The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has released an animation on their website that illustrates how average global surface temperatures have risen since record-keeping started in the late 19th century. The video helps to visually illustrate the rise of Earth’s temperatures, spanning a 135-year period from when temperature records were first recorded, in 1880, through 2015, the hottest year on record.

The baseline average used in the video was derived from temperature averages from 1951 through 1980, with blue colors representing below-average trends, and orange representing above average temperatures.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also released a similar video, showing the same warming trend over the past 135 years. read more

Astronomers may be in for a treat early next month, as asteroid 2013 TX68 may make a close pass to Earth sometime between March 3–8, 2016, making it possible that it will be visible through telescopes. Despite how close it is expected to come to us, NASA doesn’t expect it to hit Earth — this time.
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NASA’s Eagleworks laboratories has recently released the results of their latest, upgraded experiments designed to evaluate a controversial propulsion device, one that does not use physical propellant to produce thrust, as traditional rockets use. Their verdict: the EmDrive appears to work. As this drive would provide continuous acceleration, it would make space travel much faster. A trip to Mars, for example, could be cut from months to just a few weeks. The drives being tested now provide very little thrust, but much more powerful engines can be built.



The EmDrive, short for Electromagnetic Drive, was first proposed and built by British engineer Roger Shawyer in 2001.read more