Europa Clipper Science Payload Selected
9 Instruments Will Evaluate Europa's Potential for Harboring Life
In a press conference on Tuesday, NASA announced the selection of scientific instruments for inclusion on the Europa Clipper, a spacecraft slated to investigate one of the solar system's most fascinating moons in the early 2020s.
Europa, slightly smaller than our own moon, is a bright, cracked ball of ice orbiting Jupiter. Its . . .
Ceres Bright Spots Continue to Mystify
On 23 April, the Dawn probe settled into its first operational orbit of the dwarf planet Ceres, termed the "RC3" orbit, and began imaging and science operations a day later. At an altitude of 13,500 kilometers, Dawn collected data that will help refine our estimates of Ceres' mass, continued the search for the tenuous . . .
New Horizons In The Home Stretch
Recent Images Show the First Visible Surface Features
Last week, NASA held a brief teleconference for updates on the New Horizons probe, still on track for its rendezvous with Pluto on 14 July. In broad strokes: the probe is operating perfectly, the New Horizons team is busy rehearsing what will be a relatively lightning-quick encounter, and a number of contingency plans are in place should . . .
Analysis of Solar Suborbital Trajectory Requirements
For Organizational Downsizing In American Secondary Education Social Groups
Devoted reader, friend of the blog, and noted person-who-has-the-same-parents-as-me, Maggie S., no doubt motivated by certain recent events, submitted this question via Twitter:
Can we launch all fraternities into the sun? I got at least a grand to contribute to this. Please advise
As in all truly worthwhile human . . .
Our Faint Galactic Companions
And Their Possible Dark Matter Implications
It's long been known that our Milky Way, as one of the largest galaxies in its neighborhood, can claim some natural satellites to its name. As the Earth has its moon, and the Sun has its orbiting planets and other bodies, our home galaxy's enormous mass induces over two dozen objects into orbit around it. Some of these have been known . . .
Spacebag, Volume I
Black Holes, Mars Missions, and Very Fast Spacecraft
On Twitter and Facebook, I asked for your space and spaceflight related questions, and got a whole bunch. Let's dive right in.
@venkersteell: Do black holes move, or are they stationary?
Black holes move, much like stars and planets do. As with stars and planets, it's important to ask: moving relative to what? When . . .
Dawn Arrives at Ceres
Mysterious Bright Spots and Ion Propulsion
Since leaving orbit of the asteroid Vesta in 2011, NASA's Dawn spacecraft has been slowly and steadily matching orbits with the dwarf planet Ceres, maneuvering itself for insertion into orbit around it. This morning, at around 7:30 EST, it was successfully captured by Ceres' gravity and began another slow approach trajectory that will . . .
Cover image credit: http://jleslie48.com/0206pr/saturn5allclean2.jpg
