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First Geologic Map of Jupiter’s Moon Io Details an Otherworldly Volcanic Surface

By Guest PostMarch 21, 2012Scienceapollo moon, arizona state university, david a williams, david williams, europa, galileo, galileo orbiter, ganymede, geologic map, image mosaic, io, jovian satellite, jupiter, ken herkenhoff, ken tanaka, marcia mcnutt, mars, moon, NASA, solar system, spacecraft, usgs, volcanic activity, voyager 1

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – More than 400 years after its discovery by Galileo, the innermost large moon of Jupiter – Io – can finally rest on its geologic laurels. A group of scientists led by Dr. David A. Williams of Arizona State University has produced the first global geologic map of the Jovian satellite. The map, which was published by the U. S. Geological Survey, technically illustrates the geologic character of some of the most unique and active volcanoes ever documented in the solar system.

Since its discovery in January 1610, Io has been the focus of repeated observation, first by Earth-based telescopes, and later by fly-by and orbiting spacecraft. These studies depict an otherworldly celestial body whose gravitational relationships with Jupiter and sister moons Europa and Ganymede cause massive, rapid flexing of its surface and interior. This flexing generates tremendous heat in Io’s interior, which is relieved through surface volcanism, resulting in 25 times more volcanic activity than occurs here on Earth. (more…)

A Half-Billion Stars And Galaxies From NASA’s WISE Mission Revealed — Many For First Time

By Guest PostMarch 17, 2012Scienceall sky catalog, asteroids, atlas, catalog, comets, cosmos, david saxon, distant galaxies, echo, edward l wright, exploded star, galaxies, goggles, great sky, infrared detectors, infrared sky, infrared wavelength, jet propulsion laboratory, jupiter, light, mars, mission, NASA, planet, principal investigator, roc cutri, saturn, stars, supernova explosion, wise, y dwarfs

A new atlas and catalog of the entire infrared sky with more than a half-billion stars, galaxies and other objects captured by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission was unveiled by NASA Wednesday.

“Today WISE delivers the fruit of 14 years of effort to the astronomical community,” said Edward L. (Ned) Wright, a UCLA professor of physics and astronomy and the mission’s principal investigator, who began working on the mission in 1998. (more…)

NASA’s Kepler Mission Finds Three Smallest Exoplanets

By Guest PostJanuary 15, 2012Sciencecalifornia institute of technology, caltech, doug hudgins, exoplanets, Galaxy, hawaii, john johnson, jupiter, keck observatory, kepler, kepler 22b, kepler mission, koi 961, mauna kea, milky way galaxy, NASA, palomar observatory, phil muirhead, planet hunters, planetary systems, radius of earth, red dwarfs, san diego, size of mars, smallest planets

PASADENA, Calif. – Astronomers using data from NASA’s Kepler mission have discovered the three smallest planets yet detected orbiting a star beyond our sun. The planets orbit a single star, called KOI-961, and are 0.78, 0.73 and 0.57 times the radius of Earth. The smallest is about the size of Mars.

All three planets are thought to be rocky like Earth but orbit close to their star, making them too hot to be in the habitable zone, which is the region where liquid water could exist. Of the more than 700 planets confirmed to orbit other stars, called exoplanets, only a handful are known to be rocky. (more…)

NASA’s Kepler Confirms Its First Planet in Habitable Zone

By Guest PostDecember 6, 2011Scienceames, constellations, cygnus, douglas hudgins, g type, ground based telescopes, habitable zone, jupiter, kepler, kepler 22b, liquid water, lyra, mars, milestone, NASA, natalie batalha, orbital periods, planet, spitzer space telescope, super earth size, universe, university of colorado in boulder, venus, william borucki

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s Kepler mission has confirmed its first planet in the “habitable zone,” the region around a star where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. Kepler also has discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously known count. Ten of these candidates are near-Earth-size and orbit in the habitable zone of their host star. Candidates require follow-up observations to verify they are actual planets.

The newly confirmed planet, Kepler-22b, is the smallest yet found to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone of a star similar to our sun. The planet is about 2.4 times the radius of Earth. Scientists don’t yet know if Kepler-22b has a predominantly rocky, gaseous or liquid composition, but its discovery is a step closer to finding Earth-like planets. (more…)

NASA Probe Data Show Liquid Water Evidence on Europa

By Guest PostNovember 17, 2011Scienceatmosphere, body of liquid water, britney schmidt, chaos terrains, don blankenship, europa, galileo images, galileo spacecraft, global saltwater ocean, global subsurface, jovian system, jupiter, jupiter moon, mary voytek, nasa planetary mission, north american great lakes, potential habitat for life, solar system, space shuttle atlantis, university of texas

PASADENA, Calif. — Data from a NASA planetary mission have provided scientists evidence of what appears to be a body of liquid water, equal in volume to the North American Great Lakes, beneath the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon, Europa.

The data suggest there is significant exchange between Europa’s icy shell and the ocean beneath. This information could bolster arguments that Europa’s global subsurface ocean represents a potential habitat for life elsewhere in our solar system. The findings are published in the scientific journal Nature. (more…)

Astronomers Find Bounty of Failed Stars

By Guest PostOctober 14, 2011Sciencealeks scholz, astronomical oddballs, brown dwarfs, Chile, dublin institute of advanced studies, eth zurich, failed stars, garching, gas clouds, Germany, giant planets, hawaii, ireland, jupiter, koraljka muzic, mariangela bonavita, motohide tamura, ngc 1333, optical and infrared wavelengths, planets, ray jayawardhana, rho ophiuchi star, sonyc, stars, subaru telescope, substellar objects in nearby young clusters, switzerland, university of toronto, very large telescope, vincent geers, vlt

*One youngster only six times heftier than Jupiter*

TORONTO, ON – A University of Toronto-led team of astronomers has discovered over two dozen new free-floating brown dwarfs, including a lightweight youngster only about six times heftier than Jupiter, that reside in two young star clusters. What’s more, one cluster contains a surprising surplus of them, harbouring half as many of these astronomical oddballs as normal stars.

“Our findings suggest once again that objects not much bigger than Jupiter could form the same way as stars do. In other words, nature appears to have more than one trick up its sleeve for producing planetary mass objects,” says Professor Ray Jayawardhana, Canada Research Chair in Observational Astrophysics at the University of Toronto and leader of the international team that made the discovery. (more…)

NASA Space Telescope Finds Fewer Asteroids Near Earth

By Guest PostOctober 1, 2011Scienceamy mainzer, asteroids, astronomers, dinosaurs, distant galaxies, jupiter, lindley johnson, mars, NASA, near earth asteroids, neowise, spaceguard, survey project, tim spahr, wide field infrared survey explorer, wise

PASADENA, Calif. –– New observations by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, show there are significantly fewer near-Earth asteroids in the mid-size range than previously thought. The findings also indicate NASA has found more than 90 percent of the largest near-Earth asteroids, meeting a goal agreed to with Congress in 1998.

Astronomers now estimate there are roughly 19,500 — not 35,000 — mid-size near-Earth asteroids. Scientists say this improved understanding of the population may indicate the hazard to Earth could be somewhat less than previously thought. However, the majority of these mid-size asteroids remain to be discovered. More research also is needed to determine if fewer mid-size objects (between 330 and 3,300-feet wide) also mean fewer potentially hazardous asteroids, those that come closest to Earth. (more…)

NASA Gives Public New Internet Tool to Explore the Solar System

By Guest PostSeptember 3, 2011Scienceblaine baggett, Environment, eyes on the solar system, jim green, jupiter, kevin hussey, nasa data, planetary science division, solar system, spacecraft, virtual environment, Washington, web application

PASADENA, Calif. –– NASA is giving the public the power to journey through the solar system using a new interactive Web-based tool.

The “Eyes on the Solar System” interface combines video game technology and NASA data to create an environment for users to ride along with agency spacecraft and explore the cosmos. Screen graphics and information such as planet locations and spacecraft maneuvers use actual space mission data. (more…)

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