According to the International Meteor Organization and other forecasters, Earth will pass through a stream of debris from the comet on January 3rd, 2017, producing a shower of meteors known as the Quadrantids. The Quadrantid meteor shower is one of the most intense annual meteor showers, typically producing meteors at a rate of more than 100 per hour from a point in the sky near the North Star, also known as the shower’s radiant.
Category: NASA
Moon Base Alpha – Strategies for Low Cost Lunar Settlement Workshop at DFJ [Flickr]
Apollo astronaut Rusty Schweickart presenting at our weekend retreat to explore the possibility of a permanent lunar base at a price 10-100x lower than commonly believed. By gathering a wide array of domain experts – from NASA, commercial space companies, tech execs and Apollo astronauts – we were able to integrate the rapid advances in various fields and the isolated pockets of expertise.
Climate change: Hottest year triggers call for action
Two days before the presidential inauguration, scientists are expected to announce that 2016 was the hottest year on earth since record-keeping began in 1880 - news that will test national, state and economic leadership on climate change. Even as Washington D.C. and California bundle up against winter chill, records will show that extreme heat blanketed large areas of every continent this year, pushing up average temperatures for the third year in a row.
NASA’s Favorite Photos of 2016
There are a group of unsung heroes at NASA, the people who travel the world to capture key events in our exploration of space. They share their images with all of us, but most of the time, it’s not just the pictures of launches, landings, and crucial mission events that they capture.
NASA missions to add leap second to master clock
NASA missions, including the Solar Dynamics Observatory which watches the Sun, will join timekeepers around the world to add a leap second to its clocks, just before midnight on New Year’s Eve. Clocks will add the extra second to keep in sync with Earth’s rotation, which gradually slows down over time.
NASA’s Earth science center highlights 30 researchers
NASA’s Earth science data centers highlight the work of thirty researchers worldwide in this year’s Sensing Our Planet: NASA Earth Science Research Features . The collection of in-depth science stories reveals the surprising ways that scientists use satellite data to study our planet.
NASA photograph
This artist’s concept of NASA’s X-57 Maxwell aircraft shows the plane’s specially designed wing and 14 electric motors. NASA Aeronautics researchers will use the X-57 to demonstrate that electric propulsion can make planes quieter, more efficient and more environmentally friendly.
Mojave a ” thinking outside the box
Doug Scroggins of Scroggins Aviation works on block buster movies often using old planes from Mojave’s boneyard. His helicopter built for the film Jurassic World, was part of the second highest grossing film until Star Wars bumped it out.
Air Force Test Center
In 2012, Air Force Materiel Command redesignated the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., as the Air Force Test Center. As the AFTC, the center assumed responsibility for the 412th Test Wing at Edwards, the 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and the Arnold Engineering Development Complex at Arnold AFB, Tenn.
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When astronauts set foot on Mars, they may stay for months rather than days as they did during Apollo missions to the moon. The surface of Mars has extreme temperatures and the atmosphere does not provide adequate protection from high-energy radiation.
Hubble Gazes at A Cosmic Megamaser
This galaxy has a far more exciting and futuristic classification than most — it hosts a megamaser. Megamasers are intensely bright, around 100 million times brighter than the masers found in galaxies like the Milky Way.
Northern lights’ festive show captured in stunning NASA image
The northern lights – the swirling, cloud-like features in this image – stretched across northern Canada during the nighttime hours of Dec. 22, 2016. The northern lights put on a festive show over northern Canada just before Christmas, and a NASA satellite captured a stunning infrared image of the spectacular display.
News 13 mins ago 5:25 a.m.Look to the sky for New Year’s Eve comet
“Say farewell to 2016 in cosmic style by looking up to see the #NewYearsEve #comet on December 31,” the laboratory said in a Wednesday Instagram post. Say farewell to 2016 in cosmic style by looking up to see the #NewYearsEve #comet on December 31 YZ< #NewYear #astronomy #nightsky #comet45p #planets #NASA #JPL #WhatsUp #NYE #newyears The comet, NASA said, was expected to appear in the western horizon on Dec. 15 and had a bluish-green head by Dec. 21. The comet is a periodic comet, which returns to the inner solar system about every 5 years.
Boulder’s Alan Stern sees prized wheels stay in aerospace ‘family’
Mike Beckage, of Bridgeport, Calif., is pictured with Alan Stern’s Nissan350Z Coupe, which Beckage won at auction for $11,000. The money is to benefit the Lowell Observatory, of Flagstaff, Ariz.
Boulder’s Alan Stern sees prized wheels stay in aerospace ‘family’
Mike Beckage, of Bridgeport, Calif., is pictured with Alan Stern’s Nissan350Z Coupe, which Beckage won at auction for $11,000. The money is to benefit the Lowell Observatory, of Flagstaff, Ariz.
Dainese Creates Space Suit to Protect Astronauts
You probably know Dainese best as an Italian motorcycling apparel manufacturer that specializes in sport and racing gear, and you might have heard of its high-tech . If you’re really in-the-know, you even know that Dainese also makes protective gear for mountain biking, winter sports and horseback riding.
December 29, 2016
This megamaser is named IRAS 16399-0937, and is located over 370 million light-years from Earth. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image belies the galaxy’s energetic nature, instead painting it as a beautiful and serene cosmic rosebud.
Vera Rubin Didn’t Discover Dark Matter
Rubin and her collaborator, Kent Ford, discovered that M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, was spinning in an unexpected way. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech via Wikimedia Commons .
NASA’s Got A Giant Space Laser And It’s Not Afraid to Use It
While NASA has been pulling off all kinds of cool accomplishments this year – from Juno arriving in Jupiter’s orbit to getting help from the public to solve the space poo dilemma – potentially one of the most important discoveries NASA scientists have made this year concerns microscopic underwater plants the entire planet’s delicate ecosystem … (more)
Climate Change: The Frightening Rise of Dangerous Manmade Global Voguing
A change in temperature is a change in climate. We worry about man-made climate change if a temperature change will last decades or centuries and if the change will disfigure the environment.
Forget the fireworks — look for a comet in the sky on New Year’s Eve
Even if you’re not a fan of New Year’s Eve fireworks, you’ll have another reason to look to the skies. NASA says as we ring in the new year, a comet will near the moon and be visible to those looking west.
China aims to be on Mars by the end of 2020
China is aiming to own the race for space in the next decade, the country’s space agency has said. China’s ambitious and fast-growing space programme is targeting a landing on the dark si China is aiming to own the race for space in the next decade, the country’s space agency has said.
The meteorite that still is fascinating scientists
It may be nearly half a century since the Murchison meteorite fell over the small town in northern Victoria, but it continues to dazzle scientists around the world. Cattle were scared but fortunately no-one was injured when the meteorite broke up and landed over a 13 square kilometre area in the farming district on September 28, 1969.
Hidden Figures’ Star Janelle Monae on Playing NASA…
“She wasn’t trying to be the first African-American female engineer,” the actress says as part of “Close Up With TheWrap” video series presented by 20th… “Hidden Figures” star Janelle Monae was one of the people who didn’t know about the three female mathematicians who helped catapult U.S. astronaut John Glenn into space in the 1960s – but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t going to get the story heard. “I had no clue who Mary Jackson was, but I made it a personal responsibility to portray Miss Mary Jackson because I didn’t want any other girl, any other human being, any other American, to not know about this history,” Monae told TheWrap about her role in the film as Jackson, the first African-American female aerospace engineer.
This is astronaut Piers Sellers’ last message before his death
Piers Sellers, former astronaut and climate change scientist, passed away on December 23, 2017, from pancreatic cancer at the age of 61. Before his death, though he recorded this short video message, reaching out to the global community as a scientist concerned about these changes and their largest cause: humanity. Throughout his career, Sellers focused on characterizing and understanding changes in the Earth’s climate system.
Trump ‘very interested in a man going to the moon,’ says historian
A historian who met with Donald Trump says the president-elect was “very interested in a man going to the moon.” Brinkley told reporters after the meeting his conversation with Trump focused on “Nixon and Reagan and Kennedy … a sort of history of the presidency and past inaugurals and things like that.”
Before you cruise, embark on a fun-finding mission in your port city
When booking a sea cruise vacation, it may seem like a good idea to schedule your flight to the port of departure for the same morning your ship sets sail. A same-day flight might appear to save you time and money, but travel experts warn this could turn into an expensive mistake.
NASA telescopes find clues for how giant black holes formed so quickly
Using data from NASA’s Great Observatories, astronomers have found the best evidence yet for cosmic seeds in the early universe that should grow into supermassive black holes. Researchers combined data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and Spitzer Space Telescope to identify these possible black hole seeds.
Art goes 3D
Ed Hanlon made a big investment in equipment for his art classes at the middle school this year, but in doing so he’s sparked the imagination and creativity of students, teachers and administrators in School District 209-U. Joliet Junior College unveiled its new maker lab last spring, and Hanlon attended an open house to see its 3D printers and laser cutters.
How to Become a Rocket Scientist
Jennifer Trosper, Mars Science Laboratory, MSL mission manager, JPL, adjusts the high-gain antenna on a rover model during a news briefing on the last data and imagery from Sol 1 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. // Damian Dovarganes/AP CJ Giovingo’s path to becoming a flight system verification and validation engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory wasn’t a straight line.
Snow in the Sahara Desert
Snow in a place where summertime temperatures are high – though wintertime temps can drop to freezing – and where precipitation from the skies is rare. The Landsat 7 satellite acquired this image of snow in North Africa on December 19, 2016.
NASA’s Journey to Mars builds ground work for missions beyond our Solar System
Humanity’s great leap into the space between the stars has, in a sense, already begun. NASA’s Voyager 1 probe broke through the sun’s magnetic bubble to touch the interstellar wind.
International Space Station Crew Celebrates Christmas
All six members of the Expedition 50 crew aboard the International Space Station celebrated the holidays together with a festive meal. Image Credit: NASA Astronauts celebrated the Xmas festivities aboard the ISS and had a jolly good time in conditions of zero gravity in outer space.
Holiday greetings from the International Space Station
NASA releases a video Christmas message from the crew aboard the International Space Station where the astronauts are spending the holidays and sharing some ‘haute’ space cuisine. Rough Cut .
SpaceX Mission Delay Could Cost NASA Hundreds of Millions of Dollars
Earlier this year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration signed a contract hiring Russia’s Roscosmos to transport six American astronauts to the International Space Station for $81.7 million per head . The two-year contract was valued at $490 million — 15% more than the preceding contract.
What Were Airborne’s Most Notable Stories of 2016? What Say You?
This past year is not likely to go down as one of our favorites… though it had a lot of exciting aspects to it that are worth noting for the future. In hundreds of episodes, Airborne featured the most noteworthy and newsworthy stories in aviation and aerospace, good and bad, hopeful and depressing… ranging from the exciting launch of great new airplanes, and some deplorably atrocious scandals, to the rise of a number of aviation companies/persons and the loss of the some of the most beloved.
For John Glenn, Annie was the hero
American icon John H. Glenn Jr. truly had The Right Stuff. Author Tom Wolfe said Glenn was “the last true national hero America has ever had.”
Santa’s Warmest Christmas EverJay Michaelson
While the North Pole experiences its second record-hot year in a row, the GOP’s carnival of dunces continues to sow doubt in Washington. Hopefully Santa’s sleigh has mud flaps.
BWW Photo Flash: Houston Gets Early Screening of Hidden Figures This Christmas
HIDDEN FIGURES screens in select cities and theaters this Christmas, including Houston’s Edwards Greenway Grand Palace Stadium 24 & RPX. See the trailer and the photos from the film below! HIDDEN FIGURES uncovers the incredible, untold story of a Katherine G. Johnson , Dorothy Vaughan , and Mary Jackson — three brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world.
‘Hidden Figures’ review: Formulaic feel-good movie fun for all
It makes sense that the dramatic Hidden Figures is a math movie, because it follows the classic feel-good formula to a tee. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its merits; in fact, if you’re not rushing out of the theatre after the movie’s over to look up Katherine Johnson , Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan , then we didn’t see the same movie.