ALMA Sees Einstein Ring in Stunning Image of Lensed Galaxy
Charlottesville NC (SPX) Apr 10, 2015 -
Astronomers have discovered that a distant galaxy - seen from Earth with the aid of a gravitational lens - appears like a cosmic ring, thanks to the highest resolution images ever taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).
Forged by the chance alignment of two distant galaxies, this striking ring-like structure is a rare and peculiar manifestation of gravitational ...
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Dawn in Excellent Shape One Month After Ceres Arrival
Pasadena CA (JPL) Apr 10, 2015 -
Since its capture by the gravity of dwarf planet Ceres on March 6, NASA's Dawn spacecraft has performed flawlessly, continuing to thrust with its ion engine as planned. The thrust, combined with Ceres' gravity, is gradually guiding the spacecraft into a circular orbit around the dwarf planet. All of the spacecraft's systems and instruments are in excellent health.
Dawn has been following i ...
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NASA Extends Campaign for Public to Name Features on Pluto
Washington DC (SPX) Apr 10, 2015 -
The public has until Friday, April 24 to help name new features on Pluto and its orbiting satellites as they are discovered by NASA's New Horizons mission. Announced in March, the agency wants to give the worldwide public more time to participate in the agency's mission to Pluto that will make the first-ever close flyby of the dwarf planet on July 14.
The campaign extension, in partnership ...
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Special 3-D Delivery From Space to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville AL (SPX) Apr 10, 2015 -
Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, unboxed some special cargo from the International Space Station on April 6: the first items manufactured in space with a 3-D printer.
The items were manufactured as part of the 3-D Printing in Zero-G Technology Demonstration on the space station to show that additive manufacturing can make a variety of parts and tools ...
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Home Away From Home: NASA Spider-Droids to Build in Space
Moscow (Sputnik) Apr 10, 2015 -
A company called Tethers Unlimited is developing a futuristic "Arachnid-like" droid system, funded by the North American Space Agency, that hopes to help humanity's journey into - and settlement in - outer-space.
Dubbed the "SpiderFab," the droids will work similarly to a 3D printer to help construct spacecraft, radio antennas, and, in the long term, infrastructure to support the expansion ...
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NASA Joins Forces to Put Satellite Eyes on Threat to U.S. Freshwater
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 10, 2015 -
NASA has joined forces with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Geological Survey to transform satellite data designed to probe ocean biology into information that will help protect the American public from harmful freshwater algal blooms.
Algal blooms are a worldwide environmental problem causing human and animal health risks ...
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Hubble finds phantom objects near dead quasars
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 10, 2015 -
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed a set of wispy, goblin-green objects that are the ephemeral ghosts of quasars that flickered to life and then faded.
The glowing structures have looping, helical, and braided shapes. "They don't fit a single pattern," said Bill Keel of the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, who initiated the Hubble survey. Keel believes the features offer insi ...
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