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Comet Lovejoy survives encounter with sun
As it swept near the sun in early December 2011, Comet Lovejoy defied expectations and survived its close pass of the sun to become a Christmas comet.
December 25, 2011
Earth-size planets spotted beyond our solar system
The newly discovered Earth-size planets, Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f, are too close to their star to be in the habitable zone - that is, to have liquid water.
December 20, 2011
Will a nearby supernova harm life on Earth in 2012? Nah.
A supernova in our galaxy would have to be within 50 light-years to harm life on Earth. Likelihood that will happen? Zero, astronomers say.
December 19, 2011
Doomed gas cloud stretched as nears Milky Way black hole
It'll come closest to the black hole in 2013. Astronomers see the gas cloud being stretched - astronomers say "spaghettified" - into an elongated shape.
December 17, 2011
White dwarf at heart of closest supernova in 25 years
"Supernova 2011fe is like the Rosetta Stone of Type Ia supernovae," said Shri Kulkarni, who studies it. Scientists said a white dwarf resides in its center.
December 15, 2011
Smallest known black hole revealed by its heartbeat
An X-ray pattern - nicknamed a "heartbeat" because of its resemblance to an electrocardiogram - has revealed the smallest known black hole.
December 15, 2011
New Hubble image of stars’ birth throes
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a dramatic image of the violence of a star's birth. See this spectacular image here.
December 15, 2011
Mars rover now 31.9 million miles from Earth, begins research
The Curiosity Mars rover has traveled 1.8 million miles (about 3 million km) per day. It's measuring space radiation possibly harmful to Mars-bound astronauts.
December 14, 2011
Leon Lederman on the mystery and beauty of the Higgs boson
Leon Lederman - Nobel laureate in physics - describes a hypothetical particle, the Higgs boson, that might one day help explain the structure of the universe.
December 14, 2011
SETI telescopes resume search for signs of alien life, targeting new planets
SETI telescopes are once again searching planetary systems for signals that would be evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence.
December 8, 2011
