Alien View of Our Solar System

Summary: New simulations are providing scientists with a glimpse of what our solar system may look like to alien astronomers. The study could helps astronomers in the search for habitable planetary systems around distant stars...

Climate Change before it Goes Global

It’s pretty well accepted among the scientific community that life existed as far back as 3.5 billion years ago. But those were days before oxygen had accumulated to significant levels.What kind of creatures were lurking an an oxygen-free world?...

Rosetta Should Look South for a Landing Site

Scientists have determined that ESA's Rosetta mission needs to deliver its lander to a site in the southern hemisphere of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. A site in this region will be the safest and most scientifically interesting according to the recent study...

Venus Hot Outside, Cool Inside?

The heat in the atmosphere of Venus, induced from a strong greenhouse warming, might actually have a cooling effect on the planet’s interior. Studying planetary processes on Venus can provide important information about climate change on rocky planets, such as Earth. Climate change could have a profound effect on the future habitability of our planet...

Synthetic Life Could Aid Space Exploration

When packing for a manned mission to Mars or the Moon, the best thing to bring may not be food or fuel, but specially-designed organisms that can create those things for you...

New Map Offers a Global View of Health-Sapping Air Pollution

A new map offers the most comprehensive view to date of health-sapping particles in the air, suspected of causing millions of premature deaths each year in developing countries...

Dust Models Paint Alien's View of Solar System

New supercomputer simulations tracking the interactions of thousands of dust grains show what the solar system might look like to alien astronomers searching for planets...

Laser Tool for Studying Mars Rocks Delivered to JPL

A tool newly delivered from Los Alamos National Laboratory for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity will zap Martian rocks with a laser to learn the rocks' makeup...

Spring on Titan Brings Sunshine and Patchy Clouds

Scientists working with NASA's Cassini spacecraft are creating the first long-term study of Titan's weather...

Watch out for the Super Harvest Moon

For the first time in almost 20 years, northern autumn is beginning on the night of a full Moon. The coincidence sets the stage for a "Super Harvest Moon" and a must-see sky show to mark the change of seasons.

Solar Storms can Change Directions, Surprising Forecasters

Researchers using data from NASA's STEREO spacecraft have found that solar storms don't always travel in a straight line. This adds a surprising new twist to the science of space weather forecasting...

Mars Methane Lasts Less than a Year

A new study indicates that methane in the atmosphere of Mars lasts less than a year. Methane is replenished from localized sources that show seasonal and annual variations. This pattern of methane production raises questions as to whether the methane comes from geological activity - or biological processes...

College Students Help Develop Small Satellite with Big Plans

Firefly will focus on the mystery of near Earth gamma ray flashes, a little understood phenomenon linked to lightning, which scientists hope to answer with this pint-sized satellite...

NASA Study Shows Desert Dust Cuts Colorado River Flow

Snowmelt in the Colorado River basin is occurring earlier, reducing runoff and the amount of crucial water available downstream. A new study shows this is due to increased dust caused by humans in the region during the past 150 years...

Earth to Have Closest Encounter With Jupiter until 2022

Been outside at midnight lately? There's something you really need to see. Jupiter is approaching Earth for the closest encounter between the two planets in more than a decade--and it is dazzling...