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NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement Mission: 10 years, 10 stories

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An extra-tropical cyclone seen in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan on March 10, 2014, by NASA’s GPM Microwave Imager. Credit: NASA From peering into hurricanes to tracking El Niño-related floods and droughts to aiding in disaster responses, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission has had a busy decade in orbit. As the GPM mission team at NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) commemorates its Feb. 27, 2014 launch, here are 10 highlights from the one of the world’s most advanced precipitation satellites. First Images Available…

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UNITE All-Nighter Delights Amateur Astronomers

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2 min read UNITE All-Nighter Delights Amateur Astronomers Fadi Saibi and his daughter Sophie, age 14, pose for a photograph with their Unistellar telescope in their backyard in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. Credit: Bay Area News Group/Nhat V. Meye Maybe you read about them in the papers–amateur astronomers in Japan, Russia, France, Finland, and the United States have been pulling all-nighters to spot extraordinary exoplanets, planets orbiting stars other than the Sun.  NASA’s UNITE project holds these planetary stakeouts several times every month, and you can join in!…

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2023 NASA International Space Apps Challenge Announces 10 Global Winners

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5 min read 2023 NASA International Space Apps Challenge Announces 10 Global Winners This Earth observation was captured during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station on September 2, 2014. European Space Agency Astronaut Alexander Gerst Ten teams from around the world have been named the Global Winners of the 2023 NASA International Space Apps Challenge. The Challenge is the largest annual global hackathon, and gives participants the opportunity to engage with real world problems we face on Earth and in space. The 2023…

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AWE Launching to Space Station to Study Atmospheric Waves via Airglow

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4 min read AWE Launching to Space Station to Study Atmospheric Waves via Airglow NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment, or AWE, mission is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in November 2023, where it will make use of a natural, ethereal glow in Earth’s sky to study waves in our planet’s atmosphere. Built by Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory in North Logan, Utah, AWE will be mounted on the exterior of the space station. From this perch, AWE will stare down toward Earth, tracking undulations in the air…

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This Week’s Sky at a Glance, March 25 – April 2

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What constellation trots behind Sirius and Canis Major across the southern sky? Puppis, not a puppy but the poop deck of Argo Navis. In this dark of the Moon, try for the Clown-Face Nebula high in Gemini. And the three dawn planets dance through two more isosceles triangles. The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, March 25 – April 2 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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Comet Leonard — A Gift at Christmastime

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Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1), which appeared to stall out around magnitude 5 in early December, has become a surprise performer. Since transitioning to the evening sky, it’s undergone three successive […] The post Comet Leonard — A Gift at Christmastime appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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