False-color short-wavelength infrared image of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano from data obtained by NASA's EO-1 Hyperion satellite on March 24, 2010.
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On March 20, 2010, Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano (pronounced "AYA-feeyapla-yurkul,") awakened for the first time in 120 years, spewing still-active lava fountains and flows. That day, a NASA "sensor web" -- a network of sensors on the ground and aboard NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite, alerted researchers to this new volcanic "hot spot." The eruption was detected by autonomous "sciencecraft" software aboard the satellite, which is known as EO-1.

Sciencecraft software enables the spacecraft to analyze science data onboard to detect scientific events and respond by sending alerts, producing scientific products and/or re-imaging the event.

The software is typically able to notify researchers on the ground within 90 minutes of detecting events, and then rapidly sets up the satellite to observe them. In the case of the Iceland volcanic event, EO-1 was able to take advantage of recently uploaded "smart" software that allows the spacecraft to react quickly to an event and to rapidly downlink the data for processing by ground personnel in less than 24 hours. That process used to take three weeks for researchers working manually.

The artificial intelligence software directed EO-1's Hyperion and Advanced Land Imager instruments to target the volcano on its next passes over Iceland, which occurred on March 24, 29 and 30. After image data were transmitted to a ground station at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., computers automatically analyzed them and created maps and estimates of heat loss and eruption flow rate.

"Use of autonomous systems in this way represents a new way of doing science, where spacecraft can think for themselves and react to dynamic and often transient events," explained Ashley Davies, lead scientist for NASA's New Millennium Program-Space Technology 6 Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment at JPL.

"This autonomy technology enables spacecraft to rapidly inform the ground of significant events, like the volcanic eruption," said Steve Chien, principal investigator for the Autonomous Sciencecraft at JPL. "This same technology has been used to track fires, flooding and other natural hazards."

"This sensorweb technology enables rapid retasking of the EO-1 spacecraft, making it easier to track breaking phenomena such as the Iceland volcano," added Daniel Mandl, EO-1 spacecraft mission manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Goddard manages the EO-1 mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Less than 24 hours after the satellite's first observation, the JPL team confirmed the volcano was emitting more than one billion watts of energy -- enough to power 40,000 passenger cars at the same time -- and discharging more than six tons of lava per second.

The fully automated process accelerated NASA's distribution of images to volcanologists studying the eruption. Rapid calculations of lava volume (known as the effusion rate) and location can help determine the likely direction of lava flows, while giving emergency managers advance warning to plan and deploy resources, and carry out informed evacuations.

Davies believes he and other researchers can use the "onboard autonomy" to achieve a greater and faster return rate of new Earth and planetary science data, while offering potentially life-saving benefits through rapid detection of natural events.

"There is concern that this eruption might precede another larger eruption at the Katla volcano nearby," said Davies. "If it does, we will be poised to provide imaging data of activity as the eruption evolves."

• Newfound Asteroid Will Fly Close by Earth Thursday...
• Shooting for Shooting Stars
• Flying Across the Moon

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A newly discovered asteroid will zip close by Earth Thursday, but poses no threat of crashing into our planet even though it is passing within the orbit of the moon.

The asteroid, called 2010 GA6, is a relatively small space rock about 71 feet (22 meters) wide and was discovered by astronomers with the Catalina Sky Survey in Tucson, Az. The space rock will fly within the orbit of the moon when it passes Earth Thursday at 7:06 p.m. EDT (2306 GMT), but NASA astronomers said not to worry...the planet is safe.

"Fly bys of near-Earth objects within the moon's orbit occur every few weeks," said Don Yeomans of NASA's Near-Earth Object Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., in a statement.

At the time of its closest pass, asteroid 2010 GA6 will be about 223,000 miles (359,000 km) from the Earth. That's about nine-tenths the distance between Earth and the moon [more asteroid photos].

The space rock is not the first asteroid to swing close by Earth this year.

In January, the small asteroid 2010 AL30 passed within 80,000 miles (130,000 km) when it zipped by. Other space rocks have flown past Earth at more comfortable distances greater than several hundred thousand miles.

NASA routinely tracks asteroids and comets that may fly near the Earth with a network of telescopes on the ground and in space. The agency's Near-Earth Object Observations program, more commonly known as Spaceguard, is responsible for finding potentially dangerous asteroids and studying their orbits to determine if they pose a risk of hitting the Earth.

NASA's latest space telescope, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) launched in December, has been given the task of hunting new asteroids that were previously undetectable because they shine only in the infrared range of the light spectrum.

So far, the WISE telescope has been discovering dozens of previously unknown asteroids every day. Some of those space rocks have been tagged for closer analysis since they may be potentially hazardous to Earth, WISE mission scientists have said.

• Images - Asteroids in Space, WISE Telescope
• Gallery - Earth's Meteor Craters
• Rock Solid Link: Asteroid Doomed the Dinosaurs

• Original Story: Newfound Asteroid Will Fly Close by Earth Thursday

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2001 Leonid fireball recorded from Hawaii

You know them as "shooting stars," or meteors. Space scientists know them as the fiery end of tiny visitors from space. Those momentary streaks of light across the night sky are nothing more than small to almost-microscopic pieces of space debris whose trip through the void has ended in a kamikaze run into Earth's atmosphere. Of course, with 100 tons of space rock and rubble bombarding the planet each and every day, you'd think you could stick your head out the window any night of the week and easily catch a glimpse of a space rock's final moments.

"It doesn't really work that way," said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Sure, there are a lot of space rocks entering our atmosphere each day, but take into account that only half of the world is in darkness at any one time and two-thirds of that is over water where almost nobody lives. Then, factor in that the weather and city-lighting conditions where most people live are less than conducive for meteor viewing, and few people are even looking up at the appropriate moment. When you put it all together, it's almost notable that anybody notices these meteors at all."

Which begs the question -- if spotting shooting stars is so tough, what is a person with both good visual acuity and a passion for celestial light displays to do?

"Meteor showers are definitely the way to go," said Yeomans. "We know pretty much when they are going to occur and where to look in the night sky." (For a guide click on 2010 Major Meteor Showers)

A meteor shower is the entertaining end game of a comet's passage into the inner solar system. Each time one of these big blobs of ice and dust ventures into the relatively toasty confines of the inner solar system (called a perihelion passage), the sun's rays cook off part of its frozen surface, releasing particles of dust. Each swing through the inner solar system by a comet can leave trillions of small particles in its wake. If Earth's orbit intersects with this trail of debris, the result is a meteor shower.

"The comet trails that result in meteor showers can be from comet flybys that occurred hundreds of years ago," said Yeomans. "Remarkably, we can pin down the cosmic perpetrators. For example, we know from the similarity of their orbits that the Geminid showers that occur each December result from the debris of a dead comet called 3200 Phaethon. "

Along with the source of the Geminids, astronomers know that comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher supplied the particles for April's Lyrids; famous comet Halley is responsible for both May's Eta Aquarids and October's Orionids; 55P/Tempel-Tuttle funded November's Leonids; and 109P/Swift-Tuttle is the origin of the most celebrated shower of them all – August's Perseids.

By now, you may have noticed that the names of all the showers listed are associated with that of a constellation. Meteor shower particles travel through space at the same relative velocity and in parallel paths. When they are sucked in by Earth's gravity and light up in our atmosphere, a viewer on the ground would note they appear to radiate from a single point in the sky. A shower's name is usually associated with the nearest constellation in the sky to that single point at the time of shower maximum.

"Usually, the first couple of nights of a meteor shower have light activity," said Yeomans. "Then, the number of meteors can increase dramatically as Earth approaches the densest portion of the stream. After peaking for anywhere from a few hours to a few nights, it decreases back down to a level where you couldn't distinguish it from a normal night's meteor activity.

"The end of the line for a particle from space can be a great opportunity for scientists to study the nature of comets," said Yeomans. "But it is more than that. It is a great reminder that what we live on is essentially a big spacecraft traveling through the solar system and interacting with many of its parts. And as free entertainment, you can't beat it."

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The International Space Station flew across the face of the moon over NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida approximately 15 minutes before the launch of space shuttle Discovery on the STS-131 mission. Discovery successfully launched on April 5 and is now docked with the station. STS-131 will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that will be transferred to the International Space Station's laboratories. The crew also will switch out a gyroscope on the station’s truss, install a spare ammonia storage tank and retrieve a Japanese experiment from the station’s exterior.

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