TIMED Stories

Launched in 2001, NASA’s TIMED mission has now spent 20 years surveying the complicated dynamics of Earth’s upper atmosphere. Short for Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics, TIMED observes the chemistry and dynamics where Earth’s atmosphere meets space. On its…

NASA’s TIMED mission — short for Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics — yielded a batch of new discoveries to end its 15th year in orbit. From a more precise categorization of the upper atmosphere’s response to solar storms, to…

Launched Dec. 7, 2001, NASA’s TIMED spacecraft has spent 15 years observing the dynamics of the upper regions of Earth’s atmosphere – comprising the mesosphere, thermosphere and ionosphere. The slice that TIMED studies spans altitudes of about 40 to 110…

NASA’s TIMED mission, short for Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics, has confirmed a surprisingly fast carbon dioxide increase in Earth’s upper atmosphere, raising questions about how different layers of the atmosphere are interconnected. Even more curious—though climate models predict…

First spotted in 1885, silvery blue clouds sometimes hover in the night sky near the poles, appearing to give off their own glowing light. Known as noctilucent clouds, this phenomenon began to be sighted at lower and lower latitudes —…