Monday, April 29, 2013
Images capture the sun as it approaches its peak of solar activity.
In 2010, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) began capturing incredible images of the sun as it ascends towrds "solar maximum," the peak of solar activity in the sun's 11-year cycle. The SDO has been photographing the sun every 12 seconds, in 10 different light wavelengths, then "stitches" the frames together to produce amazing composite images, which it released to the public. Let us know in comments what you think of these images and video!
Sunday, April 21, 2013
The third time was a charm for the Antares rocket, which launched without a hitch on Sunday at 5 p.m.
The Antares rocket blasted into orbit Sunday evening after two failed launch attempts last week. Wednesday's launch was scrubbed due to technical reasons and high winds kept the rocket grounded again on Sunday. However, the wind cooperated and all systems were a go on Sunday, and the Antares took off at 5 p.m. from NASA Wallops Flight Facility on coastal Virginia. The commercial rocket, was launched as part of a mission to resupply the International Space Station. Watch Sunday's launch as recorded by NASA in the attached video.
The launch was scrubbed Saturday for the second time.
The Antares rocket has ben rescheduled to blast into orbit Sunday after a second launch attempt expected Saturday was scrubbed because of upper-level winds. If the third time's the charm and all goes according to plan, the commercial rocket, being launched as part of a mission to resupply the International Space Station, should be visible to million of people from the Eastern Seaboard as far west as central Pennsylvania. Orbital Sciences has released expected views of Antares from various vantage points. In Maryland, DC and most other places on the east coast, the rocket is expected to rise no more than 10 degrees above the horizon. That's roughly the height of an adult's fist held at arm's length. If you want to attempt to view the …
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Orbital Sciences Corporation hopes to get its test rocket for a mission to the International Space Station off the ground on Saturday.
After scrubbing the launch of the Antares earlier this week, all systems are go for what could be a spectacular view in the skies over Virginia of a commercial rocket NASA is relying on to resupply the International Space Station. The launch of Orbital Sciences Corporation's Antares rocket had been planned for Wednesday from NASA Wallops Flight Facility on coastal Virginia but was scrubbed because of a problem with an external umbilical cord, the company announced on its web site. “This is the biggest, loudest and brightest rocket ever to launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility,” Orbital Sciences manager Frank Culbertson told a media briefing, according to Universe Today. Umbilical cords typically supply power and allow flight …
Friday, April 19, 2013
NASA Kepler's mission found two planetary systems with Earth-like planets more than 1,200 light years away.
If space tourism becomes as popular as summer vacations to the nearest beachtown, two destinations on any traveler's list may be two new planetary systems recently discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. According to NASA, three planets are super Earth-sized and in a "habitable zone"—meaning they are just far enough away from a star where the surface temperature of the orbiting planet may allow for liquid water. The planets are located in Kepler-62 and Kepler-69, more than 1,200 light years away from Earth—Kepler-62e, 62f and 69c are the super-Earth-sized planets. "The discovery of these rocky planets in the habitable zone brings us a bit closer to finding a place like home," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of the Science …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The Antares rocket, due to blast off Wednesday, was expected to be visible from Maryland.
The launch of a rocket scheduled to blast off from the Virginia coastline Wednesday has been temporarily scrubbed, according to the company that designed and operates the spacecraft. A statement from Orbital Sciences said that the mission was put on hold 12 minutes before the planned launch due to the loss of an umbilical cord attached to the rocket's second stage. "The Antares team is gathering more information and will make the call on when we will make our next attempt," the company tweeted. Orbital Sciences said the next attempt would probably come at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 19. The launch was expected to be visible from Maryland and much of the Mid-Atlantic region. When it does eventually launch, the rocket will carry a four-ton dummy…
The flight from a launchpad on the Virginia coast is a test run for a system that could eventually resupply the International Space Station.
The test flight for a space capsule system intended to help resupply the International Space Station is scheduled to launch from the Virginia coastline on Wednesday. If weather conditions are favorable, the craft may be visible from the Maryland region as it ascends into orbit. The Antares rocket, developed by Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corporation, is expected to launch at 5:00 p.m., though the launch window extends until 8:00 p.m., should weather or other factors require a delay. The Los Angeles Times reports that it will be carrying a roughly four-ton dummy payload intended to simulate the company's Cygnus space capsule, which NASA and the company hope will soon be transporting materials to the space station. Orbital, whose …
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Sources described a likable engineering student with a strong academic record—and a mental illness.
On Tuesday afternoon, Prince George's County police identified the alleged shooter from an early morning murder-suicide in College Park as 23-year-old Dayvon Maurice Green. According to police, Green was an engineering graduate student at the University of Maryland. Speaking to reporters outside the scene of the shooting, UMD President Wallace Loh said he believed Green had been at the university for about a year. Green earned his undergraduate degree from Morgan State University in Baltimore, officials said. The Baltimore Sun reports that he was a member of Phi Beta Sigma's Gamma chapter and maintained a grade point average above 3.5. Green also participated in the NASA Student Ambassador program and worked at the NASA Goddard Space …
Friday, December 21, 2012
Planetary nebula called NGC 5189 that looks a lot like a glass-blown holiday ornament.
Do they celebrate the holidays in space? Looks like it. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured a nearby planetary nebula called NGC 5189 that looks a lot like a glass-blown holiday ornament with a glowing ribbon entwined.
Monday, July 23, 2012
The first American woman in space died today after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Best known for being the first American woman in space, Sally Ride died today in her home in La Jolla, CA after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer, according to her company, Sally Ride Science. She was 61-years-old. Ride became a role model for girls all around the country when she rode the space shuttle Challenger into space on June 18, 1983 as a mission specialist, reported La Jolla Patch. Locally, a school and a learning center in Germantown are named after Ride. "Sally Ride broke barriers with grace and professionalism, and literally changed the face of America's space program," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "The nation has lost one of its finest leaders, teachers and explorers. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sally…
patricia
1:31 pm on Monday, February 18, 2013
But mandating that everyone disclose their mental illness is not the answer? Oh, but mandating new gun control laws is the answer. It's funny how when someone commits murder in this way , their privacy was more important than someone's right to carry a gun or defend themselves against a mentally unstable person, who in most cases, someone they lived with or worked with or went to school with, … more ›