Astronomy, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 27, 2011

New Photos Show Blazingly Bright Uranus & Neptune in Infrared

The distant ice giant planets Uranus and Neptune look like worlds aflame in new photos captured by Hawaii's Keck Observatory. To the naked eye, Neptune would appear blue and Uranus bluish-green. But Caltech astronomer Mike Brown snapped the new pictures in infrared light, using Keck's adaptive optics system. So the...

Nov 2, 2012

Montage: Neptune and Triton

This computer generated montage shows Neptune as it would appear from a spacecraft approaching Triton, Neptune's largest moon. The wind and sublimation eroded south polar cap of Triton is shown at the bottom of the Triton image, a cryovolcanic terrain at the upper right, and the enigmatic cantaloupe terrain at...

Sep 30, 2013

Mini Neptunes | Space Wallpaper

In the star cluster NGC 6811, astronomers have found two planets smaller than Neptune orbiting Sun-like stars, as seen in this space wallpaper. This image was released June 26, 2013. [Full Story: 'Mini-Neptune' Alien Planets in Star Cluster Surprise Scientists] Wallpapers Standard 800x600 1024x768 1280x1024 1600x1200 Wide 1280x800 1440x900 1680x1050...

Oct 9, 2013

Neptune's 'Lost' Moon Spotted for 1st Time In 20 Years (Photos)

A tiny, mysterious moon orbiting Neptune has been spotted for the first time in more than 20 years. By analyzing photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., have caught sight of Naiad, the innermost of Neptune's moons. The 62-mile-wide (100 kilometers)...

Jan 10, 2008

Spacecraft Gears Up for Mercury Flyby

A NASA spacecraft has a date with Mercury next week for a flyby that will return the first detailed views of the small planet in more than 30 years. The MESSENGER probe will skim just 124 miles (200 km) above Mercury?s uncharted hemisphere during its closest pass at 2:04 p.m....

Jan 14, 2008

The Enduring Mysteries of Mercury

Mercury is the smallest, densest and least explored planet around the sun. More than half of it is virtually unknown. Insights into this mysterious world of extremes could shed light on how planets were made in our solar system, astronomers say. NASA's MESSENGER probe will be the first spacecraft to...

Jan 14, 2008

Space Probe Swings by Mercury

LAUREL, Md. - For the first time in 33 years, a space probe zoomed by the planet Mercury with cameras blazing on Monday while eager scientists looked on from Earth. NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft successfully flew past its target planet at 2:04:39 p.m. EST (1904:39 GMT) as applause filled its mission...

Jan 14, 2008

NASA Probe to Take Close Look at Mercury Today

A NASA spacecraft will swing by the planet Mercury today to observe the small world up close for the first time in more than three decades. At precisely 2:04:39 p.m. EST (1904:39 GMT), the MESSENGER space probe is due to pass just 124 miles (200 km) above the surface of...

Jan 16, 2008

Spacecraft Beams Home New Images of Mercury

Scientists are sifting through their first new views of the planet Mercury in more than three decades thanks to images beamed home by NASA?s MESSENGER probe. The car-sized spacecraft zipped past Mercury in a Monday flyby and is relaying more than 1,200 new images and other data back to eager...

Jan 31, 2008

NASA Spots Mysterious 'Spider' on Mercury

A whole new side of Mercury has been revealed in pictures taken by NASA's MESSENGER probe, which flew by the tiny planet two weeks ago in the first mission to Mercury in more than three decades. MESSENGER skimmed only 124 miles (200 kilometers) over Mercury's surface on Jan. 14, in...

Feb 3, 2008

Mercury's Mysteries, Old and New

Mercury, named after the mercurial god of trade who moved swiftly from place to place, has always been just out of scientists' reach. The elusive planet is hard to glimpse from Earth, as it barely rises above the horizon, and it has received far less attention from NASA probes than...

Mar 14, 2011

When Messenger Arrives in Orbit: Q&A With Sean Solomon, NASA's Mercury Boss

NASA's Messenger probe promises to show us a whole new Mercury when it arrives in orbit around the planet next week. The spacecraft has been flying almost seven years, but just now will it achieve its primary mission – an up-close and personal study of the closest planet to the...

Mar 14, 2011

NASA's Messenger Spacecraft Gears Up to Orbit Mercury

Next week, NASA's Messenger spacecraft will become the first probe ever to orbit Mercury. Scientists are hoping the mission will solve a host of mysteries about our neighboring planet. Entering orbit will be the culmination of the mission, the principle objective, said Messenger principal investigator Sean Solomon, speaking at the...

Mar 14, 2011

NASA Probe Set for Historic Arrival at Mercury This Week

NASA's Messenger probe is poised to make history Thursday (March 17), when it will become the first spacecraft in history to orbit the planet Mercury. At 8:45 p.m. EDT Thursday (0045 GMT March 18), the Messenger spacecraft will fire its main thruster for 14 minutes to slow itself down enough...

Mar 16, 2011

10 Surprising Facts About NASA's Mercury Probe

NASA's Messenger probe is set to make history tomorrow night (March 17), when — if all goes well — it will become the first spacecraft ever to enter into orbit around the planet Mercury. Messenger will map Mercury's surface in detail, as well as investigate the planet's composition, magnetic environment...