Nancy Atkinson, Author at Universe Today

March 16, 2022March 17, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

Webb has Now Taken the Sharpest Image the Laws of Physics Allow

A JWST engineering image of the star 2MASS J17554042+6551277, uses a red filter to optimize visual contrast. Credits: NASA/STScI

Engineers and scientists for the James Webb Space Telescope have completed two more steps in the telescope’s primary mirror alignment process, and in a briefing today, officials said JWST’s optical performance appears to be better than even the most optimistic predictions.

The team released a new engineering image, showing the star 2MASS J17554042+6551277 in crisp clarity. This image demonstrates that all 18 mirror segments have been precisely aligned to act as one giant, high-precision 6.5-meter (21.3-foot) primary telescope mirror.

March 16, 2022March 16, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

It’s Springtime on Mars, and the Dunes are Defrosting

Dark sand dunes inside Kaiser Crater on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona.

Nothing says springtime on Mars like defrosting dunes.

March 15, 2022March 16, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

A Tiny Asteroid was Discovered Mere Hours Before it Crashed Into the Earth

2022 EB5 captured by Paolo Bacci and Martina Maestripieri from at 21h 10min UT, which is 12 minutes before it entered the atmosphere, while it was only 12 300 km form Earth and its apparent speed close to 65?/sec. Credit: P. Bacci, M. Maestripieri

Last week, a small asteroid was detected just two hours before it impacted Earth’s atmosphere. Luckily, it was only about 3 meters (10 feet) wide, and the space rock, now known as 2022 EB5 likely burned up in Earth’s atmosphere near Iceland at 21:22 UTC on March 11.

While it is wonderful that astronomers can detect asteroids of that size heading towards our planet — as well as determine the asteroid’s trajectory and precisely predicted its impact location — the last-minute nature of the discovery definitely causes a pause. What if it had been bigger?

March 11, 2022March 11, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

Strange Terraces on Mars are a Clear Signal of Sedimentary Rock

Sedimentary rock in Danielson Crater on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL/UArizona

If we’ve learned anything about Mars the past 2-3 decades from the various rovers, landers and orbiters we’ve sent to the Red Planet, it’s that the planet’s geologic history is much more complicated and diverse than what we thought.

This picture from the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows fractured sedimentary rock inside a crater called Danielson. Sedimentary rock is a sure sign that this planet was active in the past. The fracturing, layering and terrace-like structures suggests a long-term watery history in this region.

March 8, 2022March 8, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

NASA is Letting People Fly Their Name Around the Moon With Artemis 1

Artist impression of the Artemis . Credit: NASA

Here’s your chance to participate in NASA’s return to the Moon with the Artemis program!

NASA is inviting people to submit their names to be included on a flash drive that will be sent along with Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight that kicks off the space agency’s plans to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.

March 4, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

The Europa Clipper is Coming Together, Launching in 2024

Clockwise from left: the propulsion module for NASA’s Europa Clipper, the ultraviolet spectrograph (called Europa-UVS), the high-gain antenna, and an illustration of the spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech / Johns Hopkins APL

Who is excited to send a spacecraft to Europa? Every person I’ve talked to who is even remotely interested in planetary exploration is incredibly enthusiastic about the upcoming Europa Clipper mission to explore Jupiter’s icy moon. With strong evidence of a subsurface liquid ocean, Europa is considered by many to be the most likely place in our Solar System – besides Earth — which might harbor life. The many mysteries about this moon make it a compelling place to explore.

March 4, 2022March 4, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

Thanks to Observations, a Potentially Dangerous Asteroid was Found to be Harmless

Asteroid 2022 AE1 observed with the Calar Alto Schmidt telescope in Spain on the evening of 19 January 2022. Credit: ESA

Earlier this year, the discovery of a potentially hazardous asteroid took astronomers on a roller coaster ride.

On January 6, 2022, astronomers at the Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona discovered an asteroid roughly 70-meters (230 ft) across. Based on their initial observations, it appeared this object — called ‘2022 AE1’ – could potentially hit Earth on its next pass, on July 4, 2023.

March 2, 2022March 2, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

Stunning Photos from Air, Space and Ground of the Atlas V GOES-T Launch

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying NOAA's GOES-T satellite, launching for NASA's Launch Services Program, lifts off from from Space Launch Complex-41 at 4:38 p.m. EST on March 1, 2022. Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance

NASA and NOAA now have a sophisticated new weather satellite in space. The GOES-T satellite launched on the powerful United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket on March 1, and it will provide forecasters with high resolution weather imagery. It will also provide real-time monitoring of events on the ground like wildfires, floods and landslides, while monitoring atmospheric and climate dynamics over the Western US and Pacific Ocean.

The liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station of GOES-T (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T) provided stunning views, and incredibly, other satellites looked down and captured the launch of the new satellite from space, such as this shot from its older sibling, GOES-16:

March 1, 2022March 1, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

Here’s The Exact Point of the Moon’s South Pole

As the Moon heads into southern summer the region around the south pole is better seen by LROC. One of the many goals of the LRO mission is to improve our cartographic knowledge of the Moon. The location of the pole shown here (image 1600 meters wide) may be in error by several hundred meters, wait a year for an update! [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University]

Since 2009, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has been taking high-resolution pictures of the lunar surface. This data, along with the information from a laser altimeter mapping instrument has allowed scientists to create an incredibly detailed map of the Moon. NASA says they can now confidently pinpoint any feature on the Moon, including the exact location of its South Pole.

March 1, 2022March 1, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

Europe’s ExoMars Rover Will Likely Miss This Year’s Launch Window Because of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Artist's impression of ESA’s ExoMars rover (foreground) and Russia’s stationary surface science platform (background) on the surface of Mars. Artist's impression of ESA’s ExoMars rover (foreground) and Russia’s stationary surface science platform (background) on the surface of Mars. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab

As countries around the world respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with sanctions aimed at crippling Moscow and Vladimir Putin, the global cooperation in space exploration that has been forged over the past 30-plus years will certainly be impacted.