SUNSET: 
The Dinosaurs Got a Warning Shot
New research shows that eastern Europe took a hit just 2,000 to 5,000 years before the Big One nearly wiped out life on Earth 65 million years ago.
Big Bear's Big New Eye
The "first-light" image from the world's largest solar telescope reveals details in an Earth-size sunspot only 50 miles across.
The Incredible Shrinking Moon
Planetary scientists have long considered the Moon dead, geologically speaking. But new high-resolution views of the lunar surface argue otherwise.
A Lunar Debate: Dry or Wet?
It's been 40 years since Apollo astronauts returned with dusty chunks of the Moon — samples that offer conflicting views of lunar history.
A Solar Tsunami
On August 1st, the Sun let loose with a mighty belch that rippled across its face, sent a torrent of high-energy particles racing into space, and triggered a burst of auroras on Earth.
Bull's-Eye Crater on Mars
Whether caused by two strikes on the same spot or strange layering beneath the Martian surface, this newly imaged crater is a fascinating find.
The Sky is Not Falling
This past week, news surfaced that a sizable asteroid has a roughly 1-in-1,000 chance of whacking Earth sometime in the next two centuries. But don't let the news spoil your summer vacation — the story is being overplayed.
New Trove of Iron Meteorites
Geologists have found a fresh impact crater in southern Egypt surrounded by thousands of pieces of the cosmic collider that formed it.
WISE Takes a Look (All) Around
NASA's latest space observatory has just completed a six-month-long sweep of the entire sky at infrared wavelengths.
Strange Twists in Saturn's Rings
Thousands of mysterious, propeller-shaped features have been found in Saturn's A ring. Could these hold the key to the ring system's origin?
Rosetta Visits a Big Space Rock
A European-built comet chaser swept past asteroid 21 Lutetia today, offering glimpses of what might be a largely metallic body that's 100 miles across.
Hayabusa's Waiting Game
Tiny particles have been found inside the capsule returned to Earth three weeks ago by the Hayabusa spacecraft. Are they bits of asteroid Itokawa — or contamination from the Australian landing site?
A KBO in the Crosshairs
When an enigmatic object in the distant Kuiper Belt occulted a star last October, an international team of observers — including several amateur astronomers — were ready and waiting.
The Moon: Damp from Day One
A new analysis of Apollo samples, using technology that didn't exist 40 years ago, finds that water (just a bit of it) must be present inside the Moon.
The Jupiter Meteor that Didn't Go Splash
Scrutiny by Hubble finds no mark on Jupiter from the impact that two amateurs videorecorded on June 3rd. Apparently, the incoming meteor burned up high above Jupiter's clouds.
Welcome Home, Hayabusa!
In a thrilling tale of triumph over adversity, the Japanese probe Hayabusa slammed into Earth's atmosphere over Australia on June 13, 2010.
Sun's Size is "Rock Steady"
After measuring the Sun's diameter every 12 minutes for 12 years, astronomers have confidence that our star's diameter is constant to within one part in a million.
Amateurs Alert NASA to Saturn Storm
Thanks to the vigilance of planet-watchers around the world, Cassini scientists have captured key observations of a storm that erupted into view during mid-March.
Readying for Hayabusa's Return
When the Hayabusa spacecraft returns to Earth on June 13th, an international welcoming party will be waiting in Australia to spot and recover its sample-return capsule.
A Solar Sentinel's Stunning Debut
NASA researchers are betting that the Solar Dynamics Observatory will help them understand the Sun as never before — and enthrall the public with kaleidoscopic images and videos.
