Samantha Hill, Author at Astronomy.com

Mars Express captures the beauty of a martian frostscape

Samantha Hill — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Although these frosty fields look like a picturesque winter wonderland blanketed in snow, this ice is actually composed of frozen carbon dioxide over the southern Australe Scopuli region of Mars. The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express spotted this scene using its High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) during its 23,324th orbit of the Red Planet.Continue reading "Mars Express captures the beauty of a martian frostscape"

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Smallest main-belt asteroids ever detected found hiding in JWST data

Samantha Hill — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Over the past 200 years, astronomers have cataloged over a million asteroids in the solar system’s main belt, down to the size of around a kilometer in diameter. But smaller asteroids were elusive — until recently, when a team of scientists utilized data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to spot some tiny asteroidsContinue reading "Smallest main-belt asteroids ever detected found hiding in JWST data"

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Astronomers urge FCC to research impacts of space junk

Samantha Hill — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:00:00 +0000

Citing environmental concerns, 120 astronomers and researchers implored the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in an Oct. 24 letter to halt launches of internet satellites like SpaceX’s Starlink. The letter, which was organized by the Public Interest Research Group, also urged FCC Space Bureau Chief Julie Kearney to investigate the potential negative environmental and health impactsContinue reading "Astronomers urge FCC to research impacts of space junk"

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NASA releases new infrared images from retired NEOWISE mission

Samantha Hill — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 17:00:00 +0000

Although it completed its mission in July, NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) still has interesting archival data covering the solar system thanks to the team at the Infrared Processing & Analysis Center (IPAC) at Caltech. After the spacecraft burned up in the atmosphere in November, IPAC completed a final data release ofContinue reading "NASA releases new infrared images from retired NEOWISE mission"

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New Starlink satellites could be 32 times brighter in radio waves than before

Samantha Hill — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 15:59:42 +0000

Researchers using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope in Europe have discovered the second generation of Starlink satellites emit higher levels of radio waves that could pose a serious risk to radio astronomy. This issue of radio-wave emission is in addition to the sunlight that Starlink and other satellites reflect, which can be visibleContinue reading "New Starlink satellites could be 32 times brighter in radio waves than before"

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How Yerkes Observatory started over

Samantha Hill — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 15:07:41 +0000

The town of Williams Bay, Wisconsin is much like any other small city on a lake, with an offering of tourist shops and an active beach. But just a short drive past the activity brings you to Yerkes Observatory. Behind an opening of trees stands a sprawling, grand estate with a well-manicured lawn and aContinue reading "How Yerkes Observatory started over"

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ESA’s Hera mission is headed to Dimorphos, the asteroid NASA crashed into

Samantha Hill — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 17:48:07 +0000

Although the day started out with a few clouds and rain, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hera mission successfully launched on Monday at 10:52 a.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Although advance forecasts gave only a 15 percent chance of favorable weather, fears of postponement quickly dissipated as each stage of theContinue reading "ESA’s Hera mission is headed to Dimorphos, the asteroid NASA crashed into"

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What to know about the Hera mission to the deflected asteroid Dimorphos

Samantha Hill — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 06:55:56 +0000

UPDATE Oct. 7: The Hera mission lifted off today, Monday, Oct. 7 at 10:52 a.m. EDT. The launch livestream can be viewed below via the European Space Agency’s YouTube stream or on X via SpaceX’s account. Here’s what to know about the Hera mission. In 2022, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) successfully slammed intoContinue reading "What to know about the Hera mission to the deflected asteroid Dimorphos"

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Scientists recreate spiderlike formations on Mars in the lab

Samantha Hill — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 17:30:32 +0000

Each spring, when the winter frost departs, the bulbous bodies and sprawling legs of “spiders” appear across Mars’ southern hemisphere. They’re known as araneiform terrain, and scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, recently recreated the formations in a vacuum on Earth to better understand how they form and what they canContinue reading "Scientists recreate spiderlike formations on Mars in the lab"

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NASA bids farewell to NEOWISE mission

Samantha Hill — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 20:16:29 +0000

After 10 years and nearly 27 million images, NASA said goodbye to the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission last week when its transmitter was turned off. The spacecraft began life as a space telescope tasked with uncovering distant galaxies but became so much more by searching for potentially hazardous comets and asteroidsContinue reading "NASA bids farewell to NEOWISE mission"

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