NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, celebrates 100 days in orbit on Sept. 21, 2012. The black-hole spying telescope was blasted into orbit around Earth’s equator on June 13, 2012. The mission’s goal is to measure high-energy X-ray light fr... More »
Most Spectacularly Preserved Pitted Terrain on Vesta This perspective view of Marcia crater on the giant asteroid Vesta shows the most spectacularly preserved example of “pitted terrain,” an unexpected discovery in data returned by NASA’s Dawn mission. Image c... More »
The total ground deformation caused by a simulated magnitude 8.0 earthquake on the San Andreas fault. This is the largest event from a 30,000 year interacting earthquake fault simulation using QuakeSim’s Virtual California. Instead of mimicking an exact series... More »
Migrating cells in a nematode are identified and stained green in the top image. Looking closer, the glowing cell is extracted for analysis using a glass pipette. [Credit: Caltech / Mihoko Kato] At any given moment, millions of cells are on the move in the hu... More »
‘Jake Matijevic’ Contact Target for Curiosity The drive by NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity during the mission’s 43rd Martian day, or sol, (Sept. 19, 2012) ended with this rock about 8 feet (2.5 meters) in front of the rover. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s M... More »
In the big image at left, the many galaxies of a massive cluster called MACS J1149+2223 dominate the scene. Gravitational lensing by the giant cluster brightened the light from the newfound galaxy, known as MACS 1149-JD, some 15 times. At upper right, a partia... More »
Venkat Chandrasekaran, an assistant professor of computing and mathematical sciences, arrived at Caltech in early September. Chandrasekaran, who was born in Mumbai, India, and grew up in a number of different Indian and Middle Eastern cities, studied mathe... More »
This artist 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 NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. E... More »
Researchers are brewing up icy, organic concoctions in the lab to mimic materials at the edge of our solar system and beyond. The laboratory equipment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., is seen at right, and a very young solar system, wit... More »
Guruswami Ravichandran (right) presents the Wings Award to Sir Martin Sweeting at a gala banquet and awards ceremony at the Caltech Athenaeum. Sir Martin Sweeting, founder and executive chairman of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) and director of t... More »
A computer-generated image depicts NASA’s Juno spacecraft firing its main engine. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Juno spacecraft successfully executed a second Deep Space Maneuver, called DSM-2 last Friday, Sept. 14. The 30 minute firing of its main eng... More »
Dianne Newman (left), and Doris Tsao. Two members of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) faculty have been given National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Awards. The awards are administered through the NIH’s Common Fund, which provides sup... More »
