NASA

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New NASA Map Shows Our Cloudy World
 New NASA Map Shows 
 Our Cloudy World 
in case you missed it
May 16, 2015 8:19 AM CDT

New NASA Map Shows Our Cloudy World

Two-thirds of planet usually covered

(Newser) - Blue Marble , yes. Cloudy Blue Marble? Most definitely. The NASA Earth Observatory is out with another compelling image of our planet, one that shows it's a cloudy place. Specifically, about two-thirds of Earth's surface is covered by clouds at any given moment. The map is based on...

How NASA Saved 4 Nepal Victims

FINDER technology tracked heartbeats under feet of rubble

(Newser) - NASA's latest out-of-this-world feat happened on planet Earth: Thanks to the space agency's technology, four men trapped for days after the Nepal earthquake were rescued. The village of Chautara received two prototype FINDER devices four days after the disaster struck, Gizmodo reports. The development of the handheld gadgets—...

What the Edge of Space Sounds Like: X-Files

NASA captures first stratosphere recordings in 50 years

(Newser) - Ever wonder what near space sounds like? The mystery is solved thanks to a NASA balloon experiment that captured atmospheric infrasound 22 miles above Earth. Infrasound, at frequencies below 20 hertz, is undetected to the human ear, but becomes audible when sound waves are sped up. Sensors on a helium...

'Big Bird' Almost Went Up in Challenger Shuttle

'It made my scalp crawl to think I was supposed to be on that'

(Newser) - Big Bird was almost a passenger on the doomed Challenger space shuttle in 1986. Caroll Spinney, who has played the Sesame Street character for 46 years, has a new documentary—I Am Big Bird—and he discussed the dark tidbit while discussing the film with Today . NASA thought that if...

Mission Over: Space Probe Slams Into Mercury

Messenger's 11-year journey is done

(Newser) - Mercury has a new crater, courtesy of NASA. As expected , the space probe Messenger crashed into the planet this afternoon after running out of fuel, reports AP . The crash at a speed of nearly 9,000mph left a hole about 52 feet wide and brought to an end an epic...

NASA Probe Will Smash Into Mercury Today

Messenger will soon become a crater

(Newser) - The first spacecraft ever to orbit Mercury is about to become the first spacecraft to smash into the planet. NASA says the Messenger probe will conclude its hugely successful mission when it crashes at 8,750mph into the side of the planet facing the sun today at 3:26pm EDT....

Astronaut Can See Daughter's Love— From Space

Thanks to a little help from Hyundai

(Newser) - A 13-year-old girl has managed to send a message to her dad ... one that he could see from space. Sure, it's a publicity stunt executed by Hyundai, but it's heartwarming nonetheless. The automaker put 11 Genesis sedans and stunt drivers to work in Nevada's Delamar Dry Lake,...

Asteroid Named After Anti-Taliban Activist

Malala Yousafzai honored by NASA researcher

(Newser) - A dark rock you might spot orbiting the sun every 5.5 years now has its own name: 316201 Malala (2010 ML48) . The part we all understand—Malala—refers to Pakistani activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, 17, who drew the world's attention by defying Taliban rule...

Here's Where Lightning Strikes Most Often

You might want to avoid Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo

(Newser) - Bad news for us landlubbers: Lightning strikes more often here than it does on water, NASA reports. And things are particularly bad near the equator. In fact, some 90% of lightning on Earth strikes between the 38th parallels south and north, LiveScience reports. Want more specifics? A new NASA map...

You Can Name Parts of Pluto
 You Can Name 
 Parts of Pluto 
Mar 25, 2015 6:07 PM CDT

You Can Name Parts of Pluto

Public invited to submit, vote on, suggestions

(Newser) - Some think Pluto may be welcomed back into the planet fold this year, and now the SETI Institute has more good news for Pluto's fans: The public will get to name its most prominent features. Everyone's invited to the "Our Pluto" website to vote on previously selected...

Top Contender for Life Outside Earth: a Saturn Moon

Enceladus has a warm ocean, hydrothermal activity

(Newser) - Thanks to the Cassini spacecraft, we already knew that one of Saturn's moons has a big ocean . Now things have gotten more interesting on Enceladus. It turns out that the ocean is not only warm, it seems to have the same kind of hydrothermal activity going on as oceans...

Ancient Ocean Once Covered Swath of Mars

Study finds evidence of huge ocean on Mars 4.3B years ago

(Newser) - Imagine all the water in the Arctic Ocean. Now, imagine all that and more on Mars. If you visited the Red Planet roughly 4.3 billion years ago, that's what you likely would have found, say NASA scientists. Their new study arrived at that "solid estimate ... by determining...

'I Am in Orbit Around Ceres,' Spacecraft Tweets

Dawn, pulled in by dwarf planet's gravity, is first craft to orbit 2 extraterrestrial objects

(Newser) - You heard it straight from the spacecraft's mouth: "Confirmed: I am in orbit around #Ceres." That was the tweet sent out from the Dawn Mission at 9:37am EST this morning to announce NASA's first spacecraft to arrive at a dwarf planet. The agency confirmed the...

Mission May Unravel Mystery of Ceres' 2 Bright Spots

NASA spacecraft enters the dwarf planet's orbit on March 6

(Newser) - With a NASA spacecraft closing in on the dwarf planet Ceres , scientists were looking forward to figuring out the origins of a mysterious bright spot. But it turns out there are actually two bright spots, right next to each other, reports Mashable . The best guess continues to be ice of...

Get Ready to Welcome Pluto Back as a Planet
Get Ready to Welcome
Pluto Back as a Planet
OPINION
Feb 25, 2015 6:34 PM CST

Get Ready to Welcome Pluto Back as a Planet

Astronomer thinks Ceres will join the club, too

(Newser) - Vanderbilt astronomer David Weintraub thinks Pluto was wrongly kicked out of the planet club in 2006. But he's confident that this is going to be a very big year for Pluto and for another so-called "dwarf planet" named Ceres, he writes in the Conversation . NASA spacecraft will visit...

The Hubble Spots 'Smiley Face' in Space

Its 'eyes' are actually galaxies

(Newser) - The universe is smiling down on us—almost literally. The Hubble Telescope has captured a "smiley face" in space: two bright yellow eyes (a cluster of galaxies called SDSS J1038+4849), a white nose, and a faint smile and incomplete circle around the entire face. But those curving lines "...

Video Unveils 'Dark' Side of the Moon

NASA makes video with data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

(Newser) - Curious about the far side of the moon? No one has seen it from Earth because it's always facing away from us, but a new animated video aims to light up the darkness, Tech Times reports. NASA made the video using data from its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has...

FAA Trying to Regulate Moon Business

Reuters analyzes FAA letter to Bigelow Aerospace

(Newser) - Can American businesses now stake their claim on the moon? That's the indication from an FAA letter to Bigelow Aerospace, in which the agency reveals plans to "leverage the FAA's existing launch licensing authority to encourage private sector investments in space systems by ensuring that commercial activities...

NASA Closes In on Dwarf Planet— and Its Mystery Spot

Ceres asteroid might even hold oceans: experts

(Newser) - After years of preparation, NASA is about to learn a lot more about an asteroid that, a scientist says, is "actually the largest body between the sun and Pluto that a spacecraft has not yet visited." In exploring the 600-mile-wide Ceres, "we're going to reveal the...

Your Christmas Lights Are Visible From Space

US cities grow up to 50% brighter around the holidays

(Newser) - You're helping make the world a brighter place just by switching on your Christmas lights. New data shows many US cities brighten by 20% to 50% between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, and it's all visible from space, Wired reports. A research team used a NASA-NOAA satellite...

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