NASA's Aqua Satellite Catches a Plume from One of Russia's Most Active Volcanoes

NASA's Aqua satellite flew over the erupting Shiveluch Volcano in Russia today and captured a visible image of its ash plume. Shiveluch is one of Russia's most active volcano and is currently spewing ash over 6 miles high (10 kilometers) into the atmosphere. That's about 33,000 feet high and just shy...

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First Science Flight of Antarctic Campaign

IceBridge teams took off today for the first science flight of the Antarctic 2010 campaign. Science teams flew across the Weddell Sea with the primary goal of measuring sea ice freeboard (the height of ice above the water level), which is used to estimate sea ice thickness. The DC-8 took off from Punta...

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Five Things About NASA's EPOXI Mission

Here are five quick facts about the EPOXI mission, scheduled to fly by comet Hartley 2 on Nov. 4, 2010.1. High Fives - This is the fifth time humans will see a comet close-up, and the Deep Impact spacecraft flew by Earth for its fifth time on Sunday, June 27, 2010.2. Eco-friendly Spacecraft: Recycle,...

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Pinwheel of Star Birth

Though the universe is chock full of spiral-shaped galaxies, no two look exactly the same. This face-on spiral galaxy, called NGC 3982, is striking for its rich tapestry of star birth, along with its winding arms. The arms are lined with pink star-forming regions of glowing hydrogen, newborn blue star...

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NASA's Terra Satellite Catches Powerful Supertyphoon Megi

On October 18, 2010, Typhoon Megi approached and made landfall in the northeastern Isabela Province of the Philippines. Spanning more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) across, Megi was the 15th tropical storm and 7th typhoon of the season in the western Pacific Ocean. It was the most intense tropical cyclone of the year to date.News reports indicated at least one death and an unknown number of injuries,...

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NASA and Gowalla Launch Partnership With Search for Moon Rocks

NASA and Gowalla are bringing people one small step closer to the universe. Anyone who uses Gowalla, a mobile and web service, now has the opportunity to find and collect four NASA-related virtual items -- a moon rock, a NASA patch, a spacesuit and a space shuttle.Gowalla's mission is to inspire discovery...

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New Spin on Vesta

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Giant Star Goes Supernova, Smothered by its Own Dust

Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered that a giant star in a remote galaxy ended its life with a dust-shrouded whimper instead of the more typical bang.Researchers suspect that this odd event -- the first one of its kind ever viewed by astronomers – was more common early in...

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Small Asteroid to Pass Within Earth-Moon System Tuesday

A small asteroid will fly past Earth early Tuesday within the Earth-moon system. The asteroid, 2010 TD54, will have its closest approach to Earth’s surface at an altitude of about 45,000 kilometers (27,960 miles) at 6:50 EDT a.m. (3:50 a.m. PDT). At that time, the asteroid will be over southeastern...

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Arctic Sea Ice Reaches 2010 Minimum Extent

Arctic sea ice retreated to its annual minimum extent on Sept. 29, reaching the third-lowest extent in the satellite record.Sea ice coverage dropped to 4.6 million square kilometers (1.78 million square miles) at its minimum, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. The extent was lower than the 2009 minimum but remained above the record minimums reached in 2007 and 2008.By...

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NASA's WMAP Project Completes Satellite Operations

After nine years of scanning the sky, the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) space mission has concluded its observations of the cosmic microwave background, the oldest light in the universe. The spacecraft has not only given scientists their best look at this remnant glow, but also established...

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Hubble Probes Comet 103P/Hartley 2 in Preparation for DIXI flyby

Hubble Space Telescope observations of comet 103P/Hartley 2, taken on September 25, are helping in the planning for a November 4 flyby of the comet by NASA's Deep Impact eXtended Investigation (DIXI) spacecraft.Analysis of the new Hubble data shows that the nucleus has a diameter of approximately 0.93...

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Europa's Hidden Ice Chemistry

The frigid ice of Jupiter's moon Europa may be hiding more than a presumed ocean: it is likely the scene of some unexpectedly fast chemistry between water and sulfur dioxide at extremely cold temperatures. Although these molecules react easily as liquids—they are well-known ingredients of acid rain—Mark...

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NASA Solar System Exhibition Arrives at Dulles Airport

NASA and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority unveiled a photography exhibition at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va., where ticketed airline travelers can view space science discoveries and relish the beauty and majesty of our solar system."NASA presents BEYOND: Visions of Our...

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