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Mars and its atmosphere, seen by MOM spacecraft
Two early images from India's MOM spacecraft. One shows an edge of Mars, with the planet's tenuous atmosphere above. The other shows the whole planet. Beautiful!
September 29, 2014
World population unlikely to stabilize in this century
Experts used “scenarios” to suggest global human population will stabilize around 9 billion by about 2050. A new statistical analysis tells a different story.
September 29, 2014
Clues to the rapid rise of birds
"There was no moment in time when a dinosaur became a bird, and there is no single missing link between them," said Steve Brusatte, who led the study.
September 29, 2014
Curiosity rover drill pulls first taste from Mars mountain
The mission's emphasis has changed from drive, drive, drive to systematic layer-by-layer investigation. "Curiosity flew hundreds of millions of miles to do this."
September 29, 2014
The water in your bottle might be older than the sun
Up to half of the water on Earth and throughout our solar system likely originated as ices that formed in interstellar space.
September 27, 2014
A young galaxy in the local universe?
The nearby dwarf galaxy DDO 68 - only 39 million light-years away - looks young. But its nearness to us in space suggests it's not as young as it looks.
September 27, 2014
Why is Antarctic sea ice increasing as Arctic sea ice declines?
Arctic sea ice continued its long-term decline in 2014. Meanwhile, sea ice on the other side of the planet was headed in the opposite direction. Why?
September 27, 2014
Young moon returns to the evening sky
Moon was rising and setting with the sun in the past few days. Now it's far enough from the sun's glare to be visible in the evening sky, shortly after sunset.
September 26, 2014
Moon and Mercury low in west after sunset September 25 and 26
Try to catch the young moon, Mercury and star Spica in the sunset direction on September 25 and/or 26. Best seen from S. Hemisphere. N. Hemisphere viewers ... try it!
September 25, 2014
