Space

The C/2011 N3 comet is caught on a coronagraph, an image that blocks out the sun to reveal its corona.

A Comet’s Death Caught on Camera

Comets dive into the sun frequently, but previous ones had been too small and dim to be seen against the glaring backdrop

Could the Death Star Destroy a Planet?

Students in England concluded that the Star Wars space station could easily have destroyed an Earth-like planet

Mauna Loa (as seen from nearby Mauna Kea) is tall enough to have snow, at least when the volcano isn't erupting

The Tallest Mountains in the Solar System

Mount Everest is a just a peewee when compared with such giants as Olympus Mons on Mars

A composite image of S106, from the Hubble Space Telescope and Japan's Subaru Telescope

A Holiday Angel Among the Stars

The star-forming region Sharpless 2-106 bears a certain resemblance, particularly during this time of year

If you don't want to show an misformed Moon on a Christmas card, a full moon is a safe option

That Moon On Your Christmas Card

An astronomer finds that depictions of the Moon on Christmas cards, wrapping paper and books is often wrong

In this image from December 15, 2011, Comet Lovejoy appeared to be headed towards sure destruction in a collision with the Sun

A Comet’s Close Call

Scientists predicted that Comet Lovejoy would collide with the Sun

A lunar eclipse turns the moon reddish brown

How to Measure the Moon this Weekend

The people of Byzantium viewed a lunar eclipse as a bad omen, but today it's just another time to do science

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The Latest Destination for Human Spaceflight

The latest proposed destination for human space missions illustrates the essential hollowness of the current direction of our civil space program

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Pollster George Gallup Jr. Looks to the Year 2000

Technicans work on the Mars Science Laboratory, aka Curiosity

Curious About Curiosity? What to Read on the Mars Science Laboratory

The traveling science laboratory launched successfully on Saturday and is scheduled to touch down on the red planet in August 2012

An artist's conception of the star LkCa 15 and the nearby protoplanet

A Planet Spotted As It Begins To Form

Scientists using the Keck telescope in Hawaii have found what may be a protoplanet, the youngest planet ever found

The Very Large Array in New Mexico

Name That Telescope

The Very Large Array needs a new, more exciting name

We no longer think of the stars as points of light on the tapestry of the night but now know that they're burning balls of gas billions of miles away in the black expanse of space.

Readers Respond: Why I Like Science

Science is the partner of art and the quest for truth

While Marie Curie dominates the conversation, there have been many other brilliant women who have pursued science over the years.

Ten Historic Female Scientists You Should Know

Before Marie Curie, these women dedicated their lives to science and made significant advances

A combined image from the Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observatories of RCW 86, which was determined to have started out as SN 185

The First Supernova

In 185 A.D., someone in China looked up in the night sky and saw a new star

Did two sub-moons collide to form our Moon?

Splat! Two Moons over Miami?

An artist's concept of what planet TrES-2b might look like

Faraway Planet is Blackest Yet Found

The planet, TrES-2b, is a gas giant about the size of Jupiter. But that's where the similarities end

We haven't had a message from ET yet, but maybe we're not looking in the right way.

Ten Ways to Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe

If radio messages are out, try looking for asteroid mining, planetary pollutants, or alien artifacts here on Earth

In these two images from the Hubble Space Telescope, Pluto's new moon, P4, can be seen to move around the dwarf planet.

What To Name Pluto’s New Moon

Disney characters aside, what would you choose to join this dark and dreary mythological circle? Styx, Erberus, Cerberus, Hypnos?

The space shuttle Atlantis, ready for liftoff.

Quirkiest Space Shuttle Science

As the space shuttle program ends, a salute to some of its most surprising studies

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