A “frenzy” of dust devil tracks in the Terra Sabaea region of Mars, as seen by TGO. The image is a color-composite representation where features that are bluer compared to the average color of Mars are shown in bright blue hues. Image via ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. Far from being just a cratered desert,… Continue reading See Mars via images from ExoMars orbiter
Tag: Space
Spikes of Methane on Mars May Be Proof of Life and Pointers to its Locations
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first … Spikes of Methane would make a great name for a band. However, it would have to play really well to produce the excitement that real spikes of methane are generating amongst the space exploration community over an announcement by NASA that its Curiosity rover has… Continue reading Spikes of Methane on Mars May Be Proof of Life and Pointers to its Locations
Astronomers find 2nd galaxy lacking dark matter
See-through galaxy NGC 1052-DF2 is what’s known as an ultra-diffuse galaxy, or UDG. See the galaxies behind it? This was the 1st galaxy said by astronomers to contain little to no dark matter. Now the same team has found another one. Image via NASA/ESA/P. Van Dokkum/Keck Observatory. A year ago, astronomers announced they’d found the… Continue reading Astronomers find 2nd galaxy lacking dark matter
Speedy asteroid buzzed Earth last week, 1 day before being detected
via Gfycat In 2013, a small asteroid entered Earth’s atmosphere above the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia. Its shock wave broke windows and knocked down parts of buildings in six Russian cities and caused some 1,500 people to seek medical attention for injuries, mostly from flying glass. Can a Chelyabinsk-type event occur again? Definitely. Late last… Continue reading Speedy asteroid buzzed Earth last week, 1 day before being detected
Today in science: Comet Hale-Bopp
Comet Hale-Bopp with its prominent dust (white) and plasma (blue) tails. Photo via E. Kolmhofer, H. Raab; Johannes-Kepler-Observatory, Linz, Austria. April 1, 1997. On this date, Comet Hale-Bopp – probably the best-remembered bright comet for many in the Northern Hemisphere – reached its perihelion or closest point to the sun. It was 0.9 astronomical units… Continue reading Today in science: Comet Hale-Bopp
Saturn’s rings coat 5 tiny moons
This graphic shows the ring moons inspected by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft in super-close flybys. The rings and moons depicted are not to scale. Image via NASA-JPL/Caltech. New findings have emerged about five tiny moons nestled in and near Saturn’s rings. Super-close flybys by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft – which orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017 –… Continue reading Saturn’s rings coat 5 tiny moons
NASA and Google partner on Mars exploration
Here’s one of the Mars-like wonders of Devon Island in the High Arctic, featured in Google’s new documentary short on the NASA Haughton-Mars Project. This earthly canyon – called Astronaut Canyon by scientists – was carved by glaciers and resembles some of the tributary canyons to Ius Chasma on Mars. Image via HMP/Pascal Lee/SETI Institute.… Continue reading NASA and Google partner on Mars exploration
Grab a bit of asteroid Bennu? Turns out, it’s tougher than expected
Animated image via GIPHY. The first close-up observations by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft of its target, asteroid Bennu, reveal new details that pose a bigger challenge than scientists expected to the mission’s objective of collecting a sample of the asteroid. The OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft reached Bennu on December 3, 2018… Continue reading Grab a bit of asteroid Bennu? Turns out, it’s tougher than expected
Hubble captures a rare active asteroid
A Hubble Space Telescope view of asteroid 6478 Gault, showing 2 narrow, comet-like tails of debris. The bright streaks surrounding the asteroid are background stars. Image via NASA, ESA, K. Meech and J. Kleyna (University of Hawaii), O. Hainaut (European Southern Observatory)/ SpaceTelescope.org. Asteroids are typically solid rocky or metallic bodies; comets are fragile, icy… Continue reading Hubble captures a rare active asteroid
Final frontier: Russia develops washing machine for space
The days of astronauts packing enough clean clothes to last a whole mission could soon be over as Russia said Friday it is developing a washing machine for space.