jpl Archives

This illustration of TOI 700 d is based on several simulated environments for an ocean-covered version of the planet. Source: Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA “TESS” Planet Hunter Finds Earth-Size Habitable-Zone World

January 7, 2020 Guest Author or Contributor

By Jeanette Kazmierczak, NASA JPL NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered its first Earth-size planet in its star’s habitable zone, the range of distances where conditions may be just right to allow the […]

An artist's rendition of 2016 WF9 as it passes Jupiter's orbit inbound toward the sun. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

NASA’s NEOWISE Mission Spies One Comet, Maybe Two

December 30, 2016 Kay Whatley

By DC Agle (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Laurie Cantillo and Dwayne Brown (NASA Headquarters) NASA’s NEOWISE mission has recently discovered some celestial objects traveling through our neighborhood, including one on the blurry line between asteroid and comet. […]

New Technology Could Help Track Firefighters for Safety

December 20, 2016 Kay Whatley

By Andrew Good, Jet Propulsion Laboratory In 1999, six career firefighters lost their lives responding to a five-alarm fire. They were part of a group of 73 dispatched to a smoke-filled warehouse in Worcester, Massachusetts. Lost […]

Arriving at Uranus in 1986, Voyager 2 observed a bluish orb with extremely subtle features. A haze layer hid most of the planet's cloud features from view. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Thirty Years Later, Researchers Think Voyager 2 Data Shows More Uranus Moons

October 23, 2016 Kay Whatley

By Tara Roberts (University of Idaho Communications) and Elizabeth Landau (Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by Uranus 30 years ago, but researchers are still making discoveries from the data it gathered then. […]

spidery channels on Mars. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona.

Citizen Scientists Seek South Pole Terrain “Spiders” on Mars

October 21, 2016 Kay Whatley

By Guy Webster (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Alan Fischer (Planetary Science Institute), Peter Michaud (Gemini Observatory), and Dwayne Brown and Laurie Cantillo (NASA Headquarters) Ten thousand volunteers viewing images of Martian south polar regions have helped identify targets for closer […]

This dual view of Jupiter was taken on August 23, 2016, when NASA's Juno spacecraft was 2.8 million miles from the gas giant planet on the inbound leg of its initial 53.5-day capture orbit. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS.

NASA’s Juno to Soar Closest to Jupiter This Saturday

August 26, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Dwayne Brown and Laurie Cantillo (NASA HQ) and DC Agle (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) This Saturday at 8:51am (EDT) NASA’s Juno spacecraft will get closer to the cloud tops of Jupiter than at any other time […]

This diagram shows how the different phases of Spitzer's mission relate to its location relative to the Earth over time. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Spitzer Space Telescope Begins ‘Beyond’ Phase

August 25, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Elizabeth Landau (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Celebrating the spacecraft’s ability to push the boundaries of space science and technology, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope team has dubbed the next phase of its journey “Beyond.” “Spitzer […]

An example of a methane plume observation by NASA’s AVIRIS-NG spectrometer instrument. This plume was confirmed by JPL’s ground team to be caused by a leaking pipeline. The leak was reported to the pipeline operating company, which shut down the pipeline and repaired it. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

NASA Study Analyzes Four Corners Methane Sources

August 15, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Alan Buis, Jet Propulsion Laboratory In an extensive airborne survey, a NASA-led team has analyzed a previously identified “hot spot” of methane emissions in the Four Corners region of the United States, quantifying both […]

Comparison of detected methane plumes over Aliso Canyon, California, acquired 11 days apart in Jan. 2016 by: (left) NASA's AVIRIS instrument on a NASA ER-2 aircraft at 4.1 miles (6.6 kilometers) altitude and (right) by the Hyperion instrument on NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite in low-Earth orbit. Credit: NASA-JPL/Caltech/GSFC.

Porter Ranch CA Methane Leak Observed from Space

June 17, 2016 Kay Whatley

NASA Spots Single Methane Leak from Earth Observing-1 Equipment Released by Alan Buis, Jet Propulsion Laboratory For the first time, an instrument onboard an orbiting spacecraft has measured the methane emissions from a single, specific leaking facility on […]

Released by Alan Buis (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Alison Lee Satake (Louisiana State University), Stuart Wolpert (UCLA), and Lauren Lipuma (American Geophysical Union).

New Study Maps Rate of New Orleans Sinking

May 19, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Alan Buis (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Alison Lee Satake (Louisiana State University), Stuart Wolpert (UCLA), and Lauren Lipuma (American Geophysical Union) New Orleans and surrounding areas continue to sink at highly variable rates due to a combination […]

Comet 252P/LINEAR will safely fly past Earth on March 21, 2016, at a range of about 3.3 million miles (5.2 million kilometers). The following day, comet P/2016 BA14 will safely fly by our planet at a distance of about 2.2 million miles (3.5 million kilometers). Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

JPL Tells A ‘Tail’ of Two Comets

March 19, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by DC Agle (JPL) and Dwayne Brown & Laurie Cantillo (NASA) Two comets that will safely fly past Earth later this month may have more in common than their intriguingly similar orbits. They may be twins of […]

Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time, represented by the green grid, produced by accelerating bodies such as interacting supermassive black holes. These waves affect the time it takes for radio signals from pulsars to arrive at Earth. Photo Credit: David Champion.

Pulsar Web Could Detect Low-Frequency Gravitational Waves

February 25, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Elizabeth Ferrara (NANOGrav), with Elizabeth Landau (JPL) and Elizabeth Ferrara (NANOGrav) The recent detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) came from two black holes, each about 30 times the mass of […]

This artist's rendering shows a galaxy called W2246-0526, the most luminous galaxy known. New research suggests there is turbulent gas across its entirety, the first example of its kind. Image credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF; Dana Berry / SkyWorks; ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO).

Most Luminous Galaxy Is Ripping Itself Apart

January 19, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Elizabeth Landau, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory In a far-off galaxy, 12.4 billion light-years from Earth, a ravenous black hole is devouring galactic grub. Its feeding frenzy produces so much energy, it stirs up gas across […]

An exciting chapter of space exploration history will come to a close as NASA's Cassini spacecraft makes its final close flyby of Saturn's active, ocean-bearing moon Enceladus. The spacecraft is scheduled to fly past the icy moon at a distance of 3,106 miles (4,999 kilometers) on Dec. 19 at 9:49 a.m. PST (12:49 p.m. EST). Although Cassini will continue to observe Enceladus for the remainder of its mission (through Sept. 2017), its next-closest encounter with the moon will be at a distance more than four times farther away. The focus of the Dec. 19 encounter will be on measuring how much heat is coming through the ice from the moon's interior -- an important consideration for understanding what is driving its surprising geyser activity, which Cassini discovered in 2005. Credit:NASA/JPL-CalTech

Cassini Closes in on Enceladus, One Last Time

December 17, 2015 Kay Whatley

Released by Preston Dyches, Jet Propulsion Laboratory A thrilling chapter in the exploration of the solar system will soon conclude, as NASA’s Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft makes its final close flyby of the ocean-bearing moon Enceladus. Cassini […]

A combination of satellite data and ground measurements, such as from instrumented buoys like this one in Lake Tahoe on the California/Nevada border, were used to provide a comprehensive view of changing lake temperatures worldwide. The buoy measures the water temperature from above and below. Credit: Limnotech

Climate Change Rapidly Warming World’s Lakes

December 17, 2015 Kay Whatley

Released by Alan Buis (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Steve Cole (NASA Headquarters), and Eric Sorensen (Washington State University, Pullman) Climate change is rapidly warming lakes around the world, threatening freshwater supplies and ecosystems, according to a new NASA and […]