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To Ancient Astronomers, Theta Eridani Was Brighter For A Thousand Years. Now We Know Why
Ptolemy and al-Sufi were keen ancient astronomers, one in Greece and one in Persia, whose observations were separated by almost a thousand years. They both noted that the star Theta Eridani was far brighter than it is today. Now we know why.
Special relativity can warp chemical bonds – now we've seen it happen
Special relativity can warp chemical bonds – now we've seen it happen
Ultra-Black Coating Could Mitigate Light Pollution Caused by Satellites
Astrophysicists working tirelessly to tackle the growing impact of satellite constellations have pioneered a new ultra-black coating as one possible way to mitigate the problem.
Principal Investigator and Quality Assessment Reports Evaluate Umbra Synthetic Aperture Radar Data
Two new reports from NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program evaluate data from the Umbra X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite constellation for the NASA Earth science research and applications community. The results of these evaluations help to inform NASA program management and the user community about the quality of these commercial data for use in NASA science.
NASA’s CSDA program released the Umbra SAR Principal Investigator Evaluation Summary and Umbra SAR Quality Assessment Reports in May 2026. (The cover of the Quality Assessment Report is shown at left.) The results of these evaluations help inform NASA program management about the quality of this commercial data for use in NASA science. At right, a collage of synthetic aperture radar images from Umbra. Credit: NASA CSDA program / © Umbra Lab Inc., 2026. All Rights Reserved
The CSDA Umbra Synthetic Aperture Radar SAR Principal Investigator Evaluation Summary documents the findings of evaluation teams. The teams were given access to the Umbra archive as well as the ability to task the Umbra constellation for new acquisitions. The tasking capability allowed evaluation teams to test the utility of Umbra data in time-sensitive workflows and to monitor areas experiencing rapid change and/or emergent environmental conditions, such as harmful algal blooms.
Although the Principal Investigator Evaluation Summary supports the use of Umbra SAR data for NASA Earth science research and applications overall, it noted several strengths and weaknesses of the Umbra X-band data. Strengths included access to a very high spatial resolution X-band SAR satellite constellation; taskable access to high temporal repeat opportunities with quick turnaround; imaging flexibility with a range of azimuth and incidence angles; and the company’s Open Data Program. Conversely, the PI teams reported weaknesses, including issues with Umbra geolocation (noting large and small geolocation errors), limited software compatibility, metadata, and some missing technical documentation.
Additionally, the CSDA Umbra Synthetic Aperture Radar SAR Quality Assessment Report documents the results of radiometric and geometric analyses performed by NASA subject matter experts (SMEs) enlisted to evaluate the fundamental quality of the Umbra data following the Joint NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) assessment guidelines (ESA-NASA, 2024).
Performed mainly on the single-look complex (SLC) Level 1 data products in Sensor Independent Complex Data (SICD) format, along with some additional Level 2 products used in science usability assessments by the evaluation team, the CSDA SMEs found the spatial resolution of the data agreed with Umbra’s specifications. However, the quality analysis results for geolocation accuracy did not universally align with the company’s specifications. Given these results, the SME’s concluded that “the overall positioning performance of the Umbra data did not meet the expected accuracy.
Regarding the radiometric performance of the data, which was assessed in terms of absolute accuracy, stability, and sensitivity, the SMEs found the data “underperform[ed] relative to that of well-calibrated reference SAR systems.”
About the CSDA ProgramThe CSDA program was established to identify, evaluate, and acquire data from commercial sources that support the NASA Earth science research and application goals. NASA’s Earth Science Division recognizes the potential impact commercial satellite constellations may have in encouraging/enabling efficient approaches to advancing Earth System Science and applications development for societal benefit. Commercially acquired data may also provide a cost-effective means to augment and/or complement the suite of Earth observations acquired by NASA, other U.S. government agencies, and international partners.
To read the reports in full, see the links under “Evaluation” heading on the CSDA’s Umbra commercial vendor webpage.
Principal Investigator and Quality Assessment Reports Evaluate Umbra Synthetic Aperture Radar Data
Two new reports from NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program evaluate data from the Umbra X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite constellation for the NASA Earth science research and applications community. The results of these evaluations help to inform NASA program management and the user community about the quality of these commercial data for use in NASA science.
NASA’s CSDA program released the Umbra SAR Principal Investigator Evaluation Summary and Umbra SAR Quality Assessment Reports in May 2026. (The cover of the Quality Assessment Report is shown at left.) The results of these evaluations help inform NASA program management about the quality of this commercial data for use in NASA science. At right, a collage of synthetic aperture radar images from Umbra. Credit: NASA CSDA program / © Umbra Lab Inc., 2026. All Rights ReservedThe CSDA Umbra Synthetic Aperture Radar SAR Principal Investigator Evaluation Summary documents the findings of evaluation teams. The teams were given access to the Umbra archive as well as the ability to task the Umbra constellation for new acquisitions. The tasking capability allowed evaluation teams to test the utility of Umbra data in time-sensitive workflows and to monitor areas experiencing rapid change and/or emergent environmental conditions, such as harmful algal blooms.
Although the Principal Investigator Evaluation Summary supports the use of Umbra SAR data for NASA Earth science research and applications overall, it noted several strengths and weaknesses of the Umbra X-band data. Strengths included access to a very high spatial resolution X-band SAR satellite constellation; taskable access to high temporal repeat opportunities with quick turnaround; imaging flexibility with a range of azimuth and incidence angles; and the company’s Open Data Program. Conversely, the PI teams reported weaknesses, including issues with Umbra geolocation (noting large and small geolocation errors), limited software compatibility, metadata, and some missing technical documentation.
Additionally, the CSDA Umbra Synthetic Aperture Radar SAR Quality Assessment Report documents the results of radiometric and geometric analyses performed by NASA subject matter experts (SMEs) enlisted to evaluate the fundamental quality of the Umbra data following the Joint NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) assessment guidelines (ESA-NASA, 2024).
Performed mainly on the single-look complex (SLC) Level 1 data products in Sensor Independent Complex Data (SICD) format, along with some additional Level 2 products used in science usability assessments by the evaluation team, the CSDA SMEs found the spatial resolution of the data agreed with Umbra’s specifications. However, the quality analysis results for geolocation accuracy did not universally align with the company’s specifications. Given these results, the SME’s concluded that “the overall positioning performance of the Umbra data did not meet the expected accuracy.
Regarding the radiometric performance of the data, which was assessed in terms of absolute accuracy, stability, and sensitivity, the SMEs found the data “underperform[ed] relative to that of well-calibrated reference SAR systems.”
About the CSDA ProgramThe CSDA program was established to identify, evaluate, and acquire data from commercial sources that support the NASA Earth science research and application goals. NASA’s Earth Science Division recognizes the potential impact commercial satellite constellations may have in encouraging/enabling efficient approaches to advancing Earth System Science and applications development for societal benefit. Commercially acquired data may also provide a cost-effective means to augment and/or complement the suite of Earth observations acquired by NASA, other U.S. government agencies, and international partners.
To read the reports in full, see the links under “Evaluation” heading on the CSDA’s Umbra commercial vendor webpage.
Physicist says splashy new cosmology study made ‘elemental’ mistake
A recent study in the journal Nature carries cosmos-quaking implications for our understanding of the universe—except a new preprint says that it’s wrong
These absurdly cute mice live at higher altitudes than any other mammal—here’s how they do it
Living at altitudes with less than half the oxygen at sea level, these mice have adapted to their environment in unique ways
Tianwen 2 Arrives at Quasi-Moon Kamoʻoalewa, Returns Images
China’s Tianwen 2 mission returns its close view of Earth's tiny "quasi-moon" Kamoʻoalewa.
The post Tianwen 2 Arrives at Quasi-Moon Kamoʻoalewa, Returns Images appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Curiosity Sees Martian Sulfur Up Close
Curiosity Sees Martian Sulfur Up Close
This close-up view shows fragments of sulfur crystals — the first ever seen on the Red Planet. The crystals were found after NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover happened to drive over a rock and crush it on May 30, 2024. Several days later, Curiosity used a camera on the end of its robotic arm to take this image.
A recent paper in Science suggests that the sulfur formed when magma deep below the surface released fluids or gases that deposited sulfur on the Red Planet’s surface about 3 billion years ago.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Curiosity Sees Martian Sulfur Up Close
This close-up view shows fragments of sulfur crystals — the first ever seen on the Red Planet. The crystals were found after NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover happened to drive over a rock and crush it on May 30, 2024. Several days later, Curiosity used a camera on the end of its robotic arm to take this image.
A recent paper in Science suggests that the sulfur formed when magma deep below the surface released fluids or gases that deposited sulfur on the Red Planet’s surface about 3 billion years ago.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Resuscitated human retinas respond to light 10 hours after death
Resuscitated human retinas respond to light 10 hours after death
Cases of explosive diarrhea-causing cyclosporiasis are rising fast in the U.S.
Cyclosporiasis case numbers have skyrocketed from several dozen nationwide in June to now more than 1,000 in the state of Michigan alone
NASA Scientists Take to Air and Space to Study Arctic Sea Ice
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) These four views were captured from a World War II-era aircraft in April 2026, when scientists used instruments aboard the plane to study Arctic sea ice. Their flights were timed to coincide with satellites passing overhead so the airborne and orbital data could be combined.NASA/JPL-Caltech
This month, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California are testing a spacecraft sensor that will help measure how quickly Arctic sea ice is disappearing. And while that instrument won’t launch for another year, scientists started preparing for its use during a recent field campaign in the Canadian wilderness.
Researchers spent two weeks in April flying above the Arctic Ocean, often watching sunrise from an altitude of 1,500 feet (457 meters) in a World War II-era plane. A variety of cutting-edge sensors used to measure the thickness of sea ice and snow were aboard the plane, including a stand-in for the microwave radiometer now undergoing testing at JPL. Measuring sea ice thickness is tricky, requiring a number of precise figures, including how high the sea ice rises above water, the depth of snow on top of that ice, and microwave emissions from the surface.
Flights were timed to the passage of satellites overhead so coordinated observations could be taken of the same features. Combining the airborne and satellite data will improve scientists’ ability to measure sea ice and understand how climate conditions are evolving across the Arctic.
In recent decades, the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice have changed. Improving measurements of those changes helps scientists better understand the Arctic system while supporting navigation, weather and ocean research, and future satellite observations. As Arctic shipping activity increases, the region is also becoming strategically and economically more significant.
According to Sahra Kacimi of JPL, who served as the field campaign’s science lead, ongoing warming in the Arctic could potentially impact public safety and economic interests.
Find out what Arctic sea ice looked like as scientists studied it from the air — and using space-based instruments — during a field campaign this past April.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Frequent flyers
Kacimi has spent years studying sea ice using satellite data, but the top-down view she gets from space is different than peering out a plane’s window.
The bewildering diversity of sea ice creates otherworldly landscapes. The ice can be attached to land or adrift in the ocean; it can be rough or smooth. Driven by winds and ocean currents, the ice is constantly shifting, breaking apart, and deforming. Cracks can open into long stretches of exposed ocean, and collisions between floes can push ice rubble into massive ridges that extend for miles.
Some sea ice lasts only one season, while thicker ice can survive for several years (though multiyear sea ice is becoming less common in many parts of the Arctic). Entire ecosystems are affected by these changes, down to the arctic foxes and hares the scientists spotted throughout the trip.
Improving estimates of sea ice thickness helps scientists better understand how the region is changing and supports long-term observations of the Arctic environment. The NASA team logged about 50 hours in the air over the two-week campaign, conducting flights over drifting ice near the town of Inuvik before studying ice fixed to the shore of another location, a hamlet called Cambridge Bay.
For the Inuvik portion of the campaign, the team coordinated with the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, a satellite jointly developed by NASA and the French space agency, CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales), with JPL leading the United States component of the mission. Though it was designed to map the height of the globe’s sea and fresh water, SWOT can also measure the amount of sea ice above the waterline.
In Cambridge Bay, the NASA team joined researchers from ESA (European Space Agency), Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute, and Canada’s University of Calgary. During this part of the campaign, coordinated flights soared over a field camp and under the tracks of satellite missions such as NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) and ESA’s CryoSat-2.
To improve sea ice thickness estimates, ESA is developing, with cooperation from NASA, a new polar mission called Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL). During the April airborne campaign, scientists flew instruments similar to what CRISTAL will carry, including the microwave radiometer now being tested at JPL.
“Combining observations from space, air, and ground surface instruments is essential for developing and validating algorithms for current and future missions,” Kacimi said.
For the scientists, it was also a chance to meet locals who see the Arctic’s changes up close. Kacimi spoke to community leaders and students at a STEM camp about how disappearing ice is affecting their communities.
“I’m used to looking at sea ice from space and thinking about its role in the global climate, but for people living in the Arctic, it carries a much deeper meaning,” Kacimi said.
Media Contacts
Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov
Liz Vlock
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov
2026-043
Share Details Last Updated Jul 09, 2026 Related Terms Explore More 3 min read NASA’s 777 Aircraft Returns Home with Science Flights on the Horizon Article 3 months ago 3 min read Arctic Winter Sea Ice Ties Record Low, NASA, NSIDC Scientists FindFor the second consecutive year, winter sea ice in the Arctic reached a level that…
Article 4 months ago 1 min read SWOT Mission Unlocks a New View of Our WaterwaysExplore how rivers move, change, and sustain life across the planet with SWOT data.
Article 4 months ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Explore Earth ScienceFrom its origins, NASA has studied our planet in novel ways, using a fleet of satellites and ambitious airborne and ground-based…
Earth Science at WorkNASA Earth Science helps Americans respond to challenges and societal needs — such as wildland fires, hurricanes, and water supplies…
Earth Science DataOpen access to NASA’s archive of Earth science data
Earth Science MissionsIn order to study the Earth as a whole system and understand how it is changing, NASA develops and supports…
NASA Scientists Take to Air and Space to Study Arctic Sea Ice
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) These four views were captured from a World War II-era aircraft in April 2026, when scientists used instruments aboard the plane to study Arctic sea ice. Their flights were timed to coincide with satellites passing overhead so the airborne and orbital data could be combined.NASA/JPL-CaltechThis month, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California are testing a spacecraft sensor that will help measure how quickly Arctic sea ice is disappearing. And while that instrument won’t launch for another year, scientists started preparing for its use during a recent field campaign in the Canadian wilderness.
Researchers spent two weeks in April flying above the Arctic Ocean, often watching sunrise from an altitude of 1,500 feet (457 meters) in a World War II-era plane. A variety of cutting-edge sensors used to measure the thickness of sea ice and snow were aboard the plane, including a stand-in for the microwave radiometer now undergoing testing at JPL. Measuring sea ice thickness is tricky, requiring a number of precise figures, including how high the sea ice rises above water, the depth of snow on top of that ice, and microwave emissions from the surface.
Flights were timed to the passage of satellites overhead so coordinated observations could be taken of the same features. Combining the airborne and satellite data will improve scientists’ ability to measure sea ice and understand how climate conditions are evolving across the Arctic.
In recent decades, the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice have changed. Improving measurements of those changes helps scientists better understand the Arctic system while supporting navigation, weather and ocean research, and future satellite observations. As Arctic shipping activity increases, the region is also becoming strategically and economically more significant.
According to Sahra Kacimi of JPL, who served as the field campaign’s science lead, ongoing warming in the Arctic could potentially impact public safety and economic interests.
Find out what Arctic sea ice looked like as scientists studied it from the air — and using space-based instruments — during a field campaign this past April.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Frequent flyers
Kacimi has spent years studying sea ice using satellite data, but the top-down view she gets from space is different than peering out a plane’s window.
The bewildering diversity of sea ice creates otherworldly landscapes. The ice can be attached to land or adrift in the ocean; it can be rough or smooth. Driven by winds and ocean currents, the ice is constantly shifting, breaking apart, and deforming. Cracks can open into long stretches of exposed ocean, and collisions between floes can push ice rubble into massive ridges that extend for miles.
Some sea ice lasts only one season, while thicker ice can survive for several years (though multiyear sea ice is becoming less common in many parts of the Arctic). Entire ecosystems are affected by these changes, down to the arctic foxes and hares the scientists spotted throughout the trip.
Improving estimates of sea ice thickness helps scientists better understand how the region is changing and supports long-term observations of the Arctic environment. The NASA team logged about 50 hours in the air over the two-week campaign, conducting flights over drifting ice near the town of Inuvik before studying ice fixed to the shore of another location, a hamlet called Cambridge Bay.
For the Inuvik portion of the campaign, the team coordinated with the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, a satellite jointly developed by NASA and the French space agency, CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales), with JPL leading the United States component of the mission. Though it was designed to map the height of the globe’s sea and fresh water, SWOT can also measure the amount of sea ice above the waterline.
In Cambridge Bay, the NASA team joined researchers from ESA (European Space Agency), Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute, and Canada’s University of Calgary. During this part of the campaign, coordinated flights soared over a field camp and under the tracks of satellite missions such as NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) and ESA’s CryoSat-2.
To improve sea ice thickness estimates, ESA is developing, with cooperation from NASA, a new polar mission called Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter (CRISTAL). During the April airborne campaign, scientists flew instruments similar to what CRISTAL will carry, including the microwave radiometer now being tested at JPL.
“Combining observations from space, air, and ground surface instruments is essential for developing and validating algorithms for current and future missions,” Kacimi said.
For the scientists, it was also a chance to meet locals who see the Arctic’s changes up close. Kacimi spoke to community leaders and students at a STEM camp about how disappearing ice is affecting their communities.
“I’m used to looking at sea ice from space and thinking about its role in the global climate, but for people living in the Arctic, it carries a much deeper meaning,” Kacimi said.
Media Contacts
Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov
Liz Vlock
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov
2026-043
Share Details Last Updated Jul 09, 2026 Related Terms Explore More 3 min read NASA’s 777 Aircraft Returns Home with Science Flights on the Horizon Article 3 months ago 3 min read Arctic Winter Sea Ice Ties Record Low, NASA, NSIDC Scientists FindFor the second consecutive year, winter sea ice in the Arctic reached a level that…
Article 4 months ago 1 min read SWOT Mission Unlocks a New View of Our WaterwaysExplore how rivers move, change, and sustain life across the planet with SWOT data.
Article 4 months ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Explore Earth ScienceFrom its origins, NASA has studied our planet in novel ways, using a fleet of satellites and ambitious airborne and ground-based…
Earth Science at WorkNASA Earth Science helps Americans respond to challenges and societal needs — such as wildland fires, hurricanes, and water supplies…
Earth Science DataOpen access to NASA’s archive of Earth science data
Earth Science MissionsIn order to study the Earth as a whole system and understand how it is changing, NASA develops and supports…
Could Permanent Magnets Protect Astronauts from Solar Storms?
Shielding astronauts from the killer radiation they face is a central challenge facing any designer of a deep-space crewed mission. Even relatively low levels of exposure for long periods of time can lead to everything from central nervous system damage to cancer. But current solutions, such as passive water shells or active superconducting magnets, have their own limitations. To get around those, a new paper, available in pre-print on arXiv by Valerio Parisi and a team of researchers from Italy and Germany, looks at the feasibility of using a permanent magnet (and its associated permanent magnetic field) to potentially block some of that deadly radiation without the costs of competing technologies.
Satellites in tandem reveal 30 years of Antarctic ice flow
Thirty years after the European Space Agency first demonstrated the power of flying two satellites in very close formation, the concept was recently recreated. By temporarily positioning two Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar satellites to replicate the pioneering ERS-1–ERS-2 ‘tandem mission’, ESA achieved one-day repeat radar imaging of the same Antarctic region.
The results once again demonstrate how this approach can be used to measure glacier motion and pinpoint the critical grounding line with exceptional precision.
NASA Is Calling on Industry to Build Its Lunar Infrastructure
NASA is serious about going back to the Moon. Ongoing missions like the recently completed Artemis II trip around the Moon are just one such sign. But perhaps more importantly, NASA is recognizing how much additional work will have to go into funding technology development if we hope to stay on the lunar surface permanently. To reflect that understanding, the agency recently released a request for public feedback on what it calls the Lunar Enabling Infrastructure Accelerator - which might have been named after a Star Wars fan, since its acronym is LEIA.