Unusual ultraviolet aurora spotted around a comet for the first time

Unusual ultraviolet aurora spotted around a comet for the first time

ESA's Rosetta mission has revealed that its target comet, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, has its own far-ultraviolet aurora. This is the first time such electromagnetic emissions in the far-ultraviolet have been detected on a celestial object, aside from any…

Three decades of measurements show ozone’s ups and downs

Three decades of measurements show ozone’s ups and downs

Climate scientists studying three decades of ozone measurements from seven satellites see a positive trend in global recovery after international efforts to curb ozone-depleting substances. The part of Earth’s atmosphere with high concentrations of ozone gas…

Swarm-B on possible collision course with space debris

Swarm-B on possible collision course with space debris

US armed forces’ Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) has identified a close approach for ESA's Swarm-B satellite forecast to occur at 23:10 UTC on January 25, 2017. The forecast miss distance is just 361 m (1 184 feet), and this triggers a risk above the…

Scientists discover why satellites black out over equator

Scientists discover why satellites black out over equator

ESA's Swarm satellite trio has discovered why GPS navigation systems on low-orbiting satellites sometimes black out when they fly over the equator between Africa and South America. Swarm itself has experienced this anomaly numerous times before its scientists…

ESA and Roscosmos launch ExoMars mission

ESA and Roscosmos launch ExoMars mission

In a joint space exploration effort, ESA and Roscosmos have successfully launched their ExoMars 2016 mission to planet Mars. The spacecraft was launched aboard Russian Proton-M rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 09:31 UTC on March 14, 2016. It will…

European Space Agency: Preview 2016

European Space Agency: Preview 2016

2016 will be another full and exciting year for the European Space Agency. This ESA TV video takes a look at what's ahead. It will be a 'Martian year' in particular with the ExoMars launch next March and with the landing of its descent module in October…