Space : Science World Report

Jan 05, 2012 11:15 AM EST

NASA Sees Slow-developing System 99P Dogging Northern Australia

NASA satellites have been monitoring the slow-to-develop low pressure area called System 99P for four days as it lingers in the Arafura Sea, north Australia's Northern Territory. Satellite data indicates that System 99P is likely to continue struggling because of weak organization and nearby dry air...

Apr 20, 2012 11:08 AM EDT

Solar Radio Burst Imaging from the Lunar Surface

Our Moon is a unique platform from which to conduct measurements of gravitation, the Sun, the lunar ionosphere and interior, and the very early Universe. NLSI's Lunar University Network for Astrophysics Research (LUNAR) team is addressing the question of how the Moon can be used as a platform to adv...

Apr 20, 2012 09:36 AM EDT

Earth Observatory: Fires in Siberia

Numerous fires were burning west of the still-frozen Novosibirsk Reservoir when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image on April 14, 2012. Most of the fires shown were lit intentionally and burning on farmland, though Russian ...

Apr 20, 2012 09:17 AM EDT

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Brings 'Earthrise' to Everyone

Imagine yourself in orbit, your spacecraft flying backward with its small window facing down toward the surface of the moon. You peer out, scouring the ash-colored contours of the cratered landscape for traces of ancient volcanic activity. Around you, the silent, velvety blackness of space stretches...

Apr 20, 2012 07:00 AM EDT

Far-off Cousin of Part-time African Lake Found on Titan

A region on Saturn's moon Titan has been found to be similar to the Etosha Pan in Namibia, Africa. Both are ephemeral lakes - large, shallow depressions that sometimes fill with liquid.

Apr 20, 2012 06:46 AM EDT

Public Invited to Virtually Join NOAA Exploration of the Gulf, Live from the Seafloor

From today through April 28, the public can watch live undersea video and listen in as ocean explorers at sea and ashore comment in real-time as they observe marine species, visit gas seeps and map poorly known areas of the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Apr 19, 2012 11:47 AM EDT

Finding ET May Require Giant Robotic Leap

Autonomous, self-replicating robots -- exobots -- are the way to explore the universe, find and identify extraterrestrial life and perhaps clean up space debris in the process, according to a Penn State engineer, who notes that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence -- SETI -- is in its 50th y...

Apr 19, 2012 11:15 AM EDT

Where Do the Highest-energy Cosmic Rays Come from? Probably not from Gamma-ray Bursts

The IceCube neutrino telescope encompasses a cubic kilometer of clear Antarctic ice under the South Pole, a volume seeded with an array of 5,160 sensitive digital optical modules (DOMs) that precisely track the direction and energy of speeding muons, massive cousins of the electron, which are create...

Apr 19, 2012 11:07 AM EDT

Dust off the Libya Coast

Dust blew off the Libya coast for the second consecutive day on April 17, 2012, as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead and took this picture.

Apr 19, 2012 09:58 AM EDT

IceCube Neutrino Observatory Explores Origin of Cosmic Rays

Although cosmic rays were discovered 100 years ago, their origin remains one of the most enduring mysteries in physics. Now, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a massive detector in Antarctica, is honing in on how the highest energy cosmic rays are produced.

Apr 19, 2012 07:18 AM EDT

North America Swelters in March Heat

First they called it the year without a winter. Then springtime began to feel more like summer for most of North America. March 2012 saw thousands of daily temperature records fall in the contiguous United States (often called the "lower 48"), and the entire month was the warmest March in a temperat...

Apr 19, 2012 06:40 AM EDT

Webb Telescope Spinoff Technologies already Seen in some Industries

A critical component of the James Webb Space Telescope is its new technology. Much of the technology for the Webb had to be conceived, designed and built specifically to enable it to see farther back in time. As with many NASA technological advances, some of the innovations are being used to benefit...