Earth – Astronomy Now

BepiColombo flies by Earth, completing first leg of journey to Mercury

12 April 2020 Stephen Clark

Working with a reduced staff due to coronavirus-related restrictions, European Space Agency flight controllers monitored the BepiColombo spacecraft during a flyby of Earth on Friday, a maneuver that used our planet’s gravity to steer the mission on a course toward Mercury.

Scientists plan for BepiColombo fly-by despite coronavirus limitations

30 March 2020 Keith Cooper

Scientists are still preparing for the crucial fly-by of Earth by the joint European–Japanese BepiColombo mission to Mercury on 10 April, despite the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc.

Asteroid-bound probe returns Earth-Moon family portrait

12 October 2017 Stephen Clark

Ten days after a swingby to receive a gravitational boost toward its asteroid target, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft turned one of its cameras back toward Earth, resolving its bluish home planet hanging in the void of space accompanied by the Moon.

Our home world framed by the rings of Saturn

21 April 2017 Astronomy Now

A new view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft shows planet Earth as a point of light between the icy rings of Saturn.

Your home planet, as seen from Mars

6 January 2017 Astronomy Now

From the most powerful telescope orbiting Mars comes a new view of Earth and its moon, showing continent-size detail on the planet and the relative size of the Moon.

Did early Earth spin on its side?

1 November 2016 Astronomy Now

New theoretical modelling of the ancient history of the Earth and the Moon suggests that the giant collision that spawned our natural satellite may have left Earth spinning very fast, and with its spin axis highly tilted. The simulations give new insight into the question of whether planets with big moons are more likely to have moderate climates and life.

NOAA satellite shows Moon crossing face of Earth for second time in a year

12 July 2016 Astronomy Now

On 5 July 2016, the Moon passed between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s DSCOVR satellite and Earth. NASA’s EPIC camera aboard DSCOVR snapped these images over a period of about four hours. In this set, the far side of the Moon, which is never seen from Earth, passes by. The last time EPIC captured this event was 16-17 July 2015.

Habitable planets may lie outside the “Goldilocks zone” in extra-solar systems

5 July 2016 Astronomy Now

If conditions had been just a little different an eon ago, there might be plentiful life on Venus and none on Earth, according to a new hypothesis. Minor evolutionary changes could have altered the fates of both Earth and Venus in ways that scientists may soon be able to model through observation of other solar systems, particularly ones in the process of forming.

Primordial asteroid impacts a possible solution to “faint young Sun paradox”

24 June 2016 Astronomy Now

In the first billion years of Earth’s history, the planet was bombarded by primordial asteroids, while a faint Sun provided much less heat. A Southwest Research Institute-led team posits that this tumultuous beginning may have ultimately fostered life on Earth, particularly in terms of sustaining liquid water.

Climate change creates wobbles in Earth’s spin axis

11 April 2016 Astronomy Now

Earth does not always spin on an axis running through its poles. Instead, it wobbles irregularly over time, currently drifting toward the British Isles at 17cm per year. These wobbles don’t affect our daily life, but they must be taken into account to get accurate results from GPS, satellites and observatories on the ground.