As NASA prepares for next week’s Curiosity rover landing on Mars, William Shatner and Wil Wheaton share this thrilling story of NASA’s hardest planetary science mission to date. The video titled, “Grand Entrance,” guides viewers from entry through descent, and after landing.
The video will be used at events around the country and shared on the web and social media. … Read the rest of this article
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope offers this delightful view of the crowded stellar encampment called Messier 68, a spherical, star-filled region of space known as a globular cluster.
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Messier 68 is located about 33 000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Hydra (The Female Water Snake). French astronomer Charles Messier notched the object as the 68th entry in his famous …
Every time NASA lands a rover on Mars – or even makes the attempt – it is cause for celebration. On August 5th, the heavens themselves are aligning to mark the event.
Only a few hours before the Mars Science Lab spacecraft reaches the red planet and drops Curiosity on a hair-raising descent mission planners have dubbed the “seven minutes … Read the rest of this article
New sunspot AR1532 is crackling with M-class solar flares, including a brief but intense M6-flare on July 28th. A coronal mass ejection (CME) produced by Saturday’s M6-class flare is heading toward Earth. According to analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, the cloud could deliver a glancing blow to our planet’s magnetic field on July 31st around 1500 UT (+/- … Read the rest of this article
On 6 August, NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory will make a spectacular landing to deliver the Curiosity rover to the Red Planet. ESA’s Mars Express will track the mission’s progress, recording crucial flight data right until ‘wheels down’ on the alien surface.
Mars Express supports MSL Credits: ESA
NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is set to deliver the largest planetary rover … Read the rest of this article
NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft has successfully adjusted its orbital location to be in a better position to provide prompt confirmation of the August landing of the Curiosity rover.
NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft passes above Mars’ south pole in this artist’s concept. The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 24, 2001. Image credit: NASA/JPL
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft … Read the rest of this article
Sally Ride, the first US woman to travel into space, has died aged 61, 17 months after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, her foundation says.
Sally Ride, dead at 61
“Sally’s historic flight into space captured the nation’s imagination and made her a household name,” Sally Ride Science said in a statement.
According to her foundation, Ride applied to … Read the rest of this article
There are a ton of exceedingly odd collegiate classes floating around out there. Now Edinburgh University is joining the fine tradition of off-beat classes, and they’re doing it online and for free.
This course, called ”Astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life,” will last five weeks, and is part of the university’s set of free online courses. It’s pretty cool, … Read the rest of this article
Forecasters say Solar Max is due in the year 2013. When it arrives, the peak of 11-year sunspot cycle will bring more solar flares, more coronal mass ejections, more geomagnetic storms and more auroras than we have experienced in quite some time.
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Solar maximum is still a year away. This month sky watchers got a taste of things to come …
The Sun Now (Visible light)
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The Sun Now (H-Alpha light)
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Aurora Oval
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Aurora Oval
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