Universe Today- Astronauts Observe Arthur Storm and Other Stories

Astronauts Keep an Eye on Tropical Storm Arthur from the Space Station

by Nancy Atkinson on July 2, 2014

Astronauts on the International Space Station took this image of Tropical Storm Arthur on July 2, 2014. Credit: Reid Wiseman/NASA.

The first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is easily visible from space. International Space Station astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this picture of the storm, saying, “Just flew over Tropical Storm Arthur – hoping it heads to sea. Looks mean.”

Forecasters said the storm is slowly strengthening off Florida’s east coast, but will move up the coast just in time for the July 4th holiday in the US. While Tropical Storm Arthur is likely to stay offshore while it cruises by Florida, it might become a hurricane by Thursday. The National Hurricane Center reported at 2 pm EDT Wednesday that a tropical storm warning is in effect for all of coastal North Carolina with a hurricane watch the for the portion of the state that extends into the Atlantic Ocean. As of the time of the report, Tropical Storm Arthur was about 160 km (100 miles) east of Daytona Beach, Florida and 378 km (235 miles) south of Charleston, South Carolina.
[click to continue…]

Nancy Atkinson on Google+

Ancient Asteroid Impacts Left Serpentine Traces On Vesta: Study

by Elizabeth Howell on July 2, 2014

Mosaic synthesizes some of the best views the spacecraft had of the giant asteroid Vesta. Dawn studied Vesta. The towering mountain at the south pole – more than twice the height of Mount Everest – is visible at the bottom of the image. The set of three craters known as the “snowman” can be seen at the top left. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCAL/MPS/DLR/IDA

While “dark materials” may leave some of us thinking about a certain Philip Pullman book series, on the asteroid Vesta its presence belies something equally exotic: old smaller asteroid impacts on its surface.

[click to continue…]

Elizabeth Howell on Google+

NASA’s Carbon Observatory Blasts off on Workhorse Delta II to Measure Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Gas and Watch Earth Breathe

by Ken Kremer on July 2, 2014

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, NASA’s first mission dedicated to studying carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere, lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, at 2:56 a.m. Pacific Time, July 2, 2014 on a Delta II rocket. The two-year mission will help scientists unravel key mysteries about carbon dioxide. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Story updated

Following a nearly three-year long hiatus, the workhorse Delta II rocket successfully launched NASA’s first spacecraft dedicated to watching Earth breathe by studying Earth’s atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) – the leading human-produced greenhouse gas and the principal human-produced driver of climate change.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) raced to orbit earlier this morning, during a spectacular nighttime blastoff at 2:56 a.m. PDT (5:56 a.m. EDT), Tuesday, July 2, 2014, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. [click to continue…]

Ken Kremer on Google+

How Big is Rosetta’s Comet?

by Jason Major on July 2, 2014

Diagram of Comet 67P/C-G compared to terrestrial landmarks (ESA)

Pretty darn big, I’d say.

The illustration above shows the relative scale of the comet that ESA’s Rosetta and Philae spacecraft will explore “up-close and personal” later this year. And while it’s one thing to say that the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is about three by five kilometers in diameter, it’s quite another to see it in context with more familiar objects. Think about it — a comet as tall as Mt Fuji!
[click to continue…]

Jason Major on Google+

Incredible View: Camping Under the Milky Way

by Nancy Atkinson on July 2, 2014

A 10 panel panorama of the Milkyway, as seen from the top of the Amphitheatre mountain range in the Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa. Credit and copyright: Tanja Sund.

During the summer months, many of us hit the trails and do a little camping. But how often do you get a view like this?

Wow! Click on the image above to see larger versions on Flickr.

Astrophotographer Tanja Sund and a companion pitched their tent in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa, a 200-kilometer-long mountainous range in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, with the tent sitting just 10 meters from a 1 kilometer-high vertical drop. “This is the home of the Tugela Waterfall, second highest waterfall in the world,” Tanja wrote on Flickr.
[click to continue…]

Nancy Atkinson on Google+