ScienceDaily: Space & Time News

NOAA's DSCOVR going to a 'far out' orbit Posted: 26 Jan 2015 02:06 PM PST Many satellites that monitor the Earth orbit relatively close to the planet, while some satellites that monitor the sun orbit our star. DSCOVR will keep an eye on both, with a focus on the sun. To cover both the Earth and sun, it will have an unusual orbit in a place called L1.

Gigantic ring system around J1407b much larger, heavier than Saturn's Posted: 26 Jan 2015 10:52 AM PST Astronomers have discovered that the ring system that they see eclipse the very young Sun-like star J1407 is of enormous proportions, much larger and heavier than the ring system of Saturn.

Swarm of microprobes to head for Jupiter Posted: 26 Jan 2015 08:23 AM PST A swarm of tiny probes each with a different sensor could be fired into the clouds of Jupiter and grab data as they fall before burning up in the gas giant planet's atmosphere. The probes would last an estimated 15 minutes according to planetary scientists. Transmitting 20 megabits of data over 15 minutes would be sufficient to allows scientists to get a picture of a large part of the atmosphere of the planet.

Meteosat-7 becomes EUMETSAT's longest-serving operational satellite Posted: 26 Jan 2015 08:22 AM PST On 24 January 2015, Meteosat-7 becomes the longest-serving operational satellite in EUMETSAT history, clocking up 17 years of monitoring the weather from space.

Hilltop panorama marks Mars rover's 11th anniversary Posted: 26 Jan 2015 07:53 AM PST A panorama from one of the highest elevations that NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has reached in its 11 years on Mars includes the U.S. flag at the summit.

Helicopter could be 'scout' for Mars rovers Posted: 26 Jan 2015 07:51 AM PST Getting around on Mars is tricky business. Each NASA rover has delivered a wealth of information about the history and composition of the Red Planet, but a rover's vision is limited by the view of onboard cameras, and images from spacecraft orbiting Mars are the only other clues to where to drive it. To have a better sense of where to go and what's worth studying on Mars, it could be useful to have a low-flying scout.