Host: Jorge Salazar
Lead Producer: Mike Brennan

ES 22 Producers: Deborah Byrd, Ryan Britton, Emily Howard

Science news of the week:

July 2012 was the hottest month ever recorded in the contiguous US, since record keeping began in 1895

NASA’s Curiosity Rover was confirmed to have landed on the surface of Mars-and began sending back photos

One of the first images from Curiosity of Mars’ surface. Colors images should start coming in later today (August 7). Here’s the shadow of the rover in the foreground, with Mt. Sharp in the background – a destination for the rover in its Mars exploration. Image Credit: NASA

UK-led researchers have identified skin cancer in a wild fish population for the first time

All three major basins had tropical storm developments this past week

Song of the week:

Austin Leonard Jones’ “Black Caiman” from his new album Ponderosa.

This week’s featured stories:

Image Credit: NOAA

Perseids, Planets, and the waning crescent moon Jorge Salazar speaks with skywatcher Deborah Byrd about the best time to view meteors and the planets Venus and Jupiter this week.

Hydrothermal vents and Alien Life Jorge talks with James Holden about microbes that live deep in the cracks of hydrothermal vents, and what we may be able to learn about alien life from his team’s findings.

Thanks for listening in to your 22 minutes of science and music!

This week’s musical contributors:

Austin Leonard Jones

Sleep Good

The Black and White Years

Mother Falcon

One Hundred Flowers

EarthSky 22

Thanks for the great response to EarthSky 22! Tell your friends about the best new science podcast on the Internet - 22 minutes of science and music - direct to you from Austin, Texas. Join producer/host Mike Brennan right here every week for EarthSky 22, brought to you by EarthSky: A Clear Voice for Science.