Collaborate Disseminate
Although experimental verification is at the heart of the scientific method, there is quite a difficulty range when it comes to setting up such an experiment. Testing what underlies the …read more Continue reading Parker Solar Probe’s Confirmation of Interchange Reconnection Being the Source of Fast Solar Wind
The Sun is getting grumpy again after years of relative peace. Continue reading Weekend Solar Storm May Create Auroras As Far South As Vancouver and NYC
Magnetic hotspots on the Moon might contain clues about how to protect humans from radiation on other planets. Continue reading The Moon Has Tan Lines, NASA Says
A leading explanation for the different patterns seen in Earth’s northern and southern auroras has been ruled out. Continue reading Scientists Solve the Mystery of Why the Northern and Southern Lights Don’t Match
The probe crossed the heliopause, the boundary between the heliosphere and the interstellar medium, on November 5. Continue reading Voyager 2 Joins Its Twin in Interstellar Space
This past weekend, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe took off for a journey to study our local star. While its mission is well covered by science literate media sources, the equally interesting behind-the-scenes information is a little harder to come by. For that, we have Science News who gave us a look at some of the work that went into testing the probe.
NASA has built and tested space probes before, but none of them were destined to get as close to the sun as Parker will, creating new challenges for testing the probe. The lead engineer for the heat shield, …read more
Continue reading Before Sending A Probe To The Sun, Make Sure It Can Take The Heat
The Kepler spacecraft is in the final moments of its life. NASA isn’t quite sure when they’ll say their last goodbye to the space telescope which has confirmed the existence of thousands of exoplanets since its launch in 2009, but most estimates give it a few months at best. The prognosis is simple: she’s out of gas. Without propellant for its thrusters, Kepler can’t orient itself, and that means it can’t point its antenna to Earth to communicate.
Now far as spacecraft failures go, propellant depletion isn’t exactly unexpected. After all, it can’t pull into the nearest service station to …read more
Continue reading Kepler Planet Hunter Nears End of Epic Journey
They will really make you appreciate the safe planetary harbor provided by Earth’s magnetic force field. Continue reading Watch These Trippy NASA Visualizations of Space Magnetism
Google ‘Joan Feynman’ and you can feel the search behemoth consider asking for clarification. Did you mean: Richard Feynman? Image search is even more biased toward Richard. After maybe seven pictures of Joan, there’s an endless scroll of Richard alone, Richard playing the bongos, Richard with Arline, the love of his life.
Yes, Joan was overshadowed by her older brother, but what physicist of the era wasn’t? Richard didn’t do it on purpose. In fact, no one supported Joan’s scientific dreams more than he did, not even their mother. Before Richard ever illuminated the world with his brilliance, he shined …read more
The most ambitious NASA mission you’ve never heard of. Continue reading Humanity Will ‘Touch the Sun’ with the Fastest Spacecraft Ever Made
