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Comet Lovejoy Survives Passage Through The Corona
Posted On: June 7, 2012Comments: No Responses
SESDA II science and operations personnel played vital roles in planning special observations of the dramatic plunge and survival of Comet Lovejoy through the hot multi-million degree solar corona during 15-16 December 2011. By swiftly disseminating last minute changes in ephemeris predictions, staff assured successful observations of the comet’s passage by an armada of spacecraft […]
SpaceMath@NASA Enters the Classroom
Posted On: April 24, 2012Comments: No Responses
We have all heard that mathematics is the language of science, but we rarely get to see how it is actually spoken. SpaceMath@NASA is a program for students and teachers that goes behind the scenes of NASA press releases to reveal the often simple mathematics that scientists and engineers use to make major discoveries or […]
“The Sun as Art” Exhibit Hits the Road
Posted On: February 9, 2012Comments: No Responses
SESDA II media specialist Steele Hill has produced a traveling exhibit called “The Sun as Art” which opens at the Maryland Science Center on February 9, 2012. The exhibit uses stunning images of the Sun captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and presents them in a variety of colors and formats for a unique […]
What a Long, High-Energy Trip It’s Been!
Posted On: January 12, 2012Comments: No Responses
After 16 years of discovery, the mission of the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) has reached the end of science operations. The spacecraft began the decommissioning process during the week beginning Monday, January 2, 2012, and science observations concluded at the end of the day on January 3, 2012. Fittingly, the final observation was of […]
Superfast Networks on Display
Posted On: December 28, 2011Comments: No Responses
Network researchers, including ADNET HECN staff, troubleshoot the high-bandwidth connection between Seattle and Greenbelt. SESDA's High End Computing Network (HECN) group continues to break new ground in network speeds. The group operates out of GSFC Code 606.1, the Networks and IT Security branch, and their project was cited as one of the top exhibits at […]
Mars Science Laboratory Launches
Posted On: December 5, 2011Comments: No Responses
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) was successfully launched on 26 November 2011 from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas V rocket. SESDA II engineering staff are playing a critical role in achieving the science objectives of this ambitious mission through their development and ongoing support of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument payload onboard the […]
SESDA Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) Team Helps Confirm SO2 Reduction
Posted On: December 5, 2011Comments: No Responses
SESDA II’s Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) team processes and archives critical ozone data from this spaceborne instrument aboard NASA’s Aura satellite. The group has helped confirm that the introduction of the Clean Air Interstate Rule in 2005 has led to a big reduction in pollution from eastern US coal power plants. Scientists have previously used […]
NPP Launch
Posted On: November 3, 2011Comments: No Responses
On October 28, the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft was launched on a Delta vehicle from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Instruments onboard will acquire surroundings and outlook data measurements covering firmament, land and ocean. Several critical measurement objectives are: surroundings change, ozone layer dynamics, disaster monitoring, outlook prediction, vegetation, global ice cover, […]
Training the Next Generation of Scientists
Posted On: October 26, 2011Comments: No Responses
Mr. Huy Lam, a senior at Poolesville High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, has been selected as a 2011 Siemens Science Competition semi-finalist. His research project was "A Multi-Spacecraft Approach to Studying Auroral Kilometric Radiation Using the Virtual Wave Observatory." The Virtual Wave Observatory (VWO) is an online suite of tools and data that allows […]
Fermi Captures Neutron Star Plunge
Posted On: September 7, 2011Comments: No Responses
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, with comprehensive support provided by SESDA II scientists and software developers, recently yielded an unprecedented set of observations of a fascinating astrophysical binary system consisting of a neutron star and a massive star. Every 3.4 years the incredibly dense neutron star plunges directly through the disk of gas surrounding its […]
