Asteroid Vesta now has its own geologic maps

Vesta is revealed as a world in space - albeit a little world - in these new maps of its surface. Scientists say the maps of Vesta reveals its history.

Rosetta spots Philae’s bounce across the comet

Never-before-seen images of a bouncy comet landing! Shows Philae lander attempting to touch down in the weak gravity field of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Here’s how often small asteroids enter Earth’s atmosphere!

Data indicate that small asteroids struck Earth's atmosphere - resulting in a bolide (a fireball, or bright meteor) - on 556 separate occasions in a 20-year period.

Looking for meteors? Try to get away from city lights

City lights drown all but the brightest stars, planets, and fireballs. But there's still some dark out there, as this satellite view of the U.S at night shows.

New clues to possible Venus auroras

For 40 years, astronomers have puzzled over signs of a green aurora on Venus, despite the planet's lack of a magnetic field.

Philae lander completes its main mission, then falls silent

The first-ever comet lander - Philae - made history this week by spending some 57 hours gathering data on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.

Visible storms on Uranus thrill astronomers

The normally bland face of Uranus has become increasingly stormy, with enormous cloud systems so bright astronomers can see details in the planet’s hazy blue-green atmosphere.

Rosetta mission places Philae lander on its comet

As of Thursday morning, November 13 - after initially failing to attach to the surface - Philae is now stable and is sending back pictures.

As Philae detached from its mothership, an eerie comet song

Listen in on a mysterious sound produced by Rosetta's comet. ESA says the comet song is due to "oscillations in the magnetic field in the comet's environment."

Comet-like tail discovered on long-known asteroid

Until about 10 years ago, it was pretty obvious what a comet was and what a comet wasn't. Now, that's changing ...