Current Events

  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.

Missions to Jupiter

Mission Country Launch Date Arrival Date Type Encounter Characteristics

Pioneer 11 USA April 6, 1973 September 1, 1979 Flyby Returned detailed pictures of Jupiter and Jupiter's Great Red Spot.
Voyager 1 USA September 5, 1977 November 13, 1980 Flyby Returned photographs and information on Jupiter's many moons.
Voyager 2 USA August 20, 1977 August 26, 1981 Flyby Showed that Jupiter's Great Red Spot is really a complex storm, and that Io, one of Jupiter's moons, has active volcanism.
Galileo USA & Europe October18, 1989 February 10, 1990 Orbiter/Probe The Galileo Probe successfully descended into Jupiter's atmosphere
on December 7,1995.
Galileo Orbiter successfully entered orbit well above the cloud tops of
Jupiter on December 7, 1995 and is currently observing the Jupiter system.

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