Opportunity Rover Celebrates 11 Years on Mars

Medicine & Technology Jan 28, 2015

NASA's Opportunity Mars Rover is celebrating a new milestone of eleven years on the Red Planet. But in spite of its fortitude, the rover which is only about the size of a riding lawn mower, was originally only designed to explore the Martian surface for about 90 days, along with her twin rover, Spirit.

SMAP Craft Set to Move to Launch Pad

Jan 27, 2015

NASA has moved the Soil Moisture Active Passive spacecraft to the launch pad in preparation for a January 29 launch, in its first ever attempt to take scientific measurements of the Earth on a global scale.

Researchers Discover Dimming Switch on a Quasar

Jan 26, 2015

Scientists have long believed that at the center of quasars are massively powerful black holes. However, a new study from Yale University researchers indicates the exact opposite may be true. Researchers at Yale found that one particular quasar is actually dimming, and astronomers think it could be because of a black hole on a diet.

Evidence of Water Flows Found on Vesta

Jan 26, 2015

NASA has revealed that new data from the Dawn spacecraft indicates that there may have once been short-lived water flows on the second largest body in the asteroid belt, known to us as Vesta.

Bat-Like Bot May Soon Fly Its Way Into Space—The New Drone Frontier

Jan 26, 2015

The future of transformer-like technology is here, with a new bat-like robot that can crawl around on all fours, as well as fly away. The DALER, otherwise known as the Deployable Air-Land Exploration Robot, is officially here, and it shares a stunning resemblance to its inspiration—the vampire bat.

NASA Scientists Mystified by White Spot on Ceres

Jan 26, 2015

NASA's Dawn spacecraft continues its approach to the dwarf planet Ceres for its planned mission. During this approach it has already snapped several images of this small planet located in the asteroid belt. And what these pictures have revealed has mystified scientists at NASA for weeks.

Could the Skies of Mars One Day Be Filled with Drones

Jan 26, 2015

The skies of Mars could be teaming with drones one day if NASA's new project manages to make it to the red planet. The proposed Mars Helicopter is currently being developed to help researchers cover more ground with their rovers, and one day it could even help them discover more unique and interesting aspects of Mars that they would have simply missed without it.

So Long Lovejoy, See You in 8,000 Years

Jan 25, 2015

After putting on quite a show in the night sky that delighted astronomers of all ages across the world, it is finally time to bid farewell to the comet Lovejoy. This past Saturday night was the last time that sky-watching enthusiasts had the opportunity to witness Comet Lovejoy with the naked eye, and there won't be another chance to catch this unique comet for the next 8,000 years.

Massive Asteroid Doing a Flyby of Earth

Jan 25, 2015

An asteroid measuring approximately 1,800 feet across will fly pass the Earth on Monday, according to scientists from NASA.

NASA Researchers Resolve Every Star in New Panoramic View of Andromeda

Jan 24, 2015

While a new view of the the "Pillars of Creation" from the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16) was revealed this last Monday, Jan. 5 for the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, researchers at NASA have revealed an even brighter sight from a bird's-eye view. Publishing their latest images from the Hubble Space Telescope, researchers at NASA are proudly displaying the largest Hubble image ever assembled in a stunning wide-angle view of the Andromeda galaxy next door.

Comet Awakes As It Approaches the Sun

Jan 23, 2015

Do you remember that comet we landed on last year? It seems this comet has unexpectedly become more active showing signs of "waking up" as it zooms towards the sun at almost 47,800 miles per hour.

Navy Launches New Communications Satellite

Jan 22, 2015

A powerful Atlas 5 rocket blasted its way into space Tuesday carrying a 15,000 pound Navy communications satellite. This satellite is the third of five relay stations planned for a new $5 billion global network designed to handle high-speed mobile phone traffic as well as voice and data from other, older systems.

Follow-Up on the Alien Radio Transmissions and What they Could Mean for Researchers? Finding Stellar remnants far after the blast

Jan 22, 2015

For the first time, astronomers have been able to pick up and observe a fast radio burst in real time as it moves through space. Though little is know about these radio bursts, which are short and sharp flashes of radio waves coming from an unknown source, researchers hope that this new live transmission may help them soon be able to pinpoint sources of cosmic transmissions.

Dust on the Ocean Floor Reveals Ancient Supernova

Jan 21, 2015

Scientists have made a startling discovery while exploring the ocean floor that could change how we understand supernovae. Researchers now believe that exploding stars, often far beyond the confines of our solar system, have deposited extraterrestrial dust at the bottom of the oceans, and that could give us better insights into the composition of far off galaxies.

Dwarf Planet Ceres Approached by Dawn

Jan 20, 2015

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has begun approaching the dwarf planet Ceres, and with a new vantage point it has snapped some of its first images of the planet showing possible craters on the surface.