl, as the New Moon glides across the face of the Yuletide Sun.

  • Solar S'Mores

    May 30, 2000

    As a result of the approaching solar maximum, Earth's atmosphere is puffed up like a marshmallow over a campfire. This leads to extra drag on Earth-orbiting satellites. Just last week, NASA Astronautsboosted the International Space Stationto a higher altitude to combat its orbit decay.

  • A Solar Flare Stuns Stardust

    Nov. 22, 2000

    Earlier this month one of the most intense solar radiation storms in decades temporarily blinded NASA's Stardust spacecraft, which is heading for a rendezvous with comet Wild-2.

  • Storms Collide on Jupiter

    Oct. 24, 2000

    NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured dramatic images of two swirling storms on Jupiteras they collided to form a truly titanic tempest. The resulting storm may be second in size only to the Great Red Spot itself.

  • What Lies Beneath A Hurricane

    Sept. 11, 2000

    Two NASA satellites are seeing things beneath the cloud tops of hurricanes that have been hidden from traditional weather satellites. The new data are helping scientists understand and predict dangerous storms.