2011

Kepler Confirms First Planet in Habitable Zone of Sun-like Star
Dec. 5, 2011
In a significant milestone on the road to finding Earth's "twin" elsewhere in the galaxy, NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed its first planet in the habitable zone of a distant Sun-like star.
New Horizons Becomes Closest Spacecraft to Approach Pluto
Dec. 3, 2011
NASA’s New Horizons mission has reached a special milestone on its way to reconnoiter the Pluto system, coming closer to the dwarf planet than any other spacecraft.
Total Eclipse of the Moon
Dec. 2, 2011
On Saturday, Dec. 10th, sky watchers in the western United States will witness a total lunar eclipse swollen to super-sized proportions by the Moon illusion.
Mars Rover Curiosity Takes Off
Nov. 26, 2011
NASA's biggest and most capable Mars rover ever left Earth this morning in a picture perfect launch from the Kennedy Space Center. The new rover, named "Curiosity", is due to reach the Red Planet in August 2012.
New Evidence for Liquid Water on Europa
Nov. 16, 2011
Scientists studying data from NASA's Galileo probe have discovered what appears to be a body of liquid water the volume of the North American Great Lakes locked inside the icy shell of Jupiter’s moon Europa.
Mystery of the Lunar Ionosphere
Nov. 14, 2011
How can a world without air have an ionosphere? Somehow the Moon has done it. Lunar researchers have been struggling with the mystery for years, and they may have finally found a solution.
Stellar Extremophiles
Nov. 7, 2011
A NASA space telescope named "GALEX" has found stars forming in extreme galactic environments, places where researchers thought stars should not be. The finding could affect astronomy much as the discovery of microbial extremophiles affected biology in the 1970s.
A Star with Spiral Arms
Oct. 31, 2011
Using a Japanese telescope, NASA-supported researchers have found the first clear case of a star with spiral arms. The surprising arms could be sculpted by planets moving through a gas-rich circumstellar disk.
Strange Hollows Discovered on Mercury
Oct. 24, 2011
NASA's MESSENGER probe has discovered a surprise on Mercury: Something is digging "hollows" in the surface of the innermost planet.
Weekend Meteor Shower
Oct. 20, 2011
Earth is about to pass through a stream of debris from Halley's comet, source of the annual Orionid meteor shower. Forecasters expect more than 15 meteors per hour to fly across the sky on Saturday morning, Oct. 22nd, when the shower peaks.