Heavens

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- The future of satellite technology is getting small — about the size of a shoebox, to be exact. These so-called "CubeSats," and other small satellites, are making space exploration cheaper and more accessible: The minuscule probes can be launched into orbit at a fraction of the weight and cost of traditional satellites.

The Rim Fire, now three weeks old, is still burning through Yosemite Forest. The blaze, thought to have been started by a hunter's illegal fire, has consumed over 246,000 acres of land. At present, this fire is 80% contained and is expected to be fully contained by September 20, 2013, over a month since it first began.

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite known as TRMM passed over Tropical Storm Lorena from its orbit in space on Friday, Sept. 6 and measured the rate in which rain is falling from the storm. Lorena was soaking some areas of Mexico's west coast and is headed for landfall in Baja California, Mexico.

On Friday, Sept. 6, a tropical storm warning was in effect for Baja California Sur from Agua Blanca to Buenavista, and a tropical storm watch was in effect for Baja California Sur North of Agua Blanca to Santa Fe.

A team of scientists from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has demonstrated that frozen water in the form of snow or frost can melt to form debris flows on sunward-facing slopes of sand dunes in the Alaskan arctic at air temperatures significantly below the melting point of water. The debris flows consist of sand mixed with liquid water that cascade down steep slopes.

Data from the dropsondes that are dispersed from one of NASA's Global Hawk unmanned aircraft assisted forecasters at the National Hurricane Center when analyzing the environment of newborn Tropical Storm Gabrielle at 11 p.m. EDT on Sept. 4.

One of two of NASA's Global Hawks flew over Tropical Depression Seven on Sept. 4, which organized into Tropical Storm Gabrielle.

Like the wind adjusting course in the middle of a storm, scientists have discovered that the particles streaming into the solar system from interstellar space have most likely changed direction over the last 40 years. Such information can help us map out our place within the galaxy surrounding us, and help us understand our place in space.

The results, based on data spanning four decades from 11 different spacecraft, were published in Science on Sept. 5, 2013.

Astronomers are constantly on the hunt for ever-colder star-like bodies, and two years ago a new class of such objects was discovered by researchers using NASA's WISE space telescope. However, until now no one has known exactly how cool their surfaces really are - some evidence suggested they could be room temperature.

A new study shows that while these brown dwarfs, sometimes called failed stars, are indeed the coldest known free-floating celestial bodies, they are warmer than previously thought with temperatures about 250-350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Data from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft reveal that neutral interstellar atoms are flowing into the solar system from a different direction than previously observed.

Astronomers using a worldwide network of radio telescopes have found strong evidence that a powerful jet of material propelled to nearly light speed by a galaxy's central black hole is blowing massive amounts of gas out of the galaxy. This process, they said, is limiting the growth of the black hole and the rate of star formation in the galaxy, and thus is a key to understanding how galaxies develop.

DURHAM, N.H. – Scientists, including University of New Hampshire astrophysicists involved in NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission, have discovered that the particles streaming into the solar system from interstellar space have likely changed direction over the last 40 years.

The finding helps scientists map our location within the Milky Way galaxy and is crucial for understanding our place in the cosmos through the vast sweep of time—where we've come from, where we're currently located, and where we're going in our journey through the galaxy.

Tropical Storm Gabrielle has weakened to a depression by 11 a.m. EDT on Sept. 5, while three other low pressure areas struggle to develop in the Northern Atlantic Ocean. NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured a panoramic view of all four systems while NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared data on Gabrielle and an adjacent low.

Researchers in China have developed a mathematical model that could help engineers design a flexible vehicle-arrest system for stopping cars involved in criminal activity or terrorism, such as suspect car bombers attempting break through a check point, without wrecking the car or killing the occupants.

Ever been trading a flurry of text messages when there's an awkward pause? Well, new research shows you probably should be suspicious.

A Brigham Young University study finds when people lie in digital messages – texting, social media or instant messaging – they take longer to respond, make more edits and write shorter responses than usual.

Tropical Depression 12E formed off the southwestern coast of Mexico at 5 a.m. EDT on Sept. 5. Just 40 minutes before, NASA's TRMM satellite passed overhead and saw some "hot towers" around the center, indicating that the low pressure area that was previously known as System 99E would strengthen.

One hour before midnight Eastern Daylight Time on Sept. 4, Tropical Depression 7 strengthened into Tropical Storm Gabrielle just 70 miles south of Ponce, Puerto Rico. NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured the development and NASA's GOES Project created an animation that showed the developing storm.