Friday, 25 May, 2012

New pix from Mars show sand dunes on the move. Mars has been dry for 1.5 billion years; could massive erosion be due to wind? Yes, says a new report that tracked dunes with precise new images. Surprise: dunes move as fast on Mars as on Earth!

With space shuttles in museums, what is the near-term American plan to return to space? Can other countries or private companies fill the gap?

4B years ago, the “late heavy bombardment” burned out all life — or not… High-temp bacteria could have survived in deep rocks.

400 years ago, Galileo discovered the moons of Jupiter. We discover water from 11 billion years ago, volcanoes at Titan, a moon of Saturn, and good reasons to shun light pollution.

The Long Goodbye: 30 years after blast-off, two Voyager spaceships have reached the edge of the solar system. Meet the missions that revolutionized the study of planets and moons.

It’s a boom time for studying Mars, and the perfect time for the be-all, end-all summer vacation. Ride a robot rover. Dune-buggy an unearthly dune field. Even meet-and-greet a real live Martian! All aboard for Mars!

After 20 years, star explosion reveals more secrets. What gives in these giant bangs?

Where did all the dust come from? If you are interested in the origin of planets and human beings, here’s evidence that a star explosion made mucho dust.

Losing count: New study finds object larger than Pluto in the distant solar system. Do we now have 10 planets — or 8?

Think you know the Milky Way, our home galaxy? Think again. There’s a large bar at the center, and it’s open for business. It might even be feeding a black hole… Meet the newest galactic doo-dad…