Tag: Atmospheric Science
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Scientists Watch Two ESA Satellites Burn Up from a Private Jet
The European Space Agency’s Tango satellite disintegrated above the Pacific Ocean on Sept. 1, 2026. observed by a team of researchers from aboard a private jet. (Image credit: ESA/ROSIE/University of Stuttgart (HEFDiG)) Scientists aboard an instrumented Falcon 900 business jet recorded the atmospheric destruction of the European Space Agency’s Samba and Tango satellites over the South…
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Saturn’s South Polar Decagon: What Could Have Created Hubble’s Newly Identified Atmospheric Wave?
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a giant, evolving ten-sided atmospheric wave around Saturn’s south pole—the first large, regular-sided jet pattern observed in the planet’s southern hemisphere. Known as a decagon, the feature appears in observations dating back to 2023 and has become increasingly distinct, offering scientists a rare opportunity to track the development of…
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Starlink Ephemeris Data Enable First Real-World Tomographic Map of Thermospheric Density
Researchers at Kyoto University have demonstrated a new way to observe Earth’s upper atmosphere by transforming publicly available Starlink orbital data into the first tomographic map of thermospheric density derived from real satellite measurements rather than simulations. The study, published in *Earth, Planets and Space*, used orbital ephemeris data from approximately 1,200 Starlink satellites operating…
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NASA Declares MAVEN Mars Mission Ended After Spacecraft Falls Silent
NASA has officially declared the end of its MAVEN mission after the spacecraft orbiting Mars became unresponsive and could not be recovered following a communications loss that began in December. The agency confirmed the mission’s conclusion on Wednesday, bringing to a close more than a decade of scientific observations of the Red Planet. Contact Lost…
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Webb finds never-before-seen structures above Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
Using the joint NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) James Webb Space Telescope, a group of scientists has discovered a variety of never-before-seen features in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere. The features were found in the atmospheric region above the iconic Great Red Spot—a high-pressure region in Jupiter’s atmosphere that produces a massive…