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Curiosity update, sol 117: Progress report from AGU
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/12/05 07:58 CST | 4 comments
Monday was the big Curiosity day at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. A morning press briefing was followed by an afternoon science session. I traveled to San Francisco briefly just to attend those two events. Here's my notes on the first science reports from the mission.
The Curiosity Kerfuffle: the big (and increasing) difference between data and discovery
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/12/03 03:12 CST | 17 comments
I'm in San Francisco, reporting from the American Geophysical Union meeting. This morning, there was a much-anticipated press briefing featuring the latest results from Curiosity.
Water ice and organics at Mercury's poles
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/29 02:16 CST | 9 comments
Water ice at Mercury's poles? That's crazy, right? The MESSENGER team has made a very good case that radar-bright material seen by the Arecibo telescope is, in fact, water ice, covered in most places by a veneer of dark organic material.
Free access to Springer journal PDFs through November 30!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/23 11:52 CST | 10 comments
Springer has made online access to PDF copies of several of their journals free through November 30. One of them, Space Science Reviews, is the one that publishes the canonical papers on most spacecraft instruments. It's a bonanza!
Beautiful butterfly crater on Mars (another HiWish granted!)
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/08 07:16 CST | 6 comments
I asked Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to take a photo, and it turned out better than I had imagined: an incredibly fresh, well-preserved, dramatically rayed oblique impact crater.
Soliciting input for an idea on slides
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/05 07:09 CST | 19 comments
I'm directing a question at professional and amateur space scientists and educators: could I make slide sets that would help you educate the public about what's going on in planetary exploration?
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/11/02 08:03 CDT | 1 comments
Today I stumbled upon the Lunar and Planetary Institute's Lunar Sample Atlas, and was reminded of how much I love petrographic thin sections. They can make unassuming, cruddy looking rocks beautiful.
DPS 2012: Double occultation by Pluto and Charon
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/10/26 03:12 CDT | 5 comments
A few talks at last week's Division for Planetary Sciences meeting discussed observations of a double occultation -- both Pluto and Charon passing in front of the same star.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/10/24 01:14 CDT | 7 comments
Continuing my writeup of notes from last week's Division for Planetary Sciences meeting: presentations on the risks of future asteroid impacts. How much risk do we face, and what are the appropriate actions to take in the face of that risk?
Oct. 24 Cosmoquest Astronomy Hour: Special DPS update
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/10/23 10:15 CDT
Join me and Fraser Cain for a brief update on Curiosity and other exciting science presented at last week's Division for Planetary Sciences meeting, and get your pressing space questions answered! The Google+ Hangout is on Wednesday, October 24, at 16:00 PDT / 23:00 UTC. Note: this one will end about 15 minutes early.
Book Review: Planetary Surface Processes, by H. Jay Melosh
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/10/23 12:18 CDT | 2 comments
Planetary Surface Processes provides a rigorous overview of every process that shapes the appearance of planetary surfaces, and I'll be referring to it to help me explain everything from impact cratering to isostasy.
DPS 2012: The most detailed images of Uranus' atmosphere ever
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/10/22 04:14 CDT | 3 comments
New ground-based images of Uranus show more finely detailed structure than any photos I have ever seen.
DPS 2012, Day 5: How to make asteroids crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/10/19 07:53 CDT | 2 comments
A summary of just one talk from the Division for Planetary Sciences meeting, by Lindy Elkins-Tanton, which provided a neat explanation for how asteroids can be melted and layered on the inside yet have a primitive-looking exterior.
D.C. Visit Update and Member Event Recap
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2012/10/17 02:39 CDT | 1 comments
During my visit to D.C. to discuss Planetary Exploration funding with key people on the Hill, members of the Planetary Society gathered at George Washington University to hear the latest science results from NASA's Curiosity and Opportunity rovers.
DPS 2012, Tuesday: Titan's surface
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/10/17 10:22 CDT | 4 comments
Tuesday morning at the Division of Planetary Sciences meeting featured talks on the surface composition and landforms on Titan, including lakes and "hot cross buns."
DPS 2012, Monday: Icy moons and a four-star exoplanet
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/10/15 11:31 CDT | 1 comments
In the first full day of the annual meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, I listened to scientific sessions on icy worlds and on an exoplanet in a four-star system.
First science reports from Curiosity's APXS and ChemCam: Petrology on Jake Matijevic
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/10/12 01:18 CDT | 16 comments
A Curiosity press briefing yesterday gave some of the first results from ChemCam and APXS on the rock "Jake Matijevic." It was a little too much petrology for most people; I do my best to explain.
Sturzstroms on Saturn’s Moon Iapetus
Posted by Kelsi Singer on 2012/10/01 04:31 CDT
Long-runout landslides (sturzstroms) are found across the Solar System. They have been observed primarily on Earth and Mars, but also on Venus, and Jupiter’s moons Io and Callisto. I have just published a paper about sturzstroms on Iapetus.
Curiosity Update, Sol 52: Glenelg Ho!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/09/28 02:28 CDT
Curiosity has pulled up to the edge of Glenelg, its first destination within Gale crater.
Cosmoquest Science Hour, Wednesday: A virtual field trip to the hills on Curiosity's horizon
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2012/09/25 04:50 CDT | 2 comments
I'm hosting this week's Cosmoquest Science Hour, and plan to take viewers on a virtual tour of those mountains on Curiosity's horizon, and show you where Curiosity is likely to go. Join me and Fraser Cain here at 1600 PDT / 2300 UTC Wednesday.
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