Tag Archives: satellite

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory: Still the Greatest

Posted on June 8, 2010 by admin

This time we’re going to look back at one of NASA’s most spectacular successes: the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Launched by the space shuttle on July 23, 1999, Chandra has now far exceeded its originally projected lifetime, and still holds the … Continue reading →

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The Planck Space Observatory Is Watching the Universe Being Born

Posted on April 18, 2010 by admin

In most of our articles, we have looked at the worlds in our own solar system, or orbiting relatively nearby stars.  There’s so much going on in our neighborhood, it’s easy to get nearsighted and forget that astronomy reaches much … Continue reading →

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ESA Launches Cryosat-2 on a Mission to Study Earth’s Ice

Posted on April 16, 2010 by admin

The European Space Agency launched its CryoSat-2 satellite today (April 8, 2010), thus completing the third phase of its Earth Explorer Series.  The satellite will give us our best picture yet of the effects of global warming on Earth’s ice, … Continue reading →

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ESA’s Cassini-Huygens Mission Probes the Saturn System

Posted on April 3, 2010 by admin

The Cassini-Huygens Saturn mission, a joint effort by NASA, the European Space Agency and Italy’s Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, is one of the most successful and long-lasting space projects ever launched. The probe is the largest interplanetary spacecraft ever built, and … Continue reading →

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France’s COROT Satellite Is a New Kind of Space Telescope

Posted on March 29, 2010 by admin

This is the second article in our examination of the newly-emerging science of exoplanet detection and study.  Last week, we took a look at NASA’s Kepler telescope, which recently completed its first impressive year of service.  (That article is still … Continue reading →

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