Flying a coffee table-sized spacecraft into a comet at 23,000 mph in deep space isn't a NASA parlor trick. On July 4, Deep Impact became the first mission to probe beneath the surface of a comet and reveal the secrets of its interior. Comets hold clues about the formation and evolution of the solar system. They are composed of ice, gas and dust, "primitive debris from the solar system's distant and coldest regions that formed 4.5 billion years ago." The NASA Web site has photos, details and updates as data from the big smashup comes into focus. www.nasa.gov
Presented in the dome of the Hayden Planetarium, "Cosmic Collisions" starts in our own neighborhood with our planet and sun. Going back several billion years, we see the formation of our solar system, which happened through-you guessed it-collisions between the primordial matter that slowly came together through that all-important force, gravity. While the Earth was still young, scientists believe a planet sized object crashed into the infant Earth, nearly shattering the planet. The debris from the crash that didn't rain back down on Earth began to slowly orbit and eventually became what we know today as the moon. We also learn about the large asteroid which hit the Earth some 65 million years ago, ending the era of the dinosaurs in spectacular fashion.
In what could be considered an ironic twist in NASA's evolving role, unmanned missions to the farthest reaches of the solar system are providing more excitement and knowledge than manned missions. Perhaps that's because these days astronauts traveling into low- earth orbit on an aging shuttle fleet act more like mechanics and ferry operators, while clunky robots like Stardust and Deep Impact are expanding humanity's understanding of the universe. This is quite a reversal from the intensity of the space race several decades ago, when astronauts like Neil Armstrong, not robots, were seen as heirs to the legacy of Columbus and Magellan. This week, the capsule Stardust returned to earth after a seven- year, 2.9-billion-mile mission collecting particles from the comet Wild 2's coma - the clo...
Early this morning, after a long journey through the night, a spacecraft began what is likely to be a spectacular period of exploration. The arrival of Cassini at the planet Saturn after a trip of almost seven years and 2.2 billion miles could leave a path for the agency that sent it to follow, if policy-makers give NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe sufficient support. Assuming its main engine burn was successful, the Cassini spacecraft will begin at least a four-year exploration of the sixth planet from the sun, sweeping through the system at least 76 times and having more than 50 encounters with its 31 known moons. It will also examine Saturn's rings in detail. Earlier this month, Cassini crossed close to Saturn's small moon Phoebe, giving evidence that it is an icy leftover from the fo...
...Titan is the only moon in the solar system known to have a dense atmosphere, which lik...
LOS ANGELES - Even for scientists versed in the grand scale of astronomy, it's never been easy to grasp the scope of Jupiter. After all, you could fit every piece of the solar system other than the sun inside Jupiter - all the other planets, moons and asteroids - with plenty of room to spare. Jupiter has cannibalized 20 moons over the years and still has at least 63, one bigger than Mercury. Jupiter's "spot" is actually a hurricane, which has lasted for hundreds of years and is more than twice the diameter of Earth.
... will help to reveal the timeline of the formation of the solar system. If Jupiter has no core, then ...
Even for scientists versed in the grand scale of astronomy, it's never been easy to grasp the scope of Jupiter. After all, you could fit every piece of the solar system other than the sun inside Jupiter -- all the other planets, moons and asteroids -- with plenty of room to spare. Jupiter has cannibalized 20 moons over the years and still has at least 63, one bigger than Mercury. Jupiter's "spot" is actually a hurricane, which has lasted for hundreds of years and is more than twice the diameter of Earth. But Jupiter isn't just a forbidding ball of gas. Somewhere in there are the clues, scientists believe, to the origin of the solar system -- and Earth. On Aug. 5, NASA launched an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., carrying the spacecraft Juno, which will begin an unprec...
... will help to reveal the timeline of the formation of the solar system. If Jupiter has no core, then...
... have traveled to every planet in our solar system. . Future missions--which once were limited... helps scientists better understand the formation of the solar system, it may reveal the presence of...
... to Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, to answer some fundamental questions about..., about the processes that led to the formation of our solar system. Dr. Scott Bolton, director of...
Flying in ancient formation with Earth, part of the same hurtling charm bracelet of planets that make up our solar system, Mars has tantalized humans for centuries. When he saw the first pictures from NASA's Spirit rover on Mars, project scientist Jim Bell said he felt "shock and awe.
LOS ANGELES - An asteroid as big as an aircraft carrier zipped by Earth on Tuesday in the closest encounter by such a massive space rock in more than three decades. Scientists ruled out any chance of a collision but turned their telescopes skyward to learn more about the object known as 2005 YU55.
...Asteroids are leftovers from the formation of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. Scienti...
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