CubeSats: Thinking inside the box, launching into space
Two tiny, cube-shaped research satellites hitched a ride to Earth orbit to validate new hardware and software technologies for future NASA Earth-observing instruments. The cube satellites, or “CubeSats,” which typically have a volume of exactly 1 liter, were launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on the night of Dec. 5, 2013 from …
‘Witch head’ brews baby stars
A witch appears to be screaming out into space in this image from NASA’s Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The infrared portrait shows the Witch Head nebula, named after its resemblance to the profile of a wicked witch. Astronomers say the billowy clouds of the nebula, where baby stars are brewing, are being lit up …
Catch a falling star: Quadrantids ring in 2014
Falling stars, shooting stars and fireballs are all common names for meteors. ‘Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket’ was a number 1 song by Perry Como from 1957. The lyrics, of course, allude to meteors. To bring in the new year there is a regular meteor shower called the Quadrantids. This …
Tweeting from the ISS
Astronaut Karen Nyberg (@AstroKarenN) posted this photo on Oct. 28 along with the following on twitter: W/ departure of #ATV4, aft docking port empty. We move our Soyuz there Fri making room for @AstroRM & @Astro_Wakata pic.twitter.com/lpatsjbAoA. Two days later she followed that with another tweet: Up early to suit up, get in Soyuz, undock …
Titan’s northern lakes resemble Earth’s salt flats
With the sun now shining down over the north pole of Saturn’s moon Titan, a little luck with the weather, and trajectories that put the spacecraft into optimal viewing positions, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has obtained new pictures of the liquid methane and ethane seas and lakes that reside near Titan’s north pole. The images reveal …
Students send experiments to space on suborbital flight
Gasps, whistles, and cheers burst from 300 observers as the SpaceLoft 7 rocket blasted into the sky from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico. Among the crowd were 60 students, ranging from middle school through university level, who watched the rocket carry experiments they had designed and built. “That feeling of seeing something you built …