Science@NASA

SEARCH

Use the simple form below to search for documents in science.nasa.gov containing specific words or combinations of words. You can enter your query in upper or lower case - searches are case-insensitive. You can use AND, OR, NOT, or NEAR between phrases or words, or, for an exact match, enclose your query in double quotes.

More help, with examples, is below.

Search for

To search our entire site, click the "Search Site" button after entering your query. To exclusively search previous headlines and feature articles we have posted, click "Search Headlines" after entering your query.

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For more information, please contact:
Dr. John M. Horack , Director of Science Communications

Curator: Linda Porter
NASA Official: M. Franklin Rose

Query Language

The following is adapted from the Microsoft Index Server Guide.

This list gives the rules for formulating queries:

Multiple words are treated as a phrase; they must appear in the same order within a matching document.
You can type your query in uppercase or lowercase.
You can search for any word except very common words, such as (for English), a, an, and, as, and others.
Common words are treated as placeholders in phrase and proximity queries. For example, if you searched for “Science for Dummies”, the results could give you “Science for Dummies” and “Science and Dummies”, because for is considered a common word.
Punctuation marks such as the period (.), colon (:), semicolon (;), and comma (,) are ignored during a search.
To use specially treated characters such as &, |, ^, #, @, $, (, ), in a query, enclose your query in quotation marks (“).
To search for a word or phrase containing quotation marks, enclose the entire phrase in quotation marks and then double the quotation marks around the word or words you want to surround with quotes. For example, “World-Wide Web or ““Web””” searches for World-Wide Web or “Web”.
You can use Boolean Operators (AND, OR, and NOT) and the Proximity Operator (NEAR) to specify additional search information.
The Wildcard Character (*) can match words with a given prefix. The query esc* matches the terms “ESC,” “escape,” and so on.

Boolean and Proximity Operators

Boolean and proximity operators can create a more precise query.

To Search For

Example

Results

Both terms in the same page solar and microflares—Or—
solar & microflares Pages with both the words “solar” and “microflares”

Either term in a page aerogel or xerogel—Or—
aerogel | xerogel Pages with the words “aerogel” or “xerogel”

The first term without the second term propulsion and not tether—Or—
propulsion & ! tether Pages with the word “propulsion” but not “tether”

Both terms in the same page, close together aurora near satellite—Or—
aurora ~ satellite Pages with the word “aurora” near the word “satellite”

To Search For	Example	Results
Both terms in the same page	`solar and microflares`—Or— `solar & microflares`	Pages with both the words “solar” and “microflares”
Either term in a page	`aerogel or xerogel`—Or— `aerogel \| xerogel`	Pages with the words “aerogel” or “xerogel”
The first term without the second term	`propulsion and not tether`—Or— `propulsion & ! tether`	Pages with the word “propulsion” but not “tether”
Both terms in the same page, close together	`aurora near satellite`—Or— `aurora ~ satellite`	Pages with the word “aurora” near the word “satellite”

Wildcards

Wildcard operators help you find pages containing words similar to a given word.

To Search For

Example

Results

Words with the same prefix magnet* Pages with words that have the prefix “magnet,” such as “magnet,” “magnetic,” “magnetar,” and so on

Words based on the same stem word fly** Pages with words based on the same stem as “fly,” such as “flying,” “flown,” “flew,” and so on

To Search For	Example	Results
Words with the same prefix	`magnet*`	Pages with words that have the prefix “magnet,” such as “magnet,” “magnetic,” “magnetar,” and so on
Words based on the same stem word	`fly**`	Pages with words based on the same stem as “fly,” such as “flying,” “flown,” “flew,” and so on