SUNSET: 
Much Ado at Mars
It's a great time to be a Red Planet researcher. Right now three orbiters and two rovers — including the increasingly mobile Curiosity — are checking out Earth's planetary neighbor from very close range.
Charting a Course for Heliophysics
A new report by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences examines how studies of the Sun and its influence on Earth have advanced in the past decade and makes recommendations for what should be tackled next.
Dawn Bids Vesta Adieu
With a gentle, constant nudge from its ion-propulsion system, NASA's asteroid explorer has departed its first target and begins a 2½-year cruise to the second one.
WISE Detects Blazing Black Holes
Astronomers using data from the WISE all-sky infrared survey have discovered a new class of luminous galaxies in the distant universe. These objects are rare, super-duper bright, and yet totally invisible in visible light.
Neil Armstrong, 1930 - 2012
The man who took humanity's first step on another world is no longer among us.
NASA Lofts Radiation-Belt Space Probes
Two space probes launched toward the Van Allen radiation belts today. They’ll help scientists observe and predict the behavior of ultrafast, and potentially harmful, charged particles.
NASA Keeps Focus on Mars
NASA announced this week that its next Discovery mission will follow Curiosity to the Red Planet, but the project — named InSight — has a much different assignment than the rover’s.
Curiosity Zaps Its First Martian Rock
A rapid-fire burst of 30 laser pulses from the rover's ChemCam instrument created an incandescent hotspot on a fist-sized rock about 10 feet away.
Mount Sharp or Aeolis Mons?
Scientists associated with the Curiosity mission have two names for the towering peak inside Gale crater. SkyandTelescope.com readers told us which one they liked best.
Curiosity's Name Game
Scientists associated with the Curiosity mission have two names for the towering peak inside Gale crater. Sky & Telescope wants to know: Which name do you prefer?
Watch Curiosity Descend onto Mars
See through Curiosity's eyes as it descends to the surface of the Red Planet.
Orbiter Spies Curiosity's "Crime Scene"
As seen from orbit, Curiosity is surrounded by wrecked pieces of the capsule that accompanied it to the floor of Gale crater.
Messenger Hits Eighth Birthday
NASA's emissary to Mercury just celebrated the eighth anniversary of its launch from Cape Canaveral in 2004. Here's a recap of some of the stuff we've learned about Mercury since Messenger arrived at the Iron Planet.
Curiosity Lands in Gale Crater
After a perilous and complicated descent to the Red Planet's surface, Curiosity has radioed "A-OK" to an anxious mission team waiting back on Earth.
Martian Landings, Then and Now
Curiosity is the latest in a string of Martian landers (and landing attempts) that stretches back more than 40 years.
What Happened to the Flags On The Moon?
It's a question that still gets asked: "Can you see the six flags left on the Moon by Apollo astronauts?" The surprising answer is "Yes".
Do-It-Yourself Space Science
A California startup seeks to democratize space research by putting a tiny, custom-built satellite into orbit — and letting the public decide how to use it.
Pluto's Moons: Five and Counting
When NASA's New Horizons spacecraft reaches Pluto in three years, it'll have one more object to check out: a tiny fifth moon discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Waves Might Heat Solar Atmosphere
Astronomers are working to unravel the mystery of the Sun's superhot corona, but new work implicating magnetic waves isn't the final word on the matter.
Titan's Latest Twist: A Hidden Ocean
Saturn's biggest moon already boasts a dense atmosphere, vast dune fields, and lakes full of hydrocarbons. Now scientists have evidence for a deep ocean beneath its icy crust.
