Tag Archive for Solar System

A graphic of one of the highest-energy neutrino events is superimposed on a view of the IceCube Neutrino Observatiory at NSF’s Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Image credit: IceCube Collaboration.

IceCube Confirms Observation of Astrophysical Muon Neutrinos

Aug 21, 2015 by News Staff

Physicists using the IceCube Neutrino Observatory – a cubic-kilometer-sized detector sunk into the ice sheet at the South Pole – have announced...

This artist’s concept of a young solar system shows gas giants forming first, while the gas nebula is present. Prof Martin Duncan and co-authors used computer simulations to nail down how Jupiter and Saturn evolved in our own Solar System. These calculations show that the cores of gas giants likely formed by gradually accumulating a population of ‘planetary pebbles’ - icy objects about a foot in diameter. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Researchers Shed New Light on How Gas Giants Formed in Early Solar System

Aug 20, 2015 by News Staff

In a paper published online today in Nature, an international team of scientists explains how the cores of gas giants formed through the accumulation of...

This image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft shows a part of Dione’s surface that is covered by linear, curving features, called chasmata. The Voyager spacecrafts observed Dione in 1980 showing a complex surface structure, with wispy features on its trailing hemisphere. The nature of these features was unclear until 2004, when the Cassini spacecraft showed that they weren’t surface deposits of frost, as some had suspected, but rather a pattern of bright icy cliffs among myriad fractures. One possibility is that this stress pattern may be related to Dione’s orbital evolution and the effect of tidal stresses over time. This view looks toward the trailing hemisphere of Dione. Cassini obtained the image with its narrow-angle camera on April 11, 2015. The view was acquired at a distance of 68,000 miles (110,000 km) from Dione. North on Dione is up. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft to Make Final Close Flyby of Saturn’s Moon Dione

Aug 17, 2015 by News Staff

Cassini’s closest approach, within 295 miles (474 km) of Dione’s surface, will occur today, August 17. This flyby will be the fifth targeted encounter...

This mosaic provides the best view ever obtained of the dwarf planet Pluto. The lower right edge of the planet in this view currently lacks high-resolution color coverage. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

Pluto’s Atmospheric Nitrogen Likely Has Internal Origin, Scientists Say

Aug 12, 2015 by News Staff

Researchers at Southwest Research Institute are studying the data collected by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft to discover what is pumping up the nitrogen...

The mysterious bright spots on Ceres lie in the Occator crater, which is about 60 miles (90 km) across and two miles (4 km) deep. This image comes from the animation, generated using data from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft; vertical relief has been exaggerated by a factor of five; exaggerating the relief helps scientists understand and visualize the topography much more easily, and highlights features that are sometimes subtle. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / LPI.

NASA Dawn’s Flight over Dwarf Planet Ceres

Aug 7, 2015 by News Staff

Explore the craters, bright spots, mountains and other features of Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The data for this...

In this simulated image of Saturn’s rings, color is used to present information about ring particle sizes in different regions based on the measured attenuations of three radio signals. Image credit: NASA.

Planetary Rings Have Universal Particle Distribution

Aug 5, 2015 by News Staff

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists have discovered that planetary rings, such as those orbiting Saturn,...

Global map of Charon as of July 30, 2015. The map is in simple cylindrical projection, with zero longitude (the Pluto-facing direction) in the center. It includes all available resolved images of the moon’s surface captured between July 7-14, 2015 on the anti-Pluto facing hemisphere. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

NASA Releases Global Map of Pluto’s Moon Charon

Aug 3, 2015 by News Staff

NASA scientists have created the best-ever global map of Charon, using images taken by New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager in July 2015. Global...

NASA Scientists Produce New Topographic Maps of Ceres

Jul 29, 2015 by News Staff

Researchers at NASA have just released colorful new topographic maps of the dwarf planet Ceres, based on data gathered by the agency’s Dawn spacecraft. This...

Global map of Pluto as of July 28, 2015. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

NASA Releases Updated Global Map of Pluto

Jul 28, 2015 by News Staff

This map-projected view of the dwarf planet Pluto was created from images taken by New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) between July...

Several images taken using green, UV and IR spectral filters were combined to create this color view of Tethys. The moon’s dark side is faintly illuminated by reflected light from Saturn. North on Tethys is up in this view. The impact crater Odysseus is seen at the left. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Cassini Snaps New Image of Saturn’s Moon Tethys

Jul 28, 2015 by News Staff

The 280-mile-wide (450 km) impact crater Odysseus on Tethys stands out brightly from the rest of the illuminated crescent as seen by the NASA/ESA Cassini...

The hazes in Pluto’s atmosphere provide a crucial link between the sunlight-driven chemistry in the upper atmosphere and the reddish-brown hydrocarbons called tholins that rain down and darken the surface. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Horizons Sheds More Light on Pluto’s Atmosphere

Jul 27, 2015 by News Staff

Just seven hours after closest approach, the spacecraft looked back and captured an incredible image of the dwarf planet’s atmosphere, backlit by the...

This artist’s concept shows a windbot bobbing through the skies of Jupiter, drawing energy from turbulent winds there; the windbot is portrayed as a polyhedron with sections that spin to absorb wind energy and create lift, although other potential configurations are being investigated. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Windbots Could Explore Solar System’s Gas Giants

Jul 27, 2015 by News Staff

Researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are investigating the feasibility of creating a ‘windbot,’ a new kind of probe designed to...

This mosaic provides the best view ever obtained of the dwarf planet Pluto. The lower right edge of the planet in this view currently lacks high-resolution color coverage. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

NASA Releases New Portrait of Dwarf Planet Pluto

Jul 27, 2015 by News Staff

Scientists with NASA’s New Horizons mission have released the sharpest view yet of Pluto. This mosaic provides the best view ever obtained of the dwarf...

This image of the southern region of Sputnik Planum reveals icy plains, two mountain ranges, and a region where it appears that ancient, heavily-cratered terrain has been invaded by much newer icy deposits. The large crater is about 30 miles (50 km) wide. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

NASA’s New Horizons Discovers Exotic Ices on Pluto

Jul 24, 2015 by News Staff

The New Horizons spacecraft has found evidence of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane ices flowing across the dwarf planet’s surface. In the northern...

This image was captured on July 14, 2015 from a distance of 48,000 miles and received on Earth on July 20. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Horizons Spots Second Mountain Range on Pluto

Jul 22, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has discovered a new mountain range in a heart-shaped region named Tombaugh Regio. This image was captured on July 14,...

These images show Nix and Hydra. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Horizons Beams Back New Images of Pluto’s Moons Nix and Hydra

Jul 22, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has captured the sharpest pictures yet of Pluto’s small satellites Nix and Hydra. Nix, shown here in enhanced color...

This image shows Pluto’s small moon Nix. NASA scientists believe we are looking at one end of moon’s elongated body. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Horizons Captures Image of Pluto’s Moon Nix

Jul 18, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured this view of Pluto’s small moon Nix on July 13, 2015, from a distance of about 360,000 miles (590,000 km). This...

This view of a portion of Pluto’s Sputnik Planum shows enigmatic features: the surface appears to be divided into irregularly shaped segments that are ringed by narrow troughs, some of which contain darker materials; features that appear to be groups of mounds and fields of small pits are also visible. This image was acquired on July 14 from a distance of 48,000 miles (77,000 km). Features as small as a half-mile (1 km) across are visible. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Close-Up of Pluto Reveals Very Young, Craterless Plain

Jul 17, 2015 by News Staff

According to New Horizons planetary scientists, this frozen region is no more than 100 million years old, and is possibly still being shaped by geologic...

This image of Pluto’s largest moon Charon was taken on July 13 from a distance of 289,000 miles (466,000 km). The inset is a black-and-white close-up taken on July 14. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

NASA Releases New Close-Up of Pluto’s Moon Charon

Jul 17, 2015 by News Staff

A close-up image of an area on Pluto’s largest moon Charon reveals a depression with a peak in the middle. This new image of an area on Charon has a...

New Horizons Captures Pluto’s Moons Charon and Hydra

Jul 16, 2015 by News Staff

New details of Pluto’s moons Charon and Hydra are revealed in the latest images from the spacecraft’s Long Range Reconnaissance Imager, taken on July...

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