SUNSET: 
MAVEN Heads to Mars
NASA's next orbiter has successfully launched and is en route to the Red Planet. When it arrives, it will pry into the secrets of Mars's climate, both past and present, and hopefully reveal how the cold, dry world lost most of its ancient atmosphere.
The Next New Meteor Shower
Astronomers confirm that debris from Comet 209P/LINEAR should create a sky show on May 24, 2014 — but it looks less likely that a “storm” is in the works.
"Tails" of a Very Unusual Asteroid
What at first looked to be a comet that had snuck its way into the asteroid belt now appears to be a bizarre, fast-spinning space rock that's occasionally shedding tails of dust.
New Chelyabinsk Results Yield Surprises
The mega-meteor that exploded over Russia last February has provided impact specialists with some surprising — and sobering — revelations.
Indian Mars Mission Launches
India's first mission to the Red Planet launched successfully November 5th from a barrier island off the country's coastline. The mission will study Mars's atmosphere and surface and is an important milestone for the country's space agency.
Why Do We Call Them "Asteroids"?
When astronomers discovered the first objects orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, at first they didn't know what to call them. Today we know them as asteroids, and the creator of that term has finally been identified.
Undue Ado About Asteroid 2013 TV135
The world's news media are making a big deal about a largish near-Earth asteroid discovered on October 8th that has a very slim chance of striking Earth in 2032.
Huge Meteorite Pulled from Russian Lake
Meteorite specialists around the world have wondered whether a massive fragment of the Chelyabinsk mini-asteroid would ever be resurrected from the murky bottom of Lake Chebarkul in Russia. Today they got their answer.
Cloudy with a Chance of Diamonds
Researchers suspect that tiny diamonds could pepper the lower cloud decks of Jupiter and Saturn. These diamonds should be created by lightning strikes and intense atmospheric pressure.
ISON’s Chances for Survival 50/50
Observations and calculations suggest that the comet's nucleus has a 50% chance of surviving its close passage to the Sun, but there are a lot of unknowns that could swing the result either way.
Supervolcanoes on Mars
A new analysis of data from spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet suggests that gigantic calderas lie disguised on the planet’s surface. If the features are volcanoes, they could help explain the mysterious, fine-grain debris that coats Mars.
Uranus's Unlikely Companion
Astronomers have discovered a sizable object sharing the orbit of Uranus. Its existence defies the odds — and within 1,000,000 years it'll slip from the planet's grasp.
To Catch a Comet
A balloon-borne mission launching from the Southwest will aim a telescope at the approaching Comet ISON. While it won't observe the comet at its best, the mission might reveal details about the composition of the icy body and the family it comes from.
Comet ISON to Fly By Mars
On October 1st, Comet ISON will pass closer to Mars than it ever will to Earth. The Red Planet’s rovers and orbiters are ready to send home postcards of the event.
Is Phaethon a "Rock Comet"?
An oddball asteroid discovered 30 years ago apparently gets so hot when near the Sun that rocky minerals on its surface crack, pop, sizzle, and fly off into space.
Methane Goes Missing on Mars
The Curiosity rover conducted super-sensitive tests of the Red Planet's atmosphere for methane — the most abundant hydrocarbon in the solar system — and found none. What does this finding mean for the search for Martian life?
Deep Impact Meets Its End
Primarily known for its up-close comet observations, the Deep Impact spacecraft went on the fritz in mid-August. The mission team scrambled to reestablish communication, but efforts were unsuccessful.
Asteroid Scheme Still Under Way
Despite funding pushback in the House of Representatives, NASA is full steam ahead in plans for its asteroid retrieval mission.
Hisaki: A New Orbiting Planet-Watcher
Japan's latest spacecraft is designed to study gas escaping from the atmospheres of Earth's neighbors in the solar system.
Onward, Voyager 1, to the Stars!
With the release of new results this week, NASA scientists are now confident that their plucky probe, launched 36 years ago, has entered interstellar space.
