Topic: Tony Phillips

NASA reports International Space Station Flame Experiment produces strange results

June 19, 2013 |

Washington, D.C. – Fire, it is often said, is mankind’s oldest chemistry experiment.

For thousands of years, people have been mixing the oxygen-rich air of Earth with an almost endless variety of fuels to produce hot luminous flame.

There’s an arc of learning about combustion that stretches from the earliest campfires of primitive humans to the most advanced automobiles racing down the superhighways of the 21st century.

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NASA Radar Images of Approaching Asteroid 1998 QE2 shows it has a Moon

May 31, 2013 |

Asteroid to Pass by Earth on Friday, May 31st

Washington, D.C. – Researchers have found in a sequence of radar images that the approaching asteroid 1998 QE2 has a moon, or rather another asteroid orbiting about it. These images were obtained on the evening of May 29th (May 30th Universal Time) by the 70-meter Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, CA, when the asteroid was about 6 million kilometers from Earth.

The preliminary estimate for the size of the asteroid’s satellite is approximately 600 meters wide. The asteroid itself is approximately 2.7 kilometers in diameter and has a rotation period of less than four hours.

Asteroid 1998 QE2 revealed to be Binary Asteroid. Artist Rendition. (NASA)

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NASA reports Asteroid to Flyby Earth on Friday, May 31st

May 30, 2013 |

Washington, D.C. – It’s like deja vu. Another asteroid is paying a visit to the Earth-Moon system.

Asteroids have been a hot topic since February 15th  when one small asteroid exploded over Russia and another larger one, 2012 DA14, made a record setting close approach to Earth on the same day. This time the interloper is 1998 QE2, a potentially hazardous asteroid 2.7 km in diameter.  Astronomers are preparing to study the space rock as it harmlessly passes by on May 31st.

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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 Astronomers see large explosion on the Moon caused by a Meteor Strike

May 20, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington D.C. – For the past 8 years, NASA astronomers have been monitoring the Moon for signs of explosions caused by meteoroids hitting the lunar surface. “Lunar meteor showers” have turned out to be more common than anyone expected, with hundreds of detectable impacts occurring every year.

They’ve just seen the biggest explosion in the history of the program.

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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’s Cassini spacecraft spots huge Hurricane at Saturn’s North Pole

April 30, 2013 |

Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA

Washington, D.C. – NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has provided scientists the first close-up, visible-light views of a behemoth hurricane swirling around Saturn’s north pole.

In high-resolution pictures and video, scientists see the hurricane’s eye is about 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) wide, 20 times larger than the average hurricane eye on Earth. Thin, bright clouds at the outer edge of the hurricane are traveling 330 mph(150 meters per second). The hurricane swirls inside a large, mysterious, six-sided weather pattern known as the hexagon.

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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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