Space Science & Remote Sensing

<img src="http://www.lateet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/gulf_of_alaska.jpg" />    A picture from the Gulf of Alaska that has been making the rounds on the Internet for the last few years -- though  particularly in recent weeks  -- shows a strange natural phenomenon that occurs when heavy, sediment-laden water from glacial valleys and rivers pours into the open ocean. There in the gulf, the two types of water run into each other,  a light, almost electric blue merging with a darker slate-blue . Informally dubbed "the place where two oceans meet," the explanation for the photo is a simple one, though there are many misconceptions about it, including that catchy title. In particular on popular link-sharing website Reddit, where users have on multiple occasions erroneously attributed the photo's location as " Where the Baltic and North Sea meet " and the two types of water as being completely incapable of ever mixing, instead perpetuall...

WASHINGTON — NASA is continuing to examine various, potentially less expensive options for a mission to land on   Jupiter's moon Europa   even after completing a recent review, postponing a call for instruments for the spacecraft. At a meeting of the Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) Sept. 6 in La Jolla, California, Curt Niebur, a program scientist in the planetary science division at NASA Headquarters, said mission planners are continuing to examine several factors, including mission cost and science return, as they evaluate the design of the mission. The lander mission, he said, successfully passed an early-stage review called a mission concept review in June. However, he said the agency had not settled on a specific, single concept for the mission. [ Photos: Europa, Mysterious Icy Moon of Jupiter ] "As a result of that mission concept review, what we want to do is essentially continue exploring the different options we have for a Europa lander mission," he...