Benefits of Space Exploration
December 1st, 2014
Scientists have discovered an “invisible shield” roughly 7,200 miles (11,500 kilometers) above Earth that blocks so-called “killer electrons” – highly charged electrons that can fry satellites, degrade space systems during intense solar storms, and pose serious health risks to astronauts. Researchers say that an “extremely sharp” boundary at the inner edge of the outer […]
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Benefits of Space Exploration
June 14th, 2014
Yes, the Sun has its spots! And now you can take part in research that can help with some of solar physics’ unanswered questions, such as: Are sunspots born complex or do they evolve to become complex? Do sunspot groups that are more complex produce more eruptions? There’s a new Zooniverse project now online called […]
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November 19th, 2013
Scientists are reporting that Comet ISON appears to have lost individual fragments in the past days. Images taken of the speedy object show two wing-shaped features in the comet’s atmosphere. The researchers’ analyses show two striking features within the comet’s atmosphere that protrude from the nucleus in a wing-like fashion. While these so-called coma wings […]
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October 12th, 2013
Set for an early 2015 liftoff is the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), a satellite designed to monitor and warn of harmful solar activity that could impact Earth. DSCOVR is a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA and the U.S. Air Force. Last month, NOAA announced that DSCOVR cleared a major […]
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August 11th, 2013
Red Rover – Inside the Story of Robotic Space Exploration, from Genesis to the Mars Rover Curiosity by Roger Wiens; Basic Books; New York, New York; $25.99; 2013. This is a great read, and adds to the ambience and high-saluting given to NASA’s Curiosity rover that landed a year ago this month on the red […]
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Benefits of Space Exploration
July 4th, 2013
Launched in March 2009, NASA’s Kepler space telescope soon became the most prolific alien planet hunter ever. The search has so far produced just under 3,300 candidate planets, among them representatives of the mission’s ultimate goal — Earth-like planets circling within the “habitable zones” of their host stars. Habitable zone means a realm temperate enough […]
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