METABLOKS / SPACE

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NASA

Notes from the Field

Looking at Chlorophyll from Space By Compton “Jim” Tucker NASA scientists are able to study plants from space, but this wasn’t always the case. “I love using satellite data to study the Earth,” says Dr. Compton “Jim” Tucker. When Tucker was a graduate student, he and some friends discovered ...

1 hour ago

NASA

Notes from the Field

NASA

42 Years of Measuring the Sun, the Earth and the Energy in Between

By Denise Lineberry On Jan. 31, 1958, Explorer 1 became the first satellite launched by the United States. Its primary science instrument, a cosmic ray detector, was designed to measure the radiation environment in Earth orbit. Though its final transmission was in May 1958, it continued to revolve around ...

1 hour ago

NASA

42 Years of Measuring the Sun, the Earth and the Energy in Between

NASA

Measuring the Big Bang with the COBE satellite

By John Mather The Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE) went up on a Delta rocket on Nov. 18, 1989, into a polar sun-synchronous orbit 900 km up. Our team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Ball Aerospace, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and universities built it to look at the cosmic ...

1 hour ago

NASA

Measuring the Big Bang with the COBE satellite

NASA

Peering Homeward, 1972

By Laura Rocchio On July 23, 1972 the first civilian satellite designed to image Earth’s land surfaces was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. On board the satellite, originally named the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS), but later known as Landsat 1, were two sensors. ...

1 hour ago

NASA

Peering Homeward, 1972

NASA

My NASA Experience

By Marcia J. Rieke The development of infrared detector arrays is intertwined with my experiences working on NASA projects. As an astronomer at a university, my interactions with NASA all start with a proposal in response to an opportunity. In 1983, near-infrared detector arrays were beginning to attract ...

1 hour ago

NASA

My NASA Experience

NASA

The Gestation of the Hubble

By Nancy Grace Roman Looking through the atmosphere is like looking through a piece of old stained glass. The glass has defects that distort the image. The atmosphere also has defects that distort the image, but the defects in the atmosphere move, thus blurring the image as well. The glass is colored, ...

1 hour ago

NASA

The Gestation of the Hubble

Space.com

See the moon's shadow darken Antarctica in epic satellite imagery of the Feb. 17 solar eclipse (video)

Plus NOAA's GOES-19 satellite spies the lunar disk crossing the face of our parent star.

1 hour ago

Space.com

See the moon's shadow darken Antarctica in epic satellite imagery of the Feb. 17 solar eclipse (video)

Today

Space.com

New fear unlocked: runaway black holes

If a pair of black holes coalesce into one, much of that vast energy can be released in a few seconds.

2 hours ago

Space.com

New fear unlocked: runaway black holes

Space.com

Scientists may have found a 'missing-link' black hole ripping up and devouring a star

An unusual tidal disruption event spotted by astronomers may be the result of an elusive intermediate mass black hole ripping apart a star.

7 hours ago

Space.com

Scientists may have found a 'missing-link' black hole ripping up and devouring a star

Space.com

These are the best third-party camera lenses we recommend for astrophotography in 2026

Should you buy a named-brand camera lens or go third-party?

9 hours ago

Space.com

These are the best third-party camera lenses we recommend for astrophotography in 2026

Older

Space.com

Did a titanic moon crash create Saturn's iconic rings?

A massive upheaval in the Saturnian system could have also led to the moon Hyperion.

22 hours ago

Space.com

Did a titanic moon crash create Saturn's iconic rings?

Space.com

1st trailer for 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' teases 'Clone Wars' bounty hunter Embo and a whole lot of Hutts

"Gangsters. War criminals. We'll take out every bad guy in your deck of cards."

23 hours ago

Space.com

1st trailer for 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' teases 'Clone Wars' bounty hunter Embo and a whole lot of Hutts