Results for: Atmosphere

After a two-year break, bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid is back with a new novel, ‘Atmosphere,’ a high-stakes romance set in the 1980s about two NASA astronauts. The book follows Joan Goodwin, a female astronomer who works in NASA’s Houston Mission Control Center, as she faces a global crisis while grappling with the potential loss of the person she loves most. Jenkins Reid spent months in Houston researching NASA and immersing herself in the world of space exploration, making ‘Atmosphere’ her most ambitious and immersive novel yet.

The 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano, while causing significant devastation, also had a lasting impact on the Southern Hemisphere’s climate. A new study reveals how the eruption’s massive release of water vapor and sulfur dioxide affected atmospheric temperatures and ozone levels, highlighting the complex interplay between volcanic eruptions and Earth’s climate system.

A new study analyzing moon rocks brought back by Apollo astronauts suggests that the moon may hold a record of Earth’s earliest atmosphere, which has been lost on our own planet. The research indicates that the moon’s magnetic field existed for only the first 140 million years of its existence, allowing it to capture ions from Earth’s atmosphere 4.36 billion years ago. This discovery could provide valuable insights into the composition of Earth’s early atmosphere, a period that remains largely unknown due to the lack of preserved rocks.

NASA has discovered a planet-wide electric field, known as the ambipolar electric field, surrounding Earth. This field, hypothesized decades ago, is thought to be as fundamental to our planet as its magnetic and gravitational fields. Scientists hope to use this discovery to better understand our planet’s atmospheric evolution and behavior.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers have observed distinct temperature differences between the morning and evening sides of a distant exoplanet, WASP-39 b. This marks the first time such variations have been detected on a planet outside our solar system, highlighting Webb’s ability to probe atmospheric conditions on exoplanets.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have uncovered previously unseen structures and activity in Jupiter’s atmosphere above the Great Red Spot, caused by powerful atmospheric gravity waves. These findings challenge the previously held assumption that the region above the Great Red Spot was relatively uninteresting and offer insights into the complex dynamics of Jupiter’s atmosphere.

The green flash is a rare optical phenomenon that occurs just before sunset or sunrise. It is caused by the separation of sunlight into different colors as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere. The green flash is usually visible for less than a second, but it can sometimes last for a minute or two. The best chances of seeing the green flash are on a clear day with a direct line of sight to the sun. You can also use binoculars or a telescope to make the flash more visible.

In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have detected the first evidence of an atmosphere around the ultra-hot exoplanet 55 Cancri e. Initially believed to be too hot and close to its star to support an atmosphere, new data from JWST has revealed otherwise. By analyzing the planet’s thermal emissions and chemical composition, scientists have uncovered the presence of a carbon-rich ‘secondary atmosphere’ that is replenished by the planet’s interior.

The James Webb Space Telescope has provided groundbreaking information about exoplanet 55 Cancri e, including the discovery of a possible rocky planet atmosphere outside our solar system. Despite the planet’s inhospitable conditions, including a surface that is likely a bubbling ocean of magma, astronomers have long speculated about the potential for an atmosphere. Utilizing Webb’s NIRCam and MIRI instruments, researchers detected indications of a volatile-rich atmosphere containing carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide. They also observed that the planet’s dayside is cooler than expected, suggesting heat transfer to the cooler nightside, possibly through an atmosphere. The researchers theorize that the atmosphere may have formed from gases originating within the planet due to extreme temperatures potentially stripping away gases present during its formation.

Astronomers have detected a thick atmosphere around a rocky exoplanet known as 55 Cancri e, which is twice the size of Earth. The exoplanet, located 41 light-years away, is wrapped in a blanket of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The discovery, published in the journal Nature, suggests that other similar exoplanets with thick atmospheres could potentially support life.