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Sun photobombed Mars encounter with comet Siding Spring
Comet Siding Spring swept closer to Mars than any known comet in recorded history, creating the largest-ever-known meteor shower. But the sun got in on the act.
September 24, 2017
How well can seeds survive in space?
If humans want to live on Mars, we're going to need to grow food. How well can seeds survive harsh, non-Earth conditions?
September 23, 2017
Astronomers find strange, comet-like double asteroid
Comets are loose collections of ice and dust, sometimes with long tails. Asteroids are more rocky or metallic. Now astronomers have found a comet-like double asteroid.
September 23, 2017
Earth will give this spacecraft a gravity boost today
OSIRIS-REx - bound for a 2018 encounter with asteroid Bennu - will sweep in close to Earth on Friday. It'll be closest today just before 16:52 UTC (12:52 p.m. EDT).
September 22, 2017
Mercury’s poles icier than thought
The scorching hot surface of Mercury - our sun's innermost planet - seems an unlikely place to find ice. But a new study suggests otherwise.
September 21, 2017
More evidence of water on Mars
Planetary researchers say a large sedimentary basin, named Aeolis Dorsa, contains some of the planet’s most spectacular and densely packed river deposits.
September 21, 2017
Aging star blows off smoky bubble
A strikingly beautiful view of a delicate bubble of expelled material around the exotic red star U Antliae helps astronomers understand how stars evolve during the later stages of their life-cycles.
September 20, 2017
Astronomers find a pitch-black planet
Exoplanet WASP-12b has the unique capability to trap 94 percent of the visible starlight falling into its atmosphere. The result is a world as black as fresh asphalt.
September 17, 2017
Venus’ mysterious night side revealed
Researchers using Venus Express spacecraft data report "stationary waves" and slowly moving features in the planet's upper clouds, during Venus' long and mysterious night.
September 16, 2017
Goodbye, Cassini!
The Cassini spacecraft has become part of Saturn, the planet it studied so spectacularly and so long. Cassini's last images and final moments, here.
September 15, 2017
