Tag Archive for 'Solar System'

Rosetta NavCam image taken on 14 March 2015 at 85.7 km from the center of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko; it has been cleaned to remove the more obvious bad pixels and cosmic ray artefacts, and intensities have been scaled. Image credit: ESA / Rosetta / NAVCAM / CC BY-SA IGO 3.0.

67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Could Harbor Alien Life, Say UK Scientists

Jul 6, 2015 by News Staff

Two planetary scientists from the UK – Prof Chandra Wickramasinghe of the Buckingham Center for Astrobiology and Dr Max Wallis of the University...

New images show two very different faces of Pluto, one with a series of strange spots. About half of the dwarf planet is imaged, which means features shown near the bottom are at the equatorial line. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

NASA Scientists Release New Color Images of Pluto, Charon

Jul 2, 2015 by News Staff

Scientists with NASA’s New Horizons mission have combined black-and-white images of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, from New Horizons’ LORRI imager...

A close-up of the bright spots on Ceres. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

Dawn Captures Rare Image of Ceres’ Bright Spots at Dusk

Jun 30, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has beamed back a new photo of a cluster of bright spots on the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres. The space probe took this image...

This image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 16, 2015. The bright rings of Saturn can be seen at left. North on Dione is up and rotated 44 degrees to the left. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Cassini Captures Stunning Images of Dione

Jun 26, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s Cassini probe obtained new images of Saturn’s moon Dione during a close flyby on June 16, 2015. This image was taken in visible light with the...

This false-color image of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken by the Rosetta navigation camera on 15 June 2015 from a distance of 207 km from the comet center. Image credit: ESA / Rosetta / NAVCAM / CC BY-SA IGO 3.0.

ESA’s Rosetta Orbiter to Land on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Jun 24, 2015 by News Staff

Rosetta’s nominal mission was originally funded until the end of this year, but at a meeting yesterday, the European Space Agency has given formal approval...

Map of MAVEN’s auroral detections in December 2014 overlaid on the surface of Mars: the map shows that the aurora was widespread in the northern hemisphere, not tied to any geographic location. Image credit: University of Colorado.

MAVEN Sheds New Light on Atmosphere of Mars

Jun 24, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spacecraft has observed three phenomena in the atmosphere of Mars: a polar plume of escaping atmospheric...

This image shows Saturn’s moons Titan, Mimas (center bottom) and Rhea (upper left). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Triple Crescents: Cassini Captures Incredible Image of Three of Saturn’s Moons

Jun 23, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has captured a rare family photo of three of Saturn’s moons: Titan, Mimas and Rhea. This image shows Saturn’s moons Titan,...

These images, taken by New Horizons’ LORRI camera on June 18, 2015, show the discovery of significant surface details on Charon. The image on the left is the original image, displayed at four times the native LORRI image size. After applying the deconvolution technique, details become visible on the icy moon, including a distinct dark pole. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Views of Pluto’s Moon Charon Reveal Mysterious ‘Dark Pole’

Jun 23, 2015 by News Staff

Using new images from the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, planetary scientists have discovered that Charon...

A cluster of bright spots can be seen in this image. The image was captured on June 9, 2015, when Dawn was nearly 2,700 miles (4,400 km) from the dwarf planet. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

Dawn Captures New Images of Ceres’ Mystery Features

Jun 23, 2015 by News Staff

New pictures from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft show a cluster of mysterious bright spots and a pyramid-shaped peak on the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres. A...

An artist’s concept of Pluto. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

NASA Probe Beams Back New Color Images of Pluto, Charon

Jun 22, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s New Horizons has beamed back color pictures of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon. An artist’s concept of Pluto. Image credit: NASA / Johns...

Artist’s concept shows a simulated view from the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission Enters Development Stage

Jun 18, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s Europa Clipper – a future mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa – has completed its first major review by the agency and now is entering...

By combining radio-wave data exchanged between Rosetta and Philae as part of the CONSERT experiment with trajectory data and the current model of the shape of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the location of the lander has been determined to lie within an ellipse measuring approximately 16 x 160 m. The CONSERT ellipse corresponds to the outer limits of the various solutions identified for the likely landing site of Philae, although this depends to some extent on the shape model assumed. Image credit: ESA / Rosetta / Philae / CONSERT / MPS for OSIRIS Team / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA.

Rosetta’s Philae Lander Wake-Up Kicks Off Intense Activity

Jun 16, 2015 by News Staff

The European Space Agency (ESA) and its Rosetta mission partners are working to juggle the spacecraft’s flight plan to help with renewed Philae lander...

Cassini spacecraft has recently provided scientists the first close-up, visible-light views of a behemoth hurricane swirling around Saturn's north pole. The hurricane's eye is about 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) wide, 20 times larger than the average hurricane eye on Earth (NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI)

Saturn’s Polar Cyclones Feed on Small Thunderstorms, New Study Says

Jun 16, 2015 by News Staff

Huge polar hurricanes on Saturn are a puzzling phenomenon, since the gaseous planet lacks an essential ingredient for brewing up such hurricanes –...

The Philae lander at work on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Image credit: ESA / AOES Medialab.

ESA’s Philae Lander Phones Home after 7-Month Silence

Jun 14, 2015 by News Staff

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Philae lander has woken up after seven months in hibernation on the surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The Philae...

These images show four different ‘faces’ of the dwarf planet Pluto as it rotates about its axis with a period of 6.4 days. From left to right, the images were taken when Pluto’s central longitude was 17, 63, 130, and 243 degrees, respectively. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Views of Pluto Captured by New Horizons

Jun 12, 2015 by News Staff

NASA has just released a set of images of the dwarf planet Pluto taken by New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager during May 29 – June 2,...

The X2.2-class flare, March 11, 2015. Image credit: SDO / NASA.

New Tool Could Predict Earth-Directed Coronal Mass Ejections Day in Advance

Jun 11, 2015 by News Staff

A new measurement and modeling tool could give more than 24 hours’ notice of coronal mass ejections that could be harmful to systems on Earth. New tool...

The bright spots on dwarf planet Ceres are seen in this image taken by Dawn on June 6, 2015. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

Dawn Shoots New Close-Up of Ceres’ Bright Spots

Jun 11, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s Dawn mission scientists have just released a new close-up image of mysterious bright spots on the crater-pocked surface of Ceres. This is among...

This view of Tethys was taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on April 11, 2015. The crater Odysseus is seen at the right of the image. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Cassini Captures Stunning View of Saturn’s Moon Tethys

Jun 10, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has returned a spectacular new image of Tethys, a small, icy moon of Saturn. This view of Tethys was taken by NASA’s Cassini...

This image is part of a sequence taken by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft on May 23, from a distance of 3,200 miles (5,100 km). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

Dawn Spacecraft Gets Close-Up View of Ceres’ Surface

Jun 2, 2015 by News Staff

This picture of the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres was taken by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft from a range of about 3,200 miles (5,100 km) on 23 May 2015. This...

Cassini passed Hyperion on 31 May 2015 at a distance of about 21,000 miles (34,000 km). Mission scientists expect images from the encounter to arrive on Earth within 1-2 days. This view of the moon was obtained during Cassini’s flyby on 26 September 2005. It reveals crisp details across the strange, tumbling moon’s surface. Differences in color could represent differences in the composition of surface materials. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft Makes Close Flyby of Hyperion

Jun 1, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s Cassini space probe performed a close flyby of Saturn’s irregularly shaped moon Hyperion on 31 May 2015. Cassini passed Hyperion on 31 May 2015...

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