Space : Science World Report

Mar 12, 2012 09:25 AM EDT

NASA Launches International Competition to Develop Space Apps

NASA, governments around the world and civil society organizations will co-host the International Space Apps Challenge on April 21-22 with events across seven continents and in space.

Mar 12, 2012 08:25 AM EDT

Earthquake Activity at Bezymianny Volcano

After several months of relative quiet at Bezymianny Volcano, an increase in earthquakes prompted the Kamchatka Volcanic Emergency Response Team (KVERT) to raise the aviation color code from yellow (signs of elevated unrest) to orange (heightened or escalating unrest) on February 19, 2012. Less than...

Mar 12, 2012 08:16 AM EDT

The Seafloor Focuses and Merges Tsunami Waves

Scientists have known for years that the shape of the seafloor plays a role in how tsunami waves build up as they approach the coastline. Underwater topography also determines why some areas get hit worse than others.

Mar 11, 2012 05:14 PM EDT

Effects of the Tohoku Tsunami on the Kitakami River

The tallest waves and most devastating flooding from the 2011 TÅhoku-oki tsunami occurred along the jagged coast of northern Honshu, a landscape dimpled with bays and coves known as ria coast. The steep, narrow bays of ria coasts trap and focus incoming tsunami waves, creating destructive swells ...

Mar 11, 2012 07:04 AM EDT

NASA's TRMM Satellite Sees Hot Towers in Cyclone Koji

Hot towers, or towering thunderclouds that give off an excessive amount of latent heat, usually indicate a tropical cyclone will strengthen in six hours, and NASA's TRMM satellite saw some of them as it passed by Tropical Storm Koji.

Mar 10, 2012 09:06 PM EST

NASA's RXTE Captures Thermonuclear Behavior of Unique Neutron Star

A neutron star is the closest thing to a black hole that astronomers can observe directly, crushing half a million times more mass than Earth into a sphere no larger than a city. In October 2010, a neutron star near the center of our galaxy erupted with hundreds of X-ray bursts that were powered by ...

Mar 09, 2012 02:22 PM EST

Gravitational Lens Reveals Details of Distant, Ancient Galaxy

hanks to the presence of a natural "zoom lens" in space, University of Chicago scientists working with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have obtained a uniquely close-up look at the brightest gravitationally magnified galaxy yet discovered. The imagery offers a visually striking example of gravitati...

Mar 09, 2012 08:16 AM EST

VLT Rediscovers Life on Earth by Looking at the Moon

The astronomers analyse the faint earthshine light to look for indicators, such as certain combinations of gases in the Earth's atmosphere [2], that are the telltale signs of organic life. This method establishes the Earth as a benchmark for the future search for life on planets beyond our Solar Sys...

Mar 09, 2012 08:05 AM EST

The Eruption at the Puyehue CordÃ³n Caulle Volcanic Complex

The eruption at the Puyehue CordÃ³n Caulle Volcanic Complex, which began in June 2011, may finally be waning. A satellite image collected on March 7, 2012, (above, top) shows a relatively small and diffuse ash plume. At the time, SERNAGEOMIN (the Chilean National Service of Geology and Mining) rep...

Mar 09, 2012 07:38 AM EST

City Lights of Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The city of Dubai-the largest metropolitan area within the emirate of Dubai-is a favorite subject of astronaut photography largely due to the unique island developments situated directly offshore in the Persian Gulf. These artificial archipelagos have been built such that their full design is only v...

Mar 09, 2012 07:23 AM EST

Magnetic Moon

In the nearly five decades since the first lunar surveys were conducted as part of NASA's Apollo program, scientists have advanced a number of increasingly complex theories to explain the vast swaths of highly magnetic material that had been found in the some parts of the Moon's crust.

Mar 09, 2012 06:54 AM EST

Solar Storm Has Minor Impact on Earth

A solar storm that shook the Earth's magnetic field on Thursday spared satellite and power systems as it delivered a glancing blow, although it could still intensify until early Friday, space weather experts said.