NASA News - SciTechDaily

The Sun Unleashed: How NASA Tracked the Most Intense Solar Storm in Decades

Mara Johnson-Groh, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center — Thu, 23 May 2024 04:09:26 +0000

May 2024 witnessed one of the most significant solar storms in decades, featuring a barrage of solar flares and coronal mass ejections that caused historic...

Tidal Extremes: Ecological Insights From Australia’s Dynamic Montgomery Reef

Adam Voiland, NASA Earth Observatory — Wed, 22 May 2024 06:53:10 +0000

Large tidal swings expose a plateau-shaped reef around Australia’s Yawajaba island at low tide. The Kimberley coast of Western Australia has one of the largest...

From Drought to Drenched: Stunning Rebound of California’s Largest Reservoir

Lindsey Doermann., NASA Earth Observatory — Tue, 21 May 2024 23:21:13 +0000

For the second year in a row, California’s largest reservoir filled to nearly 100 percent capacity. Following consecutive wet winters, Shasta Lake in Northern California...

New 400,000-Pixel Superconducting Camera Offers Unprecedented View of the Cosmos

NASA — Tue, 21 May 2024 17:02:34 +0000

A new superconducting camera with 400,000 pixels offers unprecedented capabilities in low-noise, high-resolution imaging for astronomy and quantum technology applications. In the pursuit of faint...

Strongest Geomagnetic Storm in Over 20 Years Unleashes Stunning Aurora

Kathryn Hansen, NASA Earth Observatory — Tue, 21 May 2024 12:26:43 +0000

Space scientists and sky-watchers were treated to a stunning display of the northern lights. The strongest geomagnetic storm in over 20 years occurred in May...

Webb Space Telescope Cracks Case of Puffy “Microwaved Marshmallow” Exoplanet

Space Telescope Science Institute — Tue, 21 May 2024 08:22:31 +0000

A surprising deficiency of methane suggests that tidal heating has puffed up the atmosphere of the warm gas giant WASP-107 b. Why is the warm...

Helium Leak Forces NASA to Delay Boeing Starliner Launch Again

NASA — Tue, 21 May 2024 07:05:02 +0000

NASA, Boeing, and ULA have postponed the Boeing Crew Flight Test until May 25 to address a helium leak in the Starliner spacecraft. The additional...

Mars in a Flash: How Pulsed Plasma Rockets Are Revolutionizing Space Travel

Brianna Clements, Howe Industries — Tue, 21 May 2024 05:30:28 +0000

Howe Industries’ Pulsed Plasma Rocket could transform space exploration with its high thrust and specific impulse, enabling faster Mars missions and safe transport through enhanced...

Illuminating the Northeast U.S. – Stunning Nighttime View From Space

Wilfredo García López, NASA Earth Observatory — Tue, 21 May 2024 03:23:44 +0000

As sunlight waned, the glow of artificial light revealed patterns of urbanization along the populous corridor. This photograph, captured by an astronaut aboard the International...

Stunning Aurora Light Up the Night During Epic Geomagnetic Storm

Kathryn Hansen, NASA Earth Observatory — Mon, 20 May 2024 01:25:15 +0000

NASA’s Aurorasaurus project captured images of a major aurora borealis event via ground observers during a significant geomagnetic storm. On May 11, 2024, the day-night...

This Week @NASA: Practicing Artemis Moonwalks, VIPER Moon Rover Test, Dawn of a Sun-Like Star

NASA — Sun, 19 May 2024 23:23:51 +0000

Practicing Artemis Moonwalks in the desert… A developmental milestone for NASA’s lunar-roving robot… And previewing NASA’s new polar climate mission… A few of the stories...

NASA’s VIPER Rover Braces for Ultimate Space Challenge

Dan Andrews, NASA — Sun, 19 May 2024 19:12:14 +0000

NASA’s VIPER team is not only building the rover for the Moon’s South Pole but also preparing for its environmental tests. These tests are designed...

5 Things To Know About the PREFIRE Mission – NASA’s Tiny Twin Polar Satellites

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Sun, 19 May 2024 17:30:24 +0000

NASA’s PREFIRE mission, utilizing twin CubeSats, will measure the far-infrared energy emitted by Earth’s polar regions to boost our understanding of how much heat Earth’s...

Moonwalk Rehearsals: NASA’s High-Tech Simulations in Arizona’s Lunar Landscape

NASA — Sun, 19 May 2024 16:39:55 +0000

NASA is conducting a week-long field test in Arizona’s San Francisco Volcanic Field to prepare for future moonwalks during the Artemis missions. Astronauts, engineers, and...

Cosmic Geode: Hubble Captures the Birth of a Sun-like Star

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center — Sun, 19 May 2024 10:54:55 +0000

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured a striking image of a trio of stars, including the variable star HP Tau, in a reflection nebula. These young...

The Rise of Artemis: NASA’s Towering New Launcher Takes Its First Stand

NASA — Sun, 19 May 2024 00:22:16 +0000

NASA advances the Artemis program with the setup of the mobile launcher 2 at Kennedy Space Center, essential for launching the next-generation SLS rockets aimed...

Resolving the Cosmos: XRISM Unravels Astrophysical Mysteries With Just 36 Pixels

Francis Reddy, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center — Sat, 18 May 2024 12:36:00 +0000

The XRISM spacecraft, utilizing an instrument with only 36 pixels, revolutionizes our understanding of the cosmos by providing detailed chemical profiles and 3D views of...

NASA’s Artemis IV: Building Gateway, Humanity’s First Lunar Space Station

NASA — Sat, 18 May 2024 00:13:18 +0000

The Artemis IV mission is a pivotal step in NASA’s long-term lunar exploration strategy, featuring the construction of Gateway, the first lunar space station, which...

A Fragile Coast: How Hurricane Ida Transformed Louisiana’s Wetlands

Emily Cassidy, NASA Earth Observatory — Fri, 17 May 2024 15:52:27 +0000

Researchers have been tracking how strong storms have eaten into the Gulf state’s coastline. Sixteen years to the day after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in...

NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Reveals Dynamic Shifts on Europa’s Frozen Surface

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Fri, 17 May 2024 12:28:37 +0000

NASA’s Juno has provided images that support the theory of true polar wander on Europa, showing the moon’s ice shell has shifted. Images from the...

2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Supercomputer Prediction vs. Reality

Rachel Lense, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center — Fri, 17 May 2024 09:24:59 +0000

Predictive Science Inc. utilized supercomputers and satellite data to model the solar corona during a 2024 eclipse, improving understanding of solar disruptions. Before a total...

NASA and SpaceX Successfully Test Starship’s Lunar Lander Docking System

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center — Fri, 17 May 2024 04:04:16 +0000

NASA and SpaceX have successfully tested the docking system for the Artemis III mission, which will enable astronauts to transfer between the Orion spacecraft and...

Twin X-Class Flares: NASA Captures Epic Solar Showdown

SciTechDaily.com — Thu, 16 May 2024 17:07:21 +0000

On May 15, 2024, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which continually monitors the Sun, captured images of two powerful X-class solar flares. The first was classified...

Stunning Images From Juno’s Close Flyby of Jupiter Unveil Hidden Surprise

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Thu, 16 May 2024 07:02:43 +0000

NASA’s Juno mission captured detailed images of Jupiter during its 59th close flyby, revealing the planet’s colorful belts, swirling storms, and the tiny moon Amalthea....