Space Debris Illustrated: The Problem in Pictures

Space junk, space debris, space waste — call it what you want, but just as junk and waste cause problems here on Earth, in space spent booster stages, nuts and bolts from ISS construction, various accidental discards such as spacesuit gloves and cameras, and fragments from exploded spacecraft could turn into a serious problem for the future of spaceflight if actions to mitigate the threat are not taken now.

On board view of a Space Shuttle launch sequence

On board view of a Space Shuttle launch sequence

Avalanche on Mars

Avalanche on Mars!

Cameras orbiting Mars have taken thousands of images that have enabled scientists to put together pieces of Mars’ geologic history. However, most of them reveal landscapes that haven’t changed much in millions of years. Some images taken at different times of year do show seasonal changes from one image to the next; however, it is extremely rare to catch such a dramatic event like an avalanche in action.

Sounds From Saturn

NASA has online some great recorded noises from Saturn. NASA recently published several audio recordings collected during the Cassini-Huygens space probe's exploration of the Saturnian system.

The eerie whistling, epic whooshing and warbling echoes collected by the probe's instruments sound as though they could have been lifted directly from '50s sci-fi classics like Plan 9 From Outer Space or Forbidden Planet.

Here’s a rundown of a few of the spooky recordings, all available for your listening pleasure on the NASA site:

* A 2005 flyby of Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons, captured the sound of powerful ion cyclotron waves (organized fluctuations in the magnetic field), providing data about what ions were present in the atmosphere.

* Radar echoes picked up as the probe descended onto Titan increase in pitch and intensity as the satellite neared the Saturnian moon, hinting at the nature and composition of its surface.

* Sound samples recorded by Huygen's microphones during that descent were pieced together in a lab to create an audio reproduction of what a traveler would have heard while hurtling through Titan’s atmosphere.

• Cassini's Cosmic Recordings Double as Sci-Fi Soundtrack >
• Sounds From Saturn >

Space Shuttle Endeavour

The Space Shuttle Endeavour docks with the ISS and gives us some great pictures. This set of 7 pictures shows the crew working on various experiments while orbiting the Earth. [ ...more]

Sun Loses Its Spots As Solar Cycle 23 Bottoms With A Cold Wet Southern Winter

The 11 year long solar cycle is marked by two extremes, solar minimum and solar maximum. Solar minimum is the period of least solar activity in the solar cycle of the sun. During this time sunspot and solar flare activity diminishes, and often does not occur for days at a time.

When spots begin to appear on the sun once again, scientists know that the sun is heading into a new season of extreme solar activity. At the cycle's peak, solar maximum, the sun is continually peppered with spots, solar flares erupt, and the sun hurls billion-ton clouds of electrified gas into space. [ ...more ]

Space Shuttle Lauch

Shuttle launch as seen from WB-57 High Altitude Research Aircraft [PIC]

Picture taken from the WB-57 research aircraft of the Atlantis Shuttle from the Kennedy Space Centre.

First Habitable Planet Outside Solar System Discovered

An international team of astronomers from Switzerland, France and Portugal have discovered the most Earth-like planet outside our Solar System to date.

The planet has a radius only 50 percent larger than Earth and is very likely to contain liquid water on its surface. There's lots of evidence that this is a planet of interest for scientists. The planet is larger than Earth and orbits its sun in less than 2 weeks. It's also closer to that sun than we are. However, their sun is a Red Dwarf and much less intense than ours. [ ...more... ]

Water Found in Extrasolar Planet's Atmosphere

Great find by some hard working scientists. Maybe soon I'll be doing flood mapping for other planets :)

Astronomers have detected water in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system for the first time.

The finding, to be detailed in an upcoming issue of Astrophysical Journal, confirms previous theories that say water vapor should be present in the atmospheres of nearly all the known extrasolar planets. Even hot Jupiters, gaseous planets that orbit closer to their stars than Mercury to our Sun, are thought to have water.

The discovery, announced today, means one of the most crucial elements for life as we know it can exist around planets orbiting other stars.

“We know that water vapor exists in the atmospheres of one extrasolar planet and there is good reason to believe that other extrasolar planets contain water vapor,” said Travis Barman, an astronomer at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona who made the discovery.

Amazing Space Pictures

Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, scientists have created a stunning new image of one of the youngest supernova remnants in the galaxy.

This new view of the debris of an exploded star helps astronomers solve a long-standing mystery, with implications for understanding how a star's life can end catastrophically and for gauging the expansion of the universe.

See more Amazing Space Pictures