Thursday, 9 February, 2012

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.

New analysis uses light to distinguish one diamond from another. Technique may help jewelers, but won’t help the battle against the “conflict diamonds” that are fueling wars in Africa.

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.

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

What are earthquakes? How do we study them? Are we any closer to accurate predictions?

What can we learn from whacking comets, up close and personal? What do comets tell us about the early solar system? And what is the role of comets in history?

New view of crystals that form into planets in protoplanetary disks. Which came first, the planet or the crystals?

Lunar eclipses are fleeting events, but their history goes deep. And what’s what with that reddish hue?

Chandra links gamma-ray bursts to supernovas. What really causes these gigantic explosions?

Earth Observing System uses satellites to accelerate earth science, oceanography, meteorology and global change.