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    Strong Solar Flare Erupts from Sun

    The Sun colored in orange with a bright white spot in the center left--which is the strong solar flare.

    The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 10:48 a.m. EDT on Feb. 11, 2023. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to …

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    Breaking the Tracking Speed Limit With Webb

    In September, the James Webb Space Telescope observed as NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) intentionally smashed a spacecraft into a small asteroid, in the world's first-ever in-space test for planetary defense. Today, we hear from Stefanie Milam, Webb's deputy project scientist for planetary science at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, about how the Webb …

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    A Nervous Flier’s Guide to Riding the Snowy Skies

    View out a plane window over the wing. The sky is entirely gray as the plane flies through a storm cloud.

    By Erica McNamee, Science Writer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center //OVER NEW YORK STATE// I grew up flying in planes. I'm comfortable in them. But there's one part of flying I've never gotten used to: turbulence. It's common on commercial flights, so over the years I've learned a few tips and tricks on how …

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    AWE Completes Space Environment Tests

    NASA's Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) has successfully completed its critical space environment tests. Planned for launch to the International Space Station, AWE will study gravity waves in Earth's atmosphere to gain a deeper knowledge of the connections caused by climate systems throughout our atmosphere and between the atmosphere and space.

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    Webb’s NIRISS Returns to Full Operations

    In this illustration, the multilayered sunshield on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope stretches out beneath the observatory’s honeycomb mirror

    On Jan. 15, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) experienced a communications delay within the science instrument, causing its flight software to time out. Following a full investigation by NASA and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) teams, the cause was determined to likely be a galactic cosmic ray, a form …

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    Webb Spies Chariklo Ring System With High-Precision Technique

    Animated GIF showing a star passing behind Chariklo, creating a blip that revealed its rings.

    Editor's Note: This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review process. In an observational feat of high precision, scientists used a new technique with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to capture the shadows of starlight cast by the thin rings of Chariklo. Chariklo is an icy, small …

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    NASA’s Psyche Mission Continues Preparation for Launch in 2023

    A team prepares NASA's Psyche spacecraft for launch inside the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 8, 2022. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.

    NASA's Psyche spacecraft is shown in a clean room on Dec. 8, 2022, at Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft was powered on and connected to ground support equipment, enabling engineers and technicians to prepare it for launch in 2023. Teams working at Astrotech and at NASA's …

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    Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph Operations Update

    In this illustration, the multilayered sunshield on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope stretches out beneath the observatory’s honeycomb mirror

    On Sunday, Jan. 15, the James Webb Space Telescope's Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) experienced a communications delay within the instrument, causing its flight software to time out. The instrument is currently unavailable for science observations while NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) work together to determine and correct the root cause of the delay. There …

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    From Art to Space: Meet IXPE Flight Controller Kacie Davis

    LASP's Kacie Davis, a women with long hair and glasses, is smiling and is sitting in front of computer screens

    By Rick Smith If the secret to happiness is pursuing and achieving goals that bring contentment to both the heart and the intellect, then Kacie Davis, a flight controller for NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), is living her best life – and she took an unexpected path to get there. Initially, it wasn't the …

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