Category: Uncategorized

May 23, 2013

New WISE data release

WISE has released a new dataset.  It is a re-processing of the data taken from 1 Oct 2010 to 1 Feb 2011 after all the hydrogen coolant was gone.  During this "warm" WISE period only the 3.4 and 4.6 micron ...

May 21, 2013

New dust devils swirls

A piece of Mars: Swirly loops form on the martian surface as dust devils pass by, cleaning up dust on the surface and revealing the dark, rippled dune beneath. Every year the swirls get cleaned off and reform -- such ...

April 24, 2013

Past History of a Wet Mars Seen at Libya Montes

Scientists report on identification of clays and carbonate that formed on early Mars in a liquid water environment near a large impact basin. Coordinated analyses using multiple datasets were used to characterize the composition and stratigraphy of the region. ...

April 22, 2013

Topography and the wind

A piece of Mars: Everybody else loves this image because it shows an inverted channel -- the remains of a stream that once flowed through this area. But I love it because the little dunes were also formed by a ...

March 15, 2013

Spines

A piece of Mars: Here are some old dunes that look a little like vertebrae of fossils (if you think they look like dragon spines poking out of the ground then you're playing too many video games). The white areas ...

March 7, 2013

Almost a dune

A piece of Mars: Not all piles of windblown sand are able to form proper dunes, with a fully developed avalanche on the downwind side. Here, bluish sand tries to make its way through hilly terrain, which both traps the ...

March 3, 2013

Windswept landscape

A piece of Mars: As the wind blows sand over terrain, the grains deepen grooves in weak materials, enhancing the topography in the direction of the strongest wind. Here, over eons, sand marching from right to left has formed dunes ...

February 19, 2013

Drifting sand

A piece of Mars: Dark sand has been blown into the scene from the upper right. It has piled up against older, brighter dunes that may now be inactive. The sand drifts on and on, piling up where the wind ...

February 14, 2013

Opening up the Gates of Hell

Pluto needs more moons! In addition to surpassing 220,000 votes in just a bit over three days, we have received about 15,000 nominations for alternative names. Today I have just added eight more to the ballot, selected from among the most popular ...

February 14, 2013

Act now! Save Your Science from Sequestration

An important message  We are asking YOU, the US-based SETI Institute Fans,  our followers on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to help us save science from sequestration. Send a FAX or write a letter and even send a tweet to your members of ...