This artist’s concept shows a possible scenario for the internal structure of Titan, as suggested by data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Scientists have been trying to determine what is under Titan’s organic-rich atmosphere and icy crust. Image credit: A. Tav... More »
NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft passes above Mars’ south pole in this artist’s concept illustration. The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 24, 2001. Image credit: NASA/JPL Mission Status Report NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter has resumed its science o... More »
John Eiler, Robert P. Sharp Professor of Geology and professor of geochemistry at Caltech, has been awarded the 2012 Arthur L. Day Medal by the Geological Society of America (GSA). Arthur Louis Day established the award in 1948 for “outstanding distinction in ... More »
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have been able, for the first time, to watch viruses infecting individual bacteria by transferring their DNA, and to measure the rate at which that transfer occurs. Shedding light on the early sta... More »
This artist’s concept features NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, a mobile robot for investigating Mars’ past or present ability to sustain microbial life. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Mars Science Laboratory Mission Status Report A maneuver on ... More »
[Credit: Chi Ma / Caltech] In 1969, an exploding fireball tore through the sky over Mexico, scattering thousands of pieces of meteorite across the state of Chihuahua. More than 40 years later, the Allende meteorite is still serving the scientific community as ... More »
These images, taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, show an arc of blue light behind an extremely massive cluster of galaxies residing 10 billion light-years away. Image credit: NASA/ESA/University of Florida, Gainsville/University of Missouri-Kansas City/UC... More »
Imagine if doctors could perform surgery without ever having to cut through your skin. Or if they could diagnose cancer by seeing tumors inside the body with a procedure that is as simple as an ultrasound. Thanks to a technique developed by engineers at the Ca... More »
After designing and building a four-wheeled remotely controlled rover, a team of Caltech students came away with second place in the RASC-AL Exploration Robo-Ops Competition at NASA’s Johnson Space Center earlier this month. Despite a weather delay and some wa... More »
A particularly strong jet stream churns through Saturn’s northern hemisphere in this false-color view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI Turbulent jet streams, regions where winds blow faster than in other places, churn east and... More »
Were dinosaurs slow and stupid, as used to be the prevailing wisdom, or nimble and smart enough to eat an attorney, as in the 1993 film Jurassic Park? The answer depends largely on whether the T. Rex in question is cold blooded, like an alligator—although gato... More »
Distribution of annual carbon emissions from gross forest cover loss between 2000 and 2005 mapped at a spatial resolution of 11.5 miles (18.5 kilometers). Image credit: Winrock International A new study with NASA participation has sharply reduced previous esti... More »
