Beyond 2012: Why the World Didn't End Beyond 2012: Why the World Didn't End If you're reading this story, it means the world didn't end on Dec. 21, 2012. Despite reports of an ancient Maya prophecy, a mysterious planet on a collision course with Earth, or a reverse in Earth's rotation, we're still here. The Mayan connection "was a misconception from the very beginning," says Dr. Video: Why The World Didn't End Yesterday For years leading up to the supposed apocalypse, NASA scientists worked to dispel the myths and answer questions on a host of 2012 topics: Question (Q): Are there any threats to the Earth in 2012? Answer (A):The world will not end in 2012. Q: What is the origin of the prediction that the world will end in 2012? A: The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. Q: Does the Mayan calendar end in December 2012? Video: NASA Scientist David Morrison Debunks the Myths Q: Is NASA predicting a "total blackout" of Earth on Dec. 23 to Dec. 25?
Earth Impact Database OSIRIS-REx Mission Instrument: PolyCam This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 PolyCam images collected on Dec. 2 by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles (24 km). Image credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona. Rosetta, ESA Mission Instrument: OSIRIS narrow-angle camera Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow-angle camera captured this image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at 01:20 GMT from an altitude of about 16 km above the surface during the spacecraft’s final descent on Sept. 30. The image scale is about 30 cm/pixel and the image measures about 614 m across. Id: 366050 Image credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity Rover Mission Instrument: Mastcam Mastcam 360 degree, 18x7 mosaic taken of Curiosity's surroundings on martian solar day 2671. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/NeV-T Space Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity Rover and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Juno Mission
Pale Blue Dot Seen from about 6 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles, 40 astronomical units), Earth appears as a tiny dot (the blueish-white speck approximately halfway down the brown band to the right) within the darkness of deep space.[1] Background[edit] The Voyager 1 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram (1,592 lb) robotic American space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977,[3] to study the outer solar system[4] and eventually interstellar space.[5] Operating for 36 years, 7 months and 8 days as of today (15 April 2014), the spacecraft receives routine commands and transmits data back to the Deep Space Network. It is the first probe to leave the solar system and is the farthest man-made object from Earth.[5][6] The Voyager 1 spacecraft was initially expected to work only through the Saturn encounter. Photograph[edit] Effects of polarization and scattering of light[edit] Distance[edit] The approximate location of Voyager 1 while the photograph was taken is shown in green Camera[edit] See also[edit] [edit]
50 Years of Incredible Space Images From the European Southern Observatory | Wired Science This week marks the 50th anniversary of one of the world’s leading astronomical institutions, the European Southern Observatory. In honor of ESO’s birthday, we take a look at some of its most stunning shots of the night sky, amazing objects in space, and the organization's beautiful telescope facilities. ESO started when astronomers from five European countries – Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden – came together on Oct. 5, 1962 to build a telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. Over the decades, many more countries have joined, including Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Finland, Spain, the Czech Republic, Austria, and, in 2010, Brazil, which became the first non-European state to join. ESO currently has eight telescopes at its disposal, including some of largest and most advanced ground-based facilities, such as the Very Large Telescope, the New Technology Telescope, and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. Above: Image: ESO/J.
Voyager Golden Record | Planet Earth Cities at Night, an Orbital Tour Around the World Universe Today — Space and astronomy news The Falcon 9 and Dragon capsule stand ready for launch prior to the detection of a helium leak in one of the engines forcing a scrub of the launch attempt on April 14. 2014 – now reset to April 18, 2014. Credit: nasatech.net NASA and SpaceX are marching forward towards a Friday, April 18 liftoff attempt for the Falcon 9 rocket sending a commercial Dragon cargo craft on the company’s third resupply mission to the International Space Station following the scrubbed launch attempt on Monday, April 14 – forced by the discovery of a Helium gas leak inside the rocket during the latter stages of the countdown. An on time blastoff of the upgraded Falcon 9 sets the stage for an Easter Sunday rendezvous and berthing of the Dragon resupply spacecraft at the massive orbiting outpost packed with almost 5000 pounds of science experiments and supplies for the six person crew. However the weather prognosis is rather [click to continue…] The newly-confirmed extrasolar planet has been dubbed Kepler-186f.
The European Homepage For The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope - Projects The release of version 3 of the popular ESA/ESO/NASA FITS Liberator image processing software has meant that it is even easier and faster to create colour images using raw observations from a range of telescopes, including the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, ESO’s Very Large Telescope and ESA’s XMM-Newton Telescope. As with the previous versions of the FITS Liberator, the version 3 makes another leap towards making the creation of colour images from raw astronomical observations easier and faster. The FITS Liberator continues to support the FITS and PDS formats, preferred by astronomers and planetary scientists respectively, which enables data to be processed from a wide range of telescopes and planetary probes, including ESO’s Very Large Telescope, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, ESA’s XMM–Newton Telescope and Cassini–Huygens or Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Requirements Minimum requirements: Other limitations: The team
DaylightMap DeepAstronomy.com Photojournal: NASA's Image Access Home Page EdGCM: Climate Modeling for Research and Education - Home collect space space history and space artifacts news Long before the first Instagram from space, the first check-in from orbit, or even the first astronaut's tweet, John Glenn sent an email to Bill Clinton. The reply it prompted was the very first email transmitted by a sitting U.S. president — it just happened to be to space. April 18, 2014SpaceX launches science-packed Dragon capsule on space station supply run A commercial cargo spacecraft loaded with more than two tons of scientific experiments and equipment lifted off for the International Space Station on April 18, after more than a month of delays. SpaceX's Dragon launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral. April 17, 2014John Houbolt, NASA engineer who fought for Apollo moon landing method, dies Were it not for John C. April 14, 2014NASA signs over historic Launch Pad 39A to SpaceX One of NASA's most historic launch pads is now under new management. April 9, 2014Houston, we've got an auction: Apollo 13 astronaut's mementos to be sold
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