Misc.

ESA •

The Incredible Adventures of the Hera mission – Testing times

Meet Hera, our very own asteroid detective. Together with two CubeSats – Milani the rock decoder and Juventas the radar visionary – Hera is off on an adventure to explore Didymos, a double asteroid system that is typical of the thousands that pose an impact risk to planet Earth.

Do Hera and her CubeSats have the right stuff to explore space? Before launch they need to prove it, with a round of testing at the ESTEC Test Centre in the Netherlands – Europe’s largest satellite test facility. Suitab
ESA •

The Incredible Adventures of the Hera mission – Tales of Terrific Technology

Meet Hera, our very own asteroid detective. Together with two CubeSats – Milani the rock decoder and Juventas the radar visionary – Hera is off on an adventure to explore Didymos, a double asteroid system that is typical of the thousands that pose an impact risk to planet Earth.

Suitable for kids and adults alike, this episode of ‘The Incredible Adventures of Hera’ details the miniaturised James-Bond-style technology that Hera and its CubeSats will carry aboard with them to explore their astero
ESA •

The incredible adventures of the Hera mission – Creating a crater

Meet Hera, our very own asteroid detective. Together with two small CubeSats – Milani the rock decoder and Juventas the radar visionary – Hera is off on an adventure to explore Didymos, a double asteroid system that is typical of the thousands that pose an impact risk to planet Earth.

Suitable for space enthusiasts young and old, this episode of ‘The incredible adventures of the Hera mission’ is all about craters. What are they? Why are they important? Why is NASA’s DART spacecraft about to col
ECMWF •

New high-quality CAMS maps of carbon dioxide surface fluxes obtained from satellite observations

Carbon dioxide (CO ) is the main greenhouse gas produced as a result of human activities. In 2018, more than 10 billion tonnes of carbon were released into Earth’s atmosphere by the combustion of fossil fuels. As a primary driver for climate change, it is more vital than ever that we have access to accurate information about the levels of CO in our atmosphere and about its sources and sinks.

Ambitious research using data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) will allow the qu
ECMWF •

Ozone layer viewpoints: from observation to public protection

The ozone layer is an important part of Earth’s atmosphere, and vital for our health as it helps filter out potentially damaging UV radiation coming from the Sun. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) provides up-to-date reports on state of the ozone layer. In this article, we will hear from scientists and users of CAMS data to find out how they are using this valuable information: Antje Inness is a senior scientist at CAMS. She works on satellite observations of reactive gases suc
ECMWF •

CAMS data AsSISt airline maintenance

Travelling by aeroplane is something many of us take for granted, and every day around the world more than 100,000 flights carry passengers to their destinations. A new project called AsSISt - Aircraft Support & Maintenance Services – is using Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Services (CAMS) data to bring something new to the aircraft maintenance market: accurate information about atmospheric conditions that affect aviation.

The air around us is filled with particulate matter – microscopic flec
JENAM •

Astronomer unveils the mysteries of "Green Pea" galaxies at JENAM conference in a victory for citizen science

Lisbon, 10 September 2010: Today at the Joint European and National Astronomy Meeting (JENAM2010), Ricardo Amorin will present a talk explaining the nature of strange so-called Green Pea galaxies. First discovered in 2007 by amateur stargazers, it has now been shown that these extraordinary and extremely compact star cities have low amounts of complex elements after being diluted by streams of gas and strong supernova winds.
Astronomy.com •

Fundamental constant might change across space

New research suggests that the supposedly invariant fine-structure constant, which characterizes the strength of the electromagnetic force, varies from place to place throughout the universe. The finding could mean rethinking the fundaments of our current knowledge of physics. These results were presented September 7 during the Joint European and National Astronomy Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, and the scientific article has been submitted to the Physical Review Letters Journal.


A team of astr
CAPj •

Astronomy Matters

Astronomy is in some ways the very first science. Observational records date back thousands of years, from ancient monuments like Stonehenge in Great Britain to Persepolis in Iran. Supporting astronomy research encourages technological advances that benefit society. Investing in scientific research is a path to economic strength and helps countries maintain a competitive edge in international dealings. Although astronomy naturally focuses on space science, the need to measure, map and move with
Postcards from the Edge of the Universe •

Editor: Postcards from the Edge of the Universe

From sunspots to black holes, planets around other stars, supernovae and dark matter, Postcards from the Edge of the Universe unveils the mysteries of today’s research, looking at cutting-edge astronomy from around the world. 24 frontline astronomers from all corners of the globe explain their science in accessible language in articles edited by veteran communicators Lee Pullen, Mariana Barrosa and Lars Lindberg Christensen.
1 Minute of Astronomy •

Script writer: 1 Minute of Astronomy

1 Minute of Astronomy is a series of 13 episodes produced for the Portuguese Public National Television (RTP) in the framework of the International Year of Astronomy 2019 celebration.

In each of the one minute episodes, a Portuguese celebrity explains a concept of astronomy, such as Black Holes, Dark Matter, Eclipses, and Comets. The series was aired daily for a month, several times a day, on RTP’s several channels, in November 2009.

We also created a website where the episodes can be viewed.
ESA Kids •

Script writer: Paxi

Meet Paxi, ESA’s education mascot a little alien coming from planet Ally-O to meet new friends on Earth and take kids into an adventurous trip of exploration of space.

The Science Office is producing a series of short animation videos targeting children between 6 and 12 years old, feature Paxi. In the several episodes, he will touch the different features of the Solar System, of the Universe, the secrets of planet Earth and much more.

All the episodes are available in 14 languages: English, Fr
Alice & Andy •

Author: Alice & Andy in the Universe of Wonders

What do you get when you mix a pair of adventurous twins, a mischievous cat and a globe with magic powers? A whole lot of fun with Alice & Andy in the Universe of Wonders, a book that will leave you “really wishing” for more!

Alice and Andy are twins. They have just turned seven and like most children their age, they are curious, dynamic and always alert to what goes on around them. On their birthday they receive a very strange present from their favourite uncle, Thomas: a globe with magic powe
CAPj •

The End of the Sun

Our Sun is a star, a ball of gas just like the thousands of other twinkling pin-pricks of light in the night sky. Stars have finite lifespans, so eventually they “die”. Our Sun has enough fuel to be a regular star for ten billion years. It’s about halfway through that at the moment, in what we call the main sequence. This is when nuclear fusion converts hydrogen into helium. Each second the Sun turns four million tonnes of material into energy. No wonder it’s so hot and bright! In five billion y
Load More