Tag: Ames Research Center’s Science Directorate

NASA’s Webb Reveals Smallest Asteroids Yet Found in Main Asteroid Belt

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Illustration of the main asteroid belt, orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter NASA NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope includes asteroids on its list of objects studied and secrets revealed.  A team led by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge repurposed Webb’s observations of a distant star to reveal a population of small asteroids — smaller than astronomers had ever detected orbiting the Sun in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The 138 new asteroids range from the size of a bus to the size of a…

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NASA Finds ‘Sideways’ Black Hole Using Legacy Data, New Techniques

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4 Min Read NASA Finds ‘Sideways’ Black Hole Using Legacy Data, New Techniques Image showing the structure of galaxy NGC 5084, with data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory overlaid on a visible-light image of the galaxy. Chandra’s data, shown in purple, revealed four plumes of hot gas emanating from a supermassive black hole rotating “tipped over” at the galaxy’s core. Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC, A. S. Borlaff, P. Marcum et al.; Optical full image: M. Pugh, B. Diaz; Image Processing: NASA/USRA/L. Proudfit NASA researchers have discovered a perplexing case of a black hole that appears to…

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Entrevista con Instructor de OCEANOS Samuel Suleiman

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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Samuel Suleiman, instructor de la pasantía OCEANOS, enseña a los estudiantes sobre el sargazo y la ecología costera en la Isla Culebra, Puerto Rico, durante la sección de trabajo de campo del proyecto. Suleiman también es el Director Ejecutivo de Sociedad Ambiente Marino: una ONG puertorriqueña que trabaja en la conservación y restauración de arrecifes de coral. NASA ARC/Milan Loiacono Read this interview in English here ¿Cuál es tu nombre y tu rol en OCEANOS? Mi nombre es Samuel…

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Entrevista con Instructora de OCEANOS María Fernanda Barbarena-Arias

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) María Fernanda Barbarena-Arias (izquierda), profesora asociada de biología e instructora de la pasantía OCEANOS, de pie en la arena de Playa Melones, Isla Culebra, durante la sección de trabajo de campo de la pasantía. NASA ARC/Milan Loiacono Read this interview in English here ¿Cuál es tu nombre y tu rol en OCEANOS? Mi nombre es María Fernanda Barbarena-Arias. Soy una profesora asociada al Departamento de Ciencia Natural, específicamente Biología, en la Universidad Interamericana, en el Recinto Metropolitano. Para OCEANOS,…

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Interview with OCEANOS Instructor María Fernanda Barbarena-Arias

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) María Fernanda Barbarena-Arias (left), an associate professor of biology and instructor for the OCEANOS internship, stands on the sand of Playa Melones, Culebra Island, during the field work section of the internship. NASA ARC/Milan Loiacono What is your name and your role with OCEANOS? My name is María Fernanda Barbarena-Arias. I am an associate professor of biology at the American University of Puerto Rico, Metropolitan Campus. I am also a co-PI in the OCEANOS project, and an instructor and…

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Interview with OCEANOS Instructor Samuel Suleiman

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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Samuel Suleiman, an instructor for the OCEANOS internship, teaches students about sargassum and shore ecology on Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, during the fieldwork section of the project. Suleiman is also the Executive Director of Sociedad Ambiente Marino: a Puerto Rican NGO that works in conservation and coral reef restoration. NASA ARC/Milan Loiacono What is your name and your role with OCEANOS? My name is Samuel Suleiman and I am the Executive Director of Sociedad Ambiente Marino: an NGO in…

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Interview with OCEANOS Instructor Roy Armstrong

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Roy Armstrong, an instructor for the OCEANOS internship and marine sciences professor, pilots a small boat around the cays off the coast of La Parguera, Puerto Rico. NASA ARC/Milan Loiacono What is your name and your role with OCEANOS? My name is Ray Armstrong and I am a professor in the Department of Marine Sciences of the University of Puerto Rico. I came to be involved in OCEANOS because my ex-student and good friend Juan Torres-Perez, who works at…

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NASA’s BioSentinel Studies Solar Radiation as Earth Watches Aurora

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Illustration of NASA’s BioSentinel spacecraft as it enters a heliocentric orbit. BioSentinel collected data during the May 2024 geomagnetic storm that hit Earth to learn more about the impacts of radiation in deep space. NASA/Daniel Rutter In May 2024, a geomagnetic storm hit Earth, sending auroras across the planet’s skies in a once-in-a-generation light display. These dazzling sights are possible because of the interaction of coronal mass ejections – explosions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun – with Earth’s magnetic field, which protects us from the radiation the…

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Proyecto de la NASA en Puerto Rico capacita a estudiantes en biología marina

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9 Min Read Proyecto de la NASA en Puerto Rico capacita a estudiantes en biología marina Una península cubierta por un bosque verde en la isla de Culebra se adentra en las aguas azules del Caribe mientras una tormenta cae a lo lejos. El azul turquesa que rodea la isla indica la presencia de aguas poco profundas, que son el hogar de los famosos arrecifes de coral de esta isla. Credits: Centro Ames de la NASA/Milan Loiacono Read this story in English here. Tainaliz Marie Rodríguez Lugo respiró hondo, se ajustó…

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NASA Project in Puerto Rico Trains Students in Marine Biology

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7 Min Read NASA Project in Puerto Rico Trains Students in Marine Biology A forested green peninsula of Culebra Island juts into the blue waters of the Caribbean as a rain storm hits in the distance. The teal blue surrounding the island indicates shallow waters, home to the island's famous coral reefs. Credits: NASA Ames/Milan Loiacono Tainaliz Marie Rodríguez Lugo took a deep breath, adjusted her snorkel mask, and plunged into the ocean, fins first. Three weeks earlier, Rodríguez Lugo couldn’t swim. Now the college student was gathering data on…

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