Category Astronomy/Space

Deflecting the massive asteroid 101955 Bennu was the focus of recent research by a national planetary defense team. Bennu will make a very close approach to Earth on Sept. 25, 2135. Credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are part of a national planetary defense team that designed a conceptual spacecraft to deflect Earth-bound asteroids and evaluated whether it would be able to nudge a massive asteroid – which has a remote chance to hitting Earth in 2135 – off course.

The 9 meter-tall, 8...

This composite image, derived from data collected by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter, shows the central cyclone at the planet’s north pole and the eight cyclones that encircle it. Credit: Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM

NASA’s Juno discovers a brand new Jupiter. In the year and a half NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been orbiting Jupiter, the science team led by Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Scott Bolton has discovered that the orange and white bands that characterize Jupiter’s outer atmosphere extend thousands of miles into the gas giant’s atmosphere. The findings are part of a four-article collection about Juno science results in the March 8th edition of the journal Nature.

“With Juno only about a thir...

Cartoon of the planet Mars that is showered with organics. According to calculations, 33% of the organic material on Mars comes from asteroids and comets. Only 67% comes from interplanetary dust. Credit: Anastasia Kruchevska

Asteroids and comets appear to be a much more important supplier of organic molecules on Mars than expected. Until now, astronomers assumed that the organics on Mars mainly came from dust particles from space. Now, computer simulations by an international team of researchers led by Dutch astronomers indicate that one third of the material comes from asteroids and comets.

In 2015, the Mars rover Curiosity discovered remnants of organic molecules on Mars. Scientists wondered how these organic molecules had ended up on Mars...

STEVE and the Milky Way at Childs Lake, Manitoba, Canada. The picture is a composite of 11 images stitched together. Credit: Krista Trinder

Notanee Bourassa knew that what he was seeing in the night sky was not normal. Bourassa, an IT technician in Regina, Canada, trekked outside of his home on July 25, 2016, around midnight with his 2 younger children to show them a beautiful aurora borealis. When a thin purple ribbon of light appeared and starting glowing, Bourassa immediately snapped pictures until the light particles disappeared 20 minutes later. Having watched the northern lights for almost 30 years since he was a teenager, he knew this wasn’t an aurora. It was something else.

From 2015 to 2016, citizen scientists—people like Bourassa who are excited about a science field but don’t ne...