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Why don't we have any photos of asteroid 2012 DA14 if it came so close?
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/19 03:13 CST | 2 comments
A frequently-asked question last week was: if asteroid 2012 DA14 is coming so close to Earth, why hasn't anyone taken any pictures of it? Now that 2012 DA14 has whizzed past us, we do finally have some radar pictures of it, but they still may not satisfy everyone.
Vermin of the Sky
The Society's Long History with Asteroids
Posted by Louis D. Friedman on 2013/02/19 12:05 CST | 3 comments
Executive Director Emeritus Louis Friedman writes about Asteroid programs of The Planetary Society.
Posted by Edward Gomez on 2013/02/18 05:14 CST | 4 comments
Mostly the Universe stays unchanged for hundreds, thousands or even millions of years. There are some cases however when some things change really rapidly. Recently I observed one of these rapidly changing, transient phenomena, as asteroid called 2012 DA14. I work for Las Cumbres Observatory and we have been trying to observe this asteroid since 5 February.
When will New Horizons have better views of Pluto than Hubble does?
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/18 04:22 CST | 7 comments
Last week, I posted an explainer on why Hubble's images of galaxies show so much more detail than its images of Pluto. Then I set you all a homework problem: when will New Horizons be able to see Pluto better than Hubble does? Here's the answer.
The Sky Was Falling! A Meteoric Airburst Over Russia and the Encounter with 2012 DA14
Enjoy our Planetcast webcast with Bill Nye and Bruce Betts
Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2013/02/18 03:27 CST
SEE IT NOW: The Planetary Society's CEO, Bill Nye the Science Guy, joined Director of Projects Bruce Betts for a live webcast as 2012 DA14, a 45-meter asteroid, was passing Earth. Bill and Bruce also marveled at video of the meteor burst high over a city in Russia.
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/02/18 10:20 CST | 2 comments
When the sunlight catches it just right, Saturn's F Ring is something to see.
What We Know About the Russian Meteor Event [UPDATED]
We have the technology to provide warning about these potential disasters
Posted by Heidi Hammel on 2013/02/15 02:26 CST | 22 comments
Preliminary estimates show that the meteoroid was 15 meters wide and weighed roughly 8000 tons. The resulting airburst would have the equivalent yield of about a 1/2 megaton explosion.
An evening that brought me very close to Curiosity
Posted by Damia Bouic on 2013/02/15 09:00 CST | 3 comments
Damien Bouic received some well-deserved recognition from the Chemcam team for his great Curiosity image processing work.
BREAKING: Meteor fall causes damage in Russia [UPDATED]
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/15 01:44 CST | 11 comments
A large meteor streaked through the skies above Russia on the morning of Feb 15th, causing a deafening sonic boom that shattered windows and injured hundreds.
The Sequester Will Cut NASA Science by an Additional $52 million
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/02/14 04:06 CST | 3 comments
Brand new information about the effects of the across-the-board cuts known as Sequestration, if they were to be enacted.
Planetary Society Weekly Hangout, Thu Feb 14 1200PT/2000UT: Courtney Dressing
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/14 01:40 CST | 3 comments
Emily Lakdawalla and Courtney Dressing talked about just how common Earth-sized exoplanets may be in our neighborhood. Watch the replay here.
Why can Hubble get detailed views of distant galaxies but not of Pluto?
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/14 12:37 CST | 15 comments
How come Hubble's pictures of galaxies billions of light years away are so beautifully detailed, yet the pictures of Pluto, which is so much closer, are just little blobs? I get asked this question, or variations of it, a lot. Here's an explainer.
A forgotten image of Earth and the Moon
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/13 07:45 CST | 4 comments
While researching another story, I came across an image I don't remember ever seeing before, of a moonrise from an unexpected source.
What Has NASA Done for Me Lately?
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/02/13 06:04 CST | 7 comments
NASA released its Spinoff 2012 report, detailing the numerous technology transfers, inventions, and economic impact by the U.S. space program.
Sol 3215-3219 - February 6-13, 2013
Posted by Larry Crumpler on 2013/02/13 10:27 CST
We have been seeing lots of small light-colored veins crossing through the outcrops here on Matijevic Hill, and we have tried to get a handle on the composition of these veins by doing multiple offsets with the APXS. It appears that the small veins are calcium sulfate, as best we can determine.
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/02/12 01:53 CST | 1 comments
Bobak "Mohawk Guy" Ferdowsi of JPL will join First Lady Michelle Obama as a guest at today's State of the Union address.
Washington Update
Bill Nye traveled to Washington, D.C. with friend and Planetary Society board member Neil deGrasse Tyson
Posted by Bill Nye on 2013/02/11 04:12 CST | 2 comments
Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson spoke to the House Science committee about the importance of space and scientific research. Bill Nye also visited with Congressman Culberson and Congressman Wolf's chief of staffabout supporting NASA's Planetary Science Program.
New Contest: Name the Moons of Pluto!
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/11 11:41 CST | 15 comments
The discoverers of Pluto's fourth and fifth moons are inviting the public to vote on (and write in candidates for) their formal names. Voting closes in two weeks.
The Earth is a Planet: Why We Explore Space
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/02/11 10:50 CST
Why spend effort and scarce resources on space exploration when we have so many problems here at home? Turns out, there are some pretty good reasons.
Browsing Landsat data is a lot easier than I thought it was
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/08 05:05 CST | 2 comments
With the Landsat Data Continuity Mission scheduled to launch on Monday, there's been a lot of Tweeting about Landsat, and through one such Tweet I learned about a resource that I hadn't known existed before: the LandsatLook Viewer. This is a graphical interface to more than a decade worth of Landsat data, a tremendous resource for anyone interested in Earth's changing surface, natural or manmade.
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