On the cusp of our atmosphere live a thin group of seasonal electric blue clouds. Forming 50 miles above the poles in summer, these clouds are known as noctilucent clouds or polar mesospheric clouds—PMCs. A recent NASA ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 20, 2018
0
201
Thin ribbons of purple and white light that sometimes appear in the night sky were dubbed a new type of aurora when brought to scientists' attention in 2016. But new research suggests these mysterious streams of light are ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 20, 2018
9
1223
New research using a decade of data from ESA's Mars Express has found clear signs of the complex martian atmosphere acting as a single, interconnected system, with processes occurring at low and mid levels significantly affecting ...
Space Exploration
Jul 18, 2018
4
60
In the coming decades, NASA and other space agencies hope to mount some ambitious missions to other planets in our Solar System. In addition to studying Mars and the outer Solar System in greater detail, NASA intends to send ...
Space Exploration
Jul 6, 2018
2
84
A new study co-led by University of Iowa researchers explains how ammonia is distributed in Earth's upper atmosphere.
Earth Sciences
Jun 13, 2018
0
74
The Sun's corona, invisible to the human eye except when it appears briefly as a fiery halo of plasma during a solar eclipse, remains a puzzle even to scientists who study it closely. Located 1,300 miles from the star's surface, ...
Space Exploration
May 8, 2018
15
242
Astronomers have detected helium in the atmosphere of a planet that orbits a star far beyond our solar system for the very first time.
Astronomy
May 2, 2018
0
619
Thunderstorms in Earth's upper atmosphere remain something of a mystery. Scientists cannot reach them directly with instruments; they are too high for balloons and too low for weather satellites. Flying through thunderstorms ...
Space Exploration
Apr 13, 2018
106
978
The latest Dragon cargo vehicle was launched to the International Space Station on 2 April, taking with it ESA's Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor.
Space Exploration
Apr 4, 2018
0
7
Lightning triggers powerful electrical bursts in Earth's atmosphere almost every second. The inner workings of these magnificent forces of nature are still unknown, but a rare observation by an ESA astronaut gave a boost ...
Space Exploration
Mar 27, 2018
2
88
