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IMAGE: The Crab Nebula, the six-light-year-wide expanding cloud of debris from a supernova explosion, hosts a neutron star spinning 30 times a second that is among the brightest pulsars in the. view more
Credit: Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State University)
A global science collaboration using data from NASA s Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescope on the International Space Station has discovered X-ray surges accompanying radio bursts from the pulsar in the Crab Nebula. The finding shows that these bursts, called giant radio pulses, release far more energy than previously suspected.
A pulsar is a type of rapidly spinning neutron star, the crushed, city-sized core of a star that exploded as a supernova. A young, isolated neutron star can spin dozens of times each second, and its whirling magnetic field powers beams of radio waves, visible light, X-rays, and gamma rays. If these beams sweep past Earth, astronomers obs
NASA’s First Weather Report From Jezero Crater on Mars
Perseverance’s MEDA will help us understand how to prepare astronauts for a future on the Red Planet.
The weather often plays a role in our daily plans. You might put on a light jacket when the forecast calls for a cool breeze or delay your travel plans because of an impending storm. NASA engineers use weather data to inform their plans, too, which is why they’re analyzing the conditions millions of miles away on Mars.
The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) system aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover first powered on for 30 minutes Feb. 19, approximately one day after the rover touched down on the Red Planet. Around 8:25 p.m. PST that same day, engineers received initial data from MEDA.
Say Cheese on Mars: Perseverance s Selfie With Ingenuity
Perseverance s Selfie with Ingenuity: NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter, seen here about 13 feet (3.9 meters) from the rover. This image was taken by the WASTON camera on the rover’s robotic arm on April 6, 2021, the 46th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. Full image and caption ›
NASA’s newest Mars rover used a camera on the end of its robotic arm to snap this shot of itself with the Ingenuity helicopter nearby.
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter, seen here about 13 feet (4 meters) away in this image from April 6, 2021, the 46th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Perseverance captured the image using a camera called WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering), part of the SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instru
1 April 2021
Whether it’s in the wake vortex of airplanes taking off or in seemingly calm air, there are few issues more meddlesome to flight than turbulence. Not only can these “horizontal tornadoes” make air travel uncomfortable and possibly dangerous, but attempts to avoid them can consume large amounts of fuel. Researchers at NASA have developed technology to find these zones, and with some engineering ingenuity, they could revolutionize both flight planning and aeronautical research.
Not Your Typical Microphone
Everything in the atmosphere can make a sound. Volcanoes rumble, waterfalls crash, and air rushes, but there’s more to that sound than what our ears perceive. Much like how infrared light consists of frequencies that aren’t visible to the naked eye, there’s an audio analogue called infrasound. Infrasound consists of pitches too low to be heard by the human ear, between 0.001 and 20 hertz.
NASA s First Weather Report From Jezero Crater on Mars
A pre-launch photo of the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) system, which is now providing atmospheric measurements to engineers from Jezero Crater on Mars. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Full image and caption ›
Perseverance’s MEDA will help us understand how to prepare astronauts for a future on the Red Planet.
The weather often plays a role in our daily plans. You might put on a light jacket when the forecast calls for a cool breeze or delay your travel plans because of an impending storm. NASA engineers use weather data to inform their plans, too, which is why they’re analyzing the conditions millions of miles away on Mars.