NASA is set to unveil a &#39;surprise activity&#39; in connection with Jupiter today. The announcement has already got the guesswork going. 
 
Following claims that Jupiter&#39;s moon Europa has strong evidence of liquid water deep beneath its crust, which could be favourable for life, astronomers from the US space agenct will present their Europa observations that led to the surprise findings at 11.30 pm Indian time (2 pm EDT).
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Monday, we&rsquo;ll announce new findings from Jupiter&rsquo;s moon Europa. Spoiler alert: NOT aliens: <a href="https://t.co/89qj23DM6Y">https://t.co/89qj23DM6Y</a> <a href="https://t.co/d7cSuBBXZz">pic.twitter.com/d7cSuBBXZz</a>
&mdash; NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/780180586510123008">September 25, 2016</a></blockquote>
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After a five-year expedition, NASA&#39;s Juno spacecraft has sent the first set of images of Jupiter&#39;s north pole and auroras rippling across its southern pole, during the spacecraft&#39;s first flyby of the planet with its instruments switched on. 
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A whole new world. My 1st glimpse of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jupiter?src=hash">#Jupiter</a>&rsquo;s north pole looks unlike anything seen before <a href="https://t.co/OODrfqlCag">https://t.co/OODrfqlCag</a> <a href="https://t.co/ghTlibdxaV">pic.twitter.com/ghTlibdxaV</a>
&mdash; NASA&#39;s Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAJuno/status/771742731160817664">September 2, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The images show storm systems and weather activity unlike anything seen&nbsp;before on any of our solar system&#39;s gas-giant planets, NASA was reported as saying. 
 
&quot;First glimpse of Jupiter&#39;s north pole, and it looks like nothing we have seen or imagined before,&quot; said Scott Bolton, Principal Investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, IANS reported. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s bluer in colour up there than other parts of the planet, and there are a lot of storms,&quot; Bolton noted,&quot; he said. 
 
NASA had announced last year that it intends to send a robotic spacecraft, equipped with a suite of scientific instruments, to circle Europa in the 2020s. 
 
Monday&#39;s &nbsp;announcement will be made in the presence of Paul Hertz, NASA`s Director of astrophysics and William Sparks, astronomer with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

This comes after the space agency's claims that Jupiter's moon Europa has strong evidence of liquid water deep beneath its crust

NASA is set to unveil a 'surprise activity' in connection with Jupiter today. The announcement has already got the guesswork going. Following claims that Jupiter's moon Europa has strong evidence of liquid water deep beneath its crust, which could be favourable for life, astronomers from the US space agenct will present their Europa observations that led to the surprise findings at 11.30 pm Indian time (2 pm EDT). Monday, we’ll announce new findings from Jupiter’s moon Europa. Spoiler alert: NOT aliens: https://t.co/89qj23DM6Y pic.twitter.com/d7cSuBBXZz — NASA (@NASA) September 25, 2016 After a five-year expedition, NASA's Juno spacecraft has sent the first set of images of Jupiter's north pole and auroras rippling across its southern pole, during the spacecraft's first flyby of the planet with its instruments switched on. A whole new world. My 1st glimpse of #Jupiter’s north pole looks unlike anything seen before https://t.co/OODrfqlCag pic.twitter.com/ghTlibdxaV — NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) September 2, 2016 The images show storm systems and weather activity unlike anything seen before on any of our solar system's gas-giant planets, NASA was reported as saying. "First glimpse of Jupiter's north pole, and it looks like nothing we have seen or imagined before," said Scott Bolton, Principal Investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, IANS reported. "It's bluer in colour up there than other parts of the planet, and there are a lot of storms," Bolton noted," he said. NASA had announced last year that it intends to send a robotic spacecraft, equipped with a suite of scientific instruments, to circle Europa in the 2020s. Monday's announcement will be made in the presence of Paul Hertz, NASA`s Director of astrophysics and William Sparks, astronomer with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. (WION with inputs from agencies)

NASA to announce 'surprise' finding on Jupiter's moon today

In a first, US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is all set to launch a near-Earth asteroid mission to collect pristine carbon samples and shed light on the &quot;dawn of the solar system&quot;. 
 
The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security- Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will travel to a near-Earth asteroid, called Bennu (formerly 1999 RQ36), and bring at least a 2.1-ounce sample back to Earth for study, according to NASA.&nbsp; 
 
According the space agency, the $800 mn mission &quot;will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
The official Twitter account for the ambitious mission remains abuzz with updates ahead of the launch. Social media users have got their queries answered using the #askNASA hashtag&nbsp; 
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Bennu was chosen due to its accessibility from Earth, size &amp; carbon-rich composition. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/askNASA?src=hash">#askNASA</a> <a href="https://t.co/r6BS2zRkXy">https://t.co/r6BS2zRkXy</a>
&mdash; OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) <a href="https://twitter.com/OSIRISREx/status/773598852268101632">September 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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REx stands for regolith explorer. Regolith=loose surface material that I will collect from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/asteroid?src=hash">#asteroid</a> Bennu. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/askNASA?src=hash">#askNASA</a> <a href="https://t.co/ISlYJljkmu">https://t.co/ISlYJljkmu</a>
&mdash; OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) <a href="https://twitter.com/OSIRISREx/status/773552218767327232">September 7, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The spacecraft is set to blast off Thursday at 7:05 pm (2305 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Weather forecasters have said that there is 80 per cent chance of favourable launch of the mission.&nbsp; 
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<h5>According the space agency, the $800 mission &quot;will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth.&quot;&nbsp;</h5>
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<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=According the space agency, the $800 mission &quot;will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth.&quot;?

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&#39;A small mountain in space&#39; 
 
&quot;The primary objective of the mission is to bring back 60 grams (2.1 ounces) of pristine carbon-rich material from the surface of Bennu,&quot; Dante Lauretta, principal investigator of the mission and a professor of planetary science at the University of Arizona, was quoted as saying by AFP.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We expect these samples will contain organic molecules from the early solar system that may give us information and clues to the origin of life.&quot; 
 
OSIRIX-REx, &nbsp;about 1,600 feet (492 meters) in diameter, is expected to reach Bennu in August 2018 and return to Earth with its bounty in 2023. &quot;Think of it as a small mountain in space,&quot; Lauretta said. 
 
According to NASA estimates, the asetroid&#39;s 1.2-year orbit around the sun brings it closer to Earth every six years at a distance similar to the moon, although there is very little chance Bennu could collide with Earth. 
 
NASA Scientists estimate there is a one-in-800 chance that Bennu might actually hit Earth 166 years from now.&nbsp;The highest probability, one in 2,500, would occur between 2175 and 2196. 
 
The space agency points out that asteroids are remnants of the building blocks that formed the planets and enabled life and &quot;those like Bennu contain natural resources such as water, organics and metals.&quot;&nbsp;
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Very slim. It&#39;s only a 1 in 2700 chance that Bennu could collide with Earth in the next few hundred years. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/askNASA?src=hash">#askNASA</a> <a href="https://t.co/0nxtO7eKf5">https://t.co/0nxtO7eKf5</a>
&mdash; OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) <a href="https://twitter.com/OSIRISREx/status/773579348930682880">7 September 2016</a></blockquote>
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Rendezvouz with the asteroid&nbsp; 
 
According to a fact sheet provided by NASA, the spacecraft &quot;will orbit the sun for a year, then use Earth&rsquo;s gravitational field to assist it on its way to Bennu&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;In August 2018, OSIRIS-REx&rsquo;s approach to Bennu will begin. It will use an array of small rocket thrusters to match the velocity of Bennu and rendezvous with the asteroid,&quot; the fact sheet says.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;&#39;The spacecraft will begin a detailed survey of Bennu two months after slowing to encounter Bennu. The process will last over a year, and, as part of it, OSIRIS-REx will map potential sample sites.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
After the mission is completed, the spcacraft will not return. It will be placed in a solar orbit.&nbsp;
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After I return my sample, I&#39;ll be put in a solar orbit. There&#39;s no 2nd mission planned, but I&#39;ll be ready. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/askNASA?src=hash">#askNASA</a> <a href="https://t.co/WstUtp3kYe">https://t.co/WstUtp3kYe</a>
&mdash; OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) <a href="https://twitter.com/OSIRISREx/status/773560895385571332">7 September 2016</a></blockquote>
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(WION with inputs from agencies)&nbsp; 
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Scientists are hopeful that the seven-year, $800 mn mission will reveal something about the origins of the Bennu asteroid and of life itself

In a first, US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is all set to launch a near-Earth asteroid mission to collect pristine carbon samples and shed light on the "dawn of the solar system". The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security- Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will travel to a near-Earth asteroid, called Bennu (formerly 1999 RQ36), and bring at least a 2.1-ounce sample back to Earth for study, according to NASA. According the space agency, the $800 mn mission "will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth." The official Twitter account for the ambitious mission remains abuzz with updates ahead of the launch. Social media users have got their queries answered using the #askNASA hashtag Bennu was chosen due to its accessibility from Earth, size & carbon-rich composition. #askNASA https://t.co/r6BS2zRkXy — OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) September 7, 2016 REx stands for regolith explorer. Regolith=loose surface material that I will collect from #asteroid Bennu. #askNASA https://t.co/ISlYJljkmu — OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) September 7, 2016 The spacecraft is set to blast off Thursday at 7:05 pm (2305 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Weather forecasters have said that there is 80 per cent chance of favourable launch of the mission. According the space agency, the $800 mission "will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth." 'A small mountain in space' "The primary objective of the mission is to bring back 60 grams (2.1 ounces) of pristine carbon-rich material from the surface of Bennu," Dante Lauretta, principal investigator of the mission and a professor of planetary science at the University of Arizona, was quoted as saying by AFP. "We expect these samples will contain organic molecules from the early solar system that may give us information and clues to the origin of life." OSIRIX-REx, about 1,600 feet (492 meters) in diameter, is expected to reach Bennu in August 2018 and return to Earth with its bounty in 2023. "Think of it as a small mountain in space," Lauretta said. According to NASA estimates, the asetroid's 1.2-year orbit around the sun brings it closer to Earth every six years at a distance similar to the moon, although there is very little chance Bennu could collide with Earth. NASA Scientists estimate there is a one-in-800 chance that Bennu might actually hit Earth 166 years from now. The highest probability, one in 2,500, would occur between 2175 and 2196. The space agency points out that asteroids are remnants of the building blocks that formed the planets and enabled life and "those like Bennu contain natural resources such as water, organics and metals." Very slim. It's only a 1 in 2700 chance that Bennu could collide with Earth in the next few hundred years. #askNASA https://t.co/0nxtO7eKf5 — OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) 7 September 2016 Rendezvouz with the asteroid According to a fact sheet provided by NASA, the spacecraft "will orbit the sun for a year, then use Earth’s gravitational field to assist it on its way to Bennu". "In August 2018, OSIRIS-REx’s approach to Bennu will begin. It will use an array of small rocket thrusters to match the velocity of Bennu and rendezvous with the asteroid," the fact sheet says. "'The spacecraft will begin a detailed survey of Bennu two months after slowing to encounter Bennu. The process will last over a year, and, as part of it, OSIRIS-REx will map potential sample sites." After the mission is completed, the spcacraft will not return. It will be placed in a solar orbit. After I return my sample, I'll be put in a solar orbit. There's no 2nd mission planned, but I'll be ready. #askNASA https://t.co/WstUtp3kYe — OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) 7 September 2016 (WION with inputs from agencies)

Towards the dawn of the solar system: NASA set to launch near-Earth asteroid mission

SpaceX&#39;s Falcon 9 rocket&nbsp;exploded at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, multiple media reports said. 
 
It remains unclear at the moment whether there have been casualties. But the intensity of the explosion rocked buildings &quot;several miles away&quot;, according to The Verge. 
 
Emergency services&nbsp;have however said there is no threat to the public. 
 
Although the cause of the blast remains unknown, NASA officials said it occurred during a static fire test of the rocket&#39;s engines. 
 
SpaceX, a company owned by Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, intends to send people to Mars within the next two decades.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
 
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The intensity of the blast shook buildings "several miles away"

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket exploded at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, multiple media reports said. It remains unclear at the moment whether there have been casualties. But the intensity of the explosion rocked buildings "several miles away", according to The Verge. Emergency services have however said there is no threat to the public. Although the cause of the blast remains unknown, NASA officials said it occurred during a static fire test of the rocket's engines. SpaceX, a company owned by Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, intends to send people to Mars within the next two decades. (WION with inputs from agencies)

SpaceX rocket explosion rocks Kennedy Space Centre

NASA&#39;s&nbsp;Juno&nbsp;space probe on Saturday made its first close approach to the planet Jupiter.

Juno&nbsp;was merely 4,200 kilometers away from&nbsp;the solar system&#39;s largest planet, the closest any spacecraft has passed, traveling at 130,000 miles per hour (208,000 kilometers per hour) at around 5:51 am (12:51 GMT).

It was the first time&nbsp;Juno&rsquo;s eight scientific instruments and its camera were switched on, marking the science mission&#39;s start, officials said in a statement on NASA&#39;s website.

&quot;This is our first opportunity to really take a close-up look at the king of our solar system and begin to figure out how he works,&quot; said Scott Bolton,&nbsp;Juno&#39;s principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, had said before the event took place.

Juno&nbsp;first swept close to Jupiter when it entered orbit around the planet early last month after a nearly five-year voyage to help study the solar system&#39;s origins.

However, all the probe&#39;s instruments were turned off not to interfere with its positioning as it entered the 53.5-day orbit.

Juno&nbsp;will now be probing Jupiter&#39;s many layers to measure their composition, magnetic field and other properties. Scientists hope to learn the source of the planet&#39;s fierce winds and whether Jupiter is made entirely of gas or has a solid core.

They also expect to learn more about the planet&#39;s great red spot, a huge storm that has raged for thousands of years.

Saturday&#39;s flyby was&nbsp;Juno&#39;s first chance to take pictures of Jupiter&#39;s mysterious poles. 
 
&quot;No other spacecraft has ever orbited Jupiter this closely, or over the poles in this fashion,&quot; said Steve Levin,&nbsp;Juno&nbsp;project scientist from NASA&#39;s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

NASA says it will release images from the flyby late next week.

Although data from the probe is expected to reach Earth in several days, results from scientists&#39; analysis will take longer.

&quot;This is our first opportunity and there are bound to be surprises,&quot; Levin said. &quot;We need to take our time to make sure our conclusions are correct.&quot;

Juno&nbsp;is set to make 35 more close passes by Jupiter during its main mission, scheduled to end in February 2018, when the probe will self-destruct by diving into the planet&#39;s atmosphere. 
 
(AFP)

The probe was merely 4,200 kilometers away from?the planet, the closest any spacecraft has passed

NASA's Juno space probe on Saturday made its first close approach to the planet Jupiter. Juno was merely 4,200 kilometers away from the solar system's largest planet, the closest any spacecraft has passed, traveling at 130,000 miles per hour (208,000 kilometers per hour) at around 5:51 am (12:51 GMT). It was the first time Juno’s eight scientific instruments and its camera were switched on, marking the science mission's start, officials said in a statement on NASA's website. "This is our first opportunity to really take a close-up look at the king of our solar system and begin to figure out how he works," said Scott Bolton, Juno's principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, had said before the event took place. Juno first swept close to Jupiter when it entered orbit around the planet early last month after a nearly five-year voyage to help study the solar system's origins. However, all the probe's instruments were turned off not to interfere with its positioning as it entered the 53.5-day orbit. Juno will now be probing Jupiter's many layers to measure their composition, magnetic field and other properties. Scientists hope to learn the source of the planet's fierce winds and whether Jupiter is made entirely of gas or has a solid core. They also expect to learn more about the planet's great red spot, a huge storm that has raged for thousands of years. Saturday's flyby was Juno's first chance to take pictures of Jupiter's mysterious poles. "No other spacecraft has ever orbited Jupiter this closely, or over the poles in this fashion," said Steve Levin, Juno project scientist from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. NASA says it will release images from the flyby late next week. Although data from the probe is expected to reach Earth in several days, results from scientists' analysis will take longer. "This is our first opportunity and there are bound to be surprises," Levin said. "We need to take our time to make sure our conclusions are correct." Juno is set to make 35 more close passes by Jupiter during its main mission, scheduled to end in February 2018, when the probe will self-destruct by diving into the planet's atmosphere. (AFP)

Juno orbiter gives NASA first close-up look at Jupiter

Record-breaking warm temperatures in the first half of 2016 have primed the Arctic for another summer of&nbsp;low sea ice cover, said NASA on Friday (August 19). 
 
&quot;Globally it&#39;s been the warmest year on record,&quot; said NASA scientist Walt Meier from Goddard Space Flight&nbsp;Center in Greenbelt, Maryland &quot;That&#39;s resulted in an earlier melt of the Arctic sea ice and an opening of&nbsp;the ocean. And so we&#39;re on track for one of the lowest sea ice years on our satellite record and one of&nbsp;the lowest minimums which will reach in mid-September.&quot; 
 
Sea ice is frozen ocean water around the polar caps, and is important because it &quot;acts like a refrigerator&nbsp;for the global climate system,&quot; keeping the Arctic region cool, says Meier. 
 
Over the past three decades, Arctic Sea ice has dramatically declined; making what was once extraordinary&nbsp;low measurements the new normal. 
 
&quot;As we&#39;re losing the ice, as we&#39;ve been seeing over the previous decades and especially in recent years,&nbsp;we&#39;re replacing that with the dark ocean that absorbs all that energy and the ocean heats up and the whole&nbsp;Arctic heats up, and basically it&#39;s like we&#39;re opening up the refrigerator door so the Arctic&#39;s cooling&nbsp;mechanism is becoming less and less efficient as we lose the sea ice,&quot; said Meier. 
 
But the region is warming twice as fast as elsewhere in the world, making the Arctic one of the most&nbsp;visible signs of a changing planet. 
 
&quot;The Arctic is connected to the rest of the climate system, said Meier. &quot;The Arctic is not like Las Vegas.&nbsp;What happens in the Arctic doesn&#39;t stay in the Arctic.&quot; 
 
Meier explained warming of the Arctic is changing the balance between the cold Arctic and the lower&nbsp;latitudes that potentially changes weather patterns. 
 
&quot;We already seeing evidence of that in terms of how the jet stream is changing,&quot; said Meier. &quot;It&#39;s&nbsp;becoming less of a west the east flow and more of a loopy flow kind of more north to south which leads to&nbsp;more extreme events things like droughts things like torrential rains and flooding.&quot; 
 
Global warming has been one of the issues discussed in the US presidential campaign, with the democratic&nbsp;nominee Hillary Clinton seeing it as an immediate concern, while her Republican rival Donald Trump,&nbsp;dismisses the issue as minor. 
 
Meier said he prefers to ignore the politics. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m of course interested in the consequences as a citizen and concerned,&quot; said Meier. &quot;But my role as a&nbsp;scientist here at NASA is to kind of really dig into the science, dig into the data, and the satellite&nbsp;data and understand what&#39;s going on. 
 
&quot;That&#39;s where I feel like myself and NASA in general provides the greatest benefit to society.&quot; 
 
Meier said in 2018, NASA will launch the ICESat-2 satellite which will be taking some of the most advanced&nbsp;measurements of the polar regions to date. 
 
(Reuters)

Over the past three decades, Arctic Sea ice has dramatically declined

Record-breaking warm temperatures in the first half of 2016 have primed the Arctic for another summer of low sea ice cover, said NASA on Friday (August 19). "Globally it's been the warmest year on record," said NASA scientist Walt Meier from Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland "That's resulted in an earlier melt of the Arctic sea ice and an opening of the ocean. And so we're on track for one of the lowest sea ice years on our satellite record and one of the lowest minimums which will reach in mid-September." Sea ice is frozen ocean water around the polar caps, and is important because it "acts like a refrigerator for the global climate system," keeping the Arctic region cool, says Meier. Over the past three decades, Arctic Sea ice has dramatically declined; making what was once extraordinary low measurements the new normal. "As we're losing the ice, as we've been seeing over the previous decades and especially in recent years, we're replacing that with the dark ocean that absorbs all that energy and the ocean heats up and the whole Arctic heats up, and basically it's like we're opening up the refrigerator door so the Arctic's cooling mechanism is becoming less and less efficient as we lose the sea ice," said Meier. But the region is warming twice as fast as elsewhere in the world, making the Arctic one of the most visible signs of a changing planet. "The Arctic is connected to the rest of the climate system, said Meier. "The Arctic is not like Las Vegas. What happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic." Meier explained warming of the Arctic is changing the balance between the cold Arctic and the lower latitudes that potentially changes weather patterns. "We already seeing evidence of that in terms of how the jet stream is changing," said Meier. "It's becoming less of a west the east flow and more of a loopy flow kind of more north to south which leads to more extreme events things like droughts things like torrential rains and flooding." Global warming has been one of the issues discussed in the US presidential campaign, with the democratic nominee Hillary Clinton seeing it as an immediate concern, while her Republican rival Donald Trump, dismisses the issue as minor. Meier said he prefers to ignore the politics. "I'm of course interested in the consequences as a citizen and concerned," said Meier. "But my role as a scientist here at NASA is to kind of really dig into the science, dig into the data, and the satellite data and understand what's going on. "That's where I feel like myself and NASA in general provides the greatest benefit to society." Meier said in 2018, NASA will launch the ICESat-2 satellite which will be taking some of the most advanced measurements of the polar regions to date. (Reuters)

NASA says 2016 heat to take its toll on Arctic Sea ice

NASA scientists have chosen five green technology concepts that have the potential to transform the aviation industry in the next decade by reducing aircraft fuel usage and emissions by 75 per cent. 
 
The concepts were selected under NASA&#39;s Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Programme in the US for a two-year study. 
 
The topics, including three specifically targeted at electrically-propelled aircrafts are the use of alternative fuel cells, three-dimensional (3D) printing to increase electric motor output, lithium-air batteries for energy storage, new mechanisms for changing the shape of an aircraft wing in flight and a lightweight material called aerogel in the design and development of aircraft antenna. 
 
These five concepts, in addition to three of the six selected last year, address NASA&#39;s green aviation initiatives to cut fuel use by half, lower harmful emissions by 75 per cent, and significantly reduce aircraft noise, scientists said. 
 
&quot;There definitely was an emphasis in our selections on bringing forward activities that addressed a NASA aeronautics goal to reduce the carbon footprint of aviation during the 21st century,&quot; said programme manager Doug Rohn. 
 
(PTI)

The scientists have chosen five green technology that were selected under NASA's 'Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Programme' in US

NASA scientists have chosen five green technology concepts that have the potential to transform the aviation industry in the next decade by reducing aircraft fuel usage and emissions by 75 per cent. The concepts were selected under NASA's Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Programme in the US for a two-year study. The topics, including three specifically targeted at electrically-propelled aircrafts are the use of alternative fuel cells, three-dimensional (3D) printing to increase electric motor output, lithium-air batteries for energy storage, new mechanisms for changing the shape of an aircraft wing in flight and a lightweight material called aerogel in the design and development of aircraft antenna. These five concepts, in addition to three of the six selected last year, address NASA's green aviation initiatives to cut fuel use by half, lower harmful emissions by 75 per cent, and significantly reduce aircraft noise, scientists said. "There definitely was an emphasis in our selections on bringing forward activities that addressed a NASA aeronautics goal to reduce the carbon footprint of aviation during the 21st century," said programme manager Doug Rohn. (PTI)

NASA aims to reduce aircraft fuel use, emissions by 75%

The Aral Sea,&nbsp;once the fourth largest lake in the world,&nbsp;has shrunk to less than 10 per cent in&nbsp;size over the years,&nbsp;National Aeronautics and Space Administration&nbsp;(NASA) says.&nbsp; 
 
Nestled between the countries Uzbekistan,&nbsp;Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan,&nbsp;the lake has receded drastically turning the eastern basin of the lake into a desert, called the Aralkum Desert. 
 
In&nbsp;a timelapse video, NASA has captured the&nbsp;lake&rsquo;s disappearance spanning from the year 2000 to 2016. 
 
A 16-year old trajectory shows how the lake went from being a healthy waterbody to a victim of human interference. It&nbsp;started with the Soviet Union intervention that&nbsp;redirected the lake&#39;s&nbsp;tributaries to irrigate the nearby desert. As the desert bloomed,&nbsp;Aral Sea&nbsp;suffered&nbsp;severe damage that led to its&nbsp;waterline receding over the years. 
 
The communities living by the lake&nbsp;lost their livelihood and had to eventually move out.&nbsp;The water body saw further damage when the Kazakhstan government built a dam between northern and southern part of the lake, leaving it irreparable.&nbsp; 
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?A 16-year old trajectory shows how the lake went from being a healthy waterbody to a victim of human interference

The Aral Sea, once the fourth largest lake in the world, has shrunk to less than 10 per cent in size over the years, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) says. Nestled between the countries Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, the lake has receded drastically turning the eastern basin of the lake into a desert, called the Aralkum Desert. In a timelapse video, NASA has captured the lake’s disappearance spanning from the year 2000 to 2016. A 16-year old trajectory shows how the lake went from being a healthy waterbody to a victim of human interference. It started with the Soviet Union intervention that redirected the lake's tributaries to irrigate the nearby desert. As the desert bloomed, Aral Sea suffered severe damage that led to its waterline receding over the years. The communities living by the lake lost their livelihood and had to eventually move out. The water body saw further damage when the Kazakhstan government built a dam between northern and southern part of the lake, leaving it irreparable.

NASA's timelapse video captures shocking disappearance of the world's fourth largest lake Aral Sea

An international team of researchers announced on Monday the discovery of 104 new planets outside our solar system, including four that could have Earth-like, rocky surfaces. 
 
Scientists discovered the exoplanets using the Kepler space telescope as well as ground observations by Earth-based telescopes, including four on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. 
 
The $600 million Kepler mission has allowed scientists to discover more than 4,600 planets -- 2,326 of them confirmed -- since it launched in 2009. 
 
&quot;The diversity of planets is astounding,&quot; said Evan Sinukoff, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii who contributed to the research. 
 
&quot;We discovered many planets about twice the size of the Earth orbiting so close to their host stars that they are hotter than 1000 degrees.&quot; 
 
The latest trove includes 21 situated within their sun&#39;s habitable zone -- the distance from a star that could permit liquid water to exist and support life. 
 
The four potentially rocky planets -- ranging from 20 to 50 per cent larger than Earth -- orbit tightly around the same star in a planetary system about 400 light-years from Earth. 
 
Though the planets rotate around their star even closer than Mercury orbits the sun, two of the planets may have surface temperatures similar to Earth&#39;s, as their star is cooler than our sun, astronomers said. 
 
The unmanned Kepler mission has been scanning 150,000 stars in the Cygnus constellation for signs of orbiting bodies, particularly those that might be able to support life. 
 
It works by observing a dimming in the light of a star, known as a transit, each time an orbiting planet passes in front of it. 
 
In 2013, the space telescope suffered a problem with the reaction wheels that typically keep the spacecraft steady. 
 
NASA subsequently set the spacecraft on a new mission called K2, to study supernovas, star clusters and far-off galaxies. 
 
Scientists verified the latest exoplanets as part of the K2 mission. 
 
(AFP)

The $600 million Kepler mission has allowed scientists to discover more than 4,600 planets since it was launched in 2009

An international team of researchers announced on Monday the discovery of 104 new planets outside our solar system, including four that could have Earth-like, rocky surfaces. Scientists discovered the exoplanets using the Kepler space telescope as well as ground observations by Earth-based telescopes, including four on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The $600 million Kepler mission has allowed scientists to discover more than 4,600 planets -- 2,326 of them confirmed -- since it launched in 2009. "The diversity of planets is astounding," said Evan Sinukoff, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii who contributed to the research. "We discovered many planets about twice the size of the Earth orbiting so close to their host stars that they are hotter than 1000 degrees." The latest trove includes 21 situated within their sun's habitable zone -- the distance from a star that could permit liquid water to exist and support life. The four potentially rocky planets -- ranging from 20 to 50 per cent larger than Earth -- orbit tightly around the same star in a planetary system about 400 light-years from Earth. Though the planets rotate around their star even closer than Mercury orbits the sun, two of the planets may have surface temperatures similar to Earth's, as their star is cooler than our sun, astronomers said. The unmanned Kepler mission has been scanning 150,000 stars in the Cygnus constellation for signs of orbiting bodies, particularly those that might be able to support life. It works by observing a dimming in the light of a star, known as a transit, each time an orbiting planet passes in front of it. In 2013, the space telescope suffered a problem with the reaction wheels that typically keep the spacecraft steady. NASA subsequently set the spacecraft on a new mission called K2, to study supernovas, star clusters and far-off galaxies. Scientists verified the latest exoplanets as part of the K2 mission. (AFP)

NASA's Kepler discovers more than 104 exoplanets

The International Space Station (ISS) has a popular live feed that is available to the public, accessible via&nbsp;their Ustream page. The feed lets virtually anyone peek into the functioning of the space station, and also experience some spectacular views of our home planet. 
 
However this feed was mysteriously shut off a few days ago, following reports of an unidentified object entering its vicinity. The incident happened on July 9 and was proliferated by popular UFO hunter Streetcap1, who uploaded a video of the object travelling across the ISS camera&rsquo;s field of view. 
 
The clip appears to show a blue object descending toward the Earth&rsquo;s horizon, rotating all the while. 
 
He has however posted a caveat saying that this can&nbsp;well be anything,&nbsp;not necessarily an alien craft. He does however say that what makes this incident especially interesting is the fact that the live video feed appeared to have been terminated the instant the object stopped moving. 
 
Possible explanations of what this object could be range from a meteor, to it probably being the Chinese space cargo ship Tiangong-1.&nbsp;This incident has sparked discussions among conspiracy theorists and UFO hunters, accusing NASA of intentionally disabling their live video feed at times such as these. 
 
(DNA)

A UFO hunter has recorded footage of a live NASA ISS video that appears to have been cut short after the sighting

The International Space Station (ISS) has a popular live feed that is available to the public, accessible via their Ustream page. The feed lets virtually anyone peek into the functioning of the space station, and also experience some spectacular views of our home planet. However this feed was mysteriously shut off a few days ago, following reports of an unidentified object entering its vicinity. The incident happened on July 9 and was proliferated by popular UFO hunter Streetcap1, who uploaded a video of the object travelling across the ISS camera’s field of view. The clip appears to show a blue object descending toward the Earth’s horizon, rotating all the while. He has however posted a caveat saying that this can well be anything, not necessarily an alien craft. He does however say that what makes this incident especially interesting is the fact that the live video feed appeared to have been terminated the instant the object stopped moving. Possible explanations of what this object could be range from a meteor, to it probably being the Chinese space cargo ship Tiangong-1. This incident has sparked discussions among conspiracy theorists and UFO hunters, accusing NASA of intentionally disabling their live video feed at times such as these. (DNA)

International Space Station cuts live video feed after possible UFO encounter

Three astronauts blasted off into the early morning sky in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft from Russia&#39;s Baikonur cosmodrome on Thursday, heading towards the International Space Station (ISS). 
 
First-time astronauts Kathleen Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency set off for a four-month mission at the ISS with Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin at around 0136 GMT. 
 
&quot;All is well on board!&quot; said mission control in comments relayed by NASA TV, which broadcast footage of the launch in Kazakhstan. 
 
Footage also showed Ivanishin and Onishi giving each other fist bumps to celebrate the successful launch. 
 
Features of the new Soyuz series include upgraded boosters, an improved navigation system, strengthened shielding from debris and more cells on the craft&#39;s solar panels. 
 
The trio&#39;s launch was delayed by two weeks as Russian space officials carried out further software tests on the modified vehicle. 
 
The craft&#39;s journey to dock at the ISS will take two days - longer than the usual six-hour flight - to give ground control more time to monitor the tweaked system&#39;s performance. 
 
NASA&#39;s Kate Rubins will be the first woman aboard the ISS since Italian Samantha Cristoforetti returned to earth with the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (199 days) in June last year. 
 
The molecular biologist-turned astronaut will also become the first person to sequence DNA in space during her mission. 
 
&quot;Rocket is on the launchpad, crew is ready to go! #AstroKate&quot; the NASA Astronauts Twitter handle tweeted prior to her launch. 
 
Rubins&#39; launch caps an exciting week for NASA as the US space agency&#39;s unmanned Juno spacecraft entered orbit around distant Jupiter on Tuesday after a journey of nearly five years. 
 
Onishi, who trained as a pilot on Japan&#39;s largest commercial airliner, is the eleventh Japanese national to enter space. 
 
His journey to the ISS, where he will participate in experiments connected to the Japanese space agency&#39;s Kibo program, coincides with the Tanabata star festival celebrated across his homeland. 
 
The last Japanese astronaut to spend time at the ISS, Kimiya Yui, returned to earth from the ISS in December alongside NASA&#39;s Kjell Lindgren and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko. 
 
Flight engineer Anatoly Ivanishin has already logged over 165 days in space following his first mission at the ISS in 2011 and 2012 and has a background as a military pilot. 
 
Following docking at ISS, Rubins, Ivanishin and Onishi will join current ISS commander Jeff Williams of NASA and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin. 
 
The ISS space laboratory has been orbiting Earth at about 28,000 kilometres per hour since 1998. 
 
Space travel has been one of the few areas of international cooperation between Russia and the West that has not been wrecked by geopolitical tensions over Ukraine. 
 
(AFP)

The launch was delayed by two weeks as Russian space officials carried out further software tests on the modified vehicle

Three astronauts blasted off into the early morning sky in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome on Thursday, heading towards the International Space Station (ISS). First-time astronauts Kathleen Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency set off for a four-month mission at the ISS with Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin at around 0136 GMT. "All is well on board!" said mission control in comments relayed by NASA TV, which broadcast footage of the launch in Kazakhstan. Footage also showed Ivanishin and Onishi giving each other fist bumps to celebrate the successful launch. Features of the new Soyuz series include upgraded boosters, an improved navigation system, strengthened shielding from debris and more cells on the craft's solar panels. The trio's launch was delayed by two weeks as Russian space officials carried out further software tests on the modified vehicle. The craft's journey to dock at the ISS will take two days - longer than the usual six-hour flight - to give ground control more time to monitor the tweaked system's performance. NASA's Kate Rubins will be the first woman aboard the ISS since Italian Samantha Cristoforetti returned to earth with the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (199 days) in June last year. The molecular biologist-turned astronaut will also become the first person to sequence DNA in space during her mission. "Rocket is on the launchpad, crew is ready to go! #AstroKate" the NASA Astronauts Twitter handle tweeted prior to her launch. Rubins' launch caps an exciting week for NASA as the US space agency's unmanned Juno spacecraft entered orbit around distant Jupiter on Tuesday after a journey of nearly five years. Onishi, who trained as a pilot on Japan's largest commercial airliner, is the eleventh Japanese national to enter space. His journey to the ISS, where he will participate in experiments connected to the Japanese space agency's Kibo program, coincides with the Tanabata star festival celebrated across his homeland. The last Japanese astronaut to spend time at the ISS, Kimiya Yui, returned to earth from the ISS in December alongside NASA's Kjell Lindgren and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko. Flight engineer Anatoly Ivanishin has already logged over 165 days in space following his first mission at the ISS in 2011 and 2012 and has a background as a military pilot. Following docking at ISS, Rubins, Ivanishin and Onishi will join current ISS commander Jeff Williams of NASA and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin. The ISS space laboratory has been orbiting Earth at about 28,000 kilometres per hour since 1998. Space travel has been one of the few areas of international cooperation between Russia and the West that has not been wrecked by geopolitical tensions over Ukraine. (AFP)

Three astronauts blast off for International Space Station in upgraded Soyuz craft

NASA&#39;s unmanned Juno spacecraft on Monday began orbiting Jupiter, a key triumph for the $1.1 billion mission that aims to uncover the origins of the biggest planet in the solar system. 
 
&quot;Welcome to Jupiter,&quot; said a commentator at mission control at NASA`s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. 
 
The room erupted in cheers as the solar observatory successfully entered its aimed-for orbit around Jupiter at 11:53 pm (0353 GMT Tuesday). 
 
The spacecraft has traveled 1.7 billion miles (2.7 billion kilometers) since it launched five years ago from Cape Canaveral, Florida. 
&quot;We are in it,&quot; hollered Scott Bolton, NASA`s principal investigator. 
&nbsp; 
Launched from Florida nearly five years ago, Juno had to be precisely positioned, ignite its main engine at exactly the right time and keep it burning for 35 minutes to shed enough speed so it can be captured by Jupiter&#39;s gravity. 
 
Scientists are particularly interested in learning how much water Jupiter contains, which is key to determining where in the solar system it formed. Jupiter&#39;s origins, in turn, affected the development and position of the rest of the planets, including Earth and its fortuitous location conducive to the evolution of life. 
 
The immense gravity exerted by Jupiter&#39;s sheer size - packing 2-1/2 times the mass of all the other planets combined - is thought to have helped shield Earth from bombardment by comets and asteroids. 
 
&quot;We are learning about nature, how Jupiter formed and what that tells us about our history and where we came from,&quot; Bolton said. 
 
The Juno probe is named for the ancient Roman goddess, who was the wife and sister of Jupiter, the mythological king of gods, and had the power to see through clouds. 
 
&#39;Musical notes&#39; 
 
Only one other spacecraft, Galileo, has ever circled Jupiter, which is five times farther away from the sun than Earth and is itself orbited by 67 known moons. Bolton said Juno is likely to discover even more. 
 
Seven other US space probes have sailed past the gas giant on brief reconnaissance missions before heading elsewhere in the solar system. 
 
The risks to the spacecraft Juno will not end once it arrives in orbit. The probe must quickly turn around and face the sun so its 18,698 solar cells can begin recharging the battery. 
 
&quot;I won&#39;t exhale until we are back sun-pointing again,&quot; Bolton said. 
 
Juno will fly in highly elliptical, egg-shaped orbits that pass within 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of the tops of Jupiter&#39;s clouds and inside the planet&#39;s powerful radiation belts. 
 
Juno&#39;s computers and sensitive science instruments are housed in a 400-pound (180-kg) titanium vault for protection. But during its 37 orbits around Jupiter, Juno will be exposed to the equivalent of 100 million dental X-rays, said Bill McAlpine, radiation control manager for the mission. 
 
The spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, is expected to last for 20 months. On its final orbit, Juno will dive into Jupiter&#39;s atmosphere, where it will be crushed and vaporized. 
 
Like Galileo, which circled Jupiter for eight years before crashing into the planet in 2003, Juno&#39;s demise is designed to prevent any hitchhiking microbes from Earth from inadvertently contaminating Jupiter&#39;s ocean-bearing moon Europa, a target of future study for extraterrestrial life. 
 
(Agencies)

In its 20-month journey, Juno hopes to learn how and where the planet formed and affected the development and position of the other ones

NASA's unmanned Juno spacecraft on Monday began orbiting Jupiter, a key triumph for the $1.1 billion mission that aims to uncover the origins of the biggest planet in the solar system. "Welcome to Jupiter," said a commentator at mission control at NASA`s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The room erupted in cheers as the solar observatory successfully entered its aimed-for orbit around Jupiter at 11:53 pm (0353 GMT Tuesday). The spacecraft has traveled 1.7 billion miles (2.7 billion kilometers) since it launched five years ago from Cape Canaveral, Florida. "We are in it," hollered Scott Bolton, NASA`s principal investigator. Launched from Florida nearly five years ago, Juno had to be precisely positioned, ignite its main engine at exactly the right time and keep it burning for 35 minutes to shed enough speed so it can be captured by Jupiter's gravity. Scientists are particularly interested in learning how much water Jupiter contains, which is key to determining where in the solar system it formed. Jupiter's origins, in turn, affected the development and position of the rest of the planets, including Earth and its fortuitous location conducive to the evolution of life. The immense gravity exerted by Jupiter's sheer size - packing 2-1/2 times the mass of all the other planets combined - is thought to have helped shield Earth from bombardment by comets and asteroids. "We are learning about nature, how Jupiter formed and what that tells us about our history and where we came from," Bolton said. The Juno probe is named for the ancient Roman goddess, who was the wife and sister of Jupiter, the mythological king of gods, and had the power to see through clouds. 'Musical notes' Only one other spacecraft, Galileo, has ever circled Jupiter, which is five times farther away from the sun than Earth and is itself orbited by 67 known moons. Bolton said Juno is likely to discover even more. Seven other US space probes have sailed past the gas giant on brief reconnaissance missions before heading elsewhere in the solar system. The risks to the spacecraft Juno will not end once it arrives in orbit. The probe must quickly turn around and face the sun so its 18,698 solar cells can begin recharging the battery. "I won't exhale until we are back sun-pointing again," Bolton said. Juno will fly in highly elliptical, egg-shaped orbits that pass within 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of the tops of Jupiter's clouds and inside the planet's powerful radiation belts. Juno's computers and sensitive science instruments are housed in a 400-pound (180-kg) titanium vault for protection. But during its 37 orbits around Jupiter, Juno will be exposed to the equivalent of 100 million dental X-rays, said Bill McAlpine, radiation control manager for the mission. The spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, is expected to last for 20 months. On its final orbit, Juno will dive into Jupiter's atmosphere, where it will be crushed and vaporized. Like Galileo, which circled Jupiter for eight years before crashing into the planet in 2003, Juno's demise is designed to prevent any hitchhiking microbes from Earth from inadvertently contaminating Jupiter's ocean-bearing moon Europa, a target of future study for extraterrestrial life. (Agencies)

NASA's Juno successfully begins orbiting Jupiter

NASA&#39;s Juno spacecraft hurtled closer toward Jupiter on Friday, headed for a July 4 leap into polar orbit around the solar system&#39;s largest planet to analyse how it formed and helped set the stage for life on Earth. 
 
During a 20-month study, Juno is expected to circle the gas giant in 37 egg-shaped orbits to measure microwaves radiating from inside the planet&#39;s thick atmosphere, map its massive magnetic field and conduct other experiments. 
 
Scientists are particularly keen to learn how much water Jupiter contains, a key to unlocking the origins of the largest celestial body in the solar system after the sun. 
 
Jupiter currently orbits the sun at a distance about five times farther away than Earth, but it may have formed in a different location and migrated, gravitationally elbowing aside other planets along the way. 
 
&quot;Something happens that allows a star to be born and then afterwards the planets ... That eventually leads to us,&quot; said the mission&#39;s lead scientist, Scott Bolton, a space physicist with the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. 
 
More than half of the material left over from the formation of the sun 4.6 billion years ago ended up in Jupiter, which has a circumference nearly 11 times bigger than Earth&#39;s and is itself orbited by 67 known moons. 
 
Jupiter is made almost entirely of hydrogen and helium, the two simplest and most abundant elements in the universe, but the planet&#39;s enormous mass generates such high pressure that the materials behave in unexpected and unknown ways. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re working in a new environment,&quot; said Frances Bagenal, a planetary scientist with the University of Colorado in Boulder. &quot;We don&#39;t know the physics of how things work at these high pressures.&rdquo; 
 
The Juno probe is named for the ancient Roman goddess, who was the wife and sister of Jupiter, the mythological king of gods, and had the power to see through clouds. 
 
From vantage points as close as 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometres) from the planet&#39;s cloud tops, the spacecraft is to not only search for water but assess whether Jupiter possesses a dense core beneath its atmosphere. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re about to embark on an incredible journey,&quot; Bolton said during a news conference from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. 
 
Juno, careening toward Jupiter at more than 160,000 miles per hour (25,750 kph), over 200 times the speed of sound, has been programmed to fire its braking rocket at 11:18 pm EDT on Monday (0318 GMT on Tuesday) in order to slow its course. 
 
The rocket must be precisely positioned and burn for 35 minutes to reduce its speed enough to allow it to be captured by Jupiter&#39;s gravity and swing into orbit. 
 
&quot;If that doesn&#39;t all go just right, we fly past Jupiter,&quot; Bolton said. 
 
Only one other spacecraft, NASA&#39;s Galileo space probe, has orbited Jupiter, circling the planet for eight years before colliding with the gas giant in 2003. The first spacecraft to fly past Jupiter was NASA&#39;s Pioneer 10 in 1973. 
 
Juno, which will arrive at Jupiter after a journey of five years and nearly two billion miles (3.2 billion kilometres), is expected to end its mission as the Galileo probe did, crashing itself into the planet to avoid possible contamination of Jupiter&#39;s ocean-bearing moon, Europa, with any microbes carried by the spacecraft. 
 
(Reuters)

Scientists want to know how much water the planet contains to learn about the origins of the solar system's second largest celestial body

NASA's Juno spacecraft hurtled closer toward Jupiter on Friday, headed for a July 4 leap into polar orbit around the solar system's largest planet to analyse how it formed and helped set the stage for life on Earth. During a 20-month study, Juno is expected to circle the gas giant in 37 egg-shaped orbits to measure microwaves radiating from inside the planet's thick atmosphere, map its massive magnetic field and conduct other experiments. Scientists are particularly keen to learn how much water Jupiter contains, a key to unlocking the origins of the largest celestial body in the solar system after the sun. Jupiter currently orbits the sun at a distance about five times farther away than Earth, but it may have formed in a different location and migrated, gravitationally elbowing aside other planets along the way. "Something happens that allows a star to be born and then afterwards the planets ... That eventually leads to us," said the mission's lead scientist, Scott Bolton, a space physicist with the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. More than half of the material left over from the formation of the sun 4.6 billion years ago ended up in Jupiter, which has a circumference nearly 11 times bigger than Earth's and is itself orbited by 67 known moons. Jupiter is made almost entirely of hydrogen and helium, the two simplest and most abundant elements in the universe, but the planet's enormous mass generates such high pressure that the materials behave in unexpected and unknown ways. "We're working in a new environment," said Frances Bagenal, a planetary scientist with the University of Colorado in Boulder. "We don't know the physics of how things work at these high pressures.” The Juno probe is named for the ancient Roman goddess, who was the wife and sister of Jupiter, the mythological king of gods, and had the power to see through clouds. From vantage points as close as 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometres) from the planet's cloud tops, the spacecraft is to not only search for water but assess whether Jupiter possesses a dense core beneath its atmosphere. "We're about to embark on an incredible journey," Bolton said during a news conference from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Juno, careening toward Jupiter at more than 160,000 miles per hour (25,750 kph), over 200 times the speed of sound, has been programmed to fire its braking rocket at 11:18 pm EDT on Monday (0318 GMT on Tuesday) in order to slow its course. The rocket must be precisely positioned and burn for 35 minutes to reduce its speed enough to allow it to be captured by Jupiter's gravity and swing into orbit. "If that doesn't all go just right, we fly past Jupiter," Bolton said. Only one other spacecraft, NASA's Galileo space probe, has orbited Jupiter, circling the planet for eight years before colliding with the gas giant in 2003. The first spacecraft to fly past Jupiter was NASA's Pioneer 10 in 1973. Juno, which will arrive at Jupiter after a journey of five years and nearly two billion miles (3.2 billion kilometres), is expected to end its mission as the Galileo probe did, crashing itself into the planet to avoid possible contamination of Jupiter's ocean-bearing moon, Europa, with any microbes carried by the spacecraft. (Reuters)

NASA space probe to lift the veil on Jupiter

NASA&#39;s Hubble Space Telescope has found a brand-new mark on the surface of the farthest planet from the sun.&nbsp; 
 
This vortex is the first one observed on Neptune in the 21st century though similar features were seen around two decades ago in the year 1994 during the Voyager 2 flyby of Neptune in 1989 and by the Hubble Space Telescope. The discovery was announced on May 17 in a Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT) electronic telegram by team leader Mike Wong of the University of California at Berkeley. 
 
Neptune&#39;s dark vortices, according to experts, are high-pressure systems and are usually accompanied by bright &quot;companion clouds&quot;, which are also now visible on the distant planet. The bright clouds form when the flow of ambient air is perturbed and diverted upward over the dark vortex, causing gases to likely freeze into methane ice crystals. 
 
&quot;Dark vortices coast through the atmosphere like huge, lens-shaped gaseous mountains,&quot; Wong explains, adding, &quot;and the companion clouds are similar to so-called orographic clouds that appear as pancake-shaped features lingering over mountains on Earth&quot;. 
 
&quot;Planetary astronomers hope to better understand how dark vortices originate, what controls their drifts and oscillations, how they interact with the environment, and how they eventually dissipate,&quot; according to UC Berkeley doctoral student Joshua Tollefson. Measuring the evolution of the new dark vortex will extend knowledge of both the dark vortices themselves, as well as the structure and dynamics of the surrounding atmosphere.&nbsp; 
 
(ANI)&nbsp;

Neptune's dark vortices, according to experts, are high-pressure systems and are usually accompanied by bright 'companion clouds'

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has found a brand-new mark on the surface of the farthest planet from the sun. This vortex is the first one observed on Neptune in the 21st century though similar features were seen around two decades ago in the year 1994 during the Voyager 2 flyby of Neptune in 1989 and by the Hubble Space Telescope. The discovery was announced on May 17 in a Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT) electronic telegram by team leader Mike Wong of the University of California at Berkeley. Neptune's dark vortices, according to experts, are high-pressure systems and are usually accompanied by bright "companion clouds", which are also now visible on the distant planet. The bright clouds form when the flow of ambient air is perturbed and diverted upward over the dark vortex, causing gases to likely freeze into methane ice crystals. "Dark vortices coast through the atmosphere like huge, lens-shaped gaseous mountains," Wong explains, adding, "and the companion clouds are similar to so-called orographic clouds that appear as pancake-shaped features lingering over mountains on Earth". "Planetary astronomers hope to better understand how dark vortices originate, what controls their drifts and oscillations, how they interact with the environment, and how they eventually dissipate," according to UC Berkeley doctoral student Joshua Tollefson. Measuring the evolution of the new dark vortex will extend knowledge of both the dark vortices themselves, as well as the structure and dynamics of the surrounding atmosphere. (ANI)

NASA finds new vortex on Neptune

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