SUNSET: 
Kenya's Rain of Meteorites
On the morning on July 16th, villagers heard a thunderous explosion in the sky and later found space rocks scattered throughout their corn fields.
The Moon's Uncertain Age
Is the lunar crust only 4.36 billion years old, as new results suggest, or at least 4.43 billion years old, as most researchers believe? The difference isn't much — but the implications for early lunar history are profound.
Opportunity Reaches Its New Home
The surviving one of NASA's two Mars Exploration Rovers is reaching the brink of a whole new adventure on Mars.
Juno Lifts Off for Jupiter
NASA's solar-powered spacecraft Juno successfully lifted off Cape Canaveral on Friday, August 5th.
Big Splat Could Have Reshaped the Moon
Recent research suggests that the thick, heavily cratered crust on the Moon's far side could be the pasted-on remains of a second satellite that once orbited the early Earth.
Best Evidence Yet for Martian Water
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found perplexing dark streaks that form seasonally and strongly suggest that liquid water flows on the Martian surface.
Where No Spacecraft Has Gone Before
Dawn sends stunning images from Vesta of an uncharted alien world.
Earth's Traveling Companion
Astronomers have identified a small body sharing Earth's orbit in a gravitationally stable resonance that keeps it from hitting us or escaping. Finally, Earth has a Trojan asteroid to call its own.
Hubble Spots New Moon Orbiting Pluto
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have discovered a new moon orbiting the icy planet Pluto.
A Closer Peek at Vesta
This week, Earth was hit by a barrage of intriguing images of Vesta — all courtesy of Dawn, NASA's latest asteroid orbiter!
Does Air Pollution Alter Lunar Eclipses?
Observations of June 15th’s total lunar eclipse suggest that smoggy skies over China created unusual patterns in the umbral glow on the Moon.
Dawn Arrives at Vesta
NASA's spacecraft Dawn entered orbit around Vesta on July 16th and is preparing for a year's observation of the second-largest body in the asteroid belt.
More on Saturn's Thunderstorm
Two studies reveal that the white smear across Saturn's northern face was caused by a deep seated thunder storm that discharged powerful lightning bolts for days on end.
The Truth About Neptune's Spin
By tracking two visible features in Neptune's atmosphere, a University of Arizona astronomer has clocked a new spin rate for the blue planet. But does this mean the Voyager results from 1989 are wrong?
Asteroid Flyby Yields New Thinking
When the little asteroid 2011 MD zipped within 8,000 miles of Earth in late June, dynamicists realized they need to change the way they compute such close flybys.
Two More Moonlets for Jupiter
Astronomers have discovered a pair of tiny satellites traveling far from Jupiter. So which planet — Jupiter or Saturn — now has the most moons?
Saltwater Ocean on Enceladus
Recent findings hint at the possibility of a saltwater ocean beneath Enceladus's icy surface.
Odd Couple: Phobos and Jupiter
Recently two very different bodies made a joint appearance, as viewed by the stereo camera aboard the European orbiter Mars Express.
Messenger Reveals Mercury Anew
Already a fourth of the way through its basic mission, NASA's well-equipped orbiter has found that the "Iron Planet" is far different than planetary scientists expected.
Meteorite Cooks Up Its Organic Brew
A dash of this and a pinch of that — slow cooked with water inside an asteroid — could have yielded a rich and diverse soup of organic matter. That's the remarkable new finding from careful analysis of the super-primitive Tagish Lake meteorite.
