Category Astronomy/Space

This solar flare occurred at the peak of the solar cycle in October 2014 with no observed eruptions. PPPL researchers say this is a promising candidate for studying the effect of guide magnetic fields. Credit: NASA

These outbursts can be deadly: i reach the magnetic field that surrounds the Earth, the contact can create geomagnetic storms that disrupt cell phone service, damage satellites and knock out power grids.

NASA is eager to know when an eruption is coming and when what looks like the start of an outburst is just a false alarm. Knowing the difference could affect the timing of future space missions such as journeys to Mars, and show when steps to protect satellites, power systems and other equipment need to be taken...

Examples of Martian Gullies. Until recently they were thought to have been sculpted by flowing liquid water, but they may result from defrosting dry ice processes at the end of winter. On the right, gullies on dunes in Russel Crater (54.3°S-12.9°E) are partially covered by CO2 ice. On the left, sinous gullies in a Crater in Newton Basin (41°S-202°E) Credit: Image courtesy of CNRS

Mars’s gullies may be formed by dry ice processes rather than flowing liquid water, as previously thought. Scientists show that, during late winter and spring, underneath the seasonal CO2 ice layer heated by the sun, intense gas fluxes can destabilize the regolith material and induce gas-lubricated debris flows which look like water-sculpted gullies on Earth...

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft paused during its final close flyby of Enceladus to focus on the icy moon’s craggy, dimly lit limb, with the planet Saturn beyond. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Cassini passed Enceladus at a distance of 3,106 miles on Dec. 19, at 9:49 a.m. PST. “This final Enceladus flyby elicits feelings of both sadness and triumph,” said Earl Maize, JPL. “While we’re sad to have the close flybys behind us, we’ve placed the capstone on an incredible decade of investigating one of the most intriguing bodies in the solar system.”

Cassini will continue to monitor activity on Enceladus from a distance, through the end of its mission in Sept. 2017. Future encounters will be much farther away – at closest, >4X farther than this latest encounter...

This self-portrait of NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity combines dozens of exposures taken by the rover’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 177th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity’s work on Mars (Feb. 3, 2013), plus three exposures taken during Sol 270 (May 10, 2013) to update the appearance of part of the ground beside the rover. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

The first U.S. production in nearly 30 years of a specialized fuel to power future deep space missions has been completed by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee. The production of 50 grams of plutonium-238 -roughly the mass of a golf ball – marks the first demonstration in the US since the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina ceased production in the late 1980s.

Radioisotope ...