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Monday, November 7, 2016

Astronaut Don Pettit's 'Spaceborne' Offers Other-Worldly Look at Earth

Three things have primarily changed how we see Earth in photographs from the International Space Station. The third was NASA astronaut Don Pettit. A photography enthusiast since he was a student in grade school, Pettit extended his passion to his perch 250 miles (400 km) above the planet as a flight engineer onboard the space station.

Oldest Megamouth Shark on Record Had Chipped Tooth

Based on that tooth, paleontologists have been able to name a previously unknown ancient species of megamouth shark, one that's related to the modern but rarely seen megamouth shark, Megachasma pelagios, the researchers said. The newfound species, called Megachasma alisonae, is the oldest megamouth shark on record, and pushes back the existence of megamouth sharks by 13 million years, said the study's lead researcher Kenshu Shimada, a paleobiologist at DePaul University in Chicago. The distinct shape of the ancient tooth — which looks like a pitchfork with a prominent middle point and two side cusps — indicates that M. alisonae ate small fish, likely "by impaling them on the taller centrally placed crown," said study co-author David Ward, a retired research associate in the Department of Earth Sciences at the Natural History Museum in London, in the United Kingdom.

Fighting Hunger? Plant Protein May Keep You Feeling Full Longer than Meat

Eating plant protein may help keep you feeling full longer — and help you eat less at your next meal — than eating animal protein, a new study suggests. The meals varied in the protein patty and mash that was included: The first included a high-protein meat patty and a potato mash, the second had a high-protein patty that was made from legumes (a plant group that includes beans and lentils) and a split pea mash, and the third had a low-protein legume patty with a combination split pea and potato mash. Even more surprisingly, while the participants rated the high-protein vegetable patty meal as the most filling, they also said that the low-protein vegetable patty meal was just as filling as the high-protein meat patty meal, said Anne Raben, the study's senior author and a professor of obesity research at the University of Copenhagen.

Citizen Scientists Jump Aboard NASA's Jupiter Mission to Create Amazing Images

A camera flying aboard NASA's current mission to Jupiter is snapping stunning new images of the gas giant's stormy surface, and enabling members of the public to take an active role in this historic mission. The Juno probe is flying closer to Jupiter than any spacecraft has done in history, coming to within about 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) of the giant's stormy cloud tops. The JunoCam instrument is an exception: It takes pictures of the surface of Jupiter's cloud tops.

Incoming! How NASA and FEMA Would Respond to an Asteroid Threat

NASA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) came together Oct. 25 to plan a response to such a hypothetical event. In a "tabletop exercise," a kind of ongoing simulation, the two agencies tested how they would work together to evaluate the threat, prevent panic and protect as many people as possible from the deadly collision. "It's not a matter of if, but when, we will deal with such a situation," Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's Science Mission Directorate's new associate administrator, said in a statement.

Friday, November 4, 2016

SpaceX aiming to return to flight next month: CEO Musk

By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Friday his space launch company is aiming to return its rockets to flight in mid-December following a launch pad accident two months ago. During an interview with CNBC, Musk said investigators had figured out why a Falcon 9 rocket burst into flames on Sept. 1 as it was being fueled for a routine, preflight test. The oxygen then reacted with a carbon composite bottle containing liquid helium that sits inside the oxygen tank, triggering an explosion.

'Shaky' Solar Eclipse Spotted from Space (Video)

A "shaky" solar eclipse in space was captured by one of NASA's sun-gazing spacecraft. The agency's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) caught the eclipse on camera on Sunday (Oct. 30). SDO's footage of the partial solar eclipse shows the sun appearing to have tremors, but the shivering wasn't due to worries about Halloween.