(National Geographic) An as yet undiscovered planet might be orbiting at the dark fringes of the solar system, according to new research.
Too far out to be easily spotted by telescopes, the potential unseen planet appears to be making its presence felt by disturbing the orbits of so-called Kuiper belt objects, said Rodney Gomes, an astronomer [...]
(Ars Technica) Over seven years into its (originally) 90-day mission, the Mars rover Opportunity arrived at the rim of Endeavour Crater. While the crater itself was formed from an ancient meteorite impact, the rocks at its rim show signs of a watery past. Chemical analysis found deposits typical of hydrothermal vents on Earth, along with [...]
(NASA Science News) The full Moon has a reputation for trouble. It raises high tides, it makes dogs howl, it wakes you up in the middle of the night with beams of moonlight stealing through drapes. If a moonbeam wakes you up on the night of May 5th, 2012, you might want to get out [...]
(Science Daily) On 5 and 6 June this year, millions of people around the world will be able to see Venus pass across the face of the Sun in what will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It will take Venus about six hours to complete its transit, appearing as a small black dot on the Sun’s surface, [...]
(DailyMail) In July 1976, the Viking 1 probe touched down on Mars and failed to find traces of life – but now, three decades later, scientists think the experiment was flawed.
Viking 1 did find evidence of extraterrestrial microbes in soil samples from the Red Planet.
Mathematical analysis of the samples concluded that salts in the soil [...]
(Nature) When magnetic fields of opposite polarity collide and merge, they unleash a torrent of energy. The process, known as magnetic reconnection, can cause flares on the Sun and magnetic storms and shimmering auroras on magnetized planets with substantial atmospheres, such as Earth, Jupiter and Saturn.
Now scientists have discovered that magnetic reconnection also happens on [...]
(Space.com)
Amateur stargazers have discovered an intriguing object jutting out from the surface of Mars. The seemingly perfectly rectangular, upright structure, found in NASA images of the Red Planet, bears a striking resemblance to the monoliths planted on Earth and the moon by aliens in the classic sci-fi film “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
The object in question [...]
(Huffington Post) Since the 1960s, when NASA astronauts first left the confines of Earth to begin exploration above and beyond our planet, their cameras have captured some amazing sights.
Spanning the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and space shuttle programs, astronauts saw unusual lights and objects, some considered unidentified flying objects or UFOs.
Through astronaut interviews and comments [...]
(Space.com) A huge, copper-toned formation in West Africa dominates a mesmerizing photo taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station.
Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers snapped this hypnotic image of the so-called Richat structure in Mauritania, as the space station flew over the Sahara Desert on the Atlantic Coast of West Africa. Erosion of the various [...]
(NASA Science News)
The human eye is crucial to astronomy. Without the ability to see, the luminous universe of stars, planets and galaxies would be closed to us, unknown forever. Nevertheless, astronomers cannot shake their fascination with the invisible.
Outside the realm of human vision is an entire electromagnetic spectrum of wonders. Each type of light–from radio [...]
Sunspot group AR11429 (Active Region) is at it again. When it first began its journey across the Earthward side of the Sun it released an M-class flare, an X-class flare and several more M flares, along with several CMEs. Early on March 7, 2012 (00:24 UT) it erupted with an X5.4 flare, a coronal wave [...]
(Space.com) An active region on the sun that unleashed a powerful solar flare Sunday (March 4) does not appear to be quieting down, and may have more surprises in store over the coming week, scientists say.
An X1.1-class solar flare erupted from the sun at 11:13 p.m. EST on March 4 (0413 GMT March 5). X-class [...]
(Space.com) Strange, gigantic explosions fueled by solar energy detonate just above the surface of Venus, a new study finds.
The huge eruptions, known as hot flow anomalies (HFAs), have been seen before near Earth, Saturn and possibly Mars. But the new observation is the first unambiguous confirmation of the phenomenon on Venus, researchers said. It also [...]
NASA’s GRAIL Mission has delivered its first video footage of the far side of the moon. The MoonKAM on the ‘Ebb’ spacecraft captured the imagery on January 19th, 2012.
GRAIL (Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory) consists of two identical spacecraft, named Ebb and Flow, each of which is equipped with a MoonKAM (Moon Knowledge Acquired by [...]
A rare transit of planet Venus (it will pass between the Earth and the Sun) will occur on June 5-6, 2012, which will produce a powerful transmission of energy that will catapult human consciousness by enhancing perceptual awareness and unique states of creativity.
The transit of Venus “is among the rarest of astronomical events, rarer even than the [...]
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