All Articles Tagged As: earth

Cluster listens to the sounds of Earth (6/30/2008)

Cluster listens to the sounds of aurora, in hopes of using the technology to find other planets and stars. ...> Full Article

The Moon and the Magnetotail (4/21/2008)

Earth's magnetotail discharges plasma to charge the Moon. ...> Full Article

Researchers view microorganisms from space (4/16/2008)

When enough tiny unicellular organisms come together in the ocean, they become visible from space ...> Full Article

Magnetic Substorms From Ground And Space (4/11/2008)

One of the most dynamic events in the interaction between the Sun and the Earth is a 'substorm', an explosive reshaping of the Earth's outer magnetic field. To better understand substorms, scientists in Europe and North America are studying them from space using the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) satellites launched by NASA in 2007 and from the ground using a network of all-sky cameras. ...> Full Article

Mars, Earth and Moon from 'unique planetary nursery' (3/26/2008)

A study of meteorites suggests that Mars, the Earth and the Moon share a common composition from 'growing up' in a unique planetary nursery in the inner solar system. ...> Full Article

New discovery at Jupiter could help protect Earth-orbit satellites (3/12/2008)

Radio waves accelerate electrons within Jupiter's magnetic field in the same way as they do on Earth, according to new research published in Nature Physics this week. The discovery overturns a theory that has held sway for more than a generation and has important implications for protecting Earth-orbiting satellites. ...> Full Article

Origin Of Hiss In Upper Atmosphere Identified (3/6/2008)

Scientists have solved a 40-year-old puzzle by identifying the origin of the intense radio waves in the Earth's upper atmosphere that control the dynamics of the Van Allen radiation belts -- belts consisting of high-energy electrons that can damage satellites and spacecraft and pose a risk to astronauts performing activities outside their spacecraft. ...> Full Article

Meteor molecules mirror those on Earth (3/2/2008)

An important discovery has been made with respect to the mystery of "handedness" in biomolecules. Researchers led by Sandra Pizzarello, a research professor at Arizona State University, found that some of the possible abiotic precursors to the origin of life on Earth have been shown to carry "handedness" in a larger number than previously thought. ...> Full Article

The Sun will vaporise the Earth unless we can change our orbit (2/24/2008)

New calculations by astronomers predict that the Earth will be swallowed up by the Sun in about 7.6 billion years unless the Earth's orbit can be altered. ...> Full Article

First near-Earth triple asteroid discovered (2/19/2008)

Astronomers discover first near-Earth triple asteroid just 7 million miles away ...> Full Article

Earth's orbit creates more than a leap year (2/13/2008)

Orbital behaviors also drive climate changes, ice ages ...> Full Article

February's Red Moon: Lunar Eclipse On 21 February (2/12/2008)

People across the western hemisphere may be surprised to see a rust-coloured Moon in the sky on 21 February. Early that morning (the evening of the 20 February for observers in North and South America) will be this year's first and only total eclipse of the Moon. ...> Full Article

Celestial tsunamis (1/31/2008)

physicists discover powerful radio waves that may lead to spacecraft damage ...> Full Article

Astronomers Prepare To Obtain Close Images Of A Near-Earth Asteroid (1/28/2008)

The Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico will observe a newly discovered asteroid on Jan. 27-28, as the object called 2007 TU24 passes within 1.4 lunar distances, or 334,000 miles, from Earth. ...> Full Article

Asteroid To Make Rare Close Flyby Of Earth January 29 (1/26/2008)

Scientists are monitoring the orbit of asteroid 2007 TU24. The asteroid, believed to be between 150 meters (500 feet) and 610 meters (2,000 feet) in size, is expected to fly past Earth on Jan. 29, with its closest distance being about 537,500 kilometers (334,000 miles) at 12:33 a.m. Pacific time (3:33 a.m. Eastern time). It should be observable that night by amateur astronomers with modest-sized telescopes. ...> Full Article

Earth: A Borderline Planet for Life? (1/11/2008)

Our planet is changing before our eyes, and as a result, many species are living on the edge. Yet Earth has been on the edge of habitability from the beginning. New work by astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics shows that if Earth had been slightly smaller and less massive, it would not have plate tectonics - the forces that move continents and build mountains. And without plate tectonics, life might never have gained a foothold on our world. ...> Full Article

Researchers others ask 'What would E.T. see?' (12/22/2007)

Team analyzes how alien astronomers would study Earth ...> Full Article

Sulfur dioxide may have helped maintain a warm early Mars (12/22/2007)

Hypothesis may aid understanding of early Earth ...> Full Article

THEMIS probes view auroral substorms, bowshock explosions (12/15/2007)

Five satellites launched last February to probe magnetic storms around the Earth will move into prime observing position next month, but they already have produced important new information on the interactions between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetic field. ...> Full Article

Earth's magnetic field could help protect astronauts working on the moon (12/14/2007)

It has been 35 years since humans last walked on the moon, but there has been much recent discussion about returning, either for exploration or to stage a mission to Mars. However, there are concerns about potential radiation danger for astronauts during long missions on the lunar surface. ...> Full Article

In Search For Water On Mars, Clues From Antarctica (12/13/2007)

Scientists have gathered more evidence that suggests flowing water on Mars -- by comparing images of the red planet to an otherworldly landscape on Earth. ...> Full Article

Astronomers Say Moons Like Ours Are Uncommon (11/21/2007)

The next time you take a moonlit stroll, or admire a full, bright-white moon looming in the night sky, you might count yourself lucky. New observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope suggest that moons like Earth's - that formed out of tremendous collisions - are uncommon in the universe, arising at most in only five to 10 percent of planetary systems. ...> Full Article

Probing Question: Are asteroids a threat to Earth? (11/19/2007)

Hollywood thrillers such as "Deep Impact" helped to jump-start America's interest in knowing what our "deflection strategy" would be if a giant asteroid was on a potentially catastrophic collision course with Earth. ...> Full Article

Satellite Indicates Regional Warming Variations From Sun During Solar Cycle (11/14/2007)

A NASA satellite designed, built and controlled by the University of Colorado at Boulder is expected to help scientists resolve wide-ranging predictions about the coming solar cycle peak in 2012 and its influence on Earth's warming climate, according to the chief scientist on the project. ...> Full Article

Setting stars reveal planetary secrets (11/6/2007)

Watching the stars set from the surface of the Earth may be a romantic pastime but when a spacecraft does it from orbit, it can reveal hidden details about a planet's atmosphere. ...> Full Article

New research reveals a large asteroid breakup to be the likely source of the impactor that caused a mass extinction event on Earth 65 million years ago (9/6/2007)

The impactor believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs and other life forms on Earth some 65 million years ago has been traced back to a breakup event in the main asteroid belt. A joint U.S.-Czech team from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and Charles University in Prague suggests that the parent object of asteroid (298) Baptistina disrupted when it was hit by another large asteroid, creating numerous large fragments that would later create the Chicxulub crater on the Yucatan Peninsula as well as the prominent Tycho crater found on the Moon. ...> Full Article

Flares From Sun's Far Side May Affect Space Weather Of Inner Planets (8/28/2007)

Observations of solar flares by spacecraft at Mars, Venus and the Earth show that eruptions on the far side of the Sun may affect our "space weather" back on Earth. ...> Full Article