... Planets . ... Earth Satellites . ... Looking in the direction of the constellation Cygnus the Swan and launched by NASA in 2009 is the Kepler Space Observatory.Many previous missions searching for exoplanets mainly detected large giant planets, like large hot Jupiters (it is easier to detect larger planets).However KeplerтАЩs main objective is to search for much smaller planets located in a habitable zone which is not too close nor too far from their star; planets which may be just like our Earth. ...

Two groups are measuring distant supernovae with the goal of determining whether the Universe is open or closed by measuring the curvature in the Hubble diagram. The figure below shows both data sets: Perlmutter et al. (1997) and (1998) in black and Garnavich et al. (1997) in orange. The curves show a closed Universe (Omega = 2) in red, the critical density Universe (Omega = 1) in black, the empty Universe (Omega = 0) in green, and the steady state model in blue. ... Tutorial : Part 1 | ...

Astronomy Picture of the Day . Closer To Beta Pic . ... Credit: S. R. Heap ( LASP / GSFC ), NASA Explanation: What did our Solar System look like as the planets were forming ? ... Beta Pic is surrounded by a disk of dust which we view nearly edge-on. The dust disk shines by reflected starlight and has been examined with ever increasing detail to search for signs of planetary formation. ... NASA Official: Jay Norris. ... Publications with keywords: planetary system - circumstellar disk . ...

... But there also exists a practical angle: in a world increasingly dependent on electricity and electronics, the "space weather" outside the atmosphere can have serious effects, in particular on human communications. Currently more than 200 communication satellites circle the Earth in synchronous orbit . ... For a view of NOAA's "space weather report," click here ; another such report, from the University of Michigan, is linked here . ... Another such event occured April 7-11, 1997 . ...

... Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2004 March 1 . Cassini Closes in on Saturn . Credit: Cassini Imaging Team , SSI , JPL , ESA , NASA . Explanation: Are they gone? ... The mystery revolves around strange shadow-like spokes that appeared on Saturn's large B-ring , the large middle ring in the complex system of particles that orbits Saturn . ... About APOD | ...