SUNSET: 
Earth's Water Likely Not From Comets
An early outcome from Rosetta's scrutiny of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is that the isotopes in its water have distinctly different ratios than those on Earth.
Watch this Weekend: The Geminid Meteors
The Geminids, a meteor shower sparked by dust and debris shed from a small asteroid, peaks this weekend.
Geologic Map Shows What's Where on Vesta
NASA's Dawn spacecraft spent 14 months photographing Vesta from close range. Now geologists have completed a global map of the asteroid's surface geology.
New Horizons Awakens for Pluto Encounter
Right on cue, New Horizons spacecraft has awakened from its final electronic hibernation. Seven months from now, it will make the first-ever visit to Pluto.
Test Flight Success for Orion Spacecraft
On December 5th, NASA successfully launched the first test flight of its Orion capsule. Scheduled to carry astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit in the 2020s, the spacecraft is NASA’s first deep-space people transporter since the Apollo days.
Warm Up with December's Geminid Meteors
The annual Geminid meteor shower, one of the best shooting-star displays each year, returns to our skies late this week. Despite interference from moonlight, plenty of bright meteors should still shine through.
Evicted Black Hole or Weird Supernova?
Orphaned black hole or weird supernova? A mysterious source of radiation has left astronomers contemplating exotic explanations.
Hayabusa 2 is Asteroid Bound
Japan's second asteroid-sample mission launched successfully on December 3rd after weather delays. If successful it will reach asteroid 1999 JU3 in 2018, explore for 18 months, and then return to Earth with souvenirs.
Lick Observatory Gets a Reprieve
Last year the University of California ordered its astronomers to make historic Lick Observatory self-supporting by 2018. Now there's been a change of heart, and the university will continue to pay for its operation.
Tour December's Sky: Orion Rising
Our monthly podcast offers the key highlights for stargazing in December: where to find bright stars and planets — and how to spot the Geminid meteor shower.
Breathtaking View of Icy Moon Europa
A newly processed image from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft shows Europa’s breathtaking beauty and tortured surface in greater detail than ever before.
Shadows on the Moon Make a Point
Fooled by shadow play into thinking lunar mountains were pointy pinnacles? Learn why we often see them that way.
Bright Spot in Uranus’s Atmosphere
Amateur astronomers have confirmed the presence of a large, bright storm cloud on the ice giant Uranus.
Watch Asteroid Juno Occult a Star
Watch an asteroid approach a star and block its light, all in a fraction of a second.
Contact Lost with Sun-watching Stereo B
Despite rescue efforts, no one has heard from one of two NASA spacecraft on the far side of the Sun since October 1st.
Dark Galaxies Discovered in Coma Cluster
A bizarre set of galaxies in the Coma Cluster have lost most of their stars (or star-making material), making them especially rich in dark matter.
Why is Jupiter's Great Red Spot … Red?
Scientists think they've figured out what causes the mysterious ruddy coloring in the giant planet's enormous oval storm.
Philae Wins Race to Return Comet Findings
With its battery power failing, Philae became the "little lander than could" and managed to return results from all 10 of its science instruments before slipping into hibernation.
Philae Lands on Its Comet — Three Times!
After free-falling toward Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for seven hours, ESA's Philae lander bounced on the surface twice before finally coming to rest.
Eight Billion Asteroids in the Oort Cloud?
A fresh look at a nagging problem — asteroids moving in comet-like orbits — concludes that asteroids must make up about 4% of the vast, distant Oort Cloud of comets. When a telescope atop Hawaii's Haleakala swept up a fast-moving object in August 1996, astronomers didn't know what to make…
