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NASA employee wins cost-cutting competition

By alkaon on November 18, 2011 No Comments

A NASA employee who suggested building a lending library to avoid repeat purchases of specialized tools and equipment is the winner of the Obama administration’s annual cost-cutting contest, the Office of Management and Budget announced late Thursday.

Matthew Ritsko, a financial manager at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, beat three other finalists in the Securing Americans Value and Efficiency awards, garnering 19,000 of more than 48,000 votes from members of the public nationwide. He will present his idea to President Obama at the White House, and it will be included in the president’s fiscal 2013 budget request, along with the other finalists’ suggestions.

The central library would allow employees to store tools after projects are complete. The equipment would be cataloged, and could be checked out as needed. Currently, the agency loses track of many tools once projects end.

Other finalists were: Eileen Hearty, a Housing and Urban Development Department Employee in Colorado who recommended eliminating unnecessary travel to inspect superior-rated properties every year; Kevin Korzenieski, a Treasury Department employee who advised cutting back on purchases of U.S. Code books for new attorneys; and Faith Stanfield, a Social Security Administration employee who said SSA should move Oasis magazine — currently printed and distributed to nearly 90,000 employees — online.

In a blog entry announcing the winner, Federal Chief Performance Officer Jeffrey Zients noted administration officials will review the roughly 20,000 other SAVE award submissions for possible inclusion in the budget.

The entries show “federal employees are committed to improving the way the government does business, which is even more important during these tough budgetary times,” Zients wrote.

Obama established the annual cost-cutting contest in 2009, as a way to involve front-line employees in improving government’s efficiency. The administration has now rolled the competition into its broader Campaign to Cut Government Waste, launched in June.

Article source: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1111/111711a1.htm

Tags: budget request, office of management and budget, efficiency awards, goddard space flight, federal employees, urban development department, oasis magazine

Categories : Nasa News

Tags : award submissions, budget request, code books, efficiency awards, federal employees, goddard space flight, goddard space flight center, housing and urban development, jeffrey zients, lending library, nasa employee, oasis magazine, office of management and budget, social security administration, space flight center, specialized tools, treasury department, unnecessary travel, urban development department

NASA Probe Beams Home Best Moon Map Ever

By alkaon on November 18, 2011 No Comments

This color-shaded relief view of the moon’s far side, taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, is part of the highest-resolution near-global lunar topographic map ever created.
CREDIT: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/DLR/ASU

Scientists have stitched together the highest-resolution topographic map of the moon ever created, using observations made by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft.

The new lunar map covers 98.2 percent of the moon and depicts the natural satellite’s surface and features at a pixel scale of about 330 feet (100 meters). A global view of Earth’s nearest neighbor at such high resolution had never existed before, scientists said.

“Our new topographic view of the moon provides the dataset that lunar scientists have waited for since the Apollo era,” said Mark Robinson of Arizona State University, principal investigator of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), in a statement Thursday (Nov. 17).

“We can now determine slopes of all major geologic terrains on the moon at 100-meter scale, determine how the crust has deformed, better understand impact crater mechanics, investigate the nature of volcanic features and better plan future robotic and human missions to the moon,” Robinson added.

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The new map was created using thousands of pictures acquired by the Wide Angle Camera, part of the LROC imaging system. The Wide Angle Camera maps nearly the entire moon every month from LRO’s average altitude of 30 miles (50 kilometers), building up a record of how the lunar surface looks under varying lighting conditions.

NASA launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2009 on a $504 million mission to map the moon in unprecedented detail. The spacecraft is about the size of a Mini Cooper car and carries seven instruments to study the lunar surface.

In addition to its mapping role, the spacecraft has also spotted several historic artifacts of moon exploration, including NASA’s Apollo landers and the boot prints left behind by moon-walking astronauts during the six manned lunar landings between 1969 and 1972.

The new moon map from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter doesn’t cover 100 percent of the moon because persistent shadows prevent the camera from snapping good photos near the north and south poles. However, another instrument aboard LRO, the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter, can map out polar terrain, so the “holes at the poles” may soon be filled in.

But even with the small polar blank spots, the new map is still plenty exciting, researchers said.

“I could not be more pleased with the quality of the map – it’s phenomenal!” Robinson said. “The richness of detail should inspire lunar geologists around the world for years to come.”

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Article source: http://www.space.com/13666-moon-map-lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter.html

Tags: natural satellite, reconnaissance orbiter, space flight center, goddard space flight, goddard space flight center

Categories : Nasa News

Tags : arizona state university, asu scientists, far side, global view, goddard space flight, goddard space flight center, impact crater, map of the moon, mark robinson, meter scale, natural satellite, pixel scale, principal investigator, reconnaissance orbiter, space flight center, topographic map, topographic view, volcanic features

NASA Announces 2011 NASA OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Video Contest

By alkaon on November 16, 2011 No Comments

GREENBELT, Md., Nov. 15, 2011 — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — NASA is kicking off its second annual NASA OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Video Contest to raise student awareness of how NASA technologies provide benefits to the public. Registration for the contest is open until January 3, 2012.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO)

The NASA OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Video Contest emphasizes the similarities between the popular OPTIMUS PRIME character from Hasbro’s TRANSFORMERS brand and NASA technologies now being used back on Earth.

Last year’s contest brought video submissions from over 190 students in grades 3-8, from 31 states, describing their favorite story from NASA’s 2009 Spinoff publication. This year’s contest will feature stories from NASA’s 2010 Spinoff publication and will be expanded to allow students in grades 9-12 to participate.

“The level of skill, effort and comprehension demonstrated by last year’s contestants was truly amazing,” said Nona Cheeks, head of the Goddard Space Flight Center’s Innovative Partnerships Office, which administers the contest for the Agency. “However, this year we are opening the contest up to include high school students, and we fully expect the videos sent in by that group to take the contest to a whole new level.” Additional changes for the 2011 contest include transitioning the awards ceremony to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and some exciting new prizes to be announced in December.

Submissions to the OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Video Contest will consist of three-minute videos that demonstrate understanding of the NASA technology and mission need, as well as the commercial application and public benefit. Submitted videos will be posted online, where the public will be encouraged to vote for their favorite in the first round of judging.

The top five submissions from each of the three grade categories (third-fifth, sixth-eighth and ninth- twelfth) will advance to a final judging round. A NASA panel of judges will select the winning entry in each category. The winning students, along with the associated NASA innovators and their commercial partners, will receive an OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Award trophy at the awards ceremony in April 2012.

For more information, and to register for the contest, please visit the NASA OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Video Contest Web site at:

http://ipp.gsfc.nasa.gov/optimus/

For more information about NASA’s Spinoff publication, please visit:

http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/

SOURCE NASA

Article source: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/15/4057113/nasa-announces-2011-nasa-optimus.html

Tags: kennedy space center, video submissions, goddard space flight, nasa technologies, optimus prime

Categories : Nasa News

Tags : awards ceremony, commercial application, goddard space flight, goddard space flight center, grade categories, greenbelt md, high school students, kennedy space center, nasa panel, nasa technologies, nasa technology, optimus prime, public registration, space flight center, student awareness, video contest, video submissions

NASA and USGS Announce Media Briefing: How Will We Sustain a More Populated …

By alkaon on November 15, 2011 No Comments

RESTON, Va. — Expanding demand from a growing world population — now numbered at over 7 billion — exerts unprecedented pressure on global resources, especially forests, water, and agriculture. Observing our world by remote sensing satellites enables scientists around the world to detect the most critical trends in natural resource conditions at local to global scales. Since 1972, the Landsat Earth observation satellites have monitored changes at the Earth’s land surface, including changes in forests, water bodies and agricultural and urban areas.

Using the nearly 40 year global Landsat record in combination with other Earth observation systems and the latest scientific techniques in Earth imaging, experts in mapping and monitoring our planet will describe present conditions and outline the future of many of Earth’s natural resources.

Alan Belward, European Commission Joint Research Centre
Matthew Hansen, University of Maryland, College Park
James Irons, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Curtis Woodcock, Boston University
Thomas Loveland, U.S. Geological Survey, moderator

Local reporters can attend the press event at the Pecora Remote Sensing Symposium, Hilton Washington Dulles Hotel, Herndon, Va., in the Potomac Ballroom, on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 12 p.m. EST. Reporters wishing to participate via telecom should call 1-888-469-0941. Outside of the U.S. call 415-228-3913, passcode “Landsat” for both lines. Reporters can follow this event at: www.nasa.gov/landsat.

Video of the press briefing will be streamed live at:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-gsfc

Goddard Release No. 11-075

Rani Gran
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-2483
rani.c.gran@nasa.gov

Jon Campbell
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va.
571-230-6831
joncampbell@usgs.gov

Article source: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/releases/2011/11-075.html

Tags: goddard space flight, maryland college park, remote sensing satellites, goddard space flight center

Categories : Nasa News

NASA: 2012 solar flares could DEVASTATE CITIES!

By alkaon on November 12, 2011 No Comments

OMFG In an attempt to defuse internet hysteria regarding the purported end of the world next year as the Mayan calendar long-count completes, NASA has stated that next year’s solar maximum will see solar flares which are “a problem the same way hurricanes are a problem”.

That’s a very big problem, then. As the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will tell you, Hurricane Katrina alone devastated three major US cities, killing hundreds of people. The Galveston hurricane of 1900 killed thousands.

NASA-funded studies have previously warned of a “Space Katrina” flare or coronal mass ejection that would devastate modern civilisation, bringing down power grids and frying satellites en masse. Food would rot, trains wouldn’t move, traffic would be gridlocked, phones and the internet wouldn’t work, the financial markets would be devastated, planes and ships would be lost and wrecked.

But it’s not all doom! This statement issued today from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in which we are told of hurricane-like solar flares coming, also adds reassuringly:

There simply isn’t enough energy in the sun to send a killer fireball 93 million miles to destroy Earth … even at their worst, the sun’s flares are not physically capable of destroying Earth.

But:

[Solar flares are] a problem the same way hurricanes are a problem. One can protect oneself with advance information and proper precautions. During a hurricane watch, a homeowner can stay put … or he can seal up the house, turn off the electronics and get out of the way.

So the planet may survive, but you may not, seems to be the message. However it may be reasonable to take some of the solar-flare doomsaying of recent years with a pinch of salt. As NASA notes, anyone older than 11 has already lived through at least one solar maximum of the sort coming up: and furthermore these maxima have been steadily decreasing in intensity, not increasing, over recent decades.

Some eminent solar physicists believe that in fact the Sun may be headed into a long period of inactivity in which no sunspots appear and no or very few flares occur, perhaps lasting many decades – like the so-called Maunder Minimum seen in the 17th and 18th centuries, which was accompanied by a “mini Ice Age” of very cold winters.

It may not be time to wrap all your electronics in tinfoil just yet. ®

Article source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/12/nasa_on_solar_2012/

Tags: pinch of salt, galveston hurricane of 1900, goddard space flight center, solar physicists, mass ejection

Categories : Nasa News

Tags : financial markets, galveston hurricane of 1900, goddard space flight, goddard space flight center, mass ejection, mayan calendar, million miles, move traffic, national oceanic and atmospheric administration, pinch of salt, power grids, proper precautions, solar flare, solar flares, solar maximum, solar physicists, space flight center

NASA Sees Inside Tropical Storm Sean

By alkaon on November 12, 2011 No Comments

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Tropical Storm Sean dumped rain over Bermuda as it passed by yesterday (Nov. 10), and a NASA satellite was able to see a 3-D cross-section of the storm and its rain as it flew overhead.

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite radar instrument sliced through Sean when it flew over yesterday at 0541 UTC (12:41 a.m. EST).

“TRMM’s Precipitation Radar (PR) data were used to show a 3-D cross section through Sean.,” said Hal Pierce of the TRMM science team from SSAI at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. “TRMM’s PR revealed that heights of storms in the edge of Sean’s center of circulation were reaching to about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles). ”

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Hurricane hunters also flew through Sean yesterday to get a better sense of its strength.

TRMM data was also used to create a “top down” satellite view or rainfall, that showed those high storms in Sean’s northwestern quadrant were the most powerful where rainfall was occurring at a rate of more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) per hour. The rest of Sean contained mostly scattered moderate to occasionally heavy rainfall.

Sean is moving northeast and is expected to weaken as it hits conflicting upper atmosphere winds that will shear off its top.

Tropical Storm Sean is the 18th named storm of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, which was predicted to have between 14 to 19 named storms.

Article source: http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/2030-nasa-sees-tropical-storm-sean.html

Tags: precipitation radar, trmm data, space flight center, s center, greenbelt md, satellite radar

Categories : Nasa News

Tags : better sense, goddard space flight, goddard space flight center, greenbelt md, hurricane hunters, nasa satellite, northwestern quadrant, precipitation radar, radar instrument, s center, satellite radar, satellite view, space flight center, trmm data, trmm science team, tropical rainfall, upper atmosphere

NASA: World won’t end next year

By alkaon on November 12, 2011 No Comments

With preacher Harold Camping’s prophecies earlier this year, and the Mayan calendar’s prediction about the end of the world next year, doomsday seems a hot topic these days.

But today, I received a reassuring press release from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, assuring a worried public (were we worried about this?) that a gigantic, killer solar flare won’t destroy the Earth in 2012.

Whew!

“There simply isn’t enough energy in the Sun to send a killer fireball 93 million miles to destroy Earth,” NASA’s Karen C. Fox reports in the release.

While solar activity is currently increasing in its standard 11-year cycle, this same cycle has occurred over millennia. So anyone over the age of 11 has already lived through such a solar maximum, with no harm, according to NASA.

However, NASA also notes that the next solar maximum is predicted to occur in late 2013 or early 2014, not 2012.

Additionally, it’s also true that geomagnetic “storms” caused by solar activity can disrupt some radio communications, endanger satellites and even knock out power systems.

So being without our iphones, GPS devices, and Blackberries might seem like the end of the world to some folks, come to think of it.

Article source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2011/11/nasa-solar-flare-sunspots-earth-destroyed-end-of-the-world/1

Tags: solar flare, goddard space flight center, radio communications, solar maximum, hot topic

Categories : Nasa News

Tags : geomagnetic storms, goddard space flight, goddard space flight center, gps devices, harold camping, hot topic, karen c fox, mayan calendar, million miles, nasa world, radio communications, solar activity, solar flare, solar maximum, space flight center

NASA might create the world’s coolest tool lending library

By alkaon on November 11, 2011 No Comments

When someone working at NASA needs a new tool, they don’t exactly head down to the nearest Home Depot with a purchase order. Because so many of the tools are really specialized, they tend to get custom built to order. Now NASA might create a lending library to cut costs while keeping track of all their ultra-cool custom tech tools.

NASA works with a huge number of subcontractors, so there tends to be a lot of inefficiency in the tool procurement procedures. One company will order some ultra expensive new tool, when another department already has the exact same tool and no longer uses it. The library is designed to keep track of everything and make matches whenever possible.

The library is the bright idea of Matthew Ritsko, who happens to be a financial manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He put the idea forward for consideration under President Obama’s SAVE Initiative, which awards the best money saving plan with a trip to present the idea to directly to the President.

You can vote for Matthew’s library on the White House website, but don’t start thinking that you’re going to be able to borrow a titanium and carbon fiber air wrench to work on your car over the weekend. The library will only be available to NASA employees.

SAVE Initiative, via Treehugger

Article source: http://dvice.com/archives/2011/11/nasa-might-crea.php

Tags: space flight center, procurement procedures, bright idea, nasa employees, goddard space flight

Categories : Nasa News

Tags : bright idea, carbon fiber, goddard space flight, goddard space flight center, home depot, nasa employees, procurement procedures, s library, space flight center, tech tools, tool lending library, white house

NASA material is blacker than black

By alkaon on November 11, 2011 No Comments

NASA engineers have produced the blackest stuff ever created – a material that absorbs more than 99 percent of the ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and far-infrared light that hits it.

The nanotech-based coating is a thin layer of multi-walled carbon nanotubes, positioned vertically on various substrate materials much like a shag rug.

The team says it’s grown the nanotubes on silicon, silicon nitride, titanium, and stainless steel – all materials commonly used in space-based scientific instruments.

“The reflectance tests showed that our team had extended by 50 times the range of the material’s absorption capabilities,” says John Hagopian of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

“Though other researchers are reporting near-perfect absorption levels mainly in the ultraviolet and visible, our material is darn near perfect across multiple wavelength bands, from the ultraviolet to the far infrared. Noone else has achieved this milestone yet.”

Tests indicate that the material’s especially useful for a variety of spaceflight applications where it’s necessary to observe in multiple wavelength bands – for example stray-light suppression, required for observing very faint light.

It absorbs 99.5 percent of the light in the ultraviolet and visible wavebands, dipping to 98 percent in the longer or far-infrared bands.

As well as having applications in astronomy, says Hagopian, Earth scientists could benefit: more than 90 percent of the light Earth-monitoring instruments gather comes from the atmosphere, overwhelming the faint signal they are trying to retrieve.

Black paint helps, but absorbs only 90 percent of the light that strikes it, and doesn’t remain black when exposed to very low temperatures.

Black materials also serve another important function on spacecraft instruments, particularly infrared-sensing instruments, says Goddard engineer Jim Tuttle – radiating heat away. This cools instruments to lower temperatures, where they are more sensitive to faint signals.

Article source: http://www.tgdaily.com/general-sciences-features/59584-nasa-material-is-blacker-than-black

Tags: substrate materials, jim tuttle, earth scientists, nasa material

Categories : Nasa News

Tags : black paint, earth scientists, faint light, faint signal, faint signals, goddard space flight, goddard space flight center, infrared bands, infrared light, jim tuttle, nasa engineers, nasa material, shag rug, silicon nitride, space flight center, spacecraft instruments, spaceflight applications, substrate materials, wavelength bands

Nasa goes to the dark side by inventing material that absorbs almost all light

By alkaon on November 11, 2011 No Comments

Scientists already planning range of space applications, from light suppression to heat and weight reduction

By
Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 5:33 PM on 10th November 2011

Nasa engineers have come up with a material that absorbs more than 99 per cent of all light that strikes it.

Absorbent material usually pulls in ultraviolet and visible light – but this new material also captures infrared and far infrared light.

The development has even taken fellow Nasa scientists by surprise, and it promises to open new frontiers in space technology.

The team of engineers at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, reported the findings recently at the SPIE Optics and Photonics conference.

Super black material: A close-up image (about 0.03 of an inch wide) of the new material. A section has been removed to show the vertical nanotubes

Electron microscope: an even closer view of the nanotube surface shows why some scientists refer to it as looking like shag-pile carpet

John Hagopian, leading the team, said reflectance tests were extremely positive, showing that the material has 50 times more absorbtion qualities than its rivals.

He said: ‘Though other researchers are reporting near-perfect absorption levels, mainly in the ultraviolet and visible, our material is darn near perfect across multiple wavelength bands – from the ultraviolet to the far infrared.

‘No one else has achieved this milestone yet.’

The material is a thin coating of carbon nanotubes – hollow and
multi-walled tubes about 10,000 times thinner than a strand of human
hair.

Practical use: The material could coat sections of light-sensitive equipment, such as the Hubble telescope

They stand at 90 degrees from the surface they coat, which Nasa scientists have referred to as looking like shag-pile carpet.

It can be applied to a variety of surfaces, including silicon, silicon nitride, titanium, and stainless steel – the materials
most commonly used in space science instruments.

Nasa is already thinking about practical applications for the material – the most obvious being as light-suppression on sensitive equipment.

The tiny gaps between the tubes
collect and trap background light to prevent it from reflecting off
surfaces and interfering with the light that scientists actually want to
measure.

Because only
a small fraction of light reflects off the coating, the human eye and
sensitive detectors see the material as black.

The material could dramatically slash light reflected off deep space equipment that is already straining to detect the faintest and farthest light sources.

Less obvious, however, is the fact that the material could also be used as a coolant.

The blacker the material, the more heat it radiates away, so the coating could be used on devices that remove heat from instruments and radiate it
away to deep space.

Finally, it is a lot lighter than other materials that off less absorbtion – and weight is a critical factor in any payload being sent into space.

Goddard engineer Manuel Quijada, who co-authored the SPIE paper and carried out the reflectance tests, said: ‘We are a little surprised by the results’.

He added: ‘We knew it was absorbent. We just didn’t think it would be this absorbent from the ultraviolet to the far infrared.’

Goddard scientist Ed Wollack summed it up by saying: ‘This is a very promising material. It’s robust, lightweight, and extremely black. It is better than black paint by a long shot.’

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This can have great applications to remove light pollution from space based telescopes like hubble, making a clearer picture i bet of distant planets like 51pegasus. Great times

- Phil, Gosport, 11/11/2011 01:11

This is really evil. I will have my revenge because it failed to finish me off.

- Light, Universe., 11/11/2011 00:45

I can turn invisible… but only when no one’s looking.

- Bob, London, England, 10/11/2011 22:27

You have to remember this is still in the experimental stage.until it’s proved whiter than white we’ll just have to take NASA’s word for it..

- Brains, Tracy Island, 10/11/2011 22:18

Make it into blinds quick as the kids’ ones still let the light creep around the edges

- cheery, wrexham, 10/11/2011 21:20

How much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.

- Martin, Denver, USA, 10/11/2011 21:17

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Article source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2059986/Nasa-goes-dark-inventing-material-absorbs-light.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Tags: hubble telescope, new frontiers, goddard space flight, carbon nanotubes, wavelength bands, sensitive equipment, electron microscope

Categories : Nasa News

Tags : absorbent material, carbon nanotubes, daily mail, electron microscope, goddard space flight, goddard space flight center, greenbelt maryland, hubble telescope, nasa engineers, nasa scientists, new frontiers, sensitive equipment, shag pile carpet, silicon nitride, space applications, space flight center, space science instruments, thin coating, wavelength bands

Rare Clear View of Alaska

On most days, relentless rivers of clouds wash over Alaska, obscuring most of the state's 6,640 miles (10,690 kilometers) of coastline and 586,000 square miles (1,518,000 square kilometers) of land. The south coast of Alaska even has the dubious distinction of being the cloudiest region of the United States, with some locations averaging more than 340 cloudy days per year. That was certainly not the case on June 17, 2013, the date that the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite acquired this rare, nearly cloud-free view of the state. The absence of clouds exposed a striking tapestry of water, ice, land, forests, and even wildfires. Snow-covered mountains such as the Alaska Range and Chugach Mountains were visible in southern Alaska, while the arc of mountains that make up the Brooks Range dominated the northern part of the state. The Yukon River -- the longest in Alaska and the third longest in the United States -- wound its way through the green boreal forests that inhabit the interior of the state. Plumes of sediment and glacial dust poured into the Gulf of Alaska from the Copper River. And Iliamna Lake, the largest in Alaska, was ice free. The same ridge of high pressure that cleared Alaska's skies also brought stifling temperatures to many areas accustomed to chilly June days. Talkeetna, a town about 100 miles north of Anchorage, saw temperatures reach 96°F (36°C) on June 17. Other towns in southern Alaska set all-time record highs, including Cordova, Valez, and Seward. The high temperatures also helped fuel wildfires and hastened the breakup of sea ice in the Chukchi Sea.Image Credit: NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFCCaption: Adam Voiland
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Does the supermoon h…

Archive for goddard space flight

NASA Probe Beams Home Best Moon Map Ever

NASA Announces 2011 NASA OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Video Contest

NASA and USGS Announce Media Briefing: How Will We Sustain a More Populated …

NASA: 2012 solar flares could DEVASTATE CITIES!

NASA Sees Inside Tropical Storm Sean

NASA: World won’t end next year

NASA might create the world’s coolest tool lending library

NASA material is blacker than black

Nasa goes to the dark side by inventing material that absorbs almost all light

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