December 2008 Top Stories
»» NASA Selects NOAA Goes-R Series Spacecraft Contractor
[Tuesday, December 2, 2008] NASA, in coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has selected the contractor for the next series of weather satellites.
»» ESA satellites focusing on the Arctic
[Wednesday, December 3, 2008] The Arctic is undergoing rapid transformation due to climate change, pollution and human activity. ESA's ERS and Envisat satellites have been providing satellite data of the region for the last 17 years.
»» ESA tests laser to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide
[Wednesday, December 3, 2008] A recent ESA campaign has demonstrated how a technique using lasers could be employed to measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The campaign supports one of the main objectives of the candidate Earth Explorer A-SCOPE mission.
»» ESA satellites flying in formation
[Wednesday, December 3, 2008] Based on the outstanding success of the first tandem mission between ERS-2 and Envisat last year, ESA has paired the two satellites together again to help improve our understanding of the planet.
»» Observing Jupiter to understand Earth
[Friday, December 5, 2008] Magnetic substorms on Earth disrupt orbiting satellites, including telecommunication satellites and global positioning systems.
»» Northrop Grumman CEO Says Transforming Global Climate Data Into Knowledge is Key to Addressing Global Climate Change, Demonstrating U.S. Leadership
[Tuesday, December 9, 2008] Ronald Sugar has called for a national initiative to transform the global climate data being collected by various earth observation systems into the practical, decision-quality knowledge needed to address the challenges of global climate change.
»» Leap Second will be added to clocks on Dec. 31, 2008
[Tuesday, December 9, 2008] On December 31, 2008 a "leap second" will be added to the world's clocks at 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
»» Outliving expectations: Marisat-F2 satellite held on for 32 years, served South Pole for 8
[Friday, December 12, 2008] Concluding 32 years of distinguished service for global communications, one of three aged communications satellites used to connect South Pole Station to the rest of the world was decommissioned on Oct. 29 after eight years of service to the station.
»» Researchers identify new region of the magnetosphere
[Saturday, December 13, 2008] A detailed analysis of the measurements of five different satellites has revealed the existence of the warm plasma cloak, a new region of the magnetosphere.
»» Space Has Never Been Closer: NASA Instruments Document Contraction of the Boundary between the Earth’s Ionosphere and Space
[Monday, December 15, 2008] Observations made by NASA instruments onboard an Air Force satellite have shown that the boundary between the Earth's upper atmosphere and space has moved to extraordinarily low altitudes.
»» Solar Flare Surprise
[Monday, December 15, 2008] Solar flares are the most powerful explosions in the solar system. Packing a punch equal to a hundred million hydrogen bombs, they obliterate everything in their immediate vicinity. Not a single atom should remain intact.
»» Ancient magma 'superpiles' may have shaped the continents
[Tuesday, December 16, 2008] Two giant plumes of hot rock deep within the earth are linked to the plate motions that shape the continents, researchers have found.
»» Breathing cycles in Earth's upper atmosphere tied to solar wind disturbances
[Tuesday, December 16, 2008] A new study shows the periodic "breathing" of Earth's upper atmosphere is due in part to cyclic solar wind disturbances, a finding that should help engineers track satellites more accurately and improve forecasts for electronic communication disruptions.
»» Biggest Breach of Earth's Solar Storm Shield Discovered
[Wednesday, December 17, 2008] Earth's magnetic field, which shields our planet from particles streaming outward from the Sun, often develops two holes that allow the largest leaks, according to researchers sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation.
»» Mission Operations Readiness Review for NPOESS Preparatory Project Completed
[Wednesday, December 17, 2008] A comprehensive Mission Operations Readiness review of the NPOESS Preparatory Project was successfully completed last month.
»» New Oceanography Mission Data Now Available From NASA
[Wednesday, December 17, 2008] Oceanography data that will help scientists around the world better understand climate change are now available. The data come from the Ocean Surface Topography Mission, also known as OSTM/Jason-2.
»» Abrupt Climate Change: Will It Happen this Century?
[Thursday, December 18, 2008] The United States faces the potential for abrupt climate change in the 21st century that could pose clear risks to society in terms of our ability to adapt.
»» Rising Seas, Severe Drought, Could Come in Decades, Says U.S. Report
[Saturday, December 20, 2008] The United States could suffer the effects of abrupt climate changes within decades--sooner than some previously thought--says a new government report.
»» Modern day scourge helped ancient Earth escape a deathly deep freeze
[Sunday, December 21, 2008] The planet's present day greenhouse scourge, carbon dioxide, may have played a vital role in helping ancient Earth to escape from complete glaciation, say scientists in a paper published online today.
»» ESA Scientists spend a white Christmas in Antarctica
[Monday, December 22, 2008] The idea of a white Christmas may seem magical for many of us, but spare a thought for a team of scientists forgoing the festive season to take part in a novel campaign being carried out in one of the most inhospitable regions on Earth.
»» Research team reports how, when life on Earth became so big
[Monday, December 22, 2008] In 3.5 billion years, life on earth went from single microscopic cells to giant sequoias and blue whales. Scientists have now documented quantitatively that the increase in maximum size of organisms was not gradual, but happened in two distinct bursts.
