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Sunday:
May 12, 2002 | |
0507 GMT |
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Chandra reveals merging galaxies, cosmic collisions
The Chandra image of Arp 270 shows two galaxies about 90 million light years from Earth in the early stage of a merger. The future evolution of these galaxies will be radically changed by the merger as their mutual gravity distorts their shape, and the collision of gas clouds in the galaxies stimulates the formation of new stars.
 FULL STORY
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A dusty haze around blue compact dwarf galaxies
Just as dust in the earth's atmosphere causes the setting sun to dim and glow red, so dust in galaxies shows its presence by preferentially blocking out the blue components of light emitted from stars. But just how much dust is in galaxies, and how much of the starlight is blocked out?
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Saturday:
May 11, 2002 | |
0326 GMT |
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NASA chooses two concepts for planet-finder mission
As part of its quest to find Earth-sized planets around stars and look for telltale chemical signatures of life, NASA has chosen two mission architecture concepts for further study and technology development.
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A good celestial sky show gets better
The Moon will join five visible planets to perform a seldom-seen celestial show on Monday evening. To see the conjunction of the planets and moon, look in the western sky above the horizon just after sunset. Look for Venus, the brightest star in the group. Red Mars will be right below, and Jupiter, which appears white, will be topmost. Mercury is closest to the horizon, and Saturn is just below Mars.
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Friday:
May 10, 2002 | |
0402 GMT |
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Gaseous streamers flutter in stellar breeze
Resembling the hair in Botticelli's famous portrait of the birth of Venus, softly glowing filaments stream from a complex of hot young stars. This image of a nebula, known as N44C, comes from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
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Earth's space-storm shield offers protection at a price
New observations from a NASA spacecraft reveal that a layer in the Earth's outer atmosphere acts like a heat shield by absorbing energy from space storms and reducing their ability to heat the lower atmosphere. However, it imposes a heavy toll for its services by creating a billion-degree cloud of electrified gas, or plasma, that surrounds the planet.
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NASA improves knowledge of ozone depletion
Scientists have unraveled a mystery about hydrogen peroxide that may lead to a more accurate way of measuring a gas that contributes to depletion of Earth's protective ozone layer.
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Thursday:
May 9, 2002 | |
0340 GMT |
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Earth-based tools used to image weather in space
"Following scattered solar explosions, we're in for some severe space weather over most of North America." It's not your typical forecast, but owners and operators of the hundreds of active satellites would be very interested in hearing it.
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White House moves to fill
No. 2 position at NASA
President George W. Bush has announced his intention to nominate Frederick D. Gregory as the next Deputy Administrator for NASA. Gregory, 61, is a veteran astronaut and U.S. Air Force combat pilot, and currently serves as the Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Flight at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
FULL STORY
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The first Spot 5 image
The first images taken by the High Resolution Geometric instruments aboard the CNES Spot 5 satellite were obtained on Tuesday. Initial analysis shows that the quality of the data matches the expected technical specifications.
FULL STORY
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Wednesday:
May 8, 2002 | |
0500 GMT |
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DirecTV-5 broadcasting satellite launched by Proton
A direct-to-home television broadcasting satellite with a storied past finally rocketed into space Tuesday to become the newest star in the DirecTV constellation. The DirecTV-5 spacecraft was successfully launched atop a Russian-built Proton rocket.
FULL STORY
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
VIDEO: PROTON ROCKET LAUNCHES WITH DIRECTV-5 QT or RV
VIDEO: ANOTHER VIEW OF PROTON'S LIFTOFF QT or RV
VIDEO: EXPLANATION OF REASON FOR MONDAY'S SCRUB QT or RV
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH PROCESSING OF DIRECTV-5 QT or RV
VIDEO: PROTON ROCKET ROLLED TO LAUNCH PAD QT or RV
VIDEO: ANIMATION DIRECTV-5 LAUNCHING ON PROTON QT or RV
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Global Surveyor adds to its Martian photo album
A view of the red planet almost completely enveloped in dust storms is one of 15,251 newly released images from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. These images bring the total number of snapshots taken by the spacecraft to more than 93,000.
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Guinness names aerogel world's lightest solid
A new version of aerogel, the particle-collecting substance on NASA's Stardust spacecraft, has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the solid with the lowest density.
FULL STORY
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Tuesday:
May 7, 2002 | |
0340 GMT |
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Launch countdown for Proton rocket aborted
Monday's planned liftoff of a Russian-made Proton rocket carrying a new television broadcasting spacecraft for the American DirecTV system was aborted with just a couple minutes left in the countdown due to a technical problem. Another launch attempt could occur as early as Tuesday.
MISSION STATUS CENTER - updates!
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Video coverage for subscribers only:
VIDEO: PRE-LAUNCH PROCESSING OF DIRECTV-5 QT or RV
VIDEO: PROTON ROCKET ROLLED TO LAUNCH PAD QT or RV
VIDEO: ANIMATION DIRECTV-5 LAUNCHING ON PROTON QT or RV
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Space research into how cells turn bad, cause cancer
To understand how good cells turn bad - causing cancer and other diseases - Dr. Gloria Borgstahl does research both in her lab at the University of Toledo, Ohio, and on experiments flown to the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory.
FULL STORY
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NASA's Mars Global Surveyor aging gracefully
As an automobile ages, it usually requires more trips to a mechanic. Spacecraft are designed for a primary mission; when all is going well, the mission is often extended to obtain more data for other research objectives. But spacecraft are also subject to the ravages of time and wear. The Mars Global Surveyor is now in its second extension following a very successful primary mission.
FULL STORY
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Monday:
May 6, 2002 | |
0412 GMT |
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Proton rocket to launch DirecTV satellite today
A new television broadcasting satellite for the American DirecTV system is poised to launch today aboard a Russian-made Proton rocket from Kazakhstan. Liftoff from Baikonur Cosmodrome is slated for exactly 1700 GMT (1 p.m. EDT).
MISSION STATUS CENTER
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NASA satellite sees swath of tornado destruction
A powerful tornado touched down in southern Maryland and ripped through the town of La Plata, destroying most of the historic downtown recently. The twister was the strongest ever recorded to hit the state and perhaps the strongest ever recorded in the eastern U.S. The tornado's path can be seen clearly in this image acquired by NASA's EO-1 satellite.
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