Posts by 

Deborah Byrd

Curiosity finds an ancient oasis on Mars

Scientists working with the Curiosity rover have found salt-enriched rock at a place called Sutton Island on Mars. The rocks suggest ponds with briny water on Mars, billions of years ago.

Not long ago, the center of our Milky Way galaxy exploded

Researchers have found evidence of a cataclysmic flare that punched outward in both directions from our galaxy's center, reaching so far into intergalactic space that its impact was felt 200,000 light-years away.

The violent history of Andromeda, the big galaxy next door

"The Milky Way is on a collision course with Andromeda in about 4 billion years. So knowing what kind of a monster our galaxy is up against is useful in finding out the Milky Way's ultimate fate."

Cosmic web fuels stars and supermassive black holes

Astronomers probed the cosmic web, a large-scale structure composed of massive filaments of galaxies separated by giant voids. They found the filaments also contained significant amounts of gas, believed to help fuel the galaxies' growth.

Juno prepares to jump Jupiter’s shadow

NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter has now successfully executed a 10.5-hour propulsive maneuver. It'll keep Juno - a solar-powered spacecraft - out of a mission-ending shadow due to have been cast by Jupiter onto the craft in November.

Astronomers spy cosmic bubbles and bow shocks

Professional astronomers and citizen scientists have been combing through a region of our galaxy where cosmic bubbles are being inflated by wind and radiation from young, massive stars. Hundreds to thousands of stars may emerge from each bubble, in time.

International Observe the Moon Night is October 5

International Observe the Moon Night is a worldwide celebration of lunar science and exploration, celestial observation, and our cultural and personal connections to the moon. In 2019, it comes on October 5. Here's how to join in.

Shapeshifting robots for Saturn’s moons

NASA is testing a 3D-printed prototype of unusual mini robots that can roll, fly, float and swim, then morph into a single machine. They're called Shapeshifters. The team envisions them as a way to explore Saturn's moons.

Researchers to spend a year trapped in Arctic ice

In October 2019, the research icebreaker Polarstern will drop anchor at an ice floe in the northern Laptev Sea, to spend a year investigating Earth’s Arctic.

NASA creates stunning new black hole visualization

For decades, astronomical theorists have told us that a black hole's powerful gravity would warp the space around it. This new visualization from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is the best yet at showing exactly how.

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