Category: Space

As reported on The Verge. By Amar Toor Mark Gee had always wanted to capture the moonrise on film, but his previous attempts never really panned out. He got another chance earlier this week in New Zealand, and this time, everything fell into place. The result is Full Moon Silhouettes, a breathtaking short film that will likely encourage you to spend more time staring at the sky. Set to an emotive, piano-driven score, the piece was shot…

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As reported on Wired. BY ADAM MANN Before 1962, most of the planets in our solar system appeared as hardly more than blurry dots in some astronomer’s telescope. The most that scientists knew about Mercury, Venus, or Jupiter was their size, surface temperature, and atmospheric composition. But on Dec. 14, 1962, the Mariner 2 spacecraft flew by Venus. For the first time, researchers had detailed and up-close information about another world, helping spawn new scientific fields…

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As reported on Wired. BY ADAM MANN The entire story of the Curiosity rover’s travels are on spectacular display in this new picture from Martian orbit by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.   Curiosity’s Best Images Tracking Mars: Curiosity Makes Its Mark on the Red Planet Curiosity Rover’s Self-Portraits Transport You to Mars Since it landed in August, NASA’s awesome rover has traversed about half a kilometer from its landing site. Along the way, it has scooped…

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As reported on The Verge. By Ben Kersey An international team of astronomers led by the University of Central Lancashire in the UK has discovered “the largest known structure in the universe.” The team says that the recently observed large quasar group — comprised of dozens of highly energetic star-like objects — has a typical size of 500 Megaparsecs, but the size of the cluster is closer to 1200 Mpc at its widest point. To put…

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As reported on Wired. BY ADAM MANN   Mankind has always expected the heavens to be busy, and 2013 will be no different. We no longer imagine gods and goddesses above us — instead, we shoot our own rockets, people, and probes to populate space. The coming year looks like it will be an exciting one, with emerging countries’ space agencies as well as private entrepreneurs jumping in. NASA will continue to wrestle with its purpose,…

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As reported on The Verge. By Ben Kersey NASA has released a stunning new photo of Saturn, showing a backlit view of the planet along with its rings. The space agency placed the Cassini spacecraft in Saturn’s shadow on October 17th in order to capture the high solar phase, allowing scientists a look at the rings and atmosphere of the planet that wouldn’t otherwise be seen. NASA achieved a similar effect back in 2006 by stitching together a mosaic comprised…

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