Comet NEOWISE is visible in an aurora-filled sky in this photo by Aurorasaurus Ambassador Donna Lach. The photo was taken early on July 14, 2020, in western Manitoba, Canada. The purple ribbon-like structure to the left is STEVE, an aurora-related phenomenon discovered with the help of citizen scientists working with the Aurorasaurus project. The bright …
By Sarah Frazier NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center This image of comet NEOWISE was captured by NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO, on June 24, 2020, as the comet approached the Sun. The comet was visible in the field of view of STEREO's Heliospheric Imager because of a special observing campaign: STEREO underwent …
A SHOT IN THE DARK Chasing the aurora from the world's northernmost rocket range Part VII I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII Three months later, the science team convened at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. Button-up shirts replaced down coats, their hair not ruffled from beanies and headlamps. But the …
A SHOT IN THE DARK Chasing the aurora from the world's northernmost rocket range Part VI I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII On the snow-covered balcony, the science team huddled together in t-shirts and indoor slippers, too rushed to don their coats. Everyone was there except Rowland. The first rocket was already in the air, but …
A SHOT IN THE DARK Chasing the aurora from the world's northernmost rocket range Part V I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII Pfaff paced in front of the Wall of Science, stroking his chin, weighing the signs that launchable conditions were approaching. He had spent earlier hours on the phone, rapidly rebooking flights to make his …
A SHOT IN THE DARK Chasing the aurora from the world's northernmost rocket range Part IV I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII Each day, the science team prepared just the same. At 3 a.m., Rowland opened the giant doors of the Telemetry Readout building, where they were stationed. Over the next five hours, they stepped through …
A SHOT IN THE DARK Chasing the aurora from the world's northernmost rocket range Part III I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII At the entrance to the mess hall, Ny-Ålesund residents abandon snow-covered shoes for cozy slippers or socks. Inside, the warm air washes over wind-whipped faces, carrying the smell of rich soups, tea, and bread. …
A SHOT IN THE DARK Chasing the aurora from the world's northernmost rocket range Part II I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII At 3:45 am, the van rumbled over a snow-covered road away from the team's dormitories. The launchpad was a ten-minute ride outside the town limits. Ny-Ålesund's boundaries are marked with triangle-shaped signs, outlined in …
A SHOT IN THE DARK Chasing the aurora from the world's northernmost rocket range In the tiny Arctic town of Ny-Ålesund, where polar bears outnumber people, winter means three months without sunlight. The unending darkness is ideal for those who seek a strange breed of northern lights, normally obscured by daylight. When these unusual auroras …
Where Did that Electron Come From? Tracking Charged Particles into Earth's Atmosphere with ELFIN By Mara Johnson-Groh NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center On September 2, 2019 — after a year of quiet conditions in space since its September 2018 launch — a NASA CubeSat the size of a large toaster flew straight through a solar …
