Explosion on the Moon!
via jtotheizzoe:
Pock-marked with craters and splotched with long-cold beds of dark lava, our moon holds thousands of footprints from its violent past. But we don’t really think of it having a violent present.
Well, it still gets its fair share of action. On March 17, 2013, NASA astronomers captured video of a meteorite striking the moon. It made an explosion bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, like a temporary star drawn on the lunar surface. It turns out that these collisions are not that rare.
Most of the moon’s many meteor marks date from a period known as the Late Heavy Bombardment. That, combined with a magma-riffic adolescence gave the moon the special look we know today. Of course, none of that is as violent as the moon’s birth.
Anyway, make sure to watch that video above and see the meteor strike live. You’ll never look at the moon the same way again.
Neil deGrasse Tyson: How the Moon May Have Formed
How was the Moon formed, and why doesn’t it have more iron or heavy metals? Neil deGrasse Tyson explains to Eugene Mirman how a collision with a Mars-sized object during the formation of the Earth may have led to the creation of the Moon. Enjoy this “Behind the Scenes video” from StarTalk Radio.
via Star Talk Radio.
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Perchlorate on Mars
Samuel P. Kounaves is a professor of chemistry at Tufts University and lead scientist with the Phoenix Mars Lander Wet Chemistry Lab. He presented his work at a symposium on Friday 15 February, “Exploring Other Worlds and Seeing Our Own Anew.”
2013 AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston
by AAAS.
Science Bulletins: Nile-Like River Found on Moon of Saturn
Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is the only moon or planet in our Solar System other than Earth with stable liquid on its surface. The Cassini spacecraft recently imaged a river valley on Titan that looks much like Earth’s Nile River valley. Titan’s hydrocarbon river follows a relatively straight path before emptying into a large lake in the north.
by AMNH.
NASA’s Asteroid Watcher - Don Yeomans Talks With SPACE.com’s Tariq Malik
The manager of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program office talks about potentially hazardous asteroids, comets and his new book: “Near-Earth Objects: Finding Them Before They Find Us”.
by Video From Space.
Mars: Dry Ice and Dunes
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captures the springtime thaw of seasonal carbon dioxide ice on Mars.
by JPL news.
The California Meteorite Rush
Meteorites are highly sought after by researchers because their chemical compositions can yield tremendous insight about their host asteroids and comets, as well as the early solar system. On April 22, 2012, a minivan-sized meteor streaked across the sky over California and Nevada. The ensuing search for meteorite fragments near a California site called Sutter’s Mill revealed that this was a CM-type carbonaceous chondrite—an extremely rare meteorite containing amino acids and traces of early life. Science News Writer Emily Underwood describes the hunt for these precious fragments and explains what is so unique about this find.
Science (www.sciencemag.org) is the world’s leading journal of original scientific research, global news, and commentary. For more original videos, check out the Science Video Portal (video.sciencemag.org)
Parting Moon Shots from NASA’s GRAIL mission
Three days prior to its planned impact on a lunar mountain, mission controllers activated the camera aboard one of NASA’s GRAIL twins to take some final photos from lunar orbit.
by JPL news.
The Lure of the Red Planet - PART 2
Panel Chair: Janet Vertesi (Princeton University)
Erik M. Conway (JPL): Dreaming Of Mars Sample Return, From Viking To The Mars Science Laboratory
W. Henry Lambright (Syracuse University): NASA, Big Science, And Mars Exploration:Critical Decisions From Goldin To Bolden As of October 17, 2012
Play Time: 01:00:16
by NASA television.
The Lure of the Red Planet - PART 1
Panel Chair: Janet Vertesi (Princeton University)
Richard W. Zurek (JPL): Mars After 50 Years Of Space Exploration: Then, Now, and Beyond
David Grinspoon (Denver Museum of Nature & Science): Evolving Concepts Of Planetary Habitability In The Age Of Planetary Exploration
Play Time: 57:54
by NASA television.
Dawn Mission G+ Hangout w/ CosmoQuest: Asteroid Mappers Edition
Play Time: 56:05
by Noisy Astronomer.
NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover Report #18 — December 21, 2012
A NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover team member gives an update on developments and status of the planetary exploration mission. The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft delivered Curiosity to its target area on Mars at 1:31:45 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, which includes the 13.8 minutes needed for confirmation of the touchdown to be radioed to Earth at the speed of light. The rover will conduct a nearly two-year prime mission to investigate whether the Gale Crater region of Mars ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life. of the planetary exploration mission. The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft delivered Curiosity to its target area on Mars at 1:31:45 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, which includes the 13.8 minutes needed for confirmation of the touchdown to be radioed to Earth at the speed of light. The rover will conduct a nearly two-year prime mission to investigate whether the Gale Crater region of Mars ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life.
by NASA television.
Mars Rover Curiosity Uses Holiday to Explore ‘Yellowknife Bay’
The Curiosity rover searched a shallow depression known as “Yellowknife Bay” to find a new rock to chemically analyze.
by Video From Space.
Water-Ice On Mercury - How It Was Found
It has been estimated that there may be up to 1 trillion metric tons of water ice on Mercury. Scientist David Lawerence explains how NASA’s MESENGER mission’s neutron spectroscopy data contributed to the find.
by Video From Space.
Science Bulletins: MoonKAM Brings the Moon to Students
NASA’s GRAIL mission is mapping the Moon’s gravity field, but it has a second purpose. Cameras mounted on the paired satellites serve an education program created by late astronaut Sally Ride. MoonKAM offers students a unique opportunity to interact directly with the space program. By controlling the satellite’s eight cameras, they capture thousands of pictures of the lunar surface.
by AMNH.
