LPL Spotlight Stories

This 2011 view near the top of the southern rim of Tivat Crater comes from the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It shows the inner slope of a crater on southern Mars with several of the seasonal dark streaks called "recurrent slope lineae," or RSL. A November report interprets those as granular flows, rather than darkening due to flowing water. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA/USGS)

Recurring Martian Streaks: Flowing Sand, Not Water?

Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech and University Communications - Nov. 21, 2017 Dark features on Mars previously considered evidence for subsurface flowing
A still from a simulation of asteroid 2016 HO3 in an orbit around Earth.

Earth's New Buddy Is Asteroid, Not Space Junk

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications and Vishnu Reddy,LPL - Oct. 17, 2017 Is it a bird? Is it a plane
On Sept. 22, at a distance of 105,600 miles, the OSIRIS-REx MapCam captured this color image of Earth. Dark "icicles" at the top of the image were caused by short exposure time.

Earth to OSIRIS-REx Cameras: I'm Ready for My Close-Up

University Communications - October 4, 2017 On Sept. 22, OSIRIS-REx soared under the South Pole, coming within 10,600 miles of
This artist’s impression shows the binary asteroid 288P, located in the main asteroid belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter. The object is unique as it is a binary asteroid that also behaves like a comet. The cometlike properties are the result of water sublimation, caused by the heat of the sun. The orbit of the asteroids is marked by a blue ellipse. (Image: ESA/Hubble, L. Calçada)

Asteroid-Comet Is New Type of Object

By ESA/Hubble Space Telescope and Daniel Stolte, University Communications - Sept. 25, 2017 With the help of the NASA/ESA Hubble
OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to arrive at Bennu, a primitive carbonaceous asteroid, in the fall of 2018. After surveying Bennu for two years, the spacecraft will extend its sampling arm to touch down on the asteroid's surface and collect a sample of pristine asteroid material.

OSIRIS-REx Swings by Earth

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - September 20, 2017 As you are reading this, a spacecraft is coming right at
NASA's Cassini spacecraft delivered this glorious view of Saturn on Dec. 18, 2012, taken while the spacecraft was in Saturn's shadow. The cameras were turned toward Saturn and the sun so that the planet and rings are backlit. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

After Farewell Kiss, Cassini Takes the Plunge

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - September 13, 2017 When NASA's Cassini spacecraft careens to its final destination, the upper
This composite image of the Crab Nebula was assembled with arbitrary color scaling by combining data from five telescopes spanning nearly the entire electromagnetic spectrum. (Image credits: NASA, ESA, NRAO/AUI/NSF and G. Dubner/University of Buenos Aires)

Stellar Corpse Sheds Light on Cosmic Rays

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - September 4, 2017 The origin of cosmic rays, high-energy particles from outer space unceasingly
This artist's concept shows a brown dwarf with bands of clouds, thought to resemble those seen on Neptune and the other outer planets in the solar system. By using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have found that the varying glow of brown dwarfs over time can be explained by bands of patchy clouds rotating at different speeds. (Animation: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Scientists Solve Mystery of Blinking Brown Dwarfs

By University Communications - August 17, 2017 Dim objects called brown dwarfs, less massive than the sun but more massive
The sun is eclipsed by the moon against a starry background.

PTYS Undergrad Minor and the 2017 Eclipse

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - Aug. 16, 2017 Asked about her favorite planet in the solar system, Adriana Mitchell
Vishnu Reddy: "The question is: How prepared are we for the next cosmic threat?" (Photo: Bob Demers/UANews)

Asteroid Flyby to Help NASA Observation

By Daniel Stolte, University Communications - July 27, 2017 For the first time, NASA will use an actual space rock