Posts for tag "solar system"
New NASA satellite tracks soil moisture for SMAP mission
The United Launch Alliance has launched a new satellite that will monitor soil moisture changes across the globe, according to NASASpaceFlight. The mission is called the Soil Moisture Active Passive, or SMAP. During the satellite’s three-year mission,...
- Posted February 13, 2015
EPIC camera aboard DSCOVR satellite will capture sunlit Earth in one shot
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is set to launch a new weather monitoring satellite in February, according to a NASA press release. The Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, will feature instruments contributed by NASA. The...
- Posted January 26, 2015
Leak cuts NASA balloon’s telescope mission short, denying record
Only two days after the launch of its most ambitious scientific balloon, NASA has brought the instrument down due to a leak, Nature reported. NASA launched the scientific balloon carrying the Compton Spectrometer and Imager on Dec....
- Posted January 5, 2015
Computer model visualizes carbon dioxide’s global journey
Scientists are seeing carbon dioxide in a new way thanks to a high-resolution computer model, according to a recent release from NASA’s Goddard Flight Center. The GEOS-5 model, built by NASA scientists, produced a high-resolution visualization of...
- Posted December 1, 2014
New International Space Station instrument will scan great lakes air
A new remote sensing instrument to be installed on the International Space Station will help track air pollution across the Great Lakes, according to Great Lakes Echo. The device is called CATS, for Cloud-Aerosol Transport System. It...
- Posted November 26, 2014
The moon smells like gunpowder, comets much worse
Chemical & Engineering News’s Elizabeth Wilson recently summarized several astronauts’ impressions of the moon’s aroma for curious earthbound readers. What does the moon smell like? Most said it smelled like spent gunpowder. The scent was attributed to...
- Posted November 26, 2014
Study finds inaccurate satellite temperature measurements
A study published in the journal Climate Dynamics casts doubt on the accuracy of satellite temperature measurements, according to The Guardian. Its authors note that while land-based thermometers have charted an uptick, satellite temperature readings have remained...
- Posted November 24, 2014
Size of Antarctic ozone hole changes little over 2013
The size of the ozone hole resting over the Antarctic this year is about the same as it was last year, according to a release from NASA. The space agency reports that the size of the hole...
- Posted November 13, 2014
Meteorites brought water to Earth earlier than thought
A new study suggests that Earth’s water arrived much earlier than previously thought, according to a recent release from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Many scientists argue that Earth was dry at first and later gained water from...
- Posted November 11, 2014
Much of Earth’s water older than the sun
A new study asserts that 30 to 50 percent of Earth’s water is older than the sun, the Washington Post reported. The findings could help scientists unravel the mystery behind the source of water on this planet...
- Posted October 3, 2014
