William Harwood – Page 4

Hubble data indicate universe growing faster than expected

23 February 2018 William Harwood

Time-consuming observations by the Hubble Space Telescope indicate the universe is expanding faster today than predicted by standard models of the big bang that incorporate dark energy.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter gets long-distance tune up

9 February 2018 William Harwood

NASA is tweaking operating procedures to prolong the life of its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, reducing the demand on its batteries and switching to star trackers instead of aging gyroscopes to determine the spacecraft’s orientation.

First close up Juno images of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot reach Earth

12 July 2017 William Harwood

Two days after NASA’s Juno spacecraft streaked over Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, pictures of the solar system’s largest, most powerful storm, have been transmitted to Earth, giving eager scientist close-up views of the 10,000-mile-wide anticyclone where 400-mph winds have been howling for at least 187 years and possibly much longer.

Black holes crash together and make waves

3 June 2017 William Harwood

Three billion years ago, in a third of a second, two black holes crashed into each other and merged into a single entity, converting two solar masses into energy that shook the fabric of spacetime, sending gravitational ripples across the universe that were detected on Earth last January, researchers announced Thursday.

European Rosetta spacecraft poised for comet crash landing

29 September 2016 William Harwood

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft closed in Thursday for a deliberate crash landing on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Friday, a slow-motion kamikaze plunge to bring the enormously successful mission to an end after more than two years of unprecedented close-range observations.

Mars rover detects methane spike, organic molecules

17 December 2014 William Harwood

Carefully analyzing data collected by NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover, scientists discovered a sudden, unexpected spike in methane levels in the martian atmosphere over a two-month period one year ago.

Philae returns all stored science data before falling silent

15 November 2014 William Harwood

Europe’s Philae lander transmitted all its stored science data from the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko before falling silent as battery power failed.