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Solar Eclipse Photos from Grand Canyon
May 22, 2012 | NASA

NASA has a webpage with photos taken of Sunday’s annular solar eclipse from the rim of the Grand Canyon.

Solar Eclipse Video (7 seconds)
May 22, 2012 | NASA Flickr

“The joint JAXA/NASA Hinode mission captured this video of an annular eclipse of the Sun on May 20, 2012. During an annular eclipse the moon does not block the entirety of the sun, but leaves a bright ring of light visible at the edges. For the May eclipse, the moon was at the furthest distance from Earth that it ever achieves – meaning that it blocked the smallest possible portion of the sun.” Quoted from the NASA video release.

Survey of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids
May 18, 2012 | NASA

“Potentially hazardous asteroids, or PHAs, are a subset of the larger group of near-Earth asteroids. The PHAs have the closest orbits to Earth’s, coming within five million miles, and they are big enough to survive passing through Earth’s atmosphere and cause damage on a regional, or greater, scale.” Quoted from the NASA press release.

Super Solar Flares
May 17, 2012 | Nature.com

Solar flares from our Sun erupt with enormous power. However, solar flares on other stars can be 10 million times more powerful.

Teacher’s Guide: Exploring the Moon
May 15, 2012 | NASA

NASA has published a .pdf document titled: “Exploring the Moon: a Teacher’s Guide with activities for Earth and Space Sciences”. It has lots of introductory content and several activities that can be done with students.

Speeds of Sand Dunes on Mars
May 11, 2012 | Caltech

“Last year, images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured sand dunes and ripples moving across the surface of Mars — observations that challenged previously held beliefs that there was not a lot of movement on the red planet’s surface. Now, technology developed by a team at the California Institute of Technology has allowed scientists to measure these activities for the very first time.” Quoted from the Caltech press release.

Light from a Super Earth
May 10, 2012 | NASA

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has detected light emanating from a “super-Earth” planet beyond our solar system for the first time. While the planet is not habitable, the detection is a historic step toward the eventual search for signs of life on other planets.” Quoted from the NASA press release.

Black Hole Shredding a Star
May 9, 2012 | NASA

Astronomers have gathered the most direct evidence yet of a supermassive black hole shredding a star that wandered too close.


This computer-simulated image shows gas from a tidally shredded star falling into a black hole. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JHU/UCSC

Ouarkziz Impact Crater
May 9, 2012 | NASA Earth Observatory

“The Ouarkziz Impact Crater is located in northwestern Algeria, close to the border with Morocco. The crater was formed by a meteor impact less than 70 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era, or Age of Dinosaurs.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.

Supermoon on Saturday
May 2, 2012 | Christian Science Monitor

On Saturday the distance between the Moon and the Earth will be at a minimum at about 11:35 PM as the Moon makes its elliptical orbit around the earth. The moon will appear bigger and brighter than normal.

History of Volcanic Activity on Mars
May 1, 2012 | European Space Agency

“Five years of Mars Express gravity mapping data are providing unique insights into what lies beneath the Red Planet’s largest volcanoes. The results show that the lava grew denser over time and that the thickness of the planet’s rigid outer layers varies across the Tharsis region.” Quoted from the ESA press release.

How Do You Land on Mars?
April 30, 2012 | NASA

NASA has a 60 second video that explains how they land a spacecraft on Mars.

Shape and Gravity of Vesta Asteroid
April 26, 2012 | NASA

“This video from NASA’s Dawn mission shows that the gravity field of Vesta closely matches the surface topography of the giant asteroid Vesta.”

Pieces of the California – Nevada Fireball Recovered
April 26, 2012 | National Public Radio

Fragments thought to be part of the fireball that was seen in daylight by people from Las Vegas to San Francisco have been found near Lotus California.

More on Mining Asteroids
April 26, 2012 | Christian Science Monitor

This article: “How asteroid mining could turn billionaires into trillionaires” includes a video interview with Neil Degrasse Tyson, Director of New York’s Hayden Planetarium.

Mining Asteroids?
April 25, 2012 | Planetary Resources

“Planetary Resources, Inc. announced today its plan to mine Near-Earth Asteroids for raw materials [...]. There are over 1,500 asteroids that are as easy to get to as the surface of the Moon. They are also in Earth-like orbits with small gravity fields, making them easier to approach and depart. [...] A single 500-meter platinum-rich asteroid contains the equivalent of all the Platinum Group Metals mined in history.” Quoted from the Planetary Resources website.

Hydrocarbon Rain on Titan
April 25, 2012 | NASA

Saturn’s giant moon Titan hides behind a thick, smoggy atmosphere that’s well known to scientists as one of the most complex chemical environments in the solar system. It’s a productive “factory” cranking out hydrocarbons that rain down on Titan’s icy surface and cloak it in soot.” Quoted from the NASA press release.

Glass Landscapes on Mars
April 18, 2012 | ABC Science

“Dark patches visible across much of the northern Martian hemisphere aren’t canals or vegetation, as once thought, but volcanic glass according to a new study.” Quoted from the ABC Science press release.

Space Weather and Earth’s Aurora
April 16, 2012 | NASA

“Aurora are colorful lights in the night time sky primarily appearing in Earth’s polar regions. But what causes them? The culprit behind aurora is our own Sun and the solar plasma that is ejected during a magnetic event like a flare or a coronal mass ejection.” Quoted from the NASA video release.

Dust Devil on Mars
April 11, 2012 | JPL on YouTube

NASA has published a video of a dust devil on the Amazonis Planitia region of northern Mars. It is very narrow but about 12 miles tall.

Geologic Map of Jupiter’s Moon Io
March 22, 2012 | USGS

A group of scientists has produced the first global geologic map of Jupiter’s Moon, Io. “The map illustrates the geologic character of some of the most unique and active volcanoes ever documented in the solar system.” Quote from the USGS press release.

Magnetic Material from the Aitken Basin Impact?
March 12, 2012 | Los Angeles Times

The Aitken Basin is the Moon’s largest impact structure. It is over 1000 miles across and a is located on the Moon’s far side. The impact might be related to lunar magnetic anomoalies.

NASA: Debunking 2012 Doomsday Scenarios
March 12, 2012 |

“There apparently is a great deal of interest in celestial bodies, and their locations and trajectories at the end of the calendar year 2012. Now, I for one love a good book or movie as much as the next guy. But the stuff flying around through cyberspace, TV and the movies is not based on science. There is even a fake NASA news release out there… So here is the scientific reality on the celestial happenings in the year 2012.”

Bubbles in the Milky Way Galaxy
March 9, 2012 | NASA

“A team of volunteers has pored over observations from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and discovered more than 5,000 “bubbles” in the disk of our Milky Way galaxy. Young, hot stars blow these bubbles into surrounding gas and dust, indicating areas of brand new star formation.” Quoted from the NASA press release.

Coronal Mass Ejection Headed for Earth
March 7, 2012 | NOAA YouTube Channel

“On Tuesday, March 6, 2012, a large solar flare erupted from the Sun. Data from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center suggest that the coronal mass ejection – the blast of plasma from the Sun’s surface -could reach Earth by early Thursday morning (March 8, 2012). This animation shows the output from the WSA-Enlil space weather model for solar winds, developed in partnership with NASA and academia and run operationally by NOAA. The white through yellow and orange plumes indicate the density of the coronal mass ejection plasma as it heads towards Earth (orange is the highest density).” Quoted from the NOAA video release.

Potential Impacts of Tuesday’s Solar Storm
March 7, 2012 | NOAA Space Weather Alerts

According to NOAA’s Space Weather Alerts, the potential impacts of Tuesday’s solar storm, the impact of which should arrive at Earth on Thursday morning, include:

Induced Currents – Power system voltage irregularities possible, false alarms may be triggered on some protection devices.

Spacecraft – Systems may experience surface charging; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites and orientation problems may occur.

Navigation – Intermittent satellite navigation (GPS) problems, including loss-of-lock and increased range error may occur.

Radio – HF (high frequency) radio may be intermittent.

Aurora – Aurora may be seen as low as Pennsylvania to Iowa to Oregon. (Quoted from the NOAA announcement.)

Story on USAToday.com

Water Vapor Around a Young Star
March 6, 2012 | NASA

“Using data from the Herschel Space Observatory, astronomers have detected for the first time cold water vapor enveloping a dusty disk around a young star. “

Atmospheric Oxygen Detected at Saturn’s Moon, Dione
March 5, 2012 | NASA

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has “sniffed” molecular oxygen ions around Saturn’s icy moon Dione for the first time, confirming the presence of a very tenuous atmosphere. The oxygen ions are quite sparse – one for every 0.67 cubic inches of space (one for every 11 cubic centimeters of space). [...] At the Dione surface, this atmosphere would only be as dense as Earth’s atmosphere 300 miles (480 kilometers) above the surface.” Quoted from the NASA press release.

Connecting Solar Flares to Earth Events
March 2, 2012 | NOAA

“Englishman Richard Carrington is credited with the key observation in 1859 that connected solar flares with communications disruptions as well as the aurora borealis.” Quoted from the NOAA website.

Drilling Wells on Mars?
February 29, 2012 | NASA

“InSight, a proposed mission to quite literally dig deep into the planetary history of rocky worlds like Earth, will seek to answer one of science’s most fundamental questions: How were the planets created?” Quote from the NASA website.

Asteroid 2011 AG5
February 29, 2012 | NASA

Asteroid 2011 AG5 has been receiving a lot of attention lately because of a very unlikely scenario which would place it on an Earth-interception course 28 years from now. Here is a scientific reality check of this relatively nondescript space rock which is currently ranked a “1″ on the 1 to 10 Torino Impact Hazard Scale.” Quote from the NASA press release.

The Collision that Created Earth’s Moon
February 27, 2012 | University of Maryland

“Unexpected new findings by a University of Maryland team of geochemists show that some portions of the Earth’s mantle (the rocky layer between Earth’s metallic core and crust) formed when the planet was much smaller than it is now.” Quoted from the University of Maryland press release.

The Many Moods of Titan
February 24, 2012 | NASA

“A set of recent papers, many of which draw on data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, reveal new details in the emerging picture of how Saturn’s moon Titan shifts with the seasons and even throughout the day.” Quote from the USGS press release.

Super-Earth GJ 1214b
February 22, 2012 | SpaceTelescope.org

“GJ 1214b is like no planet we know of [...] a huge fraction of its mass is made up of water.”

Powerful and Geologically Recent Earthquakes on Mars
February 22, 2012 | MSNBC

A study of ruptures in the Martian surface and associated “displaced” boulder suggest that earthquakes as powerful as M7.0 could have occurred in the past few million years.

Young Grabens Discovered on the Lunar Surface
February 21, 2012 | NASA

“New images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft show the moon’s crust is being stretched, forming minute valleys in a few small areas on the lunar surface. Scientists propose this geologic activity occurred less than 50 million years ago, which is considered recent compared to the moon’s age of more than 4.5 billion years.” Quoted from the NASA press release.

Where Are the Moon Rocks?
February 21, 2012 | BBC.com

In the 1970′s a rock brought back from the Moon was broken into 370 pieces and shared with 135 different countries and each of the fifty states. Now nobody knows what happened to some of these rocks.

Sand Dunes on Mars
February 7, 2012 | NASA

This enhanced-color image shows sand dunes trapped in an impact crater in Noachis Terra, Mars. Dunes and sand ripples of various shapes and sizes display the natural beauty created by physical processes.

Related: Sand dunes on Saturn’s Moon Titan

Meteorites: Tool kits for creating life on Earth
February 6, 2012 | Carnegie Institution for Science

Meteorites hold a record of the chemicals that existed in the early Solar System and that may have been a crucial source of the organic compounds that gave rise to life on Earth.” Quoted from the Carnegie Institution for Science press release.

Solar Flares
February 5, 2012 | Earth Observatory

Following one of the longest and weakest periods of activity in many cycles, the Sun is brimming with activity again. In late January 2012, our nearest star offered a preview of what may be to come in the solar maximum of 2012–13.

Small Asteroid Just Misses Earth
January 29, 2012 | MSNBC

An asteroid measuring somewhere between 20 and 60 feet in diameter came within 37,000 miles of hitting the Earth – that’s about 1/6 of the distance between Earth and Moon.

Kepler Discovers New Planetary Systems
January 26, 2012 | NASA

NASA’s Kepler mission has discovered 11 new planetary systems hosting 26 confirmed planets. These discoveries nearly double the number of verified Kepler planets and triple the number of stars known to have more than one planet that transits, or passes in front of, the star.” Quoted from the NASA press release.

Sand Dunes on Saturn’s Moon Titan
January 25, 2012 | Geology.com

Sand dunes are a dominant surface feature on Saturn’s moon Titan. They cover about 13% of the moon’s surface – an area about the same size as the United States. Instead of quartz sand the sand is a solid hydrocarbon!

A New Class of Planets
January 24, 2012 | San Diego State University

“Using data from NASA’s Kepler Mission, astronomers announced the discovery of two new transiting “circumbinary” planet systems–planets that orbit two stars.” Quoted from the San Diego State University press release.

Monday’s Solar Storm Explained
January 24, 2012 | MSNBC

Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer at the Franklin Institute explains the recent “medium class” solar storm and how it might compare storms that will occur in 2013 when a solar maximum occurs.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A Meteorite from Mars
January 18, 2012 | Voice of America

In July, 2011 a meteor broke-up during its descent through Earth’s atmosphere, dropping debris on the Moroccan desert. Fragments of the meteorite were recovered and NASA has confirmed that they are fragments of Mars.

100 Billion Planets in the Milky Way
January 13, 2012 | CNN

This CNN video explains why researchers believe that there are at least 100 billion planets in the Milky Way.

Three Smallest Exoplanets
January 12, 2012 | NASA

“Astronomers using data from NASA’s Kepler mission have discovered the three smallest planets yet detected orbiting a star beyond our sun.” Quoted from the NASA press release.

The Birth of a Star
January 11, 2012 | NASA

“The stars we see today weren’t always as serene as they appear, floating alone in the dark of night. Most stars, likely including our own sun, grew up in cosmic turmoil, as illustrated in this new image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope.”

Quadrantids Meteor Shower
January 3, 2012 | USA Today

The Quadrantids meteor shower will be visible on Wednesday morning between 3:00 and 5:00 AM local time for people in North America.

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