Nancy Atkinson, Author at Universe Today

April 14, 2021April 14, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

100-meter Asteroid Created a Strange Impact Event in Antarctica 430,000 Years Ago

Mocked up illustration of touchdown impact on Antarctica. Credit: Mark A. Garlick.

The effects of ancient asteroid impacts on Earth are still evident from the variety of impact craters across our planet. And from the Chelyabinsk event back in 2013, where an asteroid exploded in the air above a Russian town, we know how devastating an “airburst” event can be.

Now, researchers in Antarctica have discovered evidence of a strange intermediate-type event – a combination of an impact and an airburst. The event was so devastating, its effects are still apparent even though it took place 430,000 years ago.

April 13, 2021April 13, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Earth Gains 5,200 Tons of Dust From Space Every Year

Electron micrograph of a Concordia micrometeorite extracted from Antarctic snow at Dome C. Credit and copyright: Cécile Engrand/Jean Duprat.

Whenever I wipe the dust off my coffee table or catch a glimpse of dust motes floating in sunlight, my spacey mind always wonders, is any of that cosmic dust?

It just might be. But the amount of space dust that lands on our planet every year might surprise you.

April 9, 2021April 9, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Perseverance Takes a Selfie With Ingenuity. It’s Almost Time to fly

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter, seen here about 13 feet (3.9 meters) from the rover. This image was taken by the WASTON camera on the rover’s robotic arm on April 6, 2021, the 46th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

Perseverance is having a proud parent moment in this image, looking like it’s waiting with a child at the bus stop on the first day of school.

April 8, 2021April 9, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Perseverance Captured This Image of a “Rainbow” on Mars, but it’s just a Lens Flare in the Rover’s Camera

Did the Perseverance rover capture a rainbow on Mars? This image, from the rover’s left rear Hazard Camera, sure looks like it. But alas, no. However, film director JJ Abrams would be proud.

March 29, 2021March 29, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Careful Calculations Show That Earth is Safe From Asteroid Apophis for at Least 100 Years

These images of asteroid Apophis were recorded by radio antennas at the Deep Space Network’s Goldstone complex in California and the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. The asteroid was 10.6 million miles (17 million kilometers) away, and each pixel has a resolution of 127 feet (38.75 meters). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech and NSF/AUI/GBO

If you’re looking for doomsday, you can forget about asteroid Apophis. The latest radar observations have effectively ruled out any possibility of this near-Earth object (NEO) hitting Earth for the foreseeable future.

March 22, 2021March 22, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Mont Mercou on Mars

Mont Mercou - MSL MastCam - Sols 3057 - 3061. Credit: NASA/JPL/ image processing by Kevin M. Gill.

Here are a few stunning views of the Curiosity Rover’s current location, Mont Mercou in Gale Crater on Mars. This towering outcrop provides a great look at layered sedimentary rock structures. On Earth, it’s common to find layered rock like the ones within this cliff face, especially where there were once lakes. The pancake-like layers of sediment are compressed and cemented to form a rock record of the planet’s history.

This color image is from one of our favorite image editors, Kevin Gill. He assembled 202 raw images taken by MSL’s MastCam between sols 3057 and 3061. You can see Kevin’s full mosaic on Flickr.

March 20, 2021March 22, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Remembering NASA Flight Director Glynn Lunney, 1936-2021

Glynn S. Lunney at his console in the MCC during an Apollo simulation exercise in Mission Control at the Manned Spacecraft Center. Credit: NASA.

Legendary NASA flight director Glynn Lunney has passed away at age 84. Lunney played a key role in the early days of NASA, helping to create the concept and operation of what we now reverently know as Mission Control. His calm decisiveness was lauded during the Gemini and Apollo missions he guided as flight director, and his leadership was especially pivotal in bringing the crew of Apollo 13 safely back to Earth.

March 18, 2021December 11, 2023 by Nancy Atkinson

Perseverance’s Landing Seen in Full Color, Thanks to Citizen Science

Incoming! Mars 2020 - Lander Vision System Camera shows the view of Jezero Crater from above. Colorized. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

A month on, we’re all still buzzing about the Perseverance rover’s perfect landing in Jezero Crater on Mars, back on February 18, 2021. Over the past few weeks, NASA has released more stunning imagery and footage of the landing, and since then the world-wide cadre of citizen scientists and image editing enthusiasts have been springing into action to enhance and augment all the incredible scenes captured by Perseverance’s collection of high-resolution cameras.

March 17, 2021March 17, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

Frosty Sand Dunes on Mars

Frosty dunes on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL/UArizona.

Sand dunes on Mars are fascinating. They shift and move in different ways than they do on Earth, and they can grow to much more immense sizes than on our own planet. Several conditions contribute to the gigantic sand dunes and large fields of dunes that can form on the Red Planet, including its low gravity and air pressure.

Seasonal changes affect the Martian sand dunes, as well.

March 11, 2021March 11, 2021 by Nancy Atkinson

The Galápagos Islands From Space

A satellite image from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission showing the Galápagos Islands – a volcanic archipelago situated some 1000 km west of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: Modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2020), processed by ESA.

The Galápagos Islands hold an honored place in science history. I often wonder, if Charles Darwin could have seen this volcanic archipelago from this vantage point – a satellite view – how might have that aided or changed his research on evolution?