2000
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NASA goes on SAFARI
Aug. 16, 2000
Southern Africa offers a unique climate sub-system where scientists can study the effects of industrial activity, biomass burning and changing patterns of land usage on the environment. Last weekend a international team of scientists launched an intensive campaign -- part of the SAFARI 2000 project -- to study this complex region from the ground, the air and from space.
Audacious & Outrageous: Space Elevators
Sept. 7, 2000
Science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke was once asked when the "space elevator," a notion he helped to popularize, would become a reality. Clarke answered, "Probably about 50 years after everybody quits laughing." Nowadays NASA scientists are taking the idea seriously.
Breathing Easy on the Space Station
Nov. 13, 2000
Life support systems on the International Space Stationprovide oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide, and manage vaporous emissions from the Astronautsthemselves. It's all part of breathing easy in our new home in space.
Ursid Meteor Surprise
Dec. 18, 2000
The normally meek Ursid meteor shower could surprise sky watchers with a powerful outburst on Dec 22nd when Earth passes through a dust stream from periodic comet Tuttle.
LightningStrikes an Odd Pattern Over the Plains
Jan. 4, 2000
A surprising pattern emerges from satellite observations of lightning. Storms over the Great Plains States have significantly more Lightningthat never reaches the ground, an indicator of violent activity that can spawn hail and tornadoes.
An Asteroid goes to the Dogs
May 8, 2000
NASA astronomers have collected the first-ever radar images of a "main belt" asteroid. It's a metallic, dog bone-shaped rock the size of New Jersey, apparently sculpted during an ancient, violent cosmic collision. The asteroid, named 216 Kleopatra, was discovered in 1880, but until now, its shape was unknown.
Comet Borrelly or Bust
July 11, 2000
NASA's experimental Deep Space 1probe --left for dead after a guidance system failure in late 1999 -- was revived last month in a thrilling cross-the-solar-system rescue conducted by JPL engineers. The craft set sail again on June 28, 2000, just in time for a planned rendezvous with periodic comet Borrelly in 2001.
Looking Forward to the Space Station
Aug. 2, 2000
Scientists at a recent media forum said they are eager to begin using the International Space Stationas an innovative orbiting research laboratory. "The Hubble Space Telescope is to astrophysicists as the International Space Stationwill be to other researchers -- a working science laboratory in space," noted one participant.
Cosmic Light Pollution
July 10, 2000
A series of unmanned balloon flights will measure the subtle ultraviolet glow of the night sky and help unravel one of the most perplexing mysteries of Astrophysics-- the origin of ultra high-energy cosmic rays.
Unveiling the Infrared Sky
July 20, 2000
Your home computer can become a portal to a wonderland of stars, thanks to a massive release of images from an infrared sky survey sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation. The current release is based on a volume of data several hundred times larger than that contained in the human genome!