This infrared satellite image shows Typhoon Morakot's cold clouds (depicted in purple and blue) stretching over 1,000 miles in diameter on Aug 6, in the East China Sea. Credit: NASA/JPL, Ed Olsen

Satellite imagery over the last two days has shown Typhoon Morakot to be a monster, and over the last two days, NASA satellites have confirmed the typhoon doubled its size!

Radar imaging at NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar on June 12 and 14, 2009, revealed that near-Earth asteroid 1994 CC is a triple system. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/GSSR

IAU: Saturn’s haze-enshrouded moon Titan turns out to have much in common with Earth in the way that weather and geology shape its terrain, according to two pieces of research to be presented at the XXVII General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Wind, rain, volcanoes, tectonics and other Earth-like processes all sculpt features on Titan’s complex and varied surface in an environment more than 100°C colder on average than Antarctica.

NASA's new exoplanet-hunting Kepler space telescope has detected the atmosphere of a known giant gas planet, demonstrating the telescope's extraordinary scientific capabilities. The discovery will be published Friday, Aug. 7, in the journal Science. The find is based on a relatively short 10 days of test data collected before the official start of science operations.

ESA: Since the discovery of its presence in the Martian atmosphere, methane has remained an intriguing atmospheric component which source (either of biotic or abiotic origin) is not yet fully understood. The recently reported variations in the concentration of atmospheric methane have proven difficult to explain with 3-D numerical models of the atmosphere that include the known chemical and physical processes.

A deployable satellite reflector and boom assembly from Northrop Grumman Corporation will help NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) map soil moisture and the freezing and thawing cycles globally with unprecedented accuracy, resolution and coverage. The company's AstroMesh-Lite configuration deployable reflector will be used on JPL's Soil Moisture Active/Passive (SMAP) mission targeted for launch in 2014. This mission will use a combined radiometer and high-resolution radar to make direct measurements of soil moisture and freeze/thaw state to aid understanding of regional and global water cycles, ecosystem productivity, and the processes that link water, energy and carbon cycles."