Rosetta’s first sighting of its target in 2014 – narrow angle view EU–(ENEWSPF)–27 March 2014. ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft has caught a first glimpse of its destination comet since waking up from deep-space hibernation on 20 January. These two ‘first light’ images were taken on 20 and 21 March by the[Read More…]
Space
Mars Yard Ready for Red Planet Rover
ExoMars rover EU–(ENEWSPF)–27 March 2014. A state-of-the-art ‘Mars yard’ is now ready to put the ExoMars rover through its paces before the vehicle is launched to the Red Planet in 2018. ESA, the UK Space Agency and Airbus Defence and Space opened the renovated test area in Stevenage, UK, today.[Read More…]
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Spots Mars-Bound Comet Sprout Multiple Jets
The images above show — before and after filtering — comet C/2013 A1, also known as Siding Spring, as captured by Wide Field Camera 3 on NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and J.-Y. Li (Planetary Science Institute) Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 27, 2014. NASA released Thursday an image of a[Read More…]
Prepping for Radar Vision
Petermann on the move EU–(ENEWSPF)–18 March 2014. Sentinel-1A, Europe’s first satellite for Copernicus, is almost ready for launch on 3 April. Meanwhile, ESA is showing how its advanced radar will map ice, monitor subsidence and much more. Marking a new era in Earth observation focusing on operational applications, Sentinel-1A is[Read More…]
Herschel Completes Largest Survey of Cosmic Dust in Local Universe
Herschel survey in infrared and visible EU–(ENEWSPF)–18 March 2014. The largest census of dust in local galaxies has been completed using data from ESA’s Herschel space observatory, providing a huge legacy to the scientific community. Cosmic dust grains are a minor but fundamental ingredient in the recipe of gas and[Read More…]
NASA Releases First Interactive Mosaic of Lunar North Pole
A new interactive mosaic from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter covers the north pole of the moon from 60 to 90 degrees north latitude at a resolution of 6-1/2 feet (2 meters) per pixel. Close-ups of Thales crater (right side) zoom in to reveal increasing levels of detail. Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona[Read More…]
Venus Glory
Venus glory EU–(ENEWSPF)–11 March 2014. A rainbow-like feature known as a ‘glory’ has been seen by ESA’s Venus Express orbiter in the atmosphere of our nearest neighbour – the first time one has been fully imaged on another planet. Rainbows and glories occur when sunlight shines on cloud droplets –[Read More…]
Be an Asteroid Hunter in NASA’s First Asteroid Grand Challenge Contest Series
Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—March 10, 2014. NASA’s Asteroid Data Hunter contest series will offer $35,000 in awards over the next six months to citizen scientists who develop improved algorithms that can be used to identify asteroids. This contest series is being conducted in partnership with Planetary Resources Inc. of Bellevue, Wash. The[Read More…]
Distant Black Hole is Spinning at Half the Speed of Light
Multiple images of a distant quasar are visible in this combined view from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope. The Chandra data were used to directly measure the spin of the supermassive black hole powering this quasar. Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ of Michigan/R.C.Reis et al; Optical: NASA/STScI[Read More…]
Lava Floods the Ancient Plans of Mars
Lava flows in Daedalia Planum EU–(ENEWSPF)–6 March 2014. Two distinct volcanic eruptions have flooded this area of Daedalia Planum with lava, flowing around an elevated fragment of ancient terrain. Daedalia Planum and Mistretta Crater in context The images were acquired by ESA’s Mars Express on 28 November 2013 towards the[Read More…]
