http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/asteroids,_comets_and_meteors/ Asteroids, Comets, Meteors and Meteorites. See amazing images and read the latest astronomy articles on the asteroid belt, comets and more. What is the risk of asteroid impact? en-us Sun, 26 May 2013 01:27:22 EDT Sun, 26 May 2013 01:27:22 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/asteroids,_comets_and_meteors/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130523143006.htm Astronomers have resolved a major problem in their understanding of a class of stars that undergo regular outbursts by accurately measuring the distance to a famous example of the type. Thu, 23 May 2013 14:30:30 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130523143006.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130523112527.htm Magnetars -- the dense remains of dead stars that erupt sporadically with bursts of high-energy radiation -- are some of the most extreme objects known in the Universe. A major campaign using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and several other satellites shows magnetars may be more diverse -- and common -- than previously thought. Thu, 23 May 2013 11:25:25 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130523112527.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130522131126.htm Researchers have uncovered an important mechanism behind the generation of astrophysical magnetic fields such as that of the Sun. Wed, 22 May 2013 13:11:11 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130522131126.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130521134550.htm In Antarctica in January, 2013 -- the summer at the South Pole -- scientists released 20 balloons, each eight stories tall, into the air to help answer an enduring space weather question: when the giant radiation belts surrounding Earth lose material, where do the extra particles actually go? Tue, 21 May 2013 13:45:45 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130521134550.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130521134305.htm NASA is getting ready to launch a new mission, a mission to observe a largely unexplored region of the solar atmosphere that powers its dynamic million-degree outer atmosphere and drives the solar wind. In late June 2013, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS, will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. IRIS will advance our understanding of the interface region, a region in the lower atmosphere of the sun where most of the sun's ultraviolet emissions are generated. Such emissions impact the near-Earth space environment and Earth's climate. Tue, 21 May 2013 13:43:43 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130521134305.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130520185524.htm Researchers have found evidence of a major cosmic event near the end of the Ice Age. The ensuing climate change forced many species to adapt or die. Mon, 20 May 2013 18:55:55 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130520185524.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130517120939.htm While Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt visited Earth's moon for three days in December 1972, they drove their mission's Lunar Roving Vehicle 19.3 nautical miles (22.210 statute miles or 35.744 kilometers). That was the farthest total distance for any NASA vehicle driving on a world other than Earth until yesterday. Fri, 17 May 2013 12:09:09 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130517120939.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130516165946.htm NASA's first mission to sample an asteroid is moving ahead into development and testing in preparation for its launch in 2016. Thu, 16 May 2013 16:59:59 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130516165946.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130516095349.htm On May 31, 2013, asteroid 1998 QE2 will sail serenely past Earth, getting no closer than about 3.6 million miles (5.8 million kilometers), or about 15 times the distance between Earth and the moon. And while QE2 is not of much interest to those astronomers and scientists on the lookout for hazardous asteroids, it is of interest to those who dabble in radar astronomy and have a 230-foot (70-meter) -- or larger -- radar telescope at their disposal. Thu, 16 May 2013 09:53:53 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130516095349.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130515165025.htm Taking before and after pictures of the Martian terrain, researchers have identified nearly 250 fresh impact craters on the Red Planet. The results provide scientists with a better yardstick to estimate how frequently craters are blasted on Mars, allowing them to assess recently formed features with greater accuracy. Wed, 15 May 2013 16:50:50 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130515165025.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130514083749.htm On May 13, 2013, the sun emitted an X2.8-class flare, peaking at 12:05 p.m. EDT. This is the the strongest X-class flare of 2013 so far, surpassing in strength the X1.7-class flare that occurred 14 hours earlier. It is the 16th X-class flare of the current solar cycle and the third-largest flare of that cycle. The second-strongest was an X5.4 event on March 7, 2012. The strongest was an X6.9 on Aug. 9, 2011. Tue, 14 May 2013 08:37:37 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130514083749.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130514083539.htm Given a legitimate need to protect Earth from the most intense forms of space weather -- great bursts of electromagnetic energy and particles that can sometimes stream from the sun -- some people worry that a gigantic "killer solar flare" could hurl enough energy to destroy Earth, but this is not actually possible. Tue, 14 May 2013 08:35:35 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130514083539.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130509142102.htm The water found on the moon, like that on Earth, came from small meteorites called carbonaceous chondrites in the first 100 million years or so after the solar system formed, researchers from have found. Thu, 09 May 2013 14:21:21 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130509142102.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130509142054.htm New research finds that water inside the moon's mantle comes from the same source as water on Earth. The Moon is thought to have formed after a giant impact to a still-forming Earth 4.5 million years ago. These new findings suggest that Earth may have had water at the time of that impact, and some of that water may have been transferred to the moon. Thu, 09 May 2013 14:20:20 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130509142054.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130509123645.htm Astronomers have found signs of Earth-like planets in an unlikely place: the atmospheres of a pair of burnt-out stars in a nearby star cluster. The white dwarf stars are being polluted by debris from asteroid-like objects falling onto them. This discovery suggests that rocky planet assembly is common in clusters, say researchers. Thu, 09 May 2013 12:36:36 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130509123645.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130506161618.htm A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows delicate wisps of gas that make up an object known as SNR B0519-69.0, or SNR 0519 for short. The thin, blood-red shells are actually the remnants from when an unstable progenitor star exploded violently as a supernova around 600 years ago. There are several types of supernovae, but for SNR 0519 the star that exploded is known to have been a white dwarf star -- a Sun-like star in the final stages of its life. Mon, 06 May 2013 16:16:16 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130506161618.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130506161049.htm Our galaxy is teeming with a wild variety of planets. In addition to our solar system's eight near-and-dear planets, there are more than 800 so-called exoplanets known to circle stars beyond our sun. One of the first "species" of exoplanets to be discovered is the hot Jupiters, also known as roasters. These are gas giants like Jupiters, but they orbit closely to their stars, blistering under the heat. Thanks to NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, researchers are beginning to dissect this exotic class of planets, revealing raging winds and other aspects of their turbulent nature. Mon, 06 May 2013 16:10:10 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130506161049.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130506132407.htm Researchers suggest that Mars' roughly 3.5-mile high Mount Sharp most likely emerged as strong winds carried dust and sand into Gale Crater where the mound sits. If correct, the research could dilute expectations that the mound is the remnant of a massive lake, which would have important implications for understanding Mars' past habitability. Mon, 06 May 2013 13:24:24 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130506132407.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130503151509.htm These delicate wisps of gas make up an object known as SNR B0519-69.0, or SNR 0519 for short. The thin, blood-red shells are actually the remnants from when an unstable progenitor star exploded violently as a supernova around 600 years ago. There are several types of supernovae, but for SNR 0519 the star that exploded is known to have been a white dwarf star -- a sun-like star in the final stages of its life. Fri, 03 May 2013 15:15:15 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130503151509.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130503105033.htm How powerful was February's meteor that crashed into Russia? Strong enough that its explosive entry into our atmosphere was detected almost 6,000 miles away in Lilburn, Ga., by infrasound sensors -- a full 10 hours after the meteor's explosion. A researcher has modified the signals and made them audible, allowing audiences to "hear" what the meteor's waves sounded like as they moved around the globe on February 15. Fri, 03 May 2013 10:50:50 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130503105033.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130501193212.htm In an effort to determine if conditions were ever right on Mars to sustain life, a team of scientists has examined a meteorite that formed on the Red Planet more than a billion years ago. Wed, 01 May 2013 19:32:32 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130501193212.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130501101256.htm NASA scientists don't often learn that their spacecraft is at risk of crashing into another satellite. But when Julie McEnery, the project scientist for NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, checked her email on March 29, 2012, she found herself facing this precise situation. Wed, 01 May 2013 10:12:12 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130501101256.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130430102409.htm The Herschel observatory, a European space telescope for which NASA helped build instruments and process data, has stopped making observations after running out of liquid coolant as expected. The European Space Agency mission, launched almost four years ago, revealed the universe's "coolest" secrets by observing the frigid side of planet, star and galaxy formation. Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:24:24 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130430102409.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130430101417.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft has provided scientists the first close-up, visible-light views of a behemoth hurricane swirling around Saturn's north pole. In high-resolution pictures and video, scientists see the hurricane's eye is about 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) wide, 20 times larger than the average hurricane eye on Earth. Thin, bright clouds at the outer edge of the hurricane are traveling 330 mph(150 meters per second). The hurricane swirls inside a large, mysterious, six-sided weather pattern known as the hexagon. Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:14:14 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130430101417.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130425144654.htm NASA's Cassini spacecraft has provided the first direct evidence of small meteoroids breaking into streams of rubble and crashing into Saturn's rings. These observations make Saturn's rings the only location besides Earth, the moon and Jupiter where scientists and amateur astronomers have been able to observe impacts as they occur. Studying the impact rate of meteoroids from outside the Saturnian system helps scientists understand how different planet systems in our solar system formed. Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:46:46 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130425144654.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130424112318.htm Astronomers have now demonstrated that with the advanced technology available in the next decade we should be able to detect biomarkers like oxygen and methane in the planets that orbit dead stars called "white dwarfs" -- and to find new forms of life on those planets. Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:23:23 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130424112318.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130423134024.htm When the Hubble picture of ISON was taken on April 10, the comet was slightly closer than Jupiter's orbit at a distance of 386 million miles from the Sun. Hubble photographed a jet blasting dust particles off the sunward-facing side of the comet's nucleus. Preliminary measurements suggest that ISON's nucleus is no larger than three or four miles across. Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:40:40 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130423134024.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130423102335.htm Researchers are reporting Herschel observations of water in Jupiter's stratosphere. It is a clear remnant of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact on Jupiter nearly 20 years ago. Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:23:23 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130423102335.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130423090924.htm A research team in Japan has performed deep imaging linear and circular polarimetry of the 'Cat's Paw Nebula' (NGC 6334) located in the constellation Scorpius, successfully detecting high degrees of circular polarization (CP) of as much as 22% in NGC 6334. The detected CP degree is the highest ever observed. Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:09:09 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130423090924.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130422112914.htm Three smartphones destined to become low-cost satellites rode to space April 21, 2013 aboard the maiden flight of Orbital Science Corp.'s Antares rocket from NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia. The trio of "PhoneSats" is operating in orbit, and may prove to be the lowest-cost satellites ever flown in space. The goal of NASA's PhoneSat mission is to determine whether a consumer-grade smartphone can be used as the main flight avionics of a capable, yet very inexpensive, satellite. Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:29:29 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130422112914.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130422111246.htm Scientists have discovered two tiny grains of silica (SiO2; the most common constituent of sand) in meteorites that fell to earth in Antarctica. Because of their isotopic composition these two grains are thought to be pure samples from a massive star that exploded before the birth of the solar system, perhaps the supernova whose explosion is thought to have triggered the collapse of a giant molecular cloud, giving birth to the Sun. Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:12:12 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130422111246.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130419101337.htm Palomar 2 is part of a group of 15 globulars known as the Palomar clusters. These clusters, as the name suggests, were discovered in survey plates from the first Palomar Observatory Sky Survey in the 1950s, a project that involved some of the most well-known astronomers of the day, including Edwin Hubble. They were discovered quite late because they are so faint -- each is either extremely remote, very heavily hidden behind blankets of dust, or has a very small number of remaining stars. Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:13:13 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130419101337.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130418142948.htm NASA's Kepler mission has discovered two new planetary systems that include three super-Earth-size planets in the "habitable zone," the range of distance from a star where the surface temperature of an orbiting planet might be suitable for liquid water. The Kepler-62 system has five planets; 62b, 62c, 62d, 62e and 62f. The Kepler-69 system has two planets; 69b and 69c. Kepler-62e, 62f and 69c are the super-Earth-sized planets. Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:29:29 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130418142948.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130418142450.htm New research has perhaps the smallest super-earth planet in its host star habitable zone. Kepler 62f is a small, probably rocky planet orbiting a sun-like star in the Lyra constellation. The planet is about 1.4 times the size of Earth, receives about half as much solar flux, or heat and radiation, as Earth and circles its star in 267.3 (Earth) days. Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:24:24 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130418142450.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130418140957.htm A team of scientists has discovered two Earth-like planets in the habitable orbit of a Sun-like star. Using observations gathered by NASA's Kepler Mission, the team found five planets orbiting a Sun-like star called Kepler-62. Four of these planets are so-called super-Earths, larger than our own planet, but smaller than even the smallest ice giant planet in our Solar System. These new super-Earths have radii of 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, and 1.9 times that of Earth. In addition, one of the five was a roughly Mars-sized planet, half the size of Earth. Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:09:09 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130418140957.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130417165005.htm A long Chandra observation reveals the SN 1006 supernova remnant in exquisite detail. By overlapping 10 different pointings of Chandra's field-of-view, astronomers have stitched together a cosmic tapestry of the debris field that was created when a white dwarf star exploded, sending its material hurtling into space as seen from Earth over a millennium ago. In this new Chandra image, low, medium, and higher-energy X-rays are colored red, green, and blue respectively. Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:50:50 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130417165005.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130417132050.htm Like many of his colleagues at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., Shyam Bhaskaran is working a lot with asteroids these days. And also like many of his colleagues, the deep space navigator devotes a great deal of time to crafting, and contemplating, computer-generated 3-D models of these intriguing nomads of the solar system. But while many of his coworkers are calculating asteroids' past, present and future locations in the cosmos, zapping them with the world's most massive radar dishes, or considering how to rendezvous and perhaps even gently nudge an asteroid into lunar orbit, Bhaskaran thinks about how to collide with one. Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:20:20 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130417132050.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130416180034.htm To tease out what happens at that boundary of the magnetosphere and to better understand how radiation and energy from the sun can cross it and move closer to Earth, NASA launches spacecraft into this region to observe the changing conditions. From 1998 to 2002, NASA's Wind spacecraft traveled through this foreshock region in front of Earth 17 times, providing new information about the physics there. Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130416180034.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130416180032.htm Three unusually long-lasting stellar explosions discovered by NASA's Swift satellite represent a previously unrecognized class of gamma-ray bursts. Two international teams of astronomers studying these events conclude that they likely arose from the catastrophic death of supergiant stars hundreds of times larger than the sun. Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130416180032.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130415164110.htm By tracking a part of the surface of Saturn's moon Titan over several years, NASA's Cassini mission has found a remarkable longevity to the hydrocarbon lakes on the moon's surface. Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:41:41 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130415164110.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130415163853.htm An infrared sensor that could improve NASA's future detecting and tracking of asteroids and comets has passed a critical design test. Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:38:38 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130415163853.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130415123213.htm New observations of comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) have allowed NASA's Near-Earth Object Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. to further refine the comet's orbit. Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:32:32 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130415123213.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130411113453.htm NASA's FY2014 budget proposal includes a plan to robotically capture a small near-Earth asteroid and redirect it safely to a stable orbit in the Earth-moon system where astronauts can visit and explore it. Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:34:34 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130411113453.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130409091221.htm The European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory has provided the first images of a dust belt -- produced by colliding comets or asteroids -- orbiting a subgiant star known to host a planetary system. Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:12:12 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130409091221.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130408055223.htm NASA's Astrophysics Explorer Program has selected two missions for launch in 2017: a planet-hunting satellite and an International Space Station instrument to observe X-rays from stars. Mon, 08 Apr 2013 05:52:52 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130408055223.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130408055047.htm NASA has selected the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) project for a planned launch in 2017. The $200 million project will use an array of wide-field cameras to perform an all-sky survey to discover transiting exoplanets, ranging from Earth-sized planets to gas giants, in orbit around the brightest stars in the sun's neighborhood. Mon, 08 Apr 2013 05:50:50 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130408055047.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130405094732.htm Astronomers have observed the effects of a dead star bending the light of its companion red star. The findings are among the first detections of this effect -- a result predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity -- in binary, or double, star systems. Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:47:47 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130405094732.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130403131315.htm Researchers have proposed a new method for finding Earth-like planets and they anticipate that the number will be in the order of 100 billion. The strategy uses a technique called gravitational microlensing, currently used by a Japan-New Zealand collaboration. Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:13:13 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130403131315.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130403115313.htm The international team running the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) today announced the first results in its search for dark matter. They report the observation of an excess of positrons in the cosmic ray flux. The results are consistent with the positrons originating from the annihilation of dark matter particles in space, but not yet sufficiently conclusive to rule out other explanations. Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:53:53 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130403115313.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130402102206.htm NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) satellite has been providing data on the sun's irradiance for 10 years. SORCE measures electromagnetic radiation produced by the sun and the power per unit area of that energy on Earth's surface. Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:22:22 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130402102206.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130402101919.htm A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows Jonckheere 900 or J 900, a planetary nebula -- glowing shells of ionized gas pushed out by a dying star. Discovered in the early 1900s by astronomer Robert Jonckheere, the dusty nebula is small but fairly bright, with a relatively evenly spread central region surrounded by soft wispy edges. Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:19:19 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130402101919.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130329125112.htm Astronomers have used NASA's Swift satellite to check out comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), which may become one of the most dazzling in decades when it rounds the sun later this year. Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:51:51 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130329125112.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130327170155.htm A new analysis of data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggests that Saturn's moons and rings are gently worn vintage goods from around the time of our solar system's birth. Though they are tinted on the surface from recent "pollution," these bodies date back more than 4 billion years. They are from around the time that the planetary bodies in our neighborhood began to form out of the protoplanetary nebula, the cloud of material still orbiting the sun after its ignition as a star. Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:01:01 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130327170155.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130327144249.htm A new look at conditions after a Manhattan-sized asteroid slammed into a region of Mexico in the dinosaur days indicates the event could have triggered a global firestorm that would have burned every twig, bush and tree on Earth and led to the extinction of 80 percent of all Earth's species, says a new study. Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:42:42 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130327144249.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130327092751.htm The Universe is an old neighborhood -- roughly 13.8 billion years old. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is also ancient -- some of its stars are more than 13 billion years old (eso0425). Nevertheless, there is still a lot of action: new objects form and others are destroyed. In a new image, you can see some of the newcomers, the young stars forming the cluster NGC 2547. Wed, 27 Mar 2013 09:27:27 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130327092751.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130326135129.htm More than three weeks after arriving at the International Space Station, the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Dragon spacecraft is ready for the trip back to Earth, now scheduled for Tuesday, March 26. Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:51:51 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130326135129.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130325185237.htm NASA and international researchers have discovered that Earth's moon has more in common than previously thought with large asteroids roaming our solar system. Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:52:52 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130325185237.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130324195409.htm More than three weeks after arriving at the International Space Station, the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Dragon spacecraft is ready for the trip back to Earth, now scheduled for Tuesday, March 26. Sun, 24 Mar 2013 19:54:54 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130324195409.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130324152140.htm A detailed study of Venus' South Polar Vortex shows a much more chaotic and unpredictable cyclone than previously thought. The analysis reveals that the center of rotation of the vortex wanders around the pole differently at different altitude levels in the clouds of Venus. In its stroll around the Pole, in layers separated by 20 km, the vortex experiences unpredictable changes in its morphology. Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:21:21 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130324152140.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130319202406.htm Many spacecraft just fade away, drifting silently through space after their mission is over, but not GRAIL. NASA's twin GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) spacecraft went out in a blaze of glory Dec. 17, 2012, when they were intentionally crashed into a mountain near the moon's north pole. Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:24:24 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130319202406.htm