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A Puzzling Collapse of Earth's Upper Atmosphere

Layers of Earth's upper atmosphere. Credit: John Emmert/NRL. NASA-funded researchers are monitoring a big event in our planet's atmosphere. High above Earth's surface where the atmosphere meets space, a rarefied layer of gas called "the thermosphere" recently collapsed and now is rebounding again. "This is the biggest contraction of the thermosphere in at least 43 years," says John Emmert of the Naval Research Lab, lead author of a paper announcing the finding in the June 19th issue of the Geophysical Research Letters (GRL).. » read more

Mars probes unravel watery mysteries

Studies suggest liquid H2O was widespread and contained salty antifreeze NASA's intrepid rover Opportunity spent two years exploring the geology of Mars' Victoria Crater, often perched perilously on the crater's edge. The results of that effort are now detailed in Friday's issue of the journal Science. They've given scientists a clear view of some of the processes that have sculpted the Martian surface, including evidence that water shaped much of the entire region where the crater is found. Another separate study, detailed in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, looked at the question of how liquid water might have formed on early Mars. The research shows that even though the planet's surface temperature could have been well below freezing, water might still have flowed there if enough minerals were dissolved in it.. » read more

Nasa warns solar flares from 'huge space storm' will cause devastation

Britain could face widespread power blackouts and be left without critical communication signals for long periods of time, after the earth is hit by a once-in-a-generation “space storm”, Nasa has warned. National power grids could overheat and air travel severely disrupted while electronic items, navigation devices and major satellites could stop working after the Sun reaches its maximum power in a few years. Senior space agency scientists believe the Earth will be hit with unprecedented levels of magnetic energy from solar flares after the Sun wakes “from a deep slumber” sometime around 2013, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. In a new warning, Nasa said the super storm would hit like “a bolt of lightning” and could cause catastrophic consequences for the world’s health, emergency services and national security unless precautions are taken. Scientists believe it could damage everything from emergency services’ systems, hospital equipment, banking systems and air traffic control devices, through to “everyday” items such as home computers, iPods and Sat Navs.. » read more

One of Jupiter's belts disappears

It seems to be a day for carelessness. First Apple loses another iPhone prototype, and now Jupiter's lost a belt. One of the first to spot the change was blogger Astrobob. "That bad boy south equatorial belt (SEB) has completely faded away. Point your scope at the planet any morning soon and you'll see only one obvious dark stripe, the North Equatorial Belt," he says on his blog.. » read more

Interesting times in the sky

The red supergiant variable star Betelgeuse, estimated to be 530 light years from Earth (although measurements by different means vary from 495LY to 640LY; 530LY is considered the "best compromise" measurement) is the ninth brightest star in the sky, the ninth largest star known to exist in the universe, and has the third largest apparent size as observed from Earth of any known star, after the Sun and R Doradus, which is almost three times closer to Earth. R Doradus is believed to lie 200 +/- 25 LY from Earth, and has an angular diameter of approximately 0.057 arcseconds, making it roughly 370 times the diameter of the Sun, or about 3.46 AU, where one AU is the average radius of Earth's orbit. Placed where the Sun is, R Doradus would contain all of the inner planets and most of the main asteroid belt.. » read more

Shuttle Atlantis completes 32nd and final flight

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Space Shuttle Atlantis Returns Home After Its Final Planned Mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis and six astronauts ended a 12-day journey of more than 4.8 million miles with an 8:48 a.m. EDT landing Wednesday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.. » read more

Spacewalking 'superhero' untangles cable on boom

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Intense Solar Storm Spins Satellite Out of Control - Peter B. de Selding

Galaxy 15 stopped responding to ground controllers on April 5. The satellite's manufacturer, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Virginia, has said an intense solar storm in early April may be to blame. The Galaxy 15 satellite is seen before its 2005 launch to geostationary orbit nearly 36,000 kilometers over the Earth's equator. An adrift Intelsat satellite that stopped communicating with its ground controllers last month remains out of control and has begun moving eastward along the geostationary arc, raising the threat of interference with other satellites in its path, Intelsat and other industry officials said.. » read more

Vatican Tied Mount Graham Observatory Launches LUCIFER Telescope

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