What’s Up for July? The planets at dawn, the dog days of summer, and the Teapot points to the center of the Milky Way. The planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn dominate morning skies in July. Venus is there as well, but appears low in the east, so you’ll need a clear view toward the horizon […]
NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL)
Posted inSci/Tech
My Favorite Martian Image: ‘Enchanted’ Rocks at Jezero Crater
Ask any space explorer, and they’ll have a favorite photograph or two from their mission. For Katie Stack Morgan, the deputy project scientist for NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover, the first close-up image of layered rocks at the base of Jezero Crater’s ancient river delta holds a special place in her heart. The image of the […]
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What’s up for June 2022? Skywatching tips from NASA
What’s Up for June? A planetary breakup, prime viewing for a well-known star cluster, and the constellation Lyra. The gathering of four naked-eye planets we’ve been enjoying in the morning sky for the past few months – including several close conjunctions, is beginning to break up. Over the next few months, Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, and […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Planetary Defense Exercise Uses Apophis as Hazardous Asteroid Stand-In
Over 100 participants from 18 countries – including NASA scientists and the agency’s NEOWISE mission – took part in the international exercise. Watching the skies for large asteroids that could pose a hazard to the Earth is a global endeavor. So, to test their operational readiness, the international planetary defense community will sometimes use a […]
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NASA’s InSight Records Monster Quake on Mars
NASA’s InSight Mars lander has detected the largest quake ever observed on another planet: an estimated magnitude 5 temblor that occurred on May 4, 2022, the 1,222nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. This adds to the catalog of more than 1,313 quakes InSight has detected since landing on Mars in November 2018. The […]
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What’s Up: May 2022 Skywatching Tips from NASA
What’s Up for May? The planets of dusk and dawn, a lunar eclipse, and the Coma star cluster. May begins and ends with a couple of great planet-spotting opportunities. On May 2nd, look to the west about 45 minutes after sunset to find Mercury about 10 degrees off the horizon, accompanied by a slim crescent […]
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What’s up in the sky for April 2022
What’s Up for April? Conjunction junction and a hidden surprise in the Big Dipper. At the beginning of April, Venus, Mars, and Saturn form a trio in the southeast before sunrise, with Saturn appearing to move steadily toward Mars each day. On April 1st, they’re a couple of finger widths apart. And by the 4th, […]
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NASA’s Pi Day Challenge: Solve Math Problems With NASA
To celebrate Pi Day, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is serving up a series of science and engineering questions related to some of the agency’s Earth and space missions. It’s deliciously reliable, like cherry pie: Divide the circumference of any circle in the universe by its diameter, and you will always get the same number, pi, […]
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Woolsey Fire Led to Spike in Bacteria, Cloudiness in Coastal Waters
Scientists analyzed coastal water quality in the months following a major Southern California wildfire. Their results were eye-opening. The November 2018 Woolsey Fire in Southern California’s Los Angeles and Ventura counties left more than a nearly 100,000-acre burn scar behind: It also left the adjacent coastal waters with unusually high levels of fecal bacteria and […]
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What’s Up in the sky: March 2022
What’s Up for March? Meet the morning planets, the nearest star cluster, and some do-it-yourself exoplanets. Saturn joins Venus and Mars this month in the morning sky. Beginning around March 18 or 19th, early risers may notice Saturn steadily moving toward Mars and Venus each day, to form a trio low in the east before […]
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Sea Level to Rise up to a Foot by 2050, Interagency Report Finds
NASA, NOAA, USGS, and other U.S. government agencies project that the rise in ocean height in the next 30 years could equal the total rise seen over the past 100 years. Coastal flooding will increase significantly over the next 30 years because of sea level rise, according to a new report by an interagency sea […]
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What’s up in the sky – February 2022
What’s Up for February? Jupiter makes its exit, Venus at peak brightness, and the star-forming cloud next door. With the departure of Saturn and Venus over the past two months, Jupiter is the only bright planet left in our twilight skies in February, and it’s on its way out! The giant planet stands alone, low […]
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NASA’s MRO Finds Water Flowed on Mars Longer Than Previously Thought
Caltech researchers used the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to determine that surface water left salt minerals behind as recently as 2 billion years ago. Mars once rippled with rivers and ponds billions of years ago, providing a potential habitat for microbial life. As the planet’s atmosphere thinned over time, that water evaporated, leaving the frozen desert […]
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What’s Up: January 2021 Skywatching Tips from NASA (VIDEO)
What’s Up for January? New year, new Moon; midnight meteors; and Mars rises. January begins with a new moon on the 2nd. And that means the first week of the month is ideal for stargazing because the few days before and after the new moon are the darkest. Head outside around 8 or 9 p.m. […]
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NASA’s Juno Spacecraft ‘Hears’ Jupiter’s Moon
An audio track collected during Jupiter mission’s Ganymede flyby offers a dramatic ride-along. It is one highlights mission scientists shared in a briefing at American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. Sounds from a Ganymede flyby, magnetic fields, and remarkable comparisons between Jupiter and Earth’s oceans and atmospheres were discussed during a briefing today on NASA’s Juno […]
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NASA’s Webb Telescope Will Have the Coolest Camera in Space
Before the MIRI instrument – one of four scientific instruments aboard the observatory – can operate, it has to be cooled down to almost the coldest temperature matter can reach. Set to launch on Dec. 22, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is the largest space observatory in history, and it has an equally gargantuan task: […]
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What’s up in the sky for December 2021
What’s Up for December? Your early evening highlights, a chance to catch a comet, and the annual Geminid meteors. On December 6th through the 10th, look westward following sunset for the Moon visiting Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter in turn. The Moon’s crescent fills out as it appears higher in the sky each evening over the […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Emission Reductions From Pandemic Had Unexpected Effects on Atmosphere
November 9, 2021 – Earth’s atmosphere reacted in surprising ways to the lowering of emissions during the pandemic, showing how closely climate warming and air pollution are linked. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting limitations on travel and other economic sectors by countries around the globe drastically decreased air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions within just […]
Posted inRegional
What’s Up in the Sky for November 2021? (lunar eclipse alert)
What’s Up for November? Sunset planets, a partial lunar eclipse, and the return of the winter stars. From November 6th through the 11th, watch the Moon glide past Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter after sunset in the south/southwest. In particular, if you step outside for a look on November 7th, you’ll find the four-day-old crescent Moon […]
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Hear Sounds From Mars Captured by NASA’s Perseverance Rover
Two microphones aboard the six-wheeled spacecraft add a new dimension to the way scientists and engineers explore the Red Planet. Thanks to two microphones aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover, the mission has recorded nearly five hours of Martian wind gusts, rover wheels crunching over gravel, and motors whirring as the spacecraft moves its arm. These sounds […]