NASA WASP system allows planetary scientists to use balloons as observation platforms

Scientists have long used balloons to carry certain types of telescopes way up into the air to the stratosphere to get a better view of whatever they are trying to … Continue reading

NASA is working on Star Trek healing devices—'it's not sci-fi anymore'

NASA is working on Star Trek healing devices—'it's not sci-fi anymore'

NASA and Houston-based company GRoK Technologies will work on the development of new "breakthrough products," noninvasive medical technologies designed to "regenerate bone and muscle tissues." It really sounds like something out of Star Trek, but "it’s not just sci-fi anymore."

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Curiosity beams back Earth pics as bright “Evening Star”

NASA’s Curiosity rover has sent back some impressive photos from its time on Mars – selfies, moon timelapses, and billion-pixel panoramas – but its latest helps put the plucky rover’s … Continue reading

Here is what Earth looks like from Mars

Here is what Earth looks like from Mars

Yeah, I can totally see it! How can you miss that? It’s right there. Clear eyes, full Earth, can’t miss. Wait, really? No of course not. Anyone who tells you that is either a liar or a hawk. Earth looks incredibly tiny up in that Martian sky. Sure, if you squint hard enough and fake it long enough, you’ll spot it the dot but it’s not unlike looking for dust on a wall.

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NASA image of fresh Mars asteroid crater shows off blast zone

NASA’s efforts on the Red Planet have resulted in thousands of images, some more mystifying than others, but few quite as powerful as a high-resolution photograph taken of a fresh … Continue reading

We Got Our First Close-up Look at Venus 40 Years Ago Today

We Got Our First Close-up Look at Venus 40 Years Ago Today

Venus’ perpetually overcast skies had long obscured our view of the planet, making it appear nearly featureless when viewed in the visible light spectrum. But when viewed through Mariner 10’s ultraviolet-filtered camera lens, the second planet from the Sun can be seen in unprecedented detail. See what Venus looks like normally below. [NASA]

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Why Hubble Has a Telescope Named After Him

Why Hubble Has a Telescope Named After Him

Just about everyone has heard of the Hubble Space Telescope. A space-based observatory on "the highest mountain" the world can provide; it is the technology behind many of today’s great discoveries in space. Started in 1977 and launched into orbit in 1990, it has aided in humans determining the expansion rate of the universe, as well as helping us make numerous other discoveries, both big and small.

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NASA James Webb Space Telescope infrared camera delivered by Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin has announced another milestone in the construction of the James Webb Space Telescope. The heart of the space telescope, the infrared camera, has now been delivered to the … Continue reading

This Bluegrass Cover of Elton John’s ‘Rocketman’ Is Finger-Pickin’ Good

In the Smoky Mountains, where I grew up, bluegrass is a way of life. Every Friday night, about a mile from my house, an abandoned old schoolhouse becomes one big jam session, and sometimes, when the weather is nice, it moves outside under the stars with the moonlight casting shadows onto the red Tennessee dirt.

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Scientists from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center recently figured out how to look for extraterrest

Scientists from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center recently figured out how to look for extraterrestrial life in tiny samples of space dust using a nanoelectrospray emitter (above, right) that charges molecules into a mass spectrometer (above, left). Previously, they needed large chunks of carbon-rich meteorites to look for signs of aliens.

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