Search Results for “Mars' atmosphere” – Page 15

Exoplanet-hunting satellite arrives in Florida for April launch

18 February 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for final testing, fueling and attachment to a Falcon 9 launcher for liftoff in mid-April, a delay of nearly one month to allow SpaceX additional time to prepare the rocket for the mission.

See January’s totally eclipsed Blue Moon

14 January 2018 Ade Ashford

On 31 January we experience the second full Moon of the month, which by one definition makes it a Blue Moon. However, for observers in north-western North America, Oceania, East Asia or central and eastern Russia, this full Moon will have a decidedly reddish hue since it will be immersed in the Earth’s shadow during a total lunar eclipse.

Astronomers shed light on formation of black holes and galaxies

28 December 2017 Astronomy Now

Stars forming in galaxies appear to be influenced by the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy, but the mechanism of how that happens has not been clear to astronomers until now.

An interview with David Grinspoon

28 December 2017 Astronomy Now

As part of the new Gravity Assist podcast, NASA’s Director of Planetary Science Jim Green interviewed David Grinspoon of the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona about the planet Venus and what makes the second world from the Sun so hellish compared to Earth.

Titan drone, comet sampler picked as finalists for NASA mission

20 December 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA has narrowed its choices for a new billion-dollar robotic space mission: A nuclear-powered quadcopter to explore the hazy landscape of Saturn’s largest moon Titan, or a probe to scoop up a piece of a comet and return it to Earth.

Meteorite’s origins point to possible undiscovered asteroid

11 December 2017 Astronomy Now

A new analysis of a meteorite called Bunburra Rockhole has revealed that the rock originated from a previously unknown parent asteroid, allowing scientists to understand the geology of the parent body.

Scientists suggest streaks on Martian hillsides are dry flows

26 November 2017 Stephen Clark

Intermittent flows that appear on steep slopes on Mars are likely formed by flowing sand, and not water as some scientists previously suspected, according to a new study.

Closest temperature world orbiting quiet star discovered

16 November 2017 Astronomy Now

A temperate Earth-sized planet has been discovered only 11 light-years from the Solar System. The new world has the designation Ross 128 b and is now the second-closest temperate planet to be detected after Proxima b. It is also the closest planet to be discovered orbiting an inactive red dwarf star, which may increase the likelihood that this planet could potentially sustain life.

NASA’s Dawn mission gears up for close look at Ceres

20 October 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft will remain at Ceres for the rest of its mission, heading closer to the asteroid belt’s largest resident than ever before to obtain new measurements of ice, salts and a tenuous intermittent atmosphere detected around the dwarf planet, the space agency announced Thursday.

Intense storms batter Saturn’s largest moon, scientists report

14 October 2017 Astronomy Now

Titan, the largest of Saturn’s more than 60 moons, has surprisingly intense rainstorms, according to research by a team of UCLA planetary scientists and geologists. Although the storms are relatively rare — they occur less than once per Titan year, which is 29 and a half Earth years — they occur much more frequently than the scientists expected.