SCIENCE | NASA Releases Close- Up Views of Saturn's Rings

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

NASA has released high- resolution close- up images of the outermost rings of planet Saturn. The images were captured by the spacecraft Cassini as part of its penultimate mission. The spacecraft has been hovering in and out of the planet's rings every week since November, taking images depicting features as small as 550 metres, a measurement that may not seem so small to us, but is of huge interest when one considers the fact that the photos being taken are those of another planet.

One of the images has been shown above. The encircled parts in the image are bright disturbances called "propellers" which are caused by the gravity of moonlets embedded in the ring.

Images of "straws", which can be defined as a temporary clumping in the rings resulting from gravity from a group of embedded objects, have also been captured by Cassini. Moreover, it took images of density "waves" and "wakes" as well, capturing the sights in visible light with its wide angle camera. The photos were initially taken on December 18th, 2016, although it was back in the year 2004 that Cassini first reached Saturn and showed us the features of the planet's ring. However, the new images happen to be twice as sharp and clear than what the world witnessed before. 

More images of the ring could probably come out in the next few months as Cassini continues to make progress in its approach towards Saturn.

Float Around and Grow Plants at the International Space Station With NASA's Gaming App

A screenshot from NASA's gaming app "Space Science Investigations: Plant Growth"

A gaming app named "Space Science Investigations: Plant Growth" , that allows you to virtually float around the International Space Station (ISS), meet the crew and even grow plants using your smartphone has been launched by NASA. 

The game, which is available for free installation in Google Play Store and App Store, engages players to complete certain tasks, the first of which requires them to navigate the ISS's micro- gravity, or "zero- g" environment by flying around the space station and doing flips.

Users can then float up to astronaut and ISS crew member Naomi in the "Columbus" European Lab to gather explanations  on the game's leading mission: experimental plant growth.

Slash Gear reported that the gaming app can be helpful to players in gaining an understanding of the issues that micro gravity presents for growing plants, such as how they can be watered without gravity. 

For long has  NASA worked on growing plants in a low gravity environment, which is a necessity to serve the purpose of providing food during long duration flights, such as to Mars, as well as in habitation pods on other planets.

ISS researchers have already had some success, such as growing red romaine lettuce and the flower Zinnia.

JUST IN| NASA Releases Stunning New Photo of Jupiter

This image rendered by citizen scientist Roman Tkachenko shows the spacecraft Juno
above planet Jupiter |Credit: AP

Long has planet Jupiter aroused our fascination with its gigantic size and the iconic Great Red Spot that it bears upon itself. To fuel that very fascination, NASA has released a captivating new view of a crescent Jupiter,  showing the Great Red Spot, along with the planet's 'string of pearls'- a series of storms shaped like white ovals. Below the Great Red Spot can be seen the Oval BA, a reddish long-lived storm.

The picture was rendered by a citizen scientist Roman Tkachenko using data from the JunoCam, an instrument on board NASA’s solar-powered Juno spacecraft.

The image was taken on December 11, 2016, from a distance of about 4,58,800 kilometers, as Juno performed its third close flyby of Jupiter.

The Great Red Spot is a giant, spinning storm in Jupiter's atmosphere. It is like a hurricane on Earth. Only much bigger than our own planet; precisely, twice its size. It has been seen on Jupiter ever since telescopes allowed humans to have a peep into the universe about 400 years ago.