The study reveals that barrier islands cluster along tectonically calm coasts, with stable coasts producing wide, low relief areas conducive to island formation. The rate of sea level rise is critical in shaping island fate, with rapid rise leading to erosion and disappearance.
A team of scientists found that solar minimums lead to geomagnetic effects on Earth due to the speed of the solar wind, interplanetary magnetic field strength, and coronal hole placement. Coronal holes caused a decrease in solar wind speed and southward magnetic components, resulting in lower geomagnetic effects.
Tropical Depression 1A formed in the Arabian Sea on June 11, bringing heavy rainfall to regions near Gir Forest National Park. The system weakened quickly, with satellite imagery showing disorganized clouds by June 13, and was expected to dissipate rapidly.
Hurricane Adrian's rapid dissipation was captured by NASA's Aqua satellite on June 10, revealing a rounded-pinwheel shape with a visible eye. The storm weakened to remnant low pressure area status by Sunday, June 12, with maximum sustained winds between 20-30 knots.
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will observe the total lunar eclipse on June 15, capturing detailed images and data on how different areas of the moon's day side cool off during the event. The Diviner instrument will record temperature changes in various regions, revealing information about the uppermost few millimeters of th...
System 94L is making slow progress in a north-northeasterly direction, bringing clouds to eastern Cuba and the Bahamas. A 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms is forecast for the Bahamas as the low approaches, with a northeasterly track expected over the weekend.
Astronomers have discovered a second supersized black hole at the heart of the unusual nearby galaxy Markarian 739. The study used NASA's Swift satellite and Chandra X-ray Observatory to find the hidden AGN, which is one of the nearest and clearest cases of a binary AGN. The dual black holes are separated by only 11,000 light-years.
NASA satellite imagery shows Adrian's eye despite overcast clouds, revealing strong thunderstorms and a minimum central pressure of 948 millibars. The storm is expected to stay at sea but will stir up rough surf along the southwestern coast of Mexico.
NASA's Landsat 5 satellite captured an image of the long damage track created by a Massachusetts tornado on June 1, 2011. The satellite also provided an earlier image from 2010 for comparison, enabling clearer visualization of the tornado's eastward track.
Tropical Storm Sarika is bringing heavy rainfall to the South China Sea, with satellite imagery showing strongest thunderstorms south of the storm's center. Infrared satellite imagery reveals a fully exposed low-level circulation center, weakening the storm's circulation.
NASA's Aqua satellite and GOES-13 provided high-resolution images and a video showing the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcano eruption in Chile. The ash plume moved from southeast to east over several days, influenced by changing winds., Satellite data will help airlines determine safe air travel routes.
Scientists discovered diverse amino acid amounts in Tagish Lake meteorites, suggesting water alteration played a role in their formation. The findings provide new insights into pre-biotic chemistry on asteroids and may impact our understanding of the origin of life on Earth.
A low-pressure system stretching over the Caribbean Sea is causing heavy rainfall and flooding in various islands. The GOES-13 satellite captured an image of System 94L on June 9, revealing a minimum central pressure of 1001 millibars and cloud cover centered over eastern Cuba and Jamaica.
Hurricane Adrian has plenty of strong thunderstorms over 9 miles high, fueled by warm ocean water. The storm's eye is confirmed by NASA's infrared image, with coldest cloud top temperatures as cold as -63 Fahrenheit.
NASA has confirmed Tropical Depression 05W (TD05W) as the fifth NW Pacific tropical depression, bringing rainfall to the northwestern Philippines. The storm is expected to intensify into a tropical storm and move toward southern China.
System 98A has intensified due to warm waters of the Arabian Sea and reduced convection inhibiting effects, with cold cloud tops indicating heavy rainmaking capabilities. The system is forecast to drift northwest and may strengthen into a tropical storm within 24 hours.
Tropical Storm Adrian forms in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, strengthening with high cloud tops and moderate rainfall, triggering a tropical storm watch in Mexico. The storm is forecast to reach hurricane strength by the National Hurricane Center.
A medium-sized solar flare, S1-class radiation storm, and spectacular coronal mass ejection were observed on June 7, 2011. The event was recorded by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, showing a large eruption of cool gas with temperatures less than 80,000 K.
Tropical Depression 1E forms near Acapulco, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph and a minimum central pressure of 1006 millibars. TRMM data reveals hot towers reaching heights of up to 16 km, indicating intense energy within the storm.
Scientists have discovered 'surfer' waves in the sun's corona, which could help explain why it's thousands of times hotter than expected. The waves were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and are thought to be caused by Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities.
Puyehue-Cordón Volcano in Chile erupted on June 4, prompting 3,500 evacuations. NASA's Terra Satellite, GOES-13, and GOES-11 captured images of the massive ash plume blowing northeast and southeast across the Atlantic Ocean.
Scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have produced groundbreaking global maps of land plant fluorescence, providing a more direct window into the inner workings of photosynthesis. The maps show sharp contrasts in plant fluorescence between seasons and demonstrate the feasibility of measuring fluorescence from space.
A low-pressure system in the Eastern Pacific is organizing and showing strong convection, indicating a good chance of development. The National Hurricane Center predicts a 90% chance of formation over the next two days.
Jupiter's Grand Tack model reveals the planet's youthful travels profoundly impacted the solar system. The giant planet's migration toward and away from the sun altered the nature of the asteroid belt, making Mars smaller than expected. The new model suggests Jupiter perturbed objects in the asteroid belt instead of destroying it.
A low pressure area in the far western Caribbean Sea shows signs of tropical cyclone development, with a near zero percent chance over the next 48 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center. A second low pressure area is expected to bring heavy rainfall and flash flooding to Jamaica, Haiti, and other parts of the Caribbean.
A low-pressure area, System 93L, has formed off the North Carolina coast and is now located off northeastern Florida. The storm is expected to move over northern Florida later today, bringing scattered strong thunderstorms and isolated thunderstorms to the region.
Typhoon Songda weakened to a depression with maximum sustained winds near 30 knots (34 mph/55 kmh) as it moved northeast at 26 knots (30 mph/48 kmh). The NASA satellites provided crucial forecast insights into the storm's behavior, capturing its rainfall totals and wave heights.
A NASA infrared satellite captured a powerful storm system over northwestern Georgia, revealing very strong thunderstorms with icy cold cloud tops. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument measured cloud top temperatures as cold as -63 Fahrenheit/-52 Celsius, indicating the potential for intense rainfall and damage.
Typhoon Songda has weakened due to adverse wind conditions, but still poses a threat to Taiwan and Japan. The storm's cloud tops are warming, indicating weakening convection and thunderstorms.
Astronomers confirm 13.14 billion light-year distance for GRB 090429B, making it contender for most distant object detected, and shedding light on the cosmos' earliest stars and galaxies.
Researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have developed an electrohydrodynamic (EHD)-based thermal control technology that promises to make it easier and more efficient to remove heat from small spaces. The technology, which uses electric fields to pump coolant through tiny ducts, could benefit a wide range of applications, in...
Typhoon Songda intensified into a super typhoon with wind speeds estimated at over 130 knots, causing heavy rainfall and rough seas in the Philippines and nearby regions. NASA's TRMM satellite captured detailed images of the storm's circular eye and rain bands.
The discovery of blue stragglers in the Milky Way's hub suggests that the galaxy stopped making stars billions of years ago. The findings provide new constraints for models of the star-formation history of the bulge.
Typhoon Songda intensified into a major typhoon over the northern Philippines due to warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear. The TRMM satellite provided detailed rainfall analysis using its Microwave Imager and Precipitation Radar instruments, showing well-organized bands of heavy rainfall converging into the storm.
The OSIRIS-REx mission aims to study the asteroid 1999 RQ36, a primitive near-Earth object that contains original material from the solar nebula. The mission will return samples to Earth in 2023, providing insights into the solar system's formation and potential biosignatures.
The TRMM satellite detected a large area of heavy rainfall in the supercell thunderstorm that spawned the Joplin tornado. Rainfall rates exceeded 2 inches per hour, indicating a strong storm system.
The NASA National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) climate and weather satellite has completed all environmental testing, including thermal vacuum testing. The successful test paves the way for the satellite's planned launch on October 25.
Typhoon Songda has strengthened with a tighter low-level circulation center, indicating strong storms and heavy rainfall. The storm is now generating waves up to 26 feet high and tropical-storm force winds extend out to 105 miles from the center.
The Hubble Space Telescope has observed the historic variable star V1, which helped confirm the size of the universe and its expansion. The observations, conducted in collaboration with amateur astronomers, provide new insights into the properties of Cepheid variables and their role in measuring distances to galaxies.
Tropical Storm Songda has strengthened over the past few days, with maximum sustained winds reaching 69 mph. The storm is expected to continue intensifying, but its center will remain offshore from Luzon, Philippines. Gusty winds, heavy rainfall, and rough surf are forecast for the western side of the storm.
Tropical Storm 04W is growing rapidly with towering thunderstorms reaching up to 10 miles high, according to NASA's TRMM satellite data. The storm is predicted to strengthen into a Category 2 typhoon by May 25, posing potential threats to the northern Philippines.
Researchers used radio telescopes to produce the most detailed image of particle jets erupting from a supermassive black hole in a nearby galaxy. The image shows features as small as 15 light-days across, making it the highest-resolution view of galactic jets ever made.
Researchers tracked a massive storm in Saturn's northern hemisphere, which rapidly expanded into a giant thunderstorm. The storm produced dark vortices and disrupted the atmosphere, transporting energy and material over great distances.
Recent Landsat satellite data captured by NASA and the USGS show extreme flooding of the Mississippi River around Memphis, Tenn., with a crest height of 47.87 feet, surpassing the second-highest record in 1937. The flood is expected to cause widespread damage and cost approximately $1 billion.
Researchers create comprehensive maps of the moon's slopes and roughness, revealing insights into crater formation and volcanic activity. The study provides clues about the impact processes that shaped the moon's surface over billions of years.
The Fast Plasma Instrument (FPI) will collect data on plasma in small regions using electron and ion spectrometers at a rate of 30 times per second. The mission aims to understand the control of magnetic reconnection, a complex phenomenon that releases enormous bursts of energy.
Asteroid Scheila unexpectedly brightened with short-lived plumes after being struck by a smaller asteroid, according to data from NASA's Swift satellite and Hubble Space Telescope. The collision created a crater 1,000 feet across and ejected over 660,000 tons of dust.
The TRMM satellite detected massive thunderstorms and very heavy rainfall along a powerful cold front moving through the eastern United States on April 28, 2011. Tornadoes spawned by these storms caused significant loss of life, with at least 128 deaths in Alabama and 15 in Georgia.
Scientists use a field campaign to study convective clouds and their role in generating significant rainfall. The Mid-latitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) combines data from various sources to better understand precipitation physics and improve satellite algorithms.
A low pressure area over northern Illinois has created conditions for severe weather in the eastern third of the US. The GOES-13 Satellite captured an image of strong thunderstorms with a high risk area stretching from southern Arkansas to northeastern Texas.