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Editors of EarthSky

Rosetta sets sights on destination comet

The Rosetta spacecraft has caught its first glimpse of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko since waking up from deep-space hibernation in January.

Comet Siding Spring barrels toward sun, sprouts multiple jets

On October 19, 2014, Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring will sweep closer to Mars than our moon is to Earth. Dust shed by the comet could endanger spacecraft orbiting Mars.

Astronomers discover first asteroid with rings

This is the smallest object by far found to have rings and only the fifth body in the solar system - after planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - to have rings.

New solar system edge and speculations on an undiscovered planet

The new most-distant object in our solar system is 2012 VP113, whose closest point to the sun is about 80 times the Earth-sun distance.

New Chicken from Hell feathered dinosaur found in Dakotas

A newly discovered bird-like dinosaur resembles an ostrich, with claws, a tail and crested head. It's a feather in the cap of American paleontologists.

Close-up of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a raging storm in the planet's southern hemisphere. It's more than three times the size of Earth!

Some perspective on winter 2014

U.S. winter of 2013-14 was only 1°F below average, but it followed two warmer-than-average winters. Did that fact make this winter seem colder than it was?

Zoom in on 680-gigapixel interactive mosaic of moon’s north pole

Click around on a new high resolution interactive mosaic of the moon's north pole, created using cameras aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Asteroid to eclipse bright star Regulus tonight

Millions of people in New York City and points north can watch late tonight (March 19-20) as the bright star Regulus winks out when the asteroid hides it from view.

Overgrazing by deer is changing the face of U.S. forests

Deer's natural predators, wolves, have been exterminated. Today, overgrazing by deer in hugely multiplied numbers is affecting forests.