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Earth Sciences

global map of lightning flash density created with satellite data.
Exploring Lightning's Impact on Pollution and Climate
Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center are working toward a better estimate of lightning-produced nitrogen oxide gas and its possible global effects.
image of GOES P satellite in a clean room with workers posing for a photo in front of it
GOES-P Satellite Preparing for Launch in March 2010
Just two months after the successful launch of the GOES-O spacecraft (now called GOES-14), a NASA team removed the GOES-P spacecraft from storage and began preparations for a planned March 2010 launch.
this is a still image frame from a video in the tides of Change series showing an underwater current
NASA Celebrates Earth Science Week
This week (Oct. 12-16) is Earth Science Week and Goddard is releasing daily videos, an educational webcast, and a web feature to promote the event.
satellite image of the area covered by floating sea ice in the arctic sea in 2009
Arctic Sea Ice Extent is Third Lowest on Record
U.S. satellite measurements show that in 2009 the extent of floating sea ice in the Arctic was t\ he third lowest since satellite measurements were first made in 1979.
Satellite image of show thinning ice in Antarctica and Greenland
NASA Satellite Maps Profound Polar Thinning
Scientists used ICESat data to compose the most comprehensive picture to date of changing glaciers along the coast of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.
Landsat image of farmland across northwest Minnesota
Space Images Boost Midwest Crop Yields
Landsat satellite snapshots are cultivating fans among farmers who want to increase yields and reduce damage from weeds, weather, and excessive moisture.
full disk Earth image with computer simulated cloud data
Simulation Computer Becomes More Powerful
The upgraded Discover supercomputer will serve as the centerpiece of a new global climate simulation capability at Goddard Space Flight Center.
image of GOES-O launch
NASA And NOAA'S GOES-O Satellite Successfully Launched
GOES-O, soared into space today after a successful launch at 6:51 p.m. EDT on a Delta IV rocket.
satellite image of smoke from fires in Sumatra
NASA Study: Climate Fuels Asian Wildfire Emissions
Fires in equatorial Asia are growing more frequent and having a serious impact on the air as well as the land.
MODIS image of Nargis
NASA's Earth Observatory: A Decade of Imagery
For the last decade, NASA's Earth Observatory has been using stunning satellite imagery to tell the story of our planet and the NASA scientists who are working to help us understand how it works.
MODIS image of Nargis
Experiment May Help Forecast Deadly Cyclones
NASA satellite data and a new modeling approach could improve weather forecasting and save more lives when future cyclones develop.
Still from video of ozone levels at the North Pole
Climate Change Will Make for Uneven Ozone Recovery
New research by NASA suggests the ozone layer of the future is unlikely to look much like the past because greenhouse gases are changing the dynamics of the atmosphere.

Astrophysics

In this illustration, one photon carries a million times the energy of another
Fermi Telescope Catches Glimpse of Space-Time
During its first year of operations, NASA's Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope mapped the extreme sky with unprecedented resolution and sensitivity.
astronomical art depicting double dust rings in another solar system
Keck Telescopes Probe Dual Dust Disks
Study combines light from twin scopes to reveal a compact inner dust disk within a second, more extended disk -- both encircling the star 51 Ophiuchi.
ultraviolet image of andromeda galaxy taken by swift satellite
New Ultraviolet Portrait of Andromeda Galaxy
NASA's Swift satellite captured the sharpest ultraviolet-light image ever made of our nearest galactic neighbor.
video frame image of x-rays effect on nearby gas
First Black Holes Kept to a Strict Diet
A new supercomputer simulation designed to track the fate of the universe's first black holes finds that they couldn't efficiently gorge themselves on nearby gas.
thumbnail of mission control
Hubble Servicing Complete
The fifth and final partnership between a space shuttle crew and the Hubble Space Telescope is in its final hours.
thumbnail of Fermi satellite
Fermi Explores High-energy "Space Invaders"
Fermi scientists have revealed new details about high-energy particles implicated in a nearby cosmic mystery.
thumbnail of gammar-ray burst
New Gamma-Ray Burst Smashes Cosmic Distance Record
NASA's Swift satellite and a team of astronomers have found a gamma-ray burst from a star that died when the universe was only 630 million years old. It is the most distant cosmic explosion ever seen.
thumbnail of Fermi all-sky image
Fermi Active Galaxies Ready for Their Close-Up
An international team of astronomers solidifies the link between an active galaxy's gamma-ray emissions and its powerful radio-emitting jets.

Heliophysics

photograph of a scientific instrument that will fly on an upcoming satellite mission called fast sat
FASTSAT Instruments Prepped for Launch
Three scientific instruments developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center will fly on an upcoming satellite mission called FASTSAT.
a multicolored map made with data from the interstellar boundary explorer satellite shows the measured flux of energetic neutral atoms in space
IBEX Yields Its First All-Sky Map
NASA's IBEX spacecraft enabled scientists to construct the first comprehensive sky map of our solar system and its location in the Milky Way galaxy.
An artist's concept of the heliosphere
Cosmic Rays Hit Space Age High
According to sensors on NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft, galactic cosmic rays have just hit a Space Age high.
The sun imaged in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory over one complete solar cycle
EVE: Measuring the Sun's Hidden Variability
NASA will launch a sensor named EVE onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory this winter to measure the Sun's extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light emission.
GOES 14 image of the sun
GOES-14 Releases First Solar Image
The GOES-14 satellite has achieved another significant milestone: release of the first formal solar image from the Solar X-Ray Imager.
thumbnail of solar limb
STEREO Spies First Major Activity of Solar Cycle 24
NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft has spotted the first major activity of the new solar cycle.
thumnail of Earth's radiation belts
"Singing" Electrons Protect and Threaten Your TV and GPS
Electrons - the particles that carry electricity - can both protect and disrupt your satellite TV or GPS navigator with a "song" they make while being flung toward Earth in a giant magnetic slingshot.
thumbnail of solar disk
STEREO Spacecraft Reveals the Anatomy of Solar Storms
What if solar physicists could predict sun storms with the same accuracy and efficiency that meteorologists predict hurricanes?
thumbnail of solar system
Join STEREO and Explore Gravitational "Parking Lots" That May Hold Secret of Moon's Origin
wo places on opposite sides of Earth may hold the secret to how the moon was born. NASA's twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft are about to enter these zones, known as the L4 and L5 Lagrangian points, each centered about 93 million miles away along Earth's orbit.

Solar System Science

image of Saturn and its rings illuminated by the sun
A Long Night Falls Over Saturn's Rings
During Saturn's latest equinox August 11, the rings plummeted to 382 degrees below zero Fahrenheit -- the coldest yet observed -- as seen by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) instrument.
a very young lunar crater on the side of the moon that faces away from Earth
NASA Instruments Reveal Water Molecules on Moon
Instruments aboard three separate spacecraft revealed water molecules in amounts that are greater than predicted, but still relatively small.
Topographic\ al map of the lunar surface created with new data from the nasa lunar reconnaissance orbiter
LRO Begins Detailed Mapping of Moon's South Pole
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is hard at work harvesting information about the moon's topography, surface temperature, radiation environment, and water.
artist's conception of Stardust mission in space with comet
Life Building Block Found in Comet
A Stardust mission discovery supports the theory that some of life's ingredients formed in space and were delivered to Earth long ago by meteorite and comet impacts.
image of LRO satellite
NASA Lunar Mission Successfully Enters Moon Orbit
After a four and a half day journey, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) successfully entered orbit around the moon. Engineers at Goddard confirmed the spacecraft's lunar orbit insertion at 6:27 a.m. EDT Tuesday.
thumbnail of artist's collage
NASA Scientists Find Clues to a Secret of Life
NASA scientists analyzing the dust of meteorites have discovered new clues to a long-standing mystery about how life works on its most basic, molecular level.
thumbnail of LRO in clean room
NASA Details Plans for Lunar Exploration Robotic Missions
NASA's return to the moon will get a boost in June with the launch of two satellites that will return a wealth of data about Earth's nearest neighbor. One, LRO, will help identify safe landing sites for future human explorers, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment and test new technology.
thumbnail of astronaut on moon
LRO to Help Astronauts Survive in Infinity
Space seems exotic, forbidding, and remote, but imagine trying to survive winter without heat or warm clothing. Our ancestors developed these technologies because they needed room to grow; with them, we could live anywhere in the world. With the right technology, space is just another place for people to live.
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