Hubble Space Telescope Finds Source of Magellanic Stream – NASA Photo Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–August 8, 2013. Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have solved a 40-year mystery on the origin of the Magellanic Stream, a long ribbon of gas stretching nearly halfway around our Milky Way galaxy. The Large and Small[Read More…]
Space
Video/Story: The Sun’s Magnetic Field is about to Flip
NASA-(ENEWSPF)- Something big is about to happen on the sun. According to measurements from NASA-supported observatories, the sun’s vast magnetic field is about to flip. "It looks like we’re no more than 3 to 4 months away from a complete field reversal," says solar physicist Todd Hoeksema of Stanford University.[Read More…]
Drive Me to the Moon
Formula One race EU–(ENEWSPF)–6 August 2013. Thanks to advanced electrical wiring developed for space, some racing drivers are now steering sleeker and potentially faster cars in competitions here on Earth. Sophisticated wiring techniques developed for ESA satellites are now used in Formula One cars, improving their performance and weight.[Read More…]
NASA Curiosity Rover Approaches First Anniversary on Mars
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–August 2, 2013. NASA’s Curiosity rover will mark one year on Mars next week and has already achieved its main science goal of revealing ancient Mars could have supported life. The mobile laboratory also is guiding designs for future planetary missions. “Successes of our Curiosity — that dramatic touchdown[Read More…]
Water in the Martian Desert
Searching for water near Tagus Valles EU–(ENEWSPF)–1 August 2013. Craters once brim-full with sediments and water have long since drained dry, but traces of their former lives as muddy lakes cling on in the martian desert. Tagus Valles in context The images were taken on 15 January by ESA’s Mars[Read More…]
Ancient Snowfall Likely Carved Martian Valleys
Researchers at Brown University have shown that some Martian valleys appear to have been caused by runoff from orographic precipitation — moisture carried part of the way up a mountain and deposited on the slopes. Providence, RI.-(ENEWSPF)-Valley networks branching across the Martian surface leave little doubt that water once flowed on the[Read More…]
Laser Communications Set for Moon Mission
Laser from Optical Ground Station on Tenerife EU–(ENEWSPF)–30 July 2013. An advanced laser system offering vastly faster data speeds is now ready for linking with spacecraft beyond our planet following a series of crucial ground tests. Later this year, ESA’s observatory in Spain will use the laser to communicate with[Read More…]
How Mars’ Atmosphere Got So Thin: New Insights From Curiosity
NASA’s Curiosity rover used the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to capture this set of 55 high-resolution images, which were stitched together to create this full-color self-portrait. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems ANN ARBOR–(ENEWSPF)–July 19, 2013. New findings from NASA’s Curiosity rover provide clues to how Mars lost its[Read More…]
A Snow Line in an Infant Solar System: Astronomers Take First Images
An artist’s concept of the snow line in the infant solar system at TW Hydrae. Water-covered ce grains in the inner disk, from about 4.5 astronomical units to 30, and carbon monoxide ice covered grains in the outer disk beyond, in green. The transition from blue to green marks the[Read More…]
Statement by U.S. State Department on Consensus Achieved by the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures for Outer Space Activities
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–July 18, 2013. The United States welcomes the achievement of landmark consensus by the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space Activities during last week’s meetings in New York. Through these discussions, the United States sought to find solutions to common challenges and[Read More…]
