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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
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
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
Water vapor in atmosphere of exoplanet four times Earth’s size
The exoplanet HAT P-11b - about Neptune's size - has an atmosphere that's cloudless at high altitudes. That's how astronomers could identify water vapor there.
September 24, 2014
Astronomers observe mysterious winds from a T Tauri star
T Tauri stars - infant solar systems - were thought to have powerful stellar winds. Astronomers have now observed T Tauri winds and might know what's causing them.
September 24, 2014
Sneak preview: Colorful lunar eclipse on October 7-8
Before sunrise on October 8, the bright full moon over North America will turn a lovely shade of red. It's a total lunar eclipse that's visible from all parts of the U.S.
September 23, 2014
Success! MAVEN spacecraft enters Mars orbit
NASA's MAVEN spacecraft - first spacecraft dedicated to exploring Mars' upper atmosphere - successfully entered orbit on September 21, 2014 at 10:24 p.m. EDT.
September 22, 2014
Supermassive black hole in a galaxy only 300 light-years wide
It's an unlikely object in an improbable place -- a monster black hole lurking inside one of the tiniest galaxies ever known.
September 19, 2014
