NASA News

Late last year, astronomers noticed an asteroid named Scheila had unexpectedly brightened, and it was sporting short-lived plumes. Data from NASA’s Swift satellite and Hubble Space Telescope showed these changes likely occurred after Scheila was struck by a much smaller asteroid. “Collisions between asteroids create rock fragments, from fine dust to huge boulders, that impact …

This article is for students grades 5-8. A cloud is a mass of water drops or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere. Clouds form when water condenses in the sky. The condensation lets us see the water vapor. There are many different types of clouds. Clouds are an important part of Earth’s weather and climate. …

This article is for students grades 5-8. Mercury is the smallest and fastest planet in the solar system. It is also the closest planet to the sun. It is named after the Roman messenger god Mercury, the fastest Roman god. The planet Mercury was known by ancient people thousands of years ago. It has no moons. …

This article is for students grades K-4. Mercury is a planet in our solar system. It is the smallest of the eight planets. It is also the closest to the sun. Mercury goes around the sun the fastest of all the planets. Mercury has no moons. How Did Mercury Get Its Name? The Romans believed that …

In an RV nicknamed after an urban assault vehicle, scientists from NASA’s Langley Research Center traveled cross-country this month for an experiment with eco-friendly jet fuel. The Langley team drove 2,600 miles (4,184 km) from Hampton, Va., to meet up with other researchers at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in California. Researchers are testing the …

As the MESSENGER spacecraft begins its science operations above the surface of Mercury, Goddard instruments are gearing up to help unveil the planet’s mysteries. Goddard leads or co-leads two of the spacecraft’s instruments and a science investigation aboard the spacecraft. The vector fluxgate Magnetometer, or MAG, is a joint development between NASA’s Goddard Space Flight …

PASADENA, Calif. – Twin NASA spacecraft that achieved orbit around the moon New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day have new names, thanks to elementary students in Bozeman, Mont. Their winning entry, “Ebb and Flow,” was selected as part of a nationwide school contest that began in October 2011. The names were submitted by fourth …

Scientists using NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have detected beams of antimatter produced above thunderstorms on Earth, a phenomenon never seen before. Scientists think the antimatter particles were formed in a terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF), a brief burst produced inside thunderstorms and shown to be associated with lightning. It is estimated that about 500 TGFs …

Earth is invitingly blue. Mars is angry red. Venus is brilliant white. Astronomers have learned that a planet’s “true colors” can reveal important details. For example, Mars is red because its soil contains rusty red stuff called iron oxide. And the famous tint of our planet, the “blue marble”? It’s because the atmosphere scatters blue …