Topic: Science at NASA

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope observes Big Weather on distant Hot Jupiters

May 25, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – Among the hundreds of new planets discovered by NASA’s Kepler spacecraft are a class of exotic worlds known as “hot Jupiters.”  Unlike the giant planets of our own solar system, which remain at a safe distance from the sun, these worlds are reckless visitors to their parent stars.

They speed around in orbits a fraction the size of Mercury’s, blasted on just one-side by starlight hundreds of times more intense than the gentle heating experienced by Jupiter here at home.”

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NASA says Venus, Jupiter, Mercury to Align in Triple Conjunction in the Sunset Sky May 25th

May 11, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – Sunset is a special time of day.  Low-hanging clouds glow vivid red and orange as the background sky turns cobalt blue. The first stars pop out in the heavenly dome overhead, eliciting wishes from backyard sky watchers.

The sunset of May 26th will be extra special. On that date, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury will gather in the fading twilight to form a bright triangle only three degrees wide.

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NASA reports International Space Station Scientists study Glow in the Dark Plants

May 7, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – The world is changing.  As greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere, global temperatures are on the rise. Sea levels inch upward as polar ice retreats. Crops are growing in new places.

The world is changing.  The question is, can life change with it?

A batch of genetically engineered plants orbiting Earth on board the International Space Station (ISS) may have something to say about this.

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NASA says Saturn to make it’s closest approach to Earth April 28th

April 26, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – The Solar System is a beautiful place filled with wonders that NASA space probes are only beginning to discover. There’s a tendency, though, for people to become indifferent; every year Hubble, Cassini, MESSENGER and other spacecraft beam back gigabytes of jaw-dropping images. After a while, you don’t have any more “gasps” left in you.

Well, maybe just one more. Inhale deeply, because at the end of April, Saturn will put on a breathtaking display.

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NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope observes Comet ISON approach

April 25, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – Later this year, Comet ISON is expected to become a naked-eye object when it skims through the atmosphere of the sun. The Hubble Space Telescope has just obtained a sneak preview.

Hubble photographed ISON on April 10th.  At the time, the comet was 386 million miles from the sun (394 million miles from Earth), just inside the orbit of Jupiter.

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NASA reports Comet ISON dust trail to bring unusual meteor shower to Earth

April 20, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – Anticipation is building as Comet ISON plunges into the inner solar system for a close encounter with the sun in November 2013. Blasted at point-blank range by solar radiation, the sungrazer will likely become one of the finest comets in many years.

When NASA’s Swift spacecraft observed the comet in January 2013, it was still near the orbit of Jupiter, but already very active. More than 112,000 pounds of dust were spewing from the comet’s nucleus every minute.

It turns out, some of that dust might end up on Earth.

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NASA reports International Space Station may have detected signs of Dark Matter

April 16, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – In science fiction, finding antimatter on board your spaceship is not good news. Usually, it means you’re moments away from an explosion.

In real life, though, finding antimatter could lead to a Nobel Prize.

On April 3rd, researchers led by Nobel Laureate Samuel Ting of MIT announced that the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a particle detector operating onboard the International Space Station since 2011, has counted more than 400,000 positrons, the antimatter equivalent of electrons.  There’s no danger of an explosion, but the discovery is sending shock waves through the scientific community.

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NASA’s SAGE III to monitor the Earth’s fragile Ozone Layer

March 30, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – Ozone stinks. People who breathe it gag as their lungs burn. The EPA classifies ground-level ozone as air pollution.

Yet without it, life on Earth would be impossible.

A fragile layer of ozone 25 km above Earth’s surface is all that stands between us and some of the harshest UV rays from the sun. The ozone molecule O3 blocks radiation which would otherwise burn skin and cause cancer.

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NASA reports Comet could possibly Collide with Mars in 2014

March 28, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – Over the years, the spacefaring nations of Earth have sent dozens of probes and rovers to explore Mars.  Today there are three active satellites circling the red planet while two rovers, Opportunity and Curiosity, wheel across the red sands below. Mars is dry, barren, and apparently lifeless.

Soon, those assets could find themselves exploring a very different kind of world.

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NASA reports data from Planck Spacecraft reveals Universe Older than previously thought

March 22, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – Europe’s Planck spacecraft has obtained the most accurate and detailed map ever made of the oldest light in the universe. The map results suggest the universe is expanding more slowly than scientists thought, and is 13.8 billion years old, 100 million years older than previous estimates.

The data also show there is less dark energy and more matter in the universe than previously known.

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