Mars up close, if not personal

Mars up close, if not personal

Click here for high-resolution image. From fresh rover tracks to an impact crater blasted billions of years ago, a newly completed view from the panoramic camera on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows the ruddy terrain where the voyaging robot spent the Martian winter. This scene, recorded from the mast-mounted color camera includes the rover’s […]

Galaxies on edge

Galaxies on edge

Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on from planet Earth. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop on many telescopic tours of the northern sky, in the faint but well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. This sharp, colorful image reveals the galaxy’s bulging central core cut by […]

A remarkable view of Saturn, courtesy of Cassini

A remarkable view of Saturn, courtesy of Cassini

Humanity’s robot orbiting Saturn has recorded yet another amazing view. That robot, of course, is the spacecraft Cassini, while the new amazing view includes a bright moon, thin rings, oddly broken clouds, and warped shadows. Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, appears above as a featureless tan as it is continually shrouded in thick clouds. The rings […]

The nearest star in our galaxy is actually three

The nearest star in our galaxy is actually three

The glare of Alpha Centauri, one of the brightest stars in planet Earth’s night sky, floods the left side of this southern skyscape. A mere 4.3 light-years distant, Alpha Centauri actually  consists of two component stars similar in size to the Sun, locked in a mutual orbit. Much smaller and cooler, a third member of […]

Rubio felt ‘called’ to leave Mormons for Catholic Church

Rubio felt ‘called’ to leave Mormons for Catholic Church

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he felt “called” to leave the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), or Mormon Church, to join the Catholic Church in a Sunday interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Rubio – who is currently being considered as a vice presidential nominee by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who […]

Forty years ago in December when men last roamed the Moon

Forty years ago in December when men last roamed the Moon

In December of 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent about 75 hours on the Moon in the Taurus-Littrow valley, while colleague Ronald Evans orbited overhead. This sharp image was taken by Cernan as he and Schmitt roamed the valley floor. The image shows Schmitt on the left with the lunar rover […]

1 50 51 52 53 54 57