Samantha Hill, Author at Astronomy.com

NASA releases new infrared images from retired NEOWISE mission

Samantha Hill — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 17:00:00 +0000

Although it completed its mission in July, NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) still has interesting archival data covering the solar system thanks to the team at the Infrared Processing & Analysis Center (IPAC) at Caltech. After the spacecraft burned up in the atmosphere in November, IPAC completed a final data release ofContinue reading "NASA releases new infrared images from retired NEOWISE mission"

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New Starlink satellites could be 32 times brighter in radio waves than before

Samantha Hill — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 15:59:42 +0000

Researchers using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope in Europe have discovered the second generation of Starlink satellites emit higher levels of radio waves that could pose a serious risk to radio astronomy. This issue of radio-wave emission is in addition to the sunlight that Starlink and other satellites reflect, which can be visibleContinue reading "New Starlink satellites could be 32 times brighter in radio waves than before"

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How Yerkes Observatory started over

Samantha Hill — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 15:07:41 +0000

The town of Williams Bay, Wisconsin is much like any other small city on a lake, with an offering of tourist shops and an active beach. But just a short drive past the activity brings you to Yerkes Observatory. Behind an opening of trees stands a sprawling, grand estate with a well-manicured lawn and aContinue reading "How Yerkes Observatory started over"

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ESA’s Hera mission is headed to Dimorphos, the asteroid NASA crashed into

Samantha Hill — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 17:48:07 +0000

Although the day started out with a few clouds and rain, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hera mission successfully launched on Monday at 10:52 a.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Although advance forecasts gave only a 15 percent chance of favorable weather, fears of postponement quickly dissipated as each stage of theContinue reading "ESA’s Hera mission is headed to Dimorphos, the asteroid NASA crashed into"

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What to know about the Hera mission to the deflected asteroid Dimorphos

Samantha Hill — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 06:55:56 +0000

UPDATE Oct. 7: The Hera mission lifted off today, Monday, Oct. 7 at 10:52 a.m. EDT. The launch livestream can be viewed below via the European Space Agency’s YouTube stream or on X via SpaceX’s account. Here’s what to know about the Hera mission. In 2022, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) successfully slammed intoContinue reading "What to know about the Hera mission to the deflected asteroid Dimorphos"

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Scientists recreate spiderlike formations on Mars in the lab

Samantha Hill — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 17:30:32 +0000

Each spring, when the winter frost departs, the bulbous bodies and sprawling legs of “spiders” appear across Mars’ southern hemisphere. They’re known as araneiform terrain, and scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, recently recreated the formations in a vacuum on Earth to better understand how they form and what they canContinue reading "Scientists recreate spiderlike formations on Mars in the lab"

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NASA bids farewell to NEOWISE mission

Samantha Hill — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 20:16:29 +0000

After 10 years and nearly 27 million images, NASA said goodbye to the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission last week when its transmitter was turned off. The spacecraft began life as a space telescope tasked with uncovering distant galaxies but became so much more by searching for potentially hazardous comets and asteroidsContinue reading "NASA bids farewell to NEOWISE mission"

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NASA crew completes Mars mission on Earth

Samantha Hill — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 17:30:00 +0000

Last June, a group of four people embarked on a more-than yearlong mission to a place that looked a lot like Mars. They grew their own food, exercised, took walks on a red dusty surface, and spent time with only each other. The group was part of the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA),Continue reading "NASA crew completes Mars mission on Earth"

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Volcanic moon Io gets close-up look from Earth observatory

Samantha Hill — Fri, 31 May 2024 20:04:27 +0000

The volcanic world Io has been a hot topic lately. Earlier this year, NASA’s Juno mission swooped close to the moon and snagged close-up views of some of its volcanic activity. However, the newest, high-resolution images of the jovian object have been taken a little closer to home, thanks to a new planetary camera mountedContinue reading "Volcanic moon Io gets close-up look from Earth observatory"

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Found: An Earth-sized exoplanet named SPECULOOS-3 b

Samantha Hill — Thu, 16 May 2024 18:01:37 +0000

An international team of astronomers has discovered exoplanet SPECULOOS-3 b and its ultra-cool red dwarf star, some 55 light-years away from Earth. Despite being the size of Earth, the newly discovered exoplanet could not be more different from our home planet. According to the NASA news release from May 15, this terrestrial world is bakedContinue reading "Found: An Earth-sized exoplanet named SPECULOOS-3 b"

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