OrbitalHub

NASA dicit:

“The Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk, or GOLD, instrument launched aboard a commercial communications satellite in January 2018 to inspect the dynamic intermingling of space and Earth’s uppermost atmosphere. Together, GOLD and another NASA mission, Ionospheric Connection Explorer spacecraft, or ICON, will provide the most comprehensive of Earth’s upper atmosphere we’ve ever had.

Above the ozone layer, the ionosphere is a part of Earth’s atmosphere where particles have been cooked into a sea of electrically-charged electrons and ions by the Sun’s radiation. The ionosphere is co-mingled with the very highest — and quite thin — layers of Earth’s neutral upper atmosphere, making this region an area that is constantly in flux undergoing the push-and-pull between Earth’s conditions and those in space. Increasingly, these layers of near-Earth space are part of the human domain, as it’s home not only to astronauts, but to radio signals used to guide airplanes and ships, and satellites that provide our communications and GPS systems. Understanding the fundamental processes that govern our upper atmosphere and ionosphere is crucial to improve situational awareness that helps protect astronauts, spacecraft and humans on the ground.”

Video Credit: NASA Goddard

NASA dicit:

“A new NASA-led study has determined that an increase in snowfall accumulation over Antarctica during the 20th century mitigated sea level rise by 0.4 inches. However, Antarctica’s additional ice mass gained from snowfall only makes up for about a third of its current ice loss. These findings don’t necessarily mean that Antarctica is growing; it’s still losing mass, even with the extra snowfall. However, without these gains, the planet would have experienced even more sea level rise in the 20th century. The polar ice sheets grow via snow accumulation and shrink through melting and the production of icebergs. Presently, both ice sheets are imbalanced –losing more ice annually than they are gaining– and their ice loss is estimated to be currently causing about a half of the observed sea level rise.”

Video Credit: NASA Goddard

Wikipedia dicit:

“Because of the Moon’s lack of water, atmosphere, and tectonic plates, there is little erosion, and craters are found that exceed two billion years in age. The age of large craters is determined by the number of smaller craters contained within it, older craters generally accumulating more small, contained craters.

The smallest craters found have been microscopic in size, found in rocks returned to Earth from the Moon. The largest crater called such is about 290 kilometres (181 mi) across in diameter, located near the lunar South Pole. However, it is believed that many of the lunar maria were formed by giant impacts, with the resulting depression filled by upwelling lava.”

Video Credit: NASA Goddard

NASA dixit:

“On December 18, 2018, the GPM satellite found extreme rainfall in Kenanga’s well-defined circular eyewall. Heaviest rainfall was found by GPM in the tropical cyclone’s southeastern quadrant, falling at a rate of over 161 mm (6.3 inches) per hour on that side of the tropical cyclone. GPM’s radar probes of Kenanga’s eastern side indicated that storm tops in that part of the tropical cyclone were reaching heights above 12.2 km (7.6 miles).”

Video Credit: NASA/JAXA, Hal Pierce

NASA dixit:

“Earth’s energy budget is a metaphor for the delicate equilibrium between energy received from the Sun versus energy radiated back out in to space. Research into precise details of Earth’s energy budget is vital for understanding how the planet’s climate may be changing, as well as variabilities in solar energy output.

Missions like NASA’s TSIS will help scientists keep a close watch. NASA’s Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor, or TSIS-1, is a mission to measure the sun’s energy input to Earth. Various satellites have captured a continuous record of this solar energy input since 1978. TSIS-1 sensors advance previous measurements, enabling scientists to study the sun’s natural influence on Earth’s ozone layer, atmospheric circulation, clouds, and ecosystems. These observations are essential for a scientific understanding of the effects of solar variability on the Earth system.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center manages the project. The University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) built both instruments and provides mission operations. The International Space Station carries TSIS-1.”

Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Michael Starobin

NASA dixit:

“In a remote area of northwest Greenland, an international team of scientists has made a stunning discovery, buried beneath a kilometer of ice. It’s a meteor impact crater, 300 meters deep and bigger than Paris or the Beltway around Washington, DC. It is one of the 25 largest known impact craters on Earth, and the first found under any of our planet’s ice sheets. The researchers first spotted the crater in July 2015, while they were inspecting a new map of the topography beneath Greenland’s ice sheet that used ice-penetrating radar data primarily from Operation IceBridge, an ongoing NASA airborne mission to track changes in polar ice, and earlier NASA airborne missions in Greenland.”

Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Jefferson Beck