The solar wind appears to be ripping big chunks of air from the atmosphere of Mars. This could help solve a longstanding mystery about the Red Planet.

Nov. 21, 2008: Researchers have found new evidence that the atmosphere of Mars is being stripped away by solar wind. It’s not a gently continuous erosion, but rather a ripping process in which chunks of Martian air detach themselves from the planet and tumble into deep space. This surprising mechanism could help solve a longstanding mystery about the Red Planet.

Source: Nasa Science – click here or title for full article

 

Yesterday, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft flew past Mercury and photographed a broad swath of never-before-seen terrain. The first of more than 1,200 high-resolution images are now arriving back at Earth.

“The MESSENGER team is extremely pleased by the superb performance of the spacecraft and the payload,” said Sean Solomon, MESSENGER lead scientist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington DC.

“We are now on the correct trajectory for eventual insertion into orbit around Mercury, and all of our instruments returned data as planned,” he said…

Source: Nasa Science – click here or title for full article

 

 

 

Nov. 7, 2008: After two-plus years of few sunspots, even fewer solar flares, and a generally eerie calm, the sun is finally showing signs of life.

“I think solar minimum is behind us,” says sunspot forecaster David Hathaway of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

His statement is prompted by an October flurry of sunspots. “Last month we counted five sunspot groups,” he says. That may not sound like much, but in a year with record-low numbers of sunspots and long stretches of utter spotlessness, five is significant. “This represents a real increase in solar activity.”

Source: Nasa Science – click here or title for full article