Why slow-pouring coffee makes a tower of liquid in your cup

When a droplet of coffee hits the liquid surface in the cup, a characteristic tower of coffee forms for a very short time, sometimes even with a new droplet on top. In a paper that appeared in Physical Review Fluids today, ...

Taking gravity from strength to strength

Ten years ago, ESA launched one of its most innovative satellites. GOCE spent four years measuring a fundamental force of nature: gravity. This extraordinary mission not only yielded new insights into our gravity field, but ...

Smoother and safer flying

Flying through a patch of severe and unexpected turbulence is an unforgettable, unsettling and sometimes painful experience for tens of thousands of passengers each year.

Gravity waves influence weather and climate

Gravity waves form in the atmosphere as a result of destabilizing processes, for example at weather fronts, during storms or when air masses stroke over mountain ranges. They can occasionally be seen in the sky as bands of ...

Engineers consider how to collect dust from low-gravity surfaces

Analysing the dusty layers of low-gravity moons or asteroids using robots is on the agenda for ESA's exploration of the Solar System. Engineers are thinking of ways to collect and analyse the surface dust on far-away worlds. ...

"Ferrari of space' yields best map of ocean currents

A satellite dubbed the "Ferrari of space" has yielded the most accurate model of ocean circulation yet, boosting understanding of the seas and a key impact of global warming, scientists said Tuesday.

Lifetime of gravity measurements heralds new beginning

Although ESA's GOCE satellite is no more, all of the measurements it gathered during its life skirting the fringes our atmosphere, including the very last as it drifted slowly back to Earth, have been drawn together to offer ...

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