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Winter solstice at Stonehenge
Stonehenge is carefully aligned on a sight-line that points to the winter solstice sunset, but, this year as in most recent years, the revelry began before sunrise.
December 21, 2016
Scientists find jet stream in Earth’s core
ESA's Swarm satellites have discovered a jet stream in the liquid iron part of Earth’s core, nearly 2,000 miles (3000 km) below the surface.
December 20, 2016
Snow, lit by full moon, from space
An Arctic air mass brought snow to the northern U.S. last week. A lake-effect snow followed an earlier snow accumulation. A NASA satellite caught the view from space, under full moonlight.
December 20, 2016
Spacecraft to search for Trojan asteroids
In February 2017, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will search for Earth-Trojan asteroids in the vicinity of Earth's L-4 point while on its outbound journey to the asteroid Bennu.
December 19, 2016
Ursid meteors are flying
The moon is up during the best hours for watching (after midnight). Still, people are catching Ursid meteors. This one was a bright one! The Ursid shower peaks this week.
December 19, 2016
Scientists explore Ceres’ water wealth
Water ice in permanently shadowed craters on Ceres. Water ice everywhere, on or near the surface. Last week, Dawn spacecraft scientists presented 2 lines of evidence that Ceres is water-rich.
December 18, 2016
Ceres bright spots get names
The International Astronomical Union approved the new names on November 26, and scientists used them while discussing other findings about Ceres at this week's American Geophysical Union meeting.
December 17, 2016
Rosetta comet craft’s last words
One of Rosetta's final reports was of a large object in its field of view: the comet's horizon as the spacecraft was about to strike the comet.
December 17, 2016
Rover hits jackpot of Mars evidence
A cool animation showing now and long ago at Gale Crater, plus the path of the Curiosity rover on Mars today, and an update on Curiosity's findings.
December 17, 2016
Ice monster lighthouse
"The lighthouse is starting to look like an ice monster," said Joshua Nowicki. He took this shot on December 15 on the north pier in Saint Joseph, Michigan.
December 17, 2016
