Building Blocks of Life Discovered on Saturn Moon – Enceladus
NASA’s Cassini mission, which provided a close look of Saturn, its moons, and famous rings came to a blazing end on September 15, 2017. But the data gathered by the 13-year mission continues to provide scientists with new insight into the ringed planet. One of the highlights of the Cassini mission was its discovery of geysers […]
Cosmic Cannon; Mars Dust Storm Forecast; Dione’s Subsurface Ocean
Astronomers Find a Cosmic Cannon Astronomers have spotted super-hot blobs of plasma blasting into space like cannonballs near a dying red giant star, some 1,200 light years away. Using the Hubble Space Telescope to make their discovery, the scientists found that the balls of hot gas are flying so fast a trip from the Earth […]
NASA Will Have Cassini Working Hard Right Up to Fiery Finish
As the saying goes all good things must come to an end and the same will go for the Cassini mission to Saturn as it begins its final year of operation. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has big plans for the orbiter as it makes its year-long swan song. Dubbed the Grand Finale, the space agency […]
Study: Dinosaurs Roamed Before Saturn’s Moons and Rings Formed
A new study from researchers at the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has found that most of Saturn’s 62 moons and perhaps even its celebrated rings may only be a hundred million years old. That’s more recent than when dinosaurs were roaming Earth. One of the study authors, Matija […]
October 2015 Science Images
A Close Look at Saturn Moon’s North Pole; Imitation Skin Senses Pressure
Cassini Explores North Pole Area of Saturn’s Moon Enceladus NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has been sending back spectacular images and providing scientists with valuable data about the Saturn and its many moons since its arrival there in 2004. On October 14th, Cassini returned to Saturn’s ice-covered and 6th largest moon Enceladus, the latest of many trips […]
Science Scanner: Milky Way Bigger than Thought, Hydrothermal Activity on Saturn Moon, New Way to Fight Cavities & Gum Disease, Dwarf Galaxy Surprises Scientists
Milky Way May Be Much Bigger than Thought Our galaxy, the Milky Way may be much bigger than previously thought, up to 50 light-years further across, say researchers. Researchers from the United States, China and the United Kingdom came to the conclusion after reviewing data gathered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), an ongoing […]
Saturn Moon’s Wobble Could Be Clue to What’s Inside
Scientists with NASA’s Cassini Mission, which has been studying Saturn since 2004, were trying to figure out just how much one of its moons, Mimas, wobbled as it orbits the ringed planet. After reviewing and analyzing copious images snapped by the robotic probe and running several models, the scientists think the moon’s wobble could be […]
Science Scanner: Bacteria Go Dormant Until Antibiotics Wear Off, Spacecraft Dives by Saturn’s Ring, and Antartica’s Disappearing Penguins
NASA Launches Mission to Study Atmospheric C02 NASA’s successfully launched its Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base Wednesday morning. OCO-2’s mission, which is expected to last at least two years, will study atmospheric carbon dioxide, which scientists say is not only an important element of Earth’s carbon-cycle, but also the primary […]
Arctic Bacterium Offers Clues to Life on Mars
A permafrost microbe has been discovered growing at –15°C, the coldest temperature ever reported for bacterial growth. A team of scientists from Montreal’s McGill University made the discovery on Ellesmere Island, located in the Canadian High Arctic. Researchers said they found the living strain of bacteria growing in the extreme cold of the permafrost, which […]