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Blog Archive
Pretty picture: tessera terrain on Venus
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/07 04:18 CST | 1 comments
In which I dive into the Magellan radar data set and come up with some images of an unusual and possibly unique solar system terrain: tessera.
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/02/07 02:55 CST | 3 comments
Join us this week as we feature our guest, Dr. Paul Hayne from JPL. Dr. Hayne studies snow and ice on Mars, extreme temperatures of the Moon, and is on the Cassini science team. He also founded the group Young Scientists for Planetary Exploration to help organize early-career scientists to be aware of the politics of space.
Mars Exploration Rover Update: Opportunity Quietly Completes 9 Years Uncovering More Evidence of Water
Sols 3178 - 3208
Posted by A.J.S. Rayl on 2013/02/06 03:13 CST | 1 comments
With its robot nose to the Martian grindstone, Opportunity completed its ninth year of working on Mars in January, making another significant science discovery in tiny white veins on Matijevic Hill as the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission rolled on into Year 10.
My Free Online College Intro Astronomy Class Starts Today
Introduction to Planetary Science and Astronomy
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/02/06 02:03 CST | 5 comments
Bruce Betts is teaching online Introduction to Planetary Science and Astronomy at California State University Dominguez Hill again in 2013. You can watch live or archived.
Tell Us How Planetary Science Is Cheap, Be Entered to Win
Send us your comparisons of the price of planetary science to...anything
Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/02/06 07:03 CST
Submit an entry comparing the cost of Planetary Science at NASA to...anything. You'll be entered to win a prize. Exploring the solar system costs less than many people think, let's give everyone food for thought.
Sequestration and Planetary Exploration (updated)
Posted by Van Kane on 2013/02/05 07:01 CST | 2 comments
The latest news in the United States is that a poison pill known as the Sequester is looking increasingly likely. If it happens, it will be a body blow to NASA’s planetary science program.
Venerable Deep Impact spacecraft has photographed comet ISON
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/05 05:24 CST | 6 comments
Deep Impact has made the first space-based observations of comet ISON.
Galileo Messengers: Cruise to Venus, Earth, Gaspra, Earth, Ida, and almost to Jupiter
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/05 08:40 CST | 2 comments
It's taken me a year to face the emotionally draining task of reading and writing about Galileo's cruise phase as chronicled in the mission's newsletters.
A new rover self-portrait and a new color image of Curiosity from orbit
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/04 05:40 CST | 7 comments
Curiosity is inching her way through her first use of the drill on a Martian rock. She paused in the proceedings to capture a second Martian "selfie."
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/04 03:52 CST | 1 comments
Asteroid astronomer Andy Rivkin has posted to YouTube his own awesome version of "We Didn't Start the Fire" -- with planetary science lyrics.
Guide to Asteroid 2012 DA14 Super Close Approach
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/02/04 01:46 CST | 17 comments
The 45 meter asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass closer to Earth than geostationary satellites on Feb. 15, 2013. Learn about the asteroid and what to expect from the close approach.
Day Hikes in the Labyrinth of Night
Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/02/04 10:02 CST
Noctis Labyrinthus on Mars is an amazing place for an imagined day hike, courtesy of images from Mars Express.
Reflections on the 10th Anniversary of Columbia Disaster from a Science Investigator
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2013/02/01 11:02 CST
David Warmflash, who organized a science (and peace) experiment with the Planetary Society for the ill fated STS-107 Columbia mission, reflects on that tragic day ten years ago.
Saturn's Hexagon Viewed from the Ground
Posted by Leigh Fletcher on 2013/02/01 05:49 CST | 2 comments
For the first time, amateur astronomers are capturing spectacular images of Saturn's bizarre north polar hexagon.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/01 11:47 CST
Remembering Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon on the tenth anniversary of the loss of the space shuttle Columbia.
Pretty picture: Neptune and Triton
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/02/01 12:29 CST | 6 comments
On a lonely evening, what is one to do but to dip into archival space image data and surface with a gorgeous photo of a crescent Neptune and Triton?
Dawn journal: Vesta's mountains, gorges and craters
Posted by Marc Rayman on 2013/01/31 06:09 CST | 1 comments
As Dawn continues thrusting toward Ceres, Marc takes a look back at the intrepid spacecraft's discoveries.
One of my favorite space images of all time: Rosetta was here
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/01/31 04:58 CST | 10 comments
A conversation on Twitter today reminded me of this photo, which is one of my all-time favorite space images: the view from Rosetta during its Mars flyby.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/01/31 02:00 CST
We welcomed Sarah Noble to our weekly Google+ Hangout. Sarah is a lunar geologist and a civil servant working in the Research & Analysis program at NASA Headquarters, and has recently been named Program Scientist for the LADEE lunar mission.
Enceladus: A problem of contrast
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/01/30 07:00 CST | 6 comments
Time for my quarterly foray into the Cassini archival science data! The very first image I downloaded from the January 1, 2013 data release presented an interesting challenge to my image processing skill. I'll show you the pretty picture of Enceladus and then explain how I processed it.
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