Tag Archive for 'Atmosphere'

Blue skies on Pluto. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

The Secrets of Pluto’s Thin Blue Line

Mar 3, 2017 by James Romero

“Like a summer’s evening here on Earth just after sunset. A faint blue glow follows the Sun below the horizon — the only bit of color within...

This artist’s impression shows Proxima b orbiting Proxima Centauri, which at only 4.23 light-years is the closest star to our Solar System. The double star Alpha Centauri AB also appears in the image between the exoplanet and Proxima itself. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Exoplanets in Habitable Zones of Active Red Dwarfs May Face Oxygen Loss

Feb 11, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers led by Vladimir Airapetian, a solar scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, has developed a model that estimates the oxygen...

This artist’s concept depicts the early Martian environment (right) -- believed to contain liquid water and a thicker atmosphere -- versus the cold, dry environment seen at Mars today (left). Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Did Ancient Martian Volcanism Provide the Sunblock to Get Life Going?

Feb 8, 2017 by James Romero

Intense volcanism early in Mars history could have aided the emergence of life on the red planet through filtering out harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation...

Juno snapped this shot of Jupiter’s northern latitudes on Dec. 11, 2016, as the orbiter performed a close flyby of the gas giant. The spacecraft was at an altitude of 10,300 miles (16,600 km) above Jupiter’s cloud tops. The image was processed by citizen astronomers Gerald Eichstaedt and John Rogers. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstaedt / John Rogers.

Juno Sees Massive Storm on Jupiter

Jan 28, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has spotted a huge anticyclonic storm in Jupiter’s high north temperate latitudes. Juno snapped this shot of Jupiter’s northern...

Mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars projected into point perspective, a view similar to that which one would see from a spacecraft. The distance is 1,550 miles (2,500 km) from the surface of the planet. The mosaic is composed of 102 Viking Orbiter images of Mars. The center of the scene shows the entire Valles Marineris canyon system, over 1,240 miles (2,000 km) long and up to 5 miles (8 km) deep, extending form Noctis Labyrinthus, the arcuate system of graben to the west, to the chaotic terrain to the east. Many huge ancient river channels begin from the chaotic terrain from north-central canyons and run north. The three Tharsis volcanoes (dark red spots), each about 15.5 miles (25 km) high, are visible to the west. South of Valles Marineris is very ancient terrain covered by many impact craters. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Methane Gas May Have Caused Greenhouse Effect on Young Mars, Planetary Researchers Say

Jan 25, 2017 by News Staff

Methane present in the early Martian atmosphere, together with carbon dioxide and hydrogen may have created a greenhouse effect on the planet 3.5-4.5 billion...

Artist rendition of NASA’s TIMED spacecraft. The satellite is orbiting at 388 miles (625 km) and viewing in the anti-sunward limb direction. Image credit: NASA.

NASA’s TIMED Satellite Finds Hot Atomic Hydrogen in Earth’s Thermosphere

Dec 7, 2016 by News Staff

Using data from NASA’s TIMED satellite, scientists have discovered the existence of hot atomic hydrogen atoms in the thermosphere (from about 56 to 311...

Distribution of the atmospheric ammonia concentration in June, July, and August 2008 at 9.3 mile (15 km) height as observed by MIPAS. Bright areas are measurement gaps due to high cloud cover. Image credit: Michael Höpfner / Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

Ammonia Detected in Earth’s Upper Troposphere

Dec 5, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Ammonia, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3, has been found for the first time in the upper troposphere of our planet. Distribution...

MAVEN obtained this image of rapid cloud formation on Mars in July 2016. Image credit: NASA / MAVEN / University of Colorado.

MAVEN Ultraviolet Images Reveal Hidden Secrets of Mars

Oct 18, 2016 by News Staff

New images from NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft show the ultraviolet glow from the Red Planet’s atmosphere in detail,...

This image from Curiosity’s Mast Camera shows inclined strata at Zabriskie Plateau, about a third of a mile (0.5 km) northeast of the ‘Pahrump Hills’ outcrop at the base of Mount Sharp, the central peak within the Gale Crater on Mars. These sedimentary rocks are inclined toward the south and are also interpreted as the deposits of small deltas building out into a lake. The Mast Camera’s left-eye camera recorded the component frames of this mosaic on July 22, 2014, during the 696th Martian day of Curiosity’s work on Mars. The color has been approximately white-balanced to resemble how the scene would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.

Curiosity Takes Close Look at Interactions between Mars’ Crust and Atmosphere

Oct 2, 2016 by News Staff

Curiosity has found evidence that chemistry in the Martian surface material contributed dynamically to the makeup of the planet’s atmosphere over time. This...

In 2012 Cassini spotted a cloud system called the south polar vortex in Titan’s atmosphere at an altitude of about 186 miles. The spacecraft’s instrument has now detected a massive ice cloud below it. This image was taken by Cassini in 2013. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Cassini Spots Exotic Ice Cloud in Titan’s Stratosphere

Sep 22, 2016 by News Staff

Cassini mission scientists think the appearance of a cloud of dicyanoacetylene ice in Titan’s stratosphere is explained by ‘solid-state’ chemistry...

In this artist’s conception GJ 1132b circles a red dwarf star. Image credit: Dana Berry.

Nearby Earth-Sized Exoplanet GJ 1132b Might Have Oxygen-Rich Atmosphere

Aug 19, 2016 by News Staff

In this artist’s conception GJ 1132b circles a red dwarf star. Image credit: Dana Berry. GJ 1132b, an extrasolar planet about 1.2 times the size and...

This false-color image from Cassini shows clouds in the atmosphere of Saturn. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute / Kevin M. Gill.

Stunning New Cassini Image Shows Saturn’s Clouds

Aug 10, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new infrared image from NASA’s Cassini orbiter shows enormous clouds in the northern hemisphere of the gas giant Saturn. This false-color image from...

Artist’s concept of the mechanism of heating from the Great Red Spot. Turbulent atmospheric flows above the storm produce both gravity waves and acoustic waves. Gravity waves are much like how a guitar string moves when plucked, while acoustic waves are compressions of the air (sound waves). Heating in the upper atmosphere 500 miles (805 km) above the storm is thought to be caused by a combination of these two wave types ‘crashing’ like ocean waves on a beach. Image credit: Karen Teramura, University of Hawaii at Manoa / James O’Donoghue, Boston University.

Great Red Spot Heats Jupiter’s Upper Atmosphere

Jul 28, 2016 by News Staff

The upper atmosphere above Jupiter’s Great Red Spot – the largest storm in the Solar System – is hundreds of degrees hotter than anywhere...

Venus in real colors, processed from Mariner 10 images. Image credit: Mattias Malmer / NASA.

Clouds High in Venus’ Atmosphere Reveal Features on Planet’s Surface

Jul 26, 2016 by News Staff

Using data from ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft, European planetary researchers have shown how weather patterns seen in Venus’ cloud layers are directly...

Strong ‘Electric Wind’ Can Strip Terrestrial Planets of Atmospheres, Oceans

Jun 21, 2016 by News Staff

Solar System’s planet Venus has an ‘electric wind’ strong enough to remove the components of water from its upper atmosphere. This action may have...

Radio image (top), made with the VLA, and optical image (bottom) made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. The radio image shows the complex upwellings and downwellings of ammonia gas 18-56 miles (30-90 km) below the visible clouds. Image credit: Imke de Pater et al / NRAO / AUI / NSF / NASA / ESA.

VLA Radio Maps Reveal What’s Beneath Jupiter’s Thick Clouds

Jun 3, 2016 by News Staff

Scientists using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory have produced detailed radio maps of Jupiter’s...

Ancient Earth. Image credit: Imperial College London.

Archean Earth’s Upper Atmosphere Was Oxygen-Rich, Scientists Discover

May 12, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from Australia and the United Kingdom has made a surprising discovery about the chemistry of Earth’s upper atmosphere...

SOFIA/GREAT spectrum of oxygen [OI] superimposed on an image of Mars from NASA’ MAVEN mission. The amount of atomic oxygen computed from SOFIA data is about half the amount expected. Image credit: NASA / DLR / USRA / DSI / MPIfR / GREAT Consortium / MPIfS / Rezac et al / MAVEN.

NASA’s SOFIA Observatory Detects Atomic Oxygen in Upper Atmosphere of Mars

May 10, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), the largest airborne observatory in the world, has detected atomic oxygen in the upper...

ESA’s Venus Express Finds Atmospheric Gravity Waves in Venusian Polar Atmosphere

Apr 23, 2016 by News Staff

Strong atmospheric gravity waves dominate the polar regions of Venus’ atmosphere, according to measurements made by ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft...

A solar storm approaches Mars. Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

NASA’s MAVEN Team: Solar Storms Stripped Away Mars’ Atmosphere

Nov 6, 2015 by News Staff

Thanks to NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter, scientists have learned more about what happened to the Martian climate since...

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