Jupiter's great red spot heats planet's upper atmosphere
Researchers from Boston University's (BU) Center for Space Physics report today in Nature that Jupiter's Great Red Spot may provide the mysterious source of energy required to heat the planet's upper...
View ArticleMAVEN spacecraft gears up to observe global dust storm on Mars
NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN Mission (MAVEN) orbiter will have a front-row seat to watch a marvelous dusty spectacle in late 2016. The spacecraft, nearing its second anniversary in...
View ArticleTest for damp ground at Mars streaks finds none
Seasonal dark streaks on Mars that have become one of the hottest topics in interplanetary research don't hold much water, according to the latest findings from a NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars.
View ArticleGalileo's Ariane 5 arrives at Europe's Spaceport
The first Ariane 5 rocket modified to carry four Galileo satellites into orbit has arrived at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana for a November launch.
View ArticleSpectacular video captures catastrophic SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket explosion...
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that suffered a catastrophic explosion this morning, Thursday, Sept. 1, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida was captured in stunning detail in a spectacular video...
View ArticleVega releases five satellites in complex mission
Arianespace launched a Vega rocket on a complex mission early this morning that demonstrated the flexibility of its upper stage and multisatellite carrier.
View ArticleWhat is the temperature of the Earth's crust?
As you may recall learning in geology class, the Earth is made up of distinct layers. The further one goes towards the center of the planet, the more intense the heat and pressure becomes. Luckily, for...
View ArticleCosmic dust demystified
The solar system is a dusty environment, with trillions of cosmic dust particles left behind by comets and asteroids that orbit the sun. All this dust forms a relatively dense cloud through which the...
View ArticleNew technique for finding weakness in Earth's crust
Scientists have developed a method to estimate weakness in the Earth's outer layers which will help explain and predict volcanic activity and earthquakes.
View ArticleMagnetic oceans and electric Earth
Oceans might not be thought of as magnetic, but they make a tiny contribution to our planet's protective magnetic shield. Remarkably, ESA's Swarm satellites have not only measured this extremely faint...
View ArticleCase of Earth's missing continental crust solved—it sank
How do you make half the mass of two continents disappear? To answer that question, you first need to discover that it's missing.
View ArticleTrusted Ariane 5 lays foundations for Ariane 6
With 74 successful launches in a row, Ariane 5 now matches the reliability of Ariane 4 – while an experiment is helping the development of Ariane 6.
View ArticleIs there a natural limit to how long humans can live?
Humans may live longer and longer, but eventually we all grow old and die. This leads to a simple question: is there an intrinsic maximum limit to human lifespan or not? There are two equally simple...
View ArticleMinXSS CubeSat brings new information to study of solar flares
Along with the visible light and warmth constantly emitted by our sun comes a whole spectrum of X-ray and ultraviolet radiation that streams toward Earth. A new CubeSat – a miniature satellite that...
View ArticleHow deadly would a nearby gamma ray burst be?
Despite the obvious doom and gloom associated with mass extinctions, they have a tendency to capture our imagination. After all, the sudden demise of the dinosaurs, presumably due to an asteroid...
View ArticleMAVEN mission observes ups and downs of water escape from Mars
After investigating the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet for a full Martian year, NASA's MAVEN mission has determined that the escaping water does not always go gently into space.
View ArticleStudy reveals how particles that seed clouds in the Amazon are produced
A study published in the journal Nature solves a mystery that has puzzled scientists for over a decade: the origin of the atmospheric aerosols that contribute to cloud formation above the Amazon...
View ArticleMars' ionosphere shaped by crustal magnetic fields
Scattered pockets of magnetism across the surface of Mars have a significant influence on the planet's upper atmosphere, according to observations from ESA's Mars Express. Understanding these effects...
View ArticleScientists probe underground depths of Earth's carbon cycle
Understanding how carbon dissolves in water at the molecular level under extreme conditions is critical to understanding the Earth's deep carbon cycle—a process that ultimately influences global...
View ArticleRed squirrels in the British Isles are infected with leprosy bacteria
Microbiologists at EPFL and the University of Edinburgh have discovered that red squirrels in Britain and Ireland carry the two bacterial species that cause leprosy in humans.
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