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3,045 articles from NASA

The Surprising Appeal of a Cloudy Eclipse

Eclipse chasers always hope for clear skies, but observers of last week's total solar eclipse in Australia discovered that clouds added something surprisingly beautiful to their brief minutes in the shadow of the Moon.


THURSDAY 22. NOVEMBER 2012


The Diner at the Center of the Galaxy

NASA's NuSTAR spacecraft has detected X-ray flares coming from the center of the galaxy--a signal that the Milky Way's supermassive black hole is having dinner.


FRIDAY 9. NOVEMBER 2012



THURSDAY 8. NOVEMBER 2012


Total Eclipse of the Sun

Scientists and sky watchers are converging on the northeast coast of Australia, near the Great Barrier Reef, for a total eclipse of the sun on Nov. 13/14. For researchers, the brief minutes of totality open a window into some of the deepest mysteries of solar physics.


WEDNESDAY 31. OCTOBER 2012



THURSDAY 25. OCTOBER 2012


Fried Planets

Astronomers have caught a red giant star in the act of devouring one of its planets. It could be a preview of what will happen to Earth five billion years from now.


FRIDAY 12. OCTOBER 2012


The Orionid Meteor Shower

Earth is about to pass through a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, source of the annual Orionid meteor shower. Forecasters expect 25 meteors per hour when the shower peaks on Oct. 21st.


FRIDAY 28. SEPTEMBER 2012


NASA Spacecraft Records 'Earthsong'

A NASA spacecraft has recorded eerie-sounding radio emissions coming from our own planet. These beautiful "songs of Earth" could, ironically, be responsible for the proliferation of deadly electrons in the Van Allen Belts.


THURSDAY 27. SEPTEMBER 2012



FRIDAY 21. SEPTEMBER 2012


Why Curiosity Matters

A former rock-n-roller turned NASA engineer explains why he thinks Curiosity--both the Mars rover and the human desire to learn new things--matters to ordinary people on Earth.


FRIDAY 14. SEPTEMBER 2012


Mystery Spheres on Mars

NASA's Mars rover Opportunity, still active after all these years, has just discovered a dense accumulation of puzzling little spheroids in a rock outcrop on the Red Planet.


WEDNESDAY 12. SEPTEMBER 2012


Weird Planets

Once, astronomers thought planets couldn't form around binary stars. Now Kepler has found a whole system of planets orbiting a double star. This finding shows that planetary systems are weirder and more abundant than previously thought.


THURSDAY 30. AUGUST 2012


The Radiation Belt Storm Probes

Most spacecraft try to avoid the Van Allen Belts, two doughnut-shaped regions around Earth filled with "killer electrons." This morning NASA launched two heavily-shielded spacecraft directly into the belts. The Radiation Belt Storm Probes are on a two-year mission to study the Van Allen Belts and to unravel the mystery of their unpredictability.


WEDNESDAY 29. AUGUST 2012


Watch Out for the Blue Moon

This week's full Moon is a Blue Moon--that is, the second full Moon in a calendar month. But will the Moon really turn blue? Strange but true: Scientists say it can happen.


THURSDAY 23. AUGUST 2012



MONDAY 20. AUGUST 2012



FRIDAY 17. AUGUST 2012


Where Will Curiosity Go First?

Curiosity is safe on Mars and ready to roll. In today's story from Science@NASA, project scientist John Grotzinger discusses where the rover might go first.


FRIDAY 10. AUGUST 2012


2012 Perseid Meteor Shower

The Perseid meteor shower is underway. There's more to see than meteors, however, when the shower peaks on August 11th through 13th. The brightest planets in the solar system are lining up in the middle of the display.


WEDNESDAY 8. AUGUST 2012


Meteor Smoke Makes Strange Clouds

A key ingredient of Earth's strangest clouds does not come from Earth. New data from NASA's AIM spacecraft proves that "meteor smoke" is essential to the formation of noctilucent clouds.


TUESDAY 7. AUGUST 2012



MONDAY 6. AUGUST 2012


NASA Lands Car-Size Rover Beside Martian Mountain

NASA's most advanced Mars rover Curiosity has landed on the Red Planet. The one-ton rover, hanging by ropes from a rocket backpack, touched down onto Mars Sunday to end a 36-week flight and begin a two-year investigation.


FRIDAY 3. AUGUST 2012



THURSDAY 2. AUGUST 2012


Curiosity's First Daredevil Stunt

When Curiosity enters the Martian atmosphere on August 6th, setting in motion "the seven minutes of terror" that people are buzzing about, the rover will actually be performing the mission's second daredevil stunt. The first was completed in July.


TUESDAY 31. JULY 2012


Strange but True: Curiosity's Sky Crane

How do you gently lower a massive SUV-sized nuclear-powered rover to the surface of Mars without making an SUV-sized crater? NASA's solution for Curiosity will be attempted for the first time on August 5/6 when they lower the rover to the red sands of Mars using a Sky Crane.


MONDAY 30. JULY 2012


Mars Landing Sky Show

On the same night Curiosity lands on Mars, a "Martian Triangle" will appear in sunset skies of Earth. The first-magnitude apparition on August 5th gives space fans something to do while they wait for news from the Red Planet.