NASA study finds unexpectedly primitive atmosphere around ‘Warm Neptune’
May 13, 2017, at 12:18 am
Washington, May 12 (IBNS): A study combining observations from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes reveals that the distant planet HAT-P-26b has a primitive atmosphere composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium.
AIRS: 15 Years of Seeing What's in the Air
May 05, 2017, at 10:05 pm
Washington, May 5 (IBNS): Accurate weather forecasts save lives. NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument, launched on this date 15 years ago on NASA’s Aqua satellite, significantly increased weather forecasting accuracy within a couple of years by providing extraordinary three-dimensional maps of clouds, air temperature and water vapor throughout the atmosphere's weather-making layer. Fifteen years later, AIRS continues to be a valuable asset for forecasters worldwide, sending 7 billion observations streaming into forecasting centers every day.
NASA-funded research reveals lull in the formation time of mega basins on Mars
Apr 29, 2017, at 12:18 am
Washington, Apr 28 (IBNS): Since the earliest days of our solar system’s history, asteroid impacts have shaped the planets and contributed to their evolution. New research funded by NASA shows that Mars experienced ten times fewer giant impacts than some previous estimates.
Researchers trying to detect life in the ultra-dry Atacama Desert
Apr 21, 2017, at 11:42 pm
Washington, Apr 21 (IBNS): Few places are as hostile to life as Chile's Atacama Desert. It's the driest non-polar desert on Earth, and only the hardiest microbes survive there. Its rocky landscape has lain undisturbed for eons, exposed to extreme temperatures and radiation from the sun.
NASA radar spots relatively large Asteroid prior to flyby
Apr 20, 2017, at 01:17 am
Washington, Apr 19 (IBNS): Radar images of asteroid 2014 JO25 were obtained in the early morning hours on Tuesday, with NASA's 70-meter (230-foot) antenna at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California.
Asteroid to fly safely past Earth today, says NASA
Apr 19, 2017, at 03:43 pm
Washington, Apr 19 (IBNS): A relatively large near-Earth asteroid discovered nearly three years ago will fly safely past Earth on Apr 19 at a distance of about 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometers), or about 4.6 times the distance from Earth to the moon, said astronomers.
NASA Space Station cargo launches aboard orbital ATK resupply mission
Apr 19, 2017, at 03:09 pm
Washington, Apr 19 (IBNS): The International Space Station will be capable of dozens of new scientific investigations from NASA and around the world when Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft delivers more than 7,600 pounds of cargo Saturday, April 22.
Glacier shape influences susceptibility to melting
Apr 18, 2017, at 02:16 pm
Washington, Apr 18 (IBNS): A new NASA-funded study has identified which glaciers in West Greenland are most susceptible to thinning in the coming decades by analyzing how they’re shaped.
NASA approves instruments for ESA’s ‘JUICE’ Mission to Jupiter System
Apr 16, 2017, at 11:19 pm
Washington, Apr 16 (IBNS): NASA’s partnership in a future European Space Agency (ESA) mission to Jupiter and its moons has cleared a key milestone, moving from preliminary instrument design to implementation phase.
NASA Missions provide new insights into 'Ocean Worlds' in our solar system
Apr 15, 2017, at 12:00 am
Washington, Apr 14 (IBNS): Two veteran NASA missions are providing new details about icy, ocean-bearing moons of Jupiter and Saturn, further heightening the scientific interest of these and other "ocean worlds" in our solar system and beyond.
NASA Missions provide new insights into 'Ocean Worlds' in our solar system
Apr 14, 2017, at 11:52 pm
Washington, Apr 14 (IBNS): Two veteran NASA missions are providing new details about icy, ocean-bearing moons of Jupiter and Saturn, further heightening the scientific interest of these and other "ocean worlds" in our solar system and beyond.
NASA TV to air orbital ATK resupply mission launch, briefings
Apr 12, 2017, at 09:55 pm
Washington, Apr 12 (IBNS): NASA commercial cargo provider Orbital ATK is targeting its seventh commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station for 11:11 a.m. EDT Tuesday, April 18. Coverage of the launch begins at 10 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
Hubble spots Auroras on Uranus
Apr 11, 2017, at 03:07 am
Washington, Apr 10 (IBNS): This is a composite image of Uranus by Voyager 2 and two different observations made by Hubble — one for the ring and one for the auroras.
NASA’s Cassini mission prepares for 'Grand Finale' at Saturn
Apr 05, 2017, at 03:14 pm
Washington, Apr 5 (IBNS): NASA's Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn since 2004, is about to begin the final chapter of its remarkable story.
Comet that took a century to confirm passes by Earth
Apr 01, 2017, at 02:03 pm
Washington, Apr 1 (IBNS): On Apr 1, 2017, comet 41P will pass closer than it normally does to Earth, giving observers with binoculars or a telescope a special viewing opportunity.
NASA observations reshape basic plasma wave physics
Apr 01, 2017, at 03:11 am
Washington, Mar 31 (IBNS): When NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale — or MMS — mission was launched, the scientists knew it would answer questions fundamental to the nature of our universe — and MMS hasn’t disappointed.
NuSTAR probes puzzling galaxy merger
Mar 28, 2017, at 02:54 pm
Washington, Mar 28 (IBNS): A supermassive black hole inside a tiny galaxy is challenging scientists' ideas about what happens when two galaxies become one.
NASA's Kepler provides another peek at ultra-cool neighbor
Mar 09, 2017, at 03:07 am
Washington, Mar 8 (IBNS): On Feb. 22, astronomers announced that the ultra-cool dwarf star, TRAPPIST-1, hosts a total of seven Earth-size planets that are likely rocky, a discovery made by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in combination with ground-based telescopes.
U.S. Desert Songbirds at risk in a warming climate, says study
Mar 09, 2017, at 03:02 am
Washington, Mar 8 (IBNS): Projected increases in the frequency, intensity and duration of heatwaves in the desert of the southwestern United States are putting songbirds at greater risk for death by dehydration and mass die-offs, according to a new study.
NASA wants to create coolest spot in Universe
Mar 07, 2017, at 11:07 pm
Washington, Mar 7 (IBNS): This summer, an ice chest-sized box will fly to the International Space Station, where it will create the coolest spot in the universe.
Flashy first images arrive from NOAA’s GOES-16 lightning mapper
Mar 07, 2017, at 08:45 pm
Washington, Mar 7 (IBNS): Detecting and predicting lightning just got a lot easier. The first images from a new instrument onboard NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite are giving NOAA National Weather Service forecasters richer information about lightning that will help them alert the public to dangerous weather.
Probing seven worlds with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope
Mar 04, 2017, at 11:37 pm
Washington, Mar 4 (IBNS): With the discovery of seven earth-sized planets around the TRAPPIST-1 star 40 light years away, astronomers are looking to the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope to help us find out if any of these planets could possibly support life.
Three rockets launched within hours explore auroras over Alaska
Mar 03, 2017, at 09:21 pm
Washington, Mar 3 (IBNS): Three NASA rockets carrying instruments into active auroras over Alaska to aid scientists studying the northern lights and the interactions of the solar wind with Earth’s upper atmosphere and ionosphere were launched within a nearly two-hour period Mar 2, 2017.
NASA study improves forecasts of summer Arctic sea ice
Mar 03, 2017, at 09:14 pm
Washington, Mar 3 (IBNS): The Arctic has been losing sea ice over the past several decades as Earth warms.
NASA study hints at possible change in water ‘Fingerprint’ of Comet
Mar 01, 2017, at 10:58 pm
Washington, Mar 1 (IBNS): A trip past the sun may have selectively altered the production of one form of water in a comet – an effect not seen by astronomers before, a new NASA study suggests.
NASA telescope reveals largest batch of Earth-size, habitable-zone planets around single star
Feb 23, 2017, at 05:58 pm
Washington, Feb 23 (IBNS): NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed the first known system of seven Earth-size planets around a single star. Three of these planets are firmly located in the habitable zone, the area around the parent star where a rocky planet is most likely to have liquid water.
Google hails NASA's exoplanets discovery, doodles
Feb 23, 2017, at 04:36 pm
Mountain View, Feb 23 (IBNS): Tech giant Google on Thursday dedicated a doodle to celebrate NASA's latest discovery, where the agency found out about seven Earth-like exoplanets.
NASA: Snow science in support of our nation’s water supply
Feb 17, 2017, at 06:55 pm
Washington, Feb 17 (IBNS): Researchers have completed the first flights of a NASA-led field campaign that is targeting one of the biggest gaps in scientists' understanding of Earth's water resources: snow.
Scientists shortlist three landing sites for Mars 2020
Feb 13, 2017, at 02:40 pm
Washington, Feb 13 (IBNS): Participants in a landing site workshop for NASA’s upcoming Mars 2020 mission have recommended three locations on the Red Planet for further evaluation.
Next generation batteries could provide power to microsatellites, cubesats
Feb 12, 2017, at 12:32 am
Washington,Feb 11 (IBNS): Sometimes good things come in very small packages. Just ask Dr. Luke Roberson, senior principal investigator for Flight Research within the Exploration Research and Technology Directorate at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.