Smudges on images could be clouds that form at dawn and dusk, scientists report, and measurements of high reflectivity of Pluto’s “heart” add new evidence of a geologically young surface.
Space & Planets
Posted inScience Updates
Balloon Launches Introduce Students to Space Science
High school students launch their own high-altitude payloads and learn from their successes and failures through a science research training program led by the University of New Hampshire.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Lab Experiment Tests What Triggers Massive Solar Eruptions
In a first-of-its-kind demonstration, scientists provide experimental support for a possible mechanism behind the formation of coronal mass ejections.
Posted inNews
Rosetta Spacecraft Death-Dives into Comet Companion—On Purpose
On the way to its demise, the probe intimately viewed a dust-spewing pit and measured close up the gravity field, temperature, and other features of the comet.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Mars’s Climate May Have Been Wet Much Later Than Thought
Water-carved valleys may be relatively young, challenging assumptions about the history of the Red Planet's climate.
Posted inNews
New Images Give More Proof for Europa's Plumes
Researchers used a modified version of a technique for discovering exoplanets to view Jupiter's icy moon in a new light.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Causes GPS Signal Loss on Satellites like Swarm?
Using data from the European Space Agency's Swarm mission, scientists find that abrupt drops in the ionosphere's electron density may cause low-orbiting satellites to lose contact with GPS satellites
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Drives Variation in the Ionosphere’s Electron Density?
The long-term trend in the electron density of the ionospheric F layer may be natural, not man-made.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Jupiter's Auroras Recharge Between Solar Storms
New research suggests that Jupiter's magnetic field replenishes its stock of plasma during lulls in solar activity, creating spectacular displays when a solar storm hits.
Posted inFeatures
The Geomagnetic Blitz of September 1941
Seventy-five years ago next week, a massive geomagnetic storm disrupted electrical power, interrupted radio broadcasts, and illuminated the night sky in a World War II battle theater.