Space Science

The Planetary Society just returned from a major political advocacy trip out to D.C. what did we do and what did we achieve? What's going on with the current funding situation regarding Planetary Science and NASA at large? How does the asteroid retrieval mission help or hurt planetary exploration goals? What's the larger plan and what are the consequences if cuts continue?

Sceenshot of a satellite view from Google/Digital Globe of the destruction in Moore, Oklahoma after the May 20, 2013 tornado. Click image to have access to an interactive, zoomable version via NPR. A new satellite map from Google and Digital Globe shows just-released satellite imagery of the damage from the tornado that struck the area of Moore, Oklahoma on May 20, 2013. It’s been called one of the most powerful and destructive tornadoes ever recorded, and the destruction is heartbreaking. In the screenshot above, you can see how some houses were left undamaged, while others were completely destroyed. Click on the image above to have access to an interactive map that shows hi-resolution views of the damage, providing details of where the buildings and houses once were. NPR put this map together, using satellite data from Digital Globe, along with property data from City of Oklahoma City, City of Moore, and Cleveland County. Satellite data like this are helping to assist the recovery and rescue teams on the ground. (...)Read the rest of Astonishing Hi-Resolution Satellite Views of the Destruction from the Moore, Oklahoma Tornado (135 words) © nancy for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: Moore Oklahoma tornado, Natural Disasters, tornadoes Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

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Astronauts snap a stunning photo of Alaska's Pavlof volcano.

8 News NOW The press availability for the NASA Space Act Agreement with Bigelow Aerospace will be held at 1:30 pm today. The announcement may well be a game-changer for NASA and for Bigelow Aerospace.

Hubble Space Telescope view of the Ring Nebula. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration Sometimes the popular names given to an astronomical object hit the mark of describing its features. Other times…. not so much. Case in point, the Ring Nebula. While the distinctive loop shape and colorful beauty have made it one of the most famous celestial discs, it is not really a classic “ring.” And this recent image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows an amazing new level of detail in this iconic nebula. “The nebula is not like a bagel, but rather, it’s like a jelly doughnut, because it’s filled with material in the middle,” said C. Robert O’Dell of Vanderbilt University, who led a research team that used Hubble and several ground-based telescopes to obtain the best view yet of the Ring nebula. The images show a more complex structure than astronomers once thought and have allowed them to construct the most precise 3-D model of the nebula. (...)Read the rest of The Ring Nebula is Really a Football-Shaped Jelly Donut (671 words) © nancy for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | One comment | Post tags: Hubble Space Telescope, Large Binocular Telescope, Ring Nebula Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

The life of legendary cosmologist Stephen Hawking is detailed in comic book form.

Is this the nicest image of the Earth ever taken by a Cubesat? Courtesy of the Cubesat team at the University of Tartu, Estonia, this image appears at the Southgate Amateur Radio club, which also links to a nice video of the team talking about the mission. Launched May 4, ESTCube-1 will test solar sail technology. Wayne

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced the most detailed observations ever of the Ring Nebula (Messier 57). This image reveals intricate structure only hinted at in previous observations, and has allowed scientists to construct a model of the nebula in 3D - showing the true shape of this striking object.

Virgin Galactic and XCOR Aerospace are on track to do big business soon.