Solar System Exploration: Science & Technology: Science Features



			It's a Moon Thing There is a shift in the way scientists are studying these outer planetary systems -- by targeting specifically their unique and mysterious moons.



			Magnetospheres: Plasma of the Solar System We often hear about magnetic fields on Earth as well as surrounding other planets. Also known as magnetospheres, what exactly are they and how do they affect our universe?



			The Charged Particle Environment of Titan Since planetary magnetospheres throughout the solar system are composed of highly charged ions and electrons, it is natural to be intrigued by the effects of that magnetosphere on the planet's satellites, such as those on Saturn's largest moon Titan.



			Taking Another Look at Europa New research and enhanced remote sensing techniques are bringing scientists closer to being able to explore Europa's tantalizing ice-covered ocean and determine its potential for harboring life.



			Hyperion: Return of the Sponge Moon Since its discovery, Hyperion had been distinguished only by its irregular shape and chaotic rotation.



			Enceladus' Stressed out Tiger Stripes Enceladus may contain enough interior friction to heat ice, creating huge geysers. That liquid water makes Enceladus a promising place to look for extraterrestrial life.



			The Enigma of Iapetus: "The Moon with a View" The mysterious moon, with a walnut-shaped appearance due to its equatorial mountain ridge and brightness contrast have intrigued scientists for decades, and holds possible keys to the ancient chemical origins of the solar system.



			Life Under the Ice? Move over, Mars. Jupiter's moon, Europa, may be the most promising site for extraterrestrial life in our solar system.



			The Clues to What Lies Beneath Considering that not a single instrument has landed on Europa, it's remarkable how much scientists have discovered about what lies under its icy surface.



			Noxious Lightning Lightning is more than light and noise: It's an intense chemical factory that affects both local air quality and global climate.



			International Polar Year on Earth and Beyond The International Polar Year is an international effort to focus attention on the Earth's polar regions.



			The Asteroids and Comets They Are A-Changin' It wasn't so long ago that Comets were comets and asteroids were asteroids. Things were simple - life was good. No longer!



			Jupiter's Magnetosphere: The Largest in Our Solar System A magnetosphere is the region of space surrounding a planet, which is dominated by its magnetic field rather than the solar wind.



			Saturn's Largest Sphere The outer planets are much more than large gaseous planets. They are highly complex systems of interacting components. However, most would not recognize the largest, yet mostly invisible part of Saturn's system, its magnetosphere.



			The Mountains of Saturn's Mysterious Moon Iapetus Observations from the Cassini spacecraft have found an Iapetus mystery.



			Tohil Mons: The Ionian Mountain that Defies its Very Existence A mysterious mountain peak named Tohil Mons - a mountain that shouldn't exist.



			Discovering Mercury: The 2006 Transit Mercury provides clues to the formation of the solar system.



			Birthplace of Hurricanes Learning the details of storm formation.



			Remembering Katrina - Learning and Predicting the Future Many valuable lessons are learned from last years devastating hurricane.



			Volcanism on Io Io exhibits volcanic activity on a global scale.



			Ice In An Unlikely Place: Mercury Evidence for ice on Mercury from Earth-based RADAR imaging.



			Europa: Searching For the Ocean Deep The search for life in our solar system continues.



			Moonquakes: Understanding our Seismically-Active Neighbor Seismic activity on the moon.



			Get Involved with Stardust Internet users can help search for dust grains in Stardust's aerogel.



			How to Bring a Comet Home The Stardust spacecraft finally returned to Earth with some precious cargo.



			Observing Stardust's Sample Return to Earth NASA's Stardust Sample Return Capsule and Entry Path Visible in Northwest



			Beware the Mars Hoax Earth and Mars are converging for a close encounter--but not as close as some people think.



			Weather, Weather, Everywhere? The seasons that occur on other planets are extremely different from the traditional weather that we experience here on Earth.



			Explosive Volcanic Eruptions on the Moon Dark Mantle Deposits would be ideal locations for future human colonies on the Moon.



			Dirty Ice on Mars Instruments on the Odyssey spacecraft show that a lot of dirty ice sits within a meter of the surface in the south polar latitudes of Mars.



			Night of the Two Moons Separated by more than a billion miles, Saturn's mysterious Titan and Earth's moon came together for a night in October.



			Titan's Surface Revealed Piercing the smog enshrouding Titan, new images from Cassini reveal an exotic surface covered with a variety of materials.



			Blue Moon Rising July 2004 has two full moons, which means one of them is a Blue Moon. But will it really be blue? Believe it or not, scientists say blue-colored moons are real.



			James Cook and the Transit of Venus The best reason to watch the transit of Venus on June 8, 2004 is history.



			Jupiter: Mythology and Man's Early Musings Modern science has somewhat demystified Jupiter, but our fascination with this giant world dates back thousands of years.



			Was Galileo Wrong? Could a fundamental assumptions of modern physics be wrong? Scientists are going to find out by bouncing laser beams off the Moon.



			Phases of the Moon What is the relationship between the phase of the Moon and the time it rises or sets? Can you see a crescent at midnight? For how many hours will a full Moon be visible?



			Europa's Salty Surface Pictures of Jupiter's moon Europa taken by the Galileo spacecraft during the past couple of years have suggested to scientists that there is now, or was in the past, an ocean beneath the satellite's frozen crust.



			Big Mountain, Big Landslide on Jupiter's Moon, Io Caught in a tug of war between the gravitational fields of Jupiter and the next moon out (Europa), Io is heated incessantly by tidal stresses.



			Uranus, Neptune, and the Mountains of the Moon The tardy formation of Uranus and Neptune might have caused the intense bombardment of the Moon 3.9 billion years ago.



			Origin of the Earth and Moon The formation of the planets was a violent process.



			New Data, New Ideas, and Lively Debate about Mercury A hundred scientists gathered to share new data and ideas about the important little planet closest to the Sun.



			The Missing Moon of Sedna Astronomers examining Hubble Space Telescope images



			Mercury Unveiled Mercury, the second smallest planet and the closest one to the Sun, may appear to some as a drab, colorless, heavily-cratered world. Not so.



			Damage by Impact -- the Case at Meteor Crater, Arizona Just how often does a devistating impact event occur on Earth? We'll examine the potential hazards.



			Measuring Temperature Reading Measuring length is far simpler than measuring temperature.



			What is the Electromagnetic Spectrum? What is Infrared? How was the Infrared Discovered? Light (or radiation) is made up of vibrating waves of electrical and magnetic fields.



			INSPIRE INSPIRE is a non-profit scientific, educational organization whose objective is to bring the excitement of observing natural and manmade radio waves in the audio region to high school students and others.



			Searching Antarctic Ice for Meteorites Silver anniversary season: The vigorous life and times of the ANSMET team at Meteorite Hills resulted in a new set of 336 meteorites collected off the ice.



			Rules for Identifying Ancient Life J. William Schopf (University of California, Los Angeles) has spent many years examining ancient rocks on Earth to identify the oldest fossils.



			Europa and Titan: Oceans in the Outer Solar System? Europa and Titan are the best possible candidate locations for life in the outer Solar System.



			Ring Around the Black Hole New observations are shedding light on how black holes acquire mass.



			A Polarized Universe Our universe is so cool you gotta wear polarized shades.



			More Hidden Black Hole Dangers Satellite observations now strongly suggest that black holes spin and pull space along for the ride.



			Mapping the Baby Universe NASA's MAP mission will map the cosmic microwave background in unprecedented detail.



			Journey to the Center of a Neutron Star Astronomers are using whatever means possible to probe the ultradense interiors of neutron stars.



			How to Build a Supermassive Black Hole Recent Chandra observations suggest that monster black holes form from the merger of their smaller brethren.



			The Gamma-Ray Burst Next Door New evidence suggests that life-threatening explosions are closer than we thought.



			Fun Times with Cosmic Rays Who would have thought cosmic rays could be so hip?



			Baby Stars in Orion Solve Solar System Mystery Hyperactive young stars in the Orion Nebula may help explain exotic isotopes in the solar system.



			The First Rock in the Solar System An aggregate of corundum, hibonite, and perovskite may be among the first rocks to form in the Solar System.



			The Center of the Galaxy For centuries it was believed that the Earth was the center of the universe.



			Apparition of Comet Hale-Bopp In an era where the celestial realm was the realm of the gods, the sudden appearance of an unknown object which dominated the night sky was terrifying.



			Uncharted Meteors The solar system is littered with clouds of dust--some of them uncharted. Earth might encounter one someday.



			A World on the Edge Sedna, a small planet-like object far beyond the orbits of Pluto and Neptune, may be the first sighting on an object on the edge of the mysterious Oort Cloud.



			An Untold Rock Story A shiny gray rock called hematite may help tell the story of past water on Mars. Mars Rover Opportunity is exploring a hematite-rich region of the Red Planet.



			Maximum Impact Sometimes asteroids and comets punch holes in planets - also called craters.



			Infrared: Catch the Wave Scientists and couch potatoes agree: Infrared is hot.



			New Spin on Asteroids What makes some asteroids spin in sync? Surprisingly, it's sunlight.