Ooh, that Curiosity rover. It takes hipster pics AND has a sense of humor. Space = conquered?
This is one of the first images taken by NASA’s Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars early this morning. It was taken through a “fisheye” wide-angle lens on the left “eye” of a stereo pair of Hazard-Avoidance cameras on the left-rear side of the rover. The image is one-half of full resolution. The clear dust cover that protected the camera during landing has been sprung open. Part of the spring that released the dust cover can be seen at the bottom right, near the rover’s wheel.
On the top left, part of the rover’s power supply is visible.
As planned, the rover’s early engineering images are lower resolution. Larger color images from other cameras are expected later in the week when the rover’s mast, carrying high-resolution cameras, is deployed.–Description from NASA. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory and Curiosity rover is expected to arrive on the red planet’s surface at 1:31 a.m. EDT Monday.
The forecast? Pink skies with a chance of water ice haze.
Curiosity will explore Gale Crater, which was created more than 3 billion years ago by a meteor. At the bottom of the crater is a 3-mile-high mountain – Mount Sharp – that the rover will comb for signs of life.
(Photo: NASA)
Scientist's cameras find 5 flags on moon
Rest easy, guys: The moon flags have been found.
What’s that? You didn’t know they were missing? No matter.
For years, scientists and space buffs have wondered what happened to the six American flags planted on the moon during the historic Apollo missions. Now, thanks to high-resolution cameras orbiting the moon, the mystery is solved: All the flags but one are still standing.
These NASA images show the extent of surface melt over Greenland’s ice sheet on July 8, left, and July 12, right. Nearly every part of the massive Greenland ice sheet suddenly and strangely melted a bit this month in a freak event that scientists had never witnessed before. The ice melt area went from 40 percent of the ice sheet to 97 percent in four days.
More: http://usat.ly/NUBYBe
When did the polar bear become the polar bear?
More than 4 million years ago, according to new findings reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science journal.
Previously studies had reported the polar bear split from ancient grizzly bears within in the last 600,000 years.
The study also shows that the number of polar bears has been on the decline for at least 500,000 years.
Story: http://usat.ly/MFT4kj
The first American woman in space, Sally Ride, has died at 61.
Her company, Sally Ride Science, wrote:
Sally’s historic flight into space captured the nation’s imagination and made her a household name. She became a symbol of the ability of women to break barriers and a hero to generations of adventurous young girls. After retiring from NASA, Sally used her high profile to champion a cause she believed in passionately—inspiring young people, especially girls, to stick with their interest in science, to become scientifically literate, and to consider pursuing careers in science and engineering.
(2010 photo by H. Darr Beiser / USA TODAY)
Each of us is home to approximately 100 trillion microbes, from 10,000 different species. They outnumber human cells 10-to-1 and together are called the microbiome. The National Institutes of Health’s Human Microbiome Project just last month released its initial map of a “normal” microbial makeup.
Yet our microbes are under threat — and the enemy is us.
More: Our microbes, ourselves.
(Illustration by Suzy Parker / USA TODAY)
Solar storm barreling toward Earth this weekend; said to be not the 'mother of all anything'
A solar storm was due to arrive Saturday morning and last through Sunday, slamming into Earth’s magnetic field. Scientists said it will be a minor event and they have notified power grid operators, airlines and other potentially affected parties.
“This isn’t the mother of all anything,” said forecaster Joe Kunches at the government’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo. “We don’t see any ill effects to any systems.”
Not even the mother of a tiny little thing?
Guess not.
Still cool, though.
Reef madness: New coral species named after Bob Marley
Best headline of the day.
