Solar System
The Earth's solar system, including the sun, moon, planets and satellites
Apollo 11's Giant Leap for Mankind
40 years ago, the lunar module landed on the moon, providing an unforgettable moment for the millions watching back on Earth
August 2009 |
By Owen Edwards
The Legacy of Apollo
On July 16, 1969, NASA launched Apollo 11, the mission that put two men on the moon four days after lift-off.Forty years later, historians and NASA officials are still trying to gauge the legacy of the Apollo program. On Thursday, five panelists met at NASA headquarters to discuss its impact.Many o...
July 18, 2009 |
By Ashley Luthern
Moonwalk Launch Party
The launch 40 years ago of Apollo 11, which put a man on the moon, brought Americans together during a time of nationwide unrest
July 2009 |
By David Burnett
An Explanation for the Missing Sunspots
I bet that most of you don’t know that the sunspots are missing. That’s okay. I’m sure many people don’t realize that the sun is more than just a ball of fire: it has a complex internal structure, features that vary based on multi-year cycles, and it can create solar storms that knock out power and...
June 18, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Hubble Space Telescope’s Finest Photos
Now that the telescope has received its final upgrades, we look back on Hubble's most memorable images from space
May 06, 2009 |
By Joseph Caputo
After Space, Saving Suits, Boots and Gloves
The spacesuits that kept U.S. astronauts alive now owe their survival to one woman
May 2009 |
By Megan Gambino
Forensic Astronomer Solves Fine Arts Puzzles
Astrophysicist Don Olson breaks down the barriers between science and art by analyzing literature and paintings from the past
April 2009 |
By Jennifer Drapkin and Sarah Zielinski
Stardust Memories
Cosmic dust may reveal some of the uncovered secrets of our universe
December 2008 |
By Anika Gupta
Picture of the Week – A Newly Restored Photo of the Earth and Moon
In honor of our newly launched sister blog, The Once and Future Moon, from Air & Space, this week’s Picture of the Week is the Earth as seen from the Moon, circa 1966.Thinking ahead, NASA sent five missions up to photograph the moon in the 1960s, before sending the first people. The data have b...
November 21, 2008 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Lunar Living
The quest to return to the moon ignites new hope and vision at the 50-year-old space agency
July 2008 |
By Kenneth R. Fletcher
Debating Manned Moon Missions
Experts provide opposing viewpoints on manned missions to space
July 2008 |
By Kenneth R. Fletcher
Explorer I Satellite
In 1958, Explorer 1 launched America's response to the USSR's Sputnik
January 2008 |
By Owen Edwards
The Planet Hunters
Nevermind the demotion of Pluto to a dwarf planet. Astronomers have found about 200 planets orbiting other stars, and they say it's only a matter of time before they discover another Earth.
October 2006 |
By Robert Irion
Life on Mars?
It's hard enough to identify fossilized microbes on Earth. How would we ever recognize them on Mars?
May 2005 |
By Carl Zimmer
Splendid Isolation
When the first astronauts to walk on the Moon returned from their July 1969 lunar expedition, they were confined to quarters
July 2004 |
By Owen Edwards
A Bumpy Road to Mars
The president envisions a future human mission to Mars, but medical researchers say surviving the journey is no spacewalk
June 2004 |
By Jane Ellen Stevens
Celestial Sightseeing
From Triton's active geysers to the Sun's seething flares, newly enhanced images from U.S. and foreign space probes depict the solar system as never before
November 01, 2003 |
By Michael Benson
Caution, Planets Ahead
The world's largest (maybe) 9-planet solar system model goes up along Route 1 in northern Maine
March 2003 |
By Sam Hooper Samuels
