Contour News

• How Round is the Sun?.
  Scientists using NASA's RHESSI spacecraft have measured the roundness of the sun with unprecedented precision, and they find that it is not a perfect sphere. During years of high solar activity the sun develops a thin "cantaloupe skin" that significantly increases its apparent oblateness.
  
  
• MESSENGER Returns to Mercury.
  NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft is returning to Mercury. On Monday, Oct. 6, 2008, the probe will conduct the second of three planned flybys and photograph most of Mercury's remaining unseen surface.
  
  
• Spotless Sun: Blankest Year of the Space Age.
  Astronomers who count sunspots have announced that 2008 has become the "blankest year" of the Space Age. Sunspot counts are at a 50-year low, signifying a deep minimum in the 11-year cycle of solar activity.
  
  
• Solar Wind Loses Power, Hits 50-year Low.
  In a briefing today at NASA headquarters, solar physicists announced that the solar wind is losing power. This development has repercussions across the solar system.
  
  
• Pollen Alert!.
  NASA is teaming up with public health organizations to create a pollen alert system that could help people with maladies ranging from common hay fever to serious heart and lung diseases.
  
  

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The Contour team