Sunday, 19 May, 2013

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!

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!

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…

Cassini finds lightning strikes on Saturn, haze on moon Titan, dust between the rings, and new rotation rate.

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

Amateur astronomers watch variable stars, asteroids, comets — helping create a better picture of the universe.

Astronomers have just seen galaxies from the first billion years of the universe. They are also racing to understand dark energy, the force that’s spreading the universe apart.

Why don’t the rings of Saturn just disappear over millions of years. It’s the recycling, that’s why!

Chandra, the X-ray astronomy telescope, is three years old. We ogle some of its greatest hits. Caution: These bangs are BIG!

Scientists have found ice on Mars. The frozen water, whose quantity may equal Lake Michigan, is within a meter of the surface.

New techniques give a better view of the sun, help predict flares, aurora and destruction from the sun. Like staying warm? Like radio? Love our sun!

New searches are finding lots of asteroids. None of them are aimed at us — yet. How much damage have asteroids done in the past?