Texas Teens Take Rocket Title
Three teenage Texas model rocketeers beat out teams from France and the U.K. to claim top honors at this year's International Rocketry Competition. John Matson reports
Episodes
60-Second Space
Leading science journalists provide a daily minute commentary on some of the most interesting developments in the world of astronomy and space exploration
Episodes
Primordial Galaxy Shows How to Make a Big One
Looking at the Himiko Galaxy as it was just 800 million years after the big bang offers a glimpse at how the most massive galaxies took shape. John Matson reports
Galaxy of a Thousand Stars
Segue 2, one of dozens of "companion" galaxies that orbit the Milky Way, is now the smallest galaxy known. Michael Moyer reports
Curiosity Reveals Mars Astronaut Radiation Risk
A side benefit of NASA's Curiosity rover mission is that we now know about how much radiation an interplanetary traveler would face. John Matson reports
Earth and Moon Had Same Water Source
Isotopic analysis of water trapped in volcanic glass in lunar samples show that the moon has more water than thought, and the water there and on Earth had the same origins. Karen Hopkin reports
Mars Rover Sets Distance Record
After nine (Earth) years of slowly traversing Mars, Opportunity broke the U.S. off-world rover record held by Apollo 17's lunar buggy since 1972. John Matson reports.
Exoplanet Building Blocks Found around White Dwarfs
Silicon-rich rocky material was found around white dwarfs in the Hyades star cluster by the Hubble Space Telescope, despite the fact that almost no known planets exist in star clusters. John Matson reports
Milky Way Makes Small Massive Gain
Based on the Milky Way's effect on the motion of a nearby dwarf galaxy, our galaxy seems to have more mass than we previously thought. John Matson reports
Space Scope Spots 3 Possibly Habitable Planets
NASA's orbiting Kepler telescope recently spotted three exoplanets in or near their stars' so-called habitable zones, the temperate region where a planet could accommodate liquid water. John Matson reports
Amateur Astronomers Spot Missing Russian Mars Lander
Using imagery taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2007, amateur astronomers located an object that could be a Russian lander that went dark after a few seconds on Mars in 1971. John Matson reports
Water Ice Found across Saturn System
Saturn's rings and moons contain a uniform distribution of water ice, which seems to reflect their common origins billions of years ago. John Matson reports
Universe May Be a Titch Older
New data from the European Planck satellite indicate that the universe is 13.8 billion years old rather than a mere 13.7 billion years old. John Matson reports
Unfinished Chile Observatory Makes Starry Discovery
An incomplete version of Chile's ALMA telescope array found that star formation was in full swing earlier than had been thought. John Matson reports
Nearby Star Came In with the Bang
A study of the star HD 140283, only about 190 light-years away from us, finds that it formed in short order after the big bang. John Matson reports
Third Van Allen Belt Came and Went
The Van Allen Probes recently found a third belt of charged particles circling Earth, which was then destroyed by a solar shock wave. John Matson reports
Shoo Away Asteroids with a Coat of Paint
Heat radiating from an asteroid imparts a tiny push to the rock, meaning that we could subtly steer an asteroid by changing its reflectance. John Matson reports
Meteor Shocks Russian City
The Russian city of Chelyabinsk was awakened on February 15 when a meteor exploded overhead, with an energy equivalent to about 300 kilotons of TNT
Curiosity Drills Mars for Answers
Even as a few of its sensors cause problems, the Curiosity rover became the first robotic visitor to bore into the Martian surface. John Matson reports
Past-Prime Star May Still Produce Planets
The star TW Hydrae should be too old to still have planets forming around it, but its gas and dust indicate it still has planetary potential. John Matson reports
Gamma-Ray Burst Fingered for Carbon 14 Spike in A.D. 774
Tree-ring data from A.D. 774 show a sudden spike in radioactive carbon 14, pointing to a burst of charged particles or high-energy radiation that struck Earth. A relatively nearby gamma-ray burst could be the culprit. John Matson reports
Following Flare-Ups, Star Finally Explodes
After a few false alarms, the star SN 2009ip appears to have gone supernova at last. John Matson reports
Mars Flight Habitat Volunteers Lost Sleep and Fitness
Six volunteers spent 520 days in a simulation of a trip to Mars, and wound up experiencing sleep disturbances and becoming more sedentary. John Matson reports
Civilian Spacefarers Face Medical Hurdles
Opening the door to the paying public means that less healthy individuals will soon have access to space--if their doctors approve. John Matson reports
Titan Sports Hydrocarbon Nile
The Cassini orbiter spotted a river system on Titan that NASA likens to a miniature version of the Nile River, but flowing with liquid ethane and methane. John Matson reports
Should Mars Get Another Rover?
NASA has plans for another Mars rover, but no trips scheduled for exotic places like Titan or Europa. John Matson reports
3-D Printer Makes Structures with Lunar-Like Material
A proof-of-concept 3-D printing job using lunarlike material shows that quick-and-dirty tools or spare parts could be manufactured on the moon. John Matson reports
Thicker Atmosphere Still Would Have Left Mars Cold
Global 3-D climate simulations for plausible Martian atmospheres show that even with a much thicker CO2 layer, the greenhouse effect could not have warmed Mars above freezing. John Matson reports.
Galaxy Might Be Most Distant Seen Object
Thanks to gravitational lensing by a cluster of galaxies, the light emitted by a small galaxy 13.3 billion years ago has reached Earth. John Matson reports
Star's Habitable Zone Includes Possible Giant Earth
A planet at least seven times as massive as Earth orbits comfortably in the habitable zone of the star HD 40307. John Matson reports
New Analyses Resurrect Contested Exoplanet Claim
Fomalhaut b looked like an exoplanet to some astronomers and like dust to others. But new analyses strengthen the planet view. John Matson reports