Monthly Archives: April 2017

Juno Probe Makes Fourth Passage of Jupiter’s Clouds

Posted on April 4, 2017 by njelinek425

  Last Monday (March 27), NASA’s Juno spacecraft made a historic passage within the vicinity of the cloud tops of Jupiter’s atmosphere, marking its fifth overall flyby of the gas giant and fourth “science pass”, or experimental run. The probe marked its closest point to the planet at 08:52 GMT, coming within 2700 miles of its […] Continue reading →

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Blog #5

Posted on April 4, 2017 by niharikadar

An Overview of the New Horizons Mission The Kuiper Belt is a very fascinating region of our solar system consisting largely of icy bodies and comets. Thus, there is a lot of really interesting research aiming to better understand the Belt itself and the objects that call it home. One NASA initiative in this regard is … Continue reading Blog #5 Continue reading →

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SpaceX Makes History

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Haley Topper

On March 30th, 2017, SpaceX made history by successfully launching and landing a used rocket. The company created by Elon Musk used the Falcon 9 to to send a satellite into space and then landed in on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean. This rocket was initially launched in April of 2016, and the launch […] Continue reading →

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X-Ray Burst Baffles Scientists

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Matt Machado

In 2014, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory spotted a large, sudden flash, producing the deepest x-ray image ever. Today, this flash still baffles scientists who are attempting to understand its origin. It was given the name CDF-S XT1 and was spotted in an area of the sky known as the Chandra Deep Field South. When the […] Continue reading →

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Blog #4

Posted on April 4, 2017 by niharikadar

Image of SAGE III Climate change is an oft-mentioned topic in a diverse range of conversations including those within the scientific community and increasingly in the political sphere as well. Despite a lot of ongoing talk about climate change, I think that many ordinary citizens, including myself, don’t have a good grasp of the science … Continue reading Blog #4 Continue reading →

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Comets

Posted on April 4, 2017 by ksun1

The formation of the planetary bodies was not a peaceful one. Planetesimals, effectively “planet seeds” that would accrete material to gain mass, would frequently collide with each other at violent speeds. A collision between two planetesimals of similar sizes would spell the doom for both – all of their hard work accreting mass would be […] Continue reading →

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Exploration of Pluto and the Worlds Beyond by New Horizons

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Matt Machado

The New Horizons spacecraft launched from Earth in 2006 with the goal of reaching Pluto is set to break records of how far human-made machines can travel. It achieved its first goal of reaching Pluto in July of 2015 and is the only spacecraft in history to do so. Last month, NASA released this incredible image of […] Continue reading →

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Exploration of Pluto and the Worlds Beyond by New Horizons

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Matt Machado

The New Horizons spacecraft launched from Earth in 2006 with the goal of reaching Pluto is set to break records of how far human-made machines can travel. It achieved its first goal of reaching Pluto in July of 2015 and is the only spacecraft in history to do so. Last month, NASA released this incredible image of […] Continue reading →

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Give Neptune a Second Chance– and hopefully some more

Posted on April 4, 2017 by vmorehead0

Throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries, NASA has made many successful spacecraft expeditions to the Jovian planets.  Jupiter has been visited by Pioneer 10 (1972), Pioneer 11 (1973), Voyager 1 (1977), Galileo (1195-2003), and New Horizons (2007).  Saturn as well has also been visited by Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, and Cassini, which has orbited the planet … Continue reading Give Neptune a Second Chance– and hopefully some more Continue reading →

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Volcanism on Io

Posted on April 4, 2017 by vmorehead0

From the four Galilean moons of Jupiter, Io stands out as having a great amount of volcanic activity.  Before it was observed via spacecraft, scientists believed all moons were cold and barren like Earth’s moon.  However, on March 8, 1979, Voyager 1 captured a mysterious plume rising from Io.  Scientists identified this as a volcanic eruption, which made Io … Continue reading Volcanism on Io Continue reading →

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