Space and Tech News
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Super Volcanoes Rocked Early Mars
October 2, 2013
Big calderas point to early magma outbursts that shaped the red planet.
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"Eat, Pray, Love" Author Writes of Moss and Evolution
October 1, 2013
Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of "Eat, Pray, Love," dives into the world of science and exploration in her new novel about a 19th-century woman botanist.
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NASA Hit by Government Shutdown
October 1, 2013
Federal shutdown forestalls space agency reports and events.
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MacArthur Genius Searching for Signs of Life on Exoplanets
September 29, 2013
She used to stargaze as a child in Canada. Today, Sara Seager looks for the planets—and life—circling those stars.
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Pristine "Islands in the Sky" Are Window on Evolution
September 28, 2013
South America's tepuis, or tabletop mesas, reveal secrets of evolution, biodiversity, and more to scientists studying their toads, plants, and other species.
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MacArthur Genius: "Plants Have Souls"
September 26, 2013
Ancient plants are way cooler than old bones, says the award-winning paleobotanist.
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How Did the Pakistan Earthquake Create a Mud Island?
September 25, 2013
A mud volcano is thought to be behind a new landmass that recently rose off the coast of Gwadar, Pakistan.
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Scientists Unravel Secrets of Monster Black Hole at Center of Milky Way
September 24, 2013
A supermassive black hole in the core of the Milky Way last erupted two million years ago, and will again.
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Kenya's Giant Aquifer Highlights Groundwater's Critical Role
September 23, 2013
Kenya's recently discovered aquifer could help the impoverished, drought-ridden country develop. But are aquifers a sustainable source for water?
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Kenyan Terrorist Attack Speaks to Trouble in Somalia
September 23, 2013
The massacre at a Nairobi mall appears to reflect trouble in next-door Somalia, long considered a "failed state."
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Best Astronomy Photos of the Year Named
September 22, 2013
Winners have been named in the Royal Observatory's 2013 astronomy photography competition.
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NASA Declares End to Deep Impact Comet Mission
September 20, 2013
A computer glitch doomed the comet-probing Deep Impact mission spacecraft after eight years of space exploration. </p>
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Space Pictures This Week: Blush of Spring, Brain Terrain, More
September 20, 2013
Space Pictures This Week: Blush of Spring, Brain Terrain, More
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NASA Rover Dims Hopes for Martian Methane
September 19, 2013
Surface readings are at odds with earlier Mars methane reports.
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Cat in Space Would Join an Interstellar Menagerie
September 18, 2013
Iran's Persian astronaut would only be the latest creature in the cosmos.
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Space Pictures this Week: Rocket Frog, Cosmic Flock, Galactic Swarm
September 14, 2013
A would-be frog astronaut, a distant vision of the Milky Way and a hive of galaxies are among the heroes of the week's space images.
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Voyager 1 Leaves Solar System, NASA Confirms
September 12, 2013
NASA’s far-flung spacecraft passed into interstellar space last year.
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Did a Comet Really Kill the Mammoths 12,900 Years Ago?
September 10, 2013
Did the planetary upheaval 12,900 years ago come from the heavens—or Earth?
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New Role for Disabled Kepler? Finding Exotic Alien Worlds
September 9, 2013
Crippled spacecraft could unearth new planets by detecting warped starlight
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Stunning Photos of NASA's Nighttime Moon Launch
September 9, 2013
Sky-watchers on the eastern coast of North America were treated to spectacular views of the late-night launch of NASA's LADEE moon mission.
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Sky-Watchers' Guide: Moon Joins Venus Sunday
September 8, 2013
A stunning close encounter between two of the brightest objects in the evening skies—the moon and the planet Venus—will occur Sunday.
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Space Pictures This Week: Solar Storm, Spiral Galaxy
September 6, 2013
A solar tempest brews, a spaceship blasts off, and a volcano belches smoke in this week's best space pictures.
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Scientists Weigh Climate Change Role in 2012 Weather
September 5, 2013
Scientists have studied global warming's role in a dozen extreme weather events, from Superstorm Sandy to melting arctic ice.
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Did Life on Earth Come From Mars?
September 5, 2013
Two scientists present new data on great cosmic questions.
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Space Pictures This Week: Mars Mini-Eclipse, Cosmic Crash
August 30, 2013
A newborn star announces its arrival, a storm brews off Africa, and galaxies seem to collide in this week's roundup of space pictures.
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Five Incredible—and Real—Mind Control Applications
August 29, 2013
Five Incredible—and Real—Mind Control Applications
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Giant Canyon Discovered Under Greenland Ice Sheet
August 29, 2013
The Greenland Ice Sheet sits atop a canyon nearly twice as long as the Grand Canyon.
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Space Pictures This Week: Birth of a Star, Moon Lineup
August 23, 2013
A violent star birth is caught on film and moons line up in this week's best space pictures.
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Scientists: Meteorite Beads Oldest Example of Metalwork
August 22, 2013
New research has confirmed that beads uncovered in 1911 inside an ancient Egyptian tomb were welded from meteoric iron and are the oldest known example of metalworking.
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Newly Declassified Map Reveals Area 51 Exists
August 16, 2013
A newly released document is the first time the U.S. government has acknowledged the site where top-secret planes were developed.
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Best New Space Pictures: Meteoric Meadow, Milky Way Shoreline
August 16, 2013
Best New Space Pictures: Meteoric Meadow, Milky Way Shoreline
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Kepler Spacecraft Disabled; "Exciting Discoveries" Still to Come
August 15, 2013
The Kepler spacecraft, which has revolutionized our understanding of exoplanets, has been damaged beyond repair, NASA officials said today.
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Fossil Reveals Long-Lived Mammal Group's Secret
August 15, 2013
A new Jurassic fossil from China called Rugosodon eurasiaticus provides fresh evidence of early mammal evolution.
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New Carnivore Discovered, Rare With Teddy Bear Looks
August 15, 2013
A fuzzy, fog-dwelling mammal is the first carnivore found in the Western Hemisphere in three decades, a new study says.
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Teleportation: Behind the Science of Quantum Computing
August 14, 2013
Two research teams were able to reliably teleport information between quantum bits. We explain what this actually means.
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Your Best Photos of Perseid Meteor Shower
August 14, 2013
Dozens of you submitted Perseid meteor shower photos to National Geographic’s Your Shot community. Here are some of the best.
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New Species of Naked Bone-Eating Worms in Antarctica
August 13, 2013
Researchers find two new species of "naked" bone-eating worms in Antarctica.
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Best Video Applications for a One-Way Trip to Mars
August 13, 2013
Over 100,000 people have applied to go to Mars. We sifted through hundreds of their video applications to find our favorite applicants.
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Best Pictures of Perseids Meteor Shower
August 13, 2013
Best Pictures of Perseids Meteor Shower
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The Physics Behind Schrödinger's Cat Paradox
August 12, 2013
Google honors the physicist's birthday today with a Doodle. We explain the science behind his famous paradox.
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5 Top Tips for Enjoying the Perseid Meteor Shower
August 12, 2013
Find out how to make the most of this annual shower, which peaks early this week.
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Why Sinkholes Open Up
August 12, 2013
National Geographic sits down with an expert to discuss why sinkholes open up and which areas are more at risk than others.
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With Light Pollution, Perseids Meteors Less Spectacular
August 11, 2013
Light pollution in the U.S. and Europe means most people won't see the spectacular meteor shower in all of its glory.
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A Guide to Watching the Spectacular Perseids
August 10, 2013
The annual meteor shower will dazzle skywatchers with a flurry of shooting stars.
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Best New Space Pictures: Cosmic Nursery, Lightning Strike
August 9, 2013
A cosmic nursery and and lightning seen from the International Space Station top our list of the best space pictures taken this week.
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Amaranth: Another Ancient Wonder Food, But Who Will Eat It?
August 9, 2013
Grown by the Aztecs and then all but eliminated in the Spanish Conquest, can the ancient crop amaranth become the next quinoa? The advocacy group Puente is working on its resurgence in Oaxaca, Mexico.
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Pictures: Sustainable Pearl Farming
August 9, 2013
Kamoka Pearl in Polynesia shows how pearl farming can benefit marine life.
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Behind the Fashion: What Astronauts Wore in Space
August 9, 2013
Over the years, space suits have become much more complex. A new Smithsonian traveling exhibit highlights several advances.
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Newly Discovered Pink Exoplanet on the Lighter Side
August 8, 2013
Newly Discovered Pink Exoplanet on the Lighter Side
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Stunning Shipwrecks From War of 1812 Invaded by Mussels
August 8, 2013
On the bicentennial of the sinking of the armed schooners <em>Hamilton</em> and <em>Scourge</em> in Lake Ontario during the War of 1812, invasive mussels are threatening the remarkably intact shipwrecks.
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Sun's Magnetic Field to Reverse: What It Means
August 7, 2013
The sun's magnetic field reversal will have ripple effects throughout the solar system.
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One Year on Mars: A Chat With Curiosity's Chief Scientist
August 6, 2013
Curiosity's chief scientist John Grotzinger reflects on the first anniversary of the rover's historic Mars landing and what lies ahead.
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Mars Curiosity Milestone: Top 5 First-Year Discoveries
August 6, 2013
NASA's one-ton Curiosity rover celebrates its first anniversary on Mars this week. What has it found?
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Opinion: Imagining a World Without Lions
August 5, 2013
A conservationist argues that it could happen in our lifetimes, with big environmental, economic, and cultural consequences.
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Best New Space Pictures: Saturn's Moons and Giant Stars
August 2, 2013
A new starry image from the Hubble Space Telescope and a look at Saturn's moons top our list of the best space pictures taken this week.
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Shipwreck Yields Most Silver Ever
August 2, 2013
A remotely operated vehicle has retrieved thousands of pounds of silver from a sunken World War II-era cargo ship.
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5 Unconventional Ways to Get People Hooked on Nature
August 1, 2013
From "Treetop Barbie" to rapping science, National Geographic grantee Nalini Nadkarni thinks outside the box to get people interested in the world around them.
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Pictures: What's Inside a Space Suit? X-Rays Reveal All
July 29, 2013
New x-rays of space suits show the inner workings that helped astronauts safely explore the cosmos.
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Will Earth's Ocean Boil Away?
July 29, 2013
Yes—a billion years from now, as the sun gets brighter. But could a runaway greenhouse effect make it happen sooner through climate change?
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Best New Space Pictures: Wizard Nebula, Gravity Waves
July 26, 2013
The Wizard Nebula lights up, the sun reveals a dark spot, and a telescope spins in this week's best space pictures.
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Blame Bad Night's Sleep on the Moon
July 25, 2013
People sleep 20 minutes less on average during a full moon, a new study finds.
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Deepest Shipwreck Explored off U.S. Yields Treasures
July 25, 2013
Well-preserved artifacts attest to the fact that no one made it out alive, according to researchers.
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Ancient Mars Was Snowy, New Model Suggests
July 24, 2013
Networks of valleys branching across the surface of Mars may have been carved out by melting snow, according to a new study.
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Amid Royal Baby Name Wait, Asking if Names Affect Life
July 24, 2013
Choosing a name—as the royals are discovering—is serious business. But how do our names impact who we become?
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New Cassini Pictures and Other Stunning Views of Earth
July 23, 2013
See how our home planet looks from the moon, Saturn, and even Mars in this roundup of eight incredible space pictures.
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Freshwater Creatures Less Affected by Dino-Killing Asteroid
July 23, 2013
The same biological adaptations that some creatures evolved to deal with living in freshwater also helped them survive the asteroid impact.
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World’s Stinkiest Flower Finally Blooms
July 22, 2013
Visitors to the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., were surprised by what they smelled when the corpse flower finally bloomed.
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Plants Blamed for Human Deaths in Heat Waves
July 22, 2013
A new study found that plants don't absorb as much pollution when stressed by heat and dry soil.
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Opinion: Bright Nights, Big Problems
July 20, 2013
With the rapid rise of light pollution, most Americans under 40 have never known real darkness.
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Snow Lines Around a Young Star
July 19, 2013
Direct evidence of a carbon monoxide snow line around a young star gives astronomers clues to how planets form.
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Space Pictures This Week: A Celestial Dumbbell and a Dying Star
July 19, 2013
An astronaut says "cheese" during a spacewalk, a star dies, and storm clouds gather in this week's best space pictures.
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Robot Revolution? Scientists Teach Robots to Learn
July 18, 2013
For robots to really help humans, they'll need to learn more like we do. Here's how it's happening.
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“Stubborn” Corpse Flower Still Hasn’t Bloomed
July 18, 2013
The U.S. Botanic Garden's famous corpse flower still hasn't bloomed, and visitors are getting anxious.
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How Sugar Substitutes Stack Up
July 17, 2013
We used artificial sweeteners in place of sugar in a cake recipe. The result wasn't always so sweet.
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Space Pictures This Week: Cosmic Crash, Eroding Mars
July 12, 2013
Galaxies collide, the Milky Way sparkles, and a forest fire rages in this week's best space pictures.
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A New Record: The Largest Baby Star, Ever?
July 11, 2013
A New Record: The Largest Baby Star, Ever?
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For First Time, Astronomers Read Exoplanet's Color
July 11, 2013
The color of a distant gas giant is close to that of Earth—but that's where the similarities with our planet ends.
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Visit the Moon Without Leaving Idaho
July 11, 2013
The proposed national park on the moon would have to compete with Idaho's lunar park, Craters of the Moon.
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On World Population Day, Unpacking 9.6 Billion by 2050
July 11, 2013
The United Nations predicts the human population will hit 9.6 billion by 2050. How do demographers devise that figure?
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For a Second-Hand Clock, It's First in Reliability
July 10, 2013
A new atomic clock is so stable and reliable that it may be used to redefine our measurement of the second.
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The Moon's Mystery: Scientists Debate How it Formed
July 9, 2013
Something smashed into the Earth to give birth to the moon, but scientists are still pondering what.
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Despite Heat, Earth Is Farthest From Sun on Friday
July 5, 2013
Despite the heat wave in the American West, the Earth reaches aphelion—94,508,959 miles from the sun—on Friday.
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Space Pictures This Week: Starburst Aurora, Milky Way Portraits
July 5, 2013
A galaxy hunter takes a last look, the Milky Way shines, and auroras shimmer in this week's best space pictures.
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Explosion in Number of Potentially Habitable Worlds
July 3, 2013
Astronomers used Earth climate models to estimate that red dwarf stars may host 60 billion planets with life-giving water.
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How Other Countries Handle Immigration
June 30, 2013
The United States isn't the only country divided over immigration. Here's how six other countries handle the issue.
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Europe's Largest Glacier Comes to New York
June 29, 2013
Artist Olafur Eliasson has turned an Icelandic glacier into an art exhibit to give visitors a closer look at climate change.
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Space Pictures This Week: Supermoon, Green Sun
June 28, 2013
A solar storm rages, smoke billows over Colorado, and the Milky Way resembles a cosmic rainbow in this week's best space pictures.
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Supermoon Captured: The Best Shots of Biggest Full Moon in 2013
June 24, 2013
Hundreds of you sent in pictures of the supermoon. Here are some of the best.
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Solstice Supermoon Fills Sky This Weekend
June 21, 2013
Solstice Supermoon Fills Sky This Weekend
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Space Pictures This Week: Mercury's Marks, Miracle Delta
June 21, 2013
A celestial penguin guards her egg and wildfires are spotted from space in this week's best space pictures.
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Pulling Teeth
June 21, 2013
The Philippines sets a new bar for combatting global ivory crime by becoming the first non-African nation to destroy its ivory stock.
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Stonehenge Revealed: Why Stones Were a "Special Place"
June 21, 2013
Archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson discusses his team's discoveries—including how Stonehenge fit with the solstices-in a new book.
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Summer Solstice 2013: Why It's the First Day of Summer
June 20, 2013
For Americans, the summer solstice will fall on Thursday or Friday - depending on time zone. The date has a rich history around the world.
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NASA Needs Your Help Finding Killer Asteroids
June 20, 2013
There are a million asteroids in space that could destroy the planet. NASA wants to track them down -- with your help.<p> </p><p> </p>
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Fruits And Veggies Are Alive, Can Defend Against Herbivores
June 20, 2013
Fruits and veggies have circadian clocks and can adjust certain nutrients in response to light cues.
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Pictures: Earth's Green Places Mapped in High Resolution
June 20, 2013
Newly released satellite images show our planet's vegetation like never before.
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Atlantic Ocean to Disappear in 200 Million Years?
June 19, 2013
A newly discovered crack in the Earth's crust is slowly drawing North America and Europe closer together.
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New Female Astronauts Show Evolution of Women in Space
June 18, 2013
Half of NASA's newest astronaut recruits are women, but that wasn't always the case.
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Google's Loon Project Puts Balloon Technology in Spotlight
June 18, 2013
Google's Loon Project is the latest attempt to use balloons floating in the stratosphere to bring internet access to remote places.
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Space Pictures This Week: Surfing Mars, Mercury Rising
June 14, 2013
Mars reveals its secrets, a powerful Midwestern storm is viewed from orbit, and a new type of star is discovered in this week's best space pictures.
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Pictures: Light Paths Reveal Water Currents
June 14, 2013
British photographer Joel James Devlin makes haunting images of night landscapes.
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Missing Nazi Diary Recovered
June 13, 2013
The missing diary of a Nazi leader has been recovered after 64 years-and could shed new light on the inner workings of Nazi high command.
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Rare Meteor Shower May Grace Skies This Week
June 10, 2013
Skywatchers are hoping to witness the peak of a meteor shower not seen since 1930.<p> </p><p> </p>
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Escape to Uncertainty
June 7, 2013
Turkey is in the throes of a refugee crisis. Some 400,000 Syrians and thousands from other conflict-torn lands have sought refuge there.
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Space Pictures This Week: Purple Auroras, Mysterious Moon
June 7, 2013
Saturn's moon Titan reveals its secrets, purple skies shine over Oregon, and a comet sprinkles dust in this week's best space pictures.
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Antarctic's Mountains Revealed By Sharpest Map Yet
June 5, 2013
Buried under miles of ice, Antarctica's mysterious mountain ranges are coming into sharper focus thanks to a new map.
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Space Pictures This Week: Volcanic Vortices and Asteroid Families
May 31, 2013
An asteroid family is born and a nebula reveals its secrets in this week's best new space pictures.
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The Perils of Going to Mars Include Radiation
May 30, 2013
For travelers to Mars, one of the significant risks would be high doses of radiation, a new study says.
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Surprise Factor in How Stars Die: Sodium
May 29, 2013
The sodium content of sunlike stars determines whether they skip a major phase of death, a group of scientists have found.
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Japan's Secret WWII Weapon: Balloon Bombs
May 27, 2013
The first intercontinental weapons were U.S.-bound balloon bombs that hitched a ride on a jet stream from WWII Japan.
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Opinion: How the Prime Meridian Changed the World
May 26, 2013
The selection of Greenwich, England, as the earth's prime meridian changed how we navigate-on the sea and otherwise-forever.
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Pictures: Ethiopia’s Extreme Salt Mines
May 25, 2013
Salt from the Afar region of Ethiopia, one of the Earth's hottest places, makes its way to market.
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Is Australia the Face of Climate Change to Come?
May 24, 2013
As extreme weather seems to accelerate globally, scientists believe events Down Under can help explain what to look for-and guard against.
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Skywatcher's Guide: Eye-Catching Triple Planet Huddle in Evening Sky
May 24, 2013
How to watch Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter meet in the night sky this weekend.
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3-D Printers Are Saving Lives and Serving Pizzas
May 24, 2013
The emerging technology has printed out a life-saving implant for a baby—and is poised to make pizzas that are out of this world.
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Space Pictures This Week: Stellar Dust Bunnies, Bat Signal
May 24, 2013
The Ring Nebula shines, a volcano erupts, and Germans see the bat signal in this week's best new space pictures.
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Pictures: Top 10 Newly Discovered Species of 2012
May 23, 2013
Glowing cockroaches and a destructive fungus make the grade in Arizona State's list of top 10 new species of 2012.
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Carnivorous Plant Keeps House With Ants
May 22, 2013
Diving ants keep nutritious fly larvae from escaping carnivorous pitcher plants.
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Lessons From Joplin’s Tornado Recovery Effort
May 22, 2013
As Moore, Oklahoma, prepares to rebuild, a photographer recalls a similar effort in Joplin, Missouri.
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Chasing Tornadoes With a Camera
May 22, 2013
Storm chaser Roger Hill talks about the perils of photographing tornadoes.
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National Geographic Bee: Do You Have What It Takes?
May 22, 2013
We've collected sample questions from last year's bee. Test yourself and see how you do.
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Alex Trebek: On Hosting the National Geographic Bee
May 22, 2013
Alex Trebek has hosted every National Geographic Bee. He shares his thoughts after 25 years at the podium.
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Op-Ed: Gamma Rays and the Grand Canyon
May 20, 2013
Despite a ban on any new uranium mines near the Grand Canyon, the U.S. Forest Service has authorized a Canadian company to start digging.
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Picture Archive: Bangladesh (Then East Pakistan), 1950s
May 20, 2013
As Bangladesh recovers from a factory disaster, a look back at the country's origins.
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Space Pictures This Week: Martian Dust Devils, Weekend Spacewalk
May 17, 2013
Astronauts parachute to Earth and the sun goes loopy in this week's best new space pictures.
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Louisiana's Bayou Is Sinking: Can $50 Billion Save It?
May 17, 2013
With rising seas and sinking land, large swaths of Louisiana are disappearing. But will $50 billion reverse the trend?
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Q&A: The Future of the Kepler Spacecraft
May 17, 2013
The principal investigator of NASA's Kepler mission says even if the spacecraft can't be put back on track, data it has already gathered may reveal more Earth-like planets.
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The Astronauts You Should Start Following on Twitter
May 16, 2013
What's the best way to find out what's going on in space? Follow one of these astronauts on Twitter or Facebook.
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Best Night-Sky Pictures of 2013 Named
May 14, 2013
Winners of the 2013 Earth & Sky photo contest capture the beauty of the night sky and highlight the issue of light pollution.
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Space Pictures This Week: Sunrise From Space, Saturn After Dark
May 10, 2013
Astronauts see the sun rise from space, Saturn goes dark, and a volcano spews ash in this week’s best space pictures.
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Pictures: Solar Eclipse Creates Ring of Fire
May 10, 2013
Sky-watchers in the Pacific were treated to a striking solar eclipse, the first one of 2013.<p><strong></strong></p>
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Opinion: Forget the Moon. Let's Go to Mars.
May 10, 2013
Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin says the Red Planet should be humankind's next destination.
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Printing Electronics Just Got Easier
May 9, 2013
Technological advances may soon allow consumers to print out electronic devices on home printers.
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Lost Lands Found by Scientists
May 9, 2013
The "Brazilian Atlantis" is just the latest lost land to be discovered.
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Watch the Solar Eclipse Live
May 8, 2013
Whether it's with a telescope or via the Internet, learn how best to see the solar eclipse.
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Picture Archive: First Seven Astronauts, 1962
May 8, 2013
As humans set their sights on exploring Mars, a look back at the first seven astronauts.
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Space Pictures This Week: Atlantis, Geyser Moon
May 4, 2013
A shuttle stays under wraps and Saturn's moon spurts ice in this week's best space pictures.
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Now We Know What Early Earth Smelled Like
May 3, 2013
A first glimpse of one billion-year-old bacteria eating another shows how life developed-and what early earth smelled like.
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Think Outside the Box to Find Extraterrestrial Life
May 2, 2013
We should think outside the box when considering which exoplanets to study for possible signs of life.
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NASA Probe Spies Giant Hurricane on Saturn
May 1, 2013
Researchers are studying the gas giant's monster storm to gain insights into hurricanes on Earth.
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Lunar Eclipse Pictures: See Last Week's Partial Eclipse
April 30, 2013
Earth's shadow clips the "man in the moon" during an April 25 partial lunar eclipse.
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Space Photos of the Week: Nebulae, Rockets, and a New Earth
April 26, 2013
The Horsehead glows and Earth gets another twin in this week's best space pictures.
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Jindo Sea Parting: Science Behind the 'Magic'
April 26, 2013
As locals and tourists celebrate the Jindo Sea-Parting Festival in Korea, we look at the science behind the "miracle."
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Saturn's Rings Hit by Meteor Shower
April 25, 2013
Celestial impacts may help scientists solve some of the ringed planet's mysteries.
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Watch the Lunar Eclipse Live
April 24, 2013
Whether it's with a telescope or via the Internet, learn how best to see today's rare lunar event.
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Boston Bombing Amputees Face Lengthy Recovery
April 21, 2013
Army Col. Greg Gadson talks about the long road to recovery after losing a limb, as many in the Boston Marathon bombings did.
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Sky-Watchers' Guide: How to See Lyrid Meteors This Weekend
April 20, 2013
Get the facts on the annual Lyrid meteor shower, which peaks in the early hours of April 22.
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Cicada DNA Helps Explain Strange Breeding Cycle
April 19, 2013
Cicadas' puzzling timeline is written in their DNA, possibly as a way to avoid waiting predators.
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Most Earthlike Planets Found Yet: A "Breakthrough"
April 18, 2013
Two Earth-size exoplanets are at the right distance from their sun to support life-a "breakthrough," NASA scientists say.
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Explosion Highlights Dangers of Anhydrous Ammonia
April 18, 2013
A stray electric or static charge is all that it takes to explode a leaky ammonia gas tank.
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Starburst Galaxy Could Illuminate Early Universe
April 17, 2013
Newfound galaxy was spawning stars a billion years earlier than scientists thought was possible.
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Space Pictures This Week: Green Death Shroud, Airglow
April 15, 2013
Plasma dances across the sun and Earth’s air glows in this week's best space pictures.
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Archaeologists Find a Classic Entrance to Hell
April 14, 2013
Italian archaeologists working at the Greco-Roman site of ancient Hierapolis in Turkey have uncovered that city's gate to the underworld.
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Iranian Scientist Claims to Have Built ‘Time Machine'
April 12, 2013
An Iranian inventor claims to have built a time machine that can predict a person's future.
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Finding the Reasons for the 2012 Drought
April 12, 2013
An unexpected combo of atmospheric events led to the driest four months in the Great </strong>Plains since the 1930s.
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5 Changes in Space Travel Since Yuri Gagarin's Flight
April 12, 2013
On Yuri’s Night, the anniversary of the cosmonaut’s 1961 voyage of exploration, space historians reflect on how far technologies have advanced.
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You Never Know What You'll Find Under a Parking Lot
April 11, 2013
When digging starts at a construction site, it may uncover unexpected treasures: ancient temples, headless Vikings, even a few new whale species.
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NASA Announces Plan for Capturing Asteroid
April 10, 2013
The space agency wants to tow an asteroid back t our planetary neighborhood and set it into orbit around the moon. (Wednesday)
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Pictures: New Bird Flu Hits China
April 9, 2013
China is taking steps to control the new H7N9 virus, which has already claimed eight lives.
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Space Pictures This Week: Galaxy Double Feature and Russian Blastoff
April 9, 2013
A galaxy double feature, gulf currents light up, and Russia blasts off in this week’s best space pictures.
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Creating a New Map of the Holocaust
April 8, 2013
The editors of a new encyclopedia have unearthed more than 40,000 Nazi camps and ghettos.
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Did the Real T. rex Resemble the One in Jurassic Park?
April 5, 2013
The real Tyrannosaurus rex may have been even more terrifying than the one in the movie.
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Fact Checking 6 Persistent Science Conspiracy Theories
April 4, 2013
A new national poll finds that many Americans still believe conspiracy theories that can be easily debunked by science.
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Space Pictures This Week: Mars Gullies, Aurora Borealis, and Dragon Detaches
March 29, 2013
Mars melt produces gullies and a Dragon detaches in this week's best space pictures.
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Pictures: Auroras of February and March
March 26, 2013
Starbursts, alien landscapes, and magenta bands of light: Take a look at some of the best aurora photos from February and March.
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Why Is a Woman Who Loves Science So Surprising?
March 25, 2013
Surprise that popular Facebook science guru is female highlights a lack of progress in accepting women scientists, professor says.
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Pictures: Apollo Rocket Engines Recovered From Seafloor
March 21, 2013
Amazon.com founder retrieves components of two F-1 rocket engines once used to launch Apollo missions to the moon.
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Space Pictures This Week: Airglow, Frozen Trees
March 17, 2013
Comet PanSTARRS debuted in the north, colorful airglow in the south, and a diminishing water reserve in the Middle East.
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Physicists Increasingly Confident They've Found the Higgs Boson
March 15, 2013
Mounting evidence suggests that a new particle discovered last year is indeed the Higgs boson.
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Pi Day Pictures: Nature's Near-Perfect Circles
March 14, 2013
On Pi Day, we explore the universe of naturally occurring circles.
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Pi Day Turns 25: Why We Celebrate an Irrational Number
March 14, 2013
Everything you always wanted to know about Pi Day—an annual celebration of the number 3.14—but were afraid to ask.
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Curiosity Finds Evidence For a Habitable Ancient Mars
March 12, 2013
Curiosity finds evidence that the red planet was once capable of supporting life.
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Pictures: Comet Pan-STARRS Debuts in Southern Hemisphere
March 12, 2013
Photographers catch the comet in its nightly glory in the southern hemisphere.
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Space Pictures This Week: Alien Invader, Framing Venus
March 8, 2013
Hubble spies an alien invader and Dragon docks with the ISS in this week's best space pictures.
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Bees Buzzing on Caffeine
March 8, 2013
Coffee and citrus plants use caffeine to manipulate the memory of honeybees, a new study says.
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Comet to Brighten Northern Skies Starting Tonight
March 7, 2013
The bright cosmic body may become visible to the naked eye for Northern Hemisphere sky-watchers just after sunset on March 7.
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Buried Mars River Channel Reveals Evidence of Relatively Recent Megaflooding
March 7, 2013
A new study finds that a major river channel on the red planet is deeper than previously thought.
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Sinkhole Science: A Primer
March 5, 2013
An expert weighs in on causes—and which areas are most vulnerable.
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Space Pictures This Week: Double Moonbow, Twilight Comet
March 4, 2013
A solar eruption leads to an Earthly discovery and a comet lights up the night in this week's best space pictures.
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Pictures: Looking Back at Visions of Life on Mars
March 1, 2013
<strong>Aliens, swords, and spacesuits feature among sometimes unearthly illustrations of what people once thought about life on Mars.</strong>
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Black Hole Spins at Nearly the Speed of Light
March 1, 2013
A superfast black hole appears to be pushing the ultimate speed limit of the universe, a new study says.
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Stinkbug Threat Has Farmers Worried
March 1, 2013
With Asian stinkbugs threatening to devour more crops this year, the U.S Agriculture Department is hunting for solutions.
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Mars Rover Curiosity Has First Big Malfunction
March 1, 2013
One of Curiosity's two onboard computers became corrupted this week.
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Mars Missions: A Time Line of Success and Failure
February 27, 2013
Dennis Tito isn't the first to propose a manned mission to Mars. Take a look back with this time line.
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The Ultimate Relationship Test: A Trip to Mars
February 27, 2013
A new venture backed by space tourist Dennis Tito aims to send a human couple on a flyby mission to Mars in 2018.
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Psychological Challenges of a Manned Mission to Mars
February 27, 2013
Feelings of isolation and boredom are only some of the factors crew members will have to deal with, researchers say.
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Ancient Lost Continent Discovered in Indian Ocean
February 25, 2013
Evidence of a drowned "microcontinent" has been found in sand grains from the beaches of a small Indian Ocean island, scientists say.<p><strong></strong></p>
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Businessman Dennis Tito Financing Manned Mission to Mars
February 22, 2013
Plans are afoot to send two people on a trip to Mars and back in 501 days.
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Meet One of Mars Rover Curiosity’s Earthbound Twins
February 22, 2013
In suburban Maryland, scientists have created Mars-like conditions to test key equipment aboard the rover Curiosity.
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Turbulence Ahead for Weather Satellites
February 21, 2013
Some next-generation weather satellites may not launch in time to replace aging instruments now in orbit, researchers say.
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NASA's Mars Rover Makes Successful First Drill
February 20, 2013
The gray guts of Martian rocks, rather than the red hue of the surface, may hold clues to Mars's past.
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The True Story of History's Only Known Meteorite Victim
February 20, 2013
The Russian meteorite isn't the first to impact people. Ann Hodges is the only confirmed person in history to have been hit by a meteorite.
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Suitcase-size Satellite to Patrol for Dangerous Asteroids
February 20, 2013
Scientists hope their new satellite will spot dangerous asteroids before they hit Earth.
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Meet the Meteorite Hunter
February 16, 2013
Michael Farmer is a professional meteorite hunter. Find out why he won't be heading to Russia for a piece of the action.
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Meteorite Spurs Very Russian Reaction: Political Jokes
February 15, 2013
In the face of more than 1,100 injuries, Russians greet meteorite with humor, largely of a political variety. Does Putin ride a meteorite?
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Meteorites: Best Places to See Them Up Close
February 15, 2013
Never seen a meteorite? Here are 5 that you can see, touch, and even climb.
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Russian Meteorite Spotlights History's Other Crashes
February 15, 2013
The asteroid that exploded over Russia last night injured more than a thousand—but it's not the first time people have seen or been hit by space rocks.
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From Our Vault: 1897 Meteorite Recovery
February 15, 2013
Explorer Robert Peary hauled a huge meteorite from Greenland to the American Museum of Natural History.
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Pictures: Meteorite Hits Russia
February 15, 2013
A meteorite hit near the central Russian city of Chelyabinsk on Friday.
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Asteroid Impacts: 10 Biggest Known Hits
February 14, 2013
The asteroid 2012 DA14 will narrowly miss Earth this Friday, but meteorites have been hitting Earth for billions of years.
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Mars Rover Curiosity Completes First Full Drill
February 9, 2013
The Mars rover made history in completings its first drill for Martian soil samples on Friday.
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Space Pictures This Week: Sun Dragon, Celestial Seagull
February 8, 2013
A sun "dragon" roars, London glitters from space, and a cosmic seagull spreads its "wings" in this week's best space photos.
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Asteroid to Make Closest Flyby in History
February 7, 2013
An asteroid will fly so close to Earth, it will squeak by communications satellites.
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Space Pictures This Week: A Space Monkey, Printing a Moon Base
February 4, 2013
Iran sends a monkey to space, Curiosity makes tracks, and Andromeda shines in the latest space pictures.
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Sinkhole Swallows Buildings in China
January 31, 2013
A massive sinkhole in southern China opened up near a construction site in Guangzhou, consuming a group of buildings.
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Space Pictures This Week: Martian Gas, Cloud Trails
January 28, 2013
Mercury gets a close-up, ships leave cloud trails, and the sun shines in multiple colors in the latest space pictures.
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8 Other Nations that Send Women to Combat
January 25, 2013
As the United States prepares to officially send women into combat, it is studying the experiences of foreign militaries. So how have they fared with women on the front lines?
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The Promise and Perils of Mining Asteroids
January 22, 2013
A new company outlines ambitious plans for near-Earth objects.
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Space Pictures This Week: Solar Tantrum, Petroglyphs at Night
January 22, 2013
The sun throws a tantrum and Beijing is swathed in air pollution in the latest space pictures.
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Newly Discovered Nebula Looks Like a Manatee
January 18, 2013
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory believes that a gas cloud in the constellation Aquila bears an uncanny resemblance to the endangered aquatic mammal.
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Earliest Blooms Recorded in U.S. Due to Global Warming
January 16, 2013
In 2010 and 2012, plants in the eastern U.S. produced flowers earlier than at any point in recorded history, a new study says.
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How Far Off Is a Better Flu Shot?
January 16, 2013
With another flu season in full swing, researchers are hot on the trail of ways to make a vaccine that's more effective for longer stretches of time.
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Mars Rover Finds Intriguing New Evidence of Water
January 15, 2013
Curiosity's roadtrip detour yields a promising site for its first drilling efforts.
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Space Pictures: 7 Ways You Could Blast Off by 2023
January 14, 2013
Innovative spacecraft may be ferrying tourists to and from space within the next decade.
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Biggest Thing in Universe Found—Defies Scientific Theory
January 11, 2013
Talk about a whopper—astronomers have discovered a structure in the universe so large that science says it should not exist.
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Space Pictures This Week: Australia Burns, Pulsars Wobble
January 11, 2013
<strong>The sun rages, Australia burns, and pulsars wobble in our roundup of the week's best space pictures. </strong>
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See Near-Earth Asteroid Buzz Our Planet—Live
January 9, 2013
Cameras will stream images of the Apophis asteroid as it flies by Earth today.
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Billions of Earthlike Planets Found in Milky Way
January 7, 2013
When you look up at a starry sky, nearly every star you see has a planetary system, astronomers announced today.
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Space Pictures This Week: Planets Suck, Fissures Fume
January 7, 2013
Giant planets hoover gas, a volcano spews, and Dallas twinkles in the latest space pictures.
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Scientists Seek Foolproof Signal to Predict Earthquakes
January 4, 2013
For centuries people have tried to predict earthquakes-with no success. Magnetic signals from rocks deep inside the earth are the latest prospect.
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2012: A Banner Year in the Hunt for Exoplanets
January 2, 2013
We pick the most interesting alien worlds discovered in the past year.
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First Meteor Shower of 2013 Peaks Tonight
January 2, 2013
Kick off the New Year with the annual Quadrantid meteor shower, which will peak tonight into the wee hours of January 3.
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Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm
December 28, 2012
Star trails streak over a salt lake, ice blooms into "broccoli," and the sun sets off sparks in this week's best space pictures.
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Space Pictures This Week: Green Lantern, Supersonic Star
December 26, 2012
A star sends out shock waves, Saturn is backlit by the sun, and the Milky Way lights up the Yosemite night in this week's best space pictures.
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Pictures: Capturing the Beauty of Life Through a Microscope
December 24, 2012
Tiny claws and single-celled algae are among the top images in the 2012 Olympus BioScapes Microscopic Life Photo Contest.
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Hollies Get Prickly for a Reason
December 20, 2012
When animals browse, holly trees make more spiny leaves, an example of epigenetic adaption to environmental pressure.
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Pictures: "Beautiful" Geminid Meteor Showers Grace Skies
December 18, 2012
Sky-watchers from New Jersey to Iceland enjoyed a vibrant celestial show as the annual Geminid meteor shower peaked last weekend.
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GRAIL Mission Goes Out With a Bang
December 17, 2012
GRAIL probes join decades of man-made debris dotting the lunar surface.
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Space Pictures This Week: Frosty Mars, Mini Nile, More
December 14, 2012
A miniature Nile River flows on Titan, auroras "dance" and "twist," and the sun erupts in this week's best space pictures.
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Hubble Discovers Oldest Known Galaxy
December 12, 2012
Hubble spies galaxies formed hundreds of millions of years after Big Bang.
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Best Space Pictures of 2012: Editor's Picks
December 11, 2012
The sun "smiles," the Mars rover takes a self-portrait, and Endeavour bids farewell in our editor's picks for the year's best space pictures.
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Sky-watchers Get Set for Cosmic Fireworks Show
December 11, 2012
More meteors than usual should light up moonless nights later this week.
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Plants Grow Fine Without Gravity
December 7, 2012
Turns out plants grow just fine on the International Space Station.<p> </p>
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Space Pictures This Week: Lunar Gravity, Venusian Volcano
December 6, 2012
Tortured plasma escapes from the sun, scientists map the moon’s gravity, and Venus reveals her secrets.
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A 2020 Rover Return to Mars?
December 5, 2012
NASA eyes another rover mission to Mars.
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Pictures: New HD View of Earth at Night
December 5, 2012
Earth's lights shine in newly released satellite images from NASA, the most detailed yet.
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Giant Sequoias Grow Faster With Age
December 5, 2012
Older trees beat out youngsters when it comes to bulking up, a new study says.
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Large, Peanut-Shaped Asteroid Headed Toward Earth
December 5, 2012
Scientists set to study lopsided celestial body.
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How Curiosity Took a Self-Portrait
December 5, 2012
Filmmakers and engineers combined 55 images to produce a portrait of the iconic robot.
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North Star Closer to Earth Than Thought
December 4, 2012
<strong>Guiding light for many a navigator, the North Star is 30 percent closer to our solar system than previously thought, a new study says.</strong>
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Mars Rover Detects Simple Organic Compounds
December 3, 2012
It is unclear whether carbon-based compounds discovered by the Curiosity rover are entirely Martian, scientists said today.
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Top Ten Discoveries of 2012: Nat Geo News's Most Popular
December 3, 2012
The biggest crocodile and the God particle are featured in National Geographic News's most visited coverage of 2012 discoveries.
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Space Pictures This Week: Saturn Storm, Sun Blast
November 30, 2012
<p>Tokyo glitters in an astronaut's photo, a storm swirls on Saturn, and jets shoot out of a supermassive black hole in this week's best space pictures.</p>
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Black Hole Blast Biggest Ever Recorded
November 28, 2012
Astronomers have witnessed a record-breaking blast of gas and dust flowing out of a monster black hole, a new study says.
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Space Pictures This Week: Space "Horse," Mars Rover, More
November 26, 2012
The Horsehead Nebula rears its pretty head, the Mars rover explores, and the Soyuz spacecraft lands in the week's best space pictures.
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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed
November 21, 2012
A new study reveals details of the dwarf planet’s surface and hints at why it doesn’t have a global atmosphere.
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Giant Planet Being Blown Away Behind a Cloudy Veil
November 21, 2012
An alien world's demise is obscured by the remnants of its own atmosphere, a new study says.
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Could Our Sun Become a "Zombie" Star?
November 20, 2012
A star that briefly sputtered back to life may offer a rare glimpse into our own solar system's fate, a new study says.
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Solar "Tsunami": Giant Double Sun Eruption Caught on Video
November 19, 2012
Friday's back-to-back solar flares were so large that NASA’s cameras couldn’t capture the explosions in their entirety.
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Crawling Bio-Robot Runs on Rat Heart Cells
November 19, 2012
Powered by rat heart cells, new machine could someday attack diseases inside the human body, scientists say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Eclipse, Mars Rover, More
November 16, 2012
See the sun's jewel-like vanishing act, "islands" on Mars, and more in our roundup of the week's best space pictures.
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"Orphan Planet" Spotted, Orbits No Star
November 15, 2012
The starless new world is older, colder, and closer than other suspected "homeless" planets.
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New Solar Eclipse Pictures: See What You Missed
November 14, 2012
See what you probably missed yesterday: a rare total solar eclipse visible from only a remote sliver of Earth.
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Space Pictures This Week: Aurora, Sandy Fallout, More
November 12, 2012
Stars spin over an aurora, "waves" crash on a Martian shore, and superstorm Sandy splits an island—among our favorite recent space images.
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Meteor Shower This Week: Leonids to Be Boosted by Moonless Night
November 12, 2012
Find out when and how to catch the most meteors during the 2012 Leonid sky show.
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Total Solar Eclipse Tuesday: Among Most Remote, But Visible Online Everywhere
November 12, 2012
The moon's wide shadow will darken only one major city worldwide, but the eclipse will be visible nearly everywhere online.
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The Last Drop? Climate Change May Raise Coffee Prices, Lower Quality
November 8, 2012
Wild Arabica coffee could go extinct within 70 years, increasing the price, and rarity, of a good cup of joe.
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Math Can Be Truly Painful, Brain Study Shows
November 8, 2012
Think math's a pain? A new study has your number: Anticipation of arithmetic, researchers say, can activate pain centers in the brain.
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Space Pictures This Week: Rover Closeup, Cosmic Bubble, More
November 6, 2012
The Mars rover snaps a self-portrait, a star blows a space "bubble," Sandy swirls from space, and more in this week's best space pictures.
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Light From First Stars Detected in Cosmic "Fog"
November 1, 2012
Spied for the first time through a cosmic "fog," tell-tale rays may put us closer to illuminating the early universe's pitch-black period.
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Daylight Saving Time 2012: Why and When Does It End?
October 31, 2012
Why do we fall back Sunday? Should daylight savings be abolished? Get the facts—and a few controversial takes on changing time.
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Pictures: Best Micro-Photos of 2012
October 26, 2012
From baby spiderlings to a blood-brain barrier—see the best microphotos chosen in the annual Small World photo competition.
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Saturn Storm "Almost Unbelievable"—Spawns Huge Temperature Spike, Giant Vortex
October 26, 2012
At times wider than Earth itself, a recent Saturn storm spawned an unprecedented temperature spike and vortex—and a lingering mystery.
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Watch Rare Double-Comet Show Tuesday—Live Video Feed
October 23, 2012
Like rocket ships passing in the night, two comets will appear to whiz past other in a rare sky show Tuesday. See for yourself.
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Aurora Pictures: Best Fall Photos of Northern Lights
October 23, 2012
See our favorite recent photos of the northern lights, and a few southern ones too—guest-starring a fireball and a passel of penguins.
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Launch Boat to Saturn Moon, Scientists Propose
October 22, 2012
A proposed boat-like probe could propel itself across Ligeia Mare, a vast lake near Titan's north pole.
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Space Pictures This Week: Supersonic Skydive, Starry Skies, More
October 20, 2012
Felix's fearless jump, sparkling skies, and a galactic ruby ring are among our picks for the week's best space pictures.
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Meteor Shower Peaks This Weekend: See "Postcard" From Halley's Comet
October 19, 2012
Our annual "postcard" from Halley's comet, the meteor shower should produce vibrant fireballs just before dawn.
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New Planet Is Closest Yet: Earth-Size Lava World Is Space "Landmark"
October 17, 2012
They're calling it the planet next door, but even our fastest craft would take 40,000 years to reach this Earth-size neighbor.
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Planet Has Four Suns: Amateur Astronomy Finds "Tatooine" Times Two
October 16, 2012
Step aside Tatooine. A newfound planet known as PH1 has not two but four suns, scientists announced this week.
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Moon Water Made by the Sun?
October 15, 2012
Solar wind sparked creation of lunar water, a new study says—a whole new explanation for water in the inner solar system.
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"Space Dive" Success: Felix Baumgartner Breaks Skydive Record, Sound Barrier
October 14, 2012
"I'm coming home," Felix Baumgartner radioed from 24 miles up Sunday, just before falling farther and faster than any human on record.
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Watch Supersonic Skydive Live: Felix Baumgartner Set to Jump Sunday
October 14, 2012
Watch right here as Felix Baumgartner attempts to break the sound barrier—65 years to the day after Chuck Yeager did the same in a plane.
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Endeavour in Extreme Detail: See Shuttle as Never Before—And Never Again
October 12, 2012
As Endeavour hits L.A. streets Friday, zoomable, ultrahigh-resolution pictures offer a last spin around the flight deck, button by button.
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Diamond Planet Found—Part of a "Whole New Class?"
October 11, 2012
The universe just got a bit richer with the discovery of a diamond-rich exoplanet orbiting a nearby star, a new study says.
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Space Station Arm "Tames" Dragon Capsule—SpaceX Docking Is a First
October 10, 2012
Using a robot arm, space station astronauts Wednesday snagged SpaceX's Dragon craft, ushering in a new age of commercial shipping.
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Supersonic Skydive at a Standstill: Winds Ground Felix Baumgartner
October 10, 2012
Between ill winds and uncooperative electronics, Felix Baumgartner just couldn't catch a break Tuesday.
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Space Pictures This Week: Mars Rover Footprint, Sun Blast, More
October 10, 2012
The Curiosity rover leaves a secret message on Mars, the sun erupts, and more in our favorite new space pictures.
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Pictures: The Original Skydive From the Edge of Space
October 8, 2012
See classic-and still jaw-dropping—National Geographic photos of the record—setting 1960 skydive Felix Baumgartner hopes to beat Tuesday.
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Slime Has Memory but No Brain
October 8, 2012
Slime molds have evolved a way of remembering where they've been. Quips one scientist: "I, for one, welcome our new gelatinous overlords."
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Watch Supersonic Skydive Live: Video of Felix Baumgartner's Jump
October 8, 2012
The countdown has begun. Watch right here Tuesday as Felix Baumgartner free-falls from the edge of space to the New Mexico desert.
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Inside the Original Space Dive: Joseph Kittinger on 1960 Record Jump
October 8, 2012
Decades before Felix Baumgartner, Joseph Kittinger set the record for highest free fall. In a duct-taped suit. From an open gondola.
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Pictures: Chinese High-Speed Rail in Focus
October 5, 2012
China's bullet trains are second to none. But the booming high-speed rail system may come at the cost of safety and farmers' livelihoods.
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Supersonic Skydive's 5 Biggest Risks: Boiling Blood, Deadly Spins, and Worse
October 5, 2012
On Tuesday, Felix Baumgartner is set to risk death spins, a sonic boom, and boiling blood—yes, literally—to jump from the edge of space.
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China Advances High-Speed Rail Amid Safety, Corruption Concerns
October 5, 2012
China continues to push an ambitious high-speed rail program despite charges of corruption and worries about safety.
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Speedy Star Found Near Black Hole May Test Einstein Theory
October 4, 2012
A newfound star circling the Milky Way's black hole may allow astronomers to test Einstein's general theory of relativity on a grand scale, a new study says.
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Space Pictures This Week: Seagull Nebula, Quasar, More
October 2, 2012
A roiling quasar, a daredevil capsule, and a wildfire's aftermath are featured in this week's best space pictures.
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Did Slow Space Rocks Seed Life on Earth?
September 28, 2012
Organisms could have reached Earth from another planetary system, suggests a new model that revises speeds of stars and space rocks.
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Mars Rover Finds Ancient Streambed—Proof of Flowing Water
September 27, 2012
Curiosity has made its first big science find, and it's one for the ages: a dry streambed that proves surface water once flowed on Mars.
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New Comet Discovered—May Become "One of Brightest in History"
September 27, 2012
Next year comet 2012 S1 might become "one of the brightest in history," possibly even outshining the moon.
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Tentacled, Carnivorous Plants Catapult Prey Into Traps
September 27, 2012
A carnivorous plant in Australia has special tentacles that fling prey into its sticky trap, a new study shows for the first time.
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Swastika-Bearing Buddhist Statue Was Chiseled From a Meteorite
September 27, 2012
An ancient, swastika-bearing Buddhist statue recovered by Nazis was carved from a meteorite, researchers say.
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Mars Curiosity Rover Finds Proof of Flowing Water—A First
September 27, 2012
NASA's Curiosity has made its first big science discovery, and it's one for the ages: proof surface water once flowed on the red planet.
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Deepest Ever Hubble View: "History of the Universe in a Single Image"
September 26, 2012
Famous for dazzling the eye, Hubble may blow a few minds today too, by peering deeper—and therefore farther back in time—than ever before.
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Best Astronomy Pictures of 2012
September 25, 2012
The Whirlpool Galaxy and Spaghetti Nebula are among winning subjects of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.
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Pictures: Drones Take on Hurricanes, Environment Work
September 24, 2012
Military-surplus Global Hawks head into the eye of new hurricanes, while smaller drones help monitor salmon habitat, seal populations, abandoned mine sites, wildfires, volcanoes, and more.
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Endeavour Makes Final Landing in California
September 21, 2012
Space shuttle Endeavour made its final landing in Los Angeles today—a "bittersweet but exciting" ending for the orbiter's 19-year career.
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Space Pictures This Week: Endeavour, Mars Rock, More
September 21, 2012
The space shuttle <em>Endeavour</em> makes its final flight, the Mars rover explores the red planet, and more in this week's best space photos.
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Autumnal Equinox 2012: Facts About the First Day of Fall
September 21, 2012
The Northern Hemisphere's autumnal equinox occurs September 22—find out why it's the first day of fall.
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Space Shuttle Endeavour Flies West Into the Sunset
September 19, 2012
NASA youngest space shuttle began its photo-op-packed farewell flights Wednesday before retiring to California Friday.
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New Planets Found in Star Cluster—Would Have Dazzling Nights
September 19, 2012
Evening skies on the new planets—the first found in around sunlike stars in a star cluster—would outshine Earth's starriest nights.
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Sperm Tracked in 3-D—A First
September 18, 2012
For the first time, scientists have successfully plotted the paths of sperm in 3-D, revealing corkscrew-like trajectories and "hyperactive" swimmers.
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Prehistoric "Movie Monster" Mollusk Re-created With 3-D Printer
September 18, 2012
A spiky, well-armored mollusk that lived 390 million years ago has been brought back to life with the help of 3-D printers.
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Dark Energy Camera Captures First Sparkling Space Pictures
September 18, 2012
Peering eight billion years into the past, the world's most sensitive digital camera may help solve one of science's greatest mysteries.
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Space Pictures This Week: Spacewalks, Mars Rover, More
September 14, 2012
New pictures showcase NASA spacewalks, the Martian surface, the far-off heavens, and the stars above a Kansas field.
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Potentially Hazardous Asteroid to Buzz Earth Tonight—Watch Live Feed
September 13, 2012
In a rare double flyby, two big asteroids are about to glide past Earth, with one close enough to be visible via backyard telescopes and live observatory feeds.
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"Potentially Hazardous" Asteroid to Buzz Earth Tonight in Double Flyby
September 13, 2012
The two giant mountains of rock, named 2012 QG42 and 2012 QC8, pose no immediate danger but could return in the future.
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Mars Rover Set to "Drive, Drive, Drive"—Headed for "Prize" Mountain
September 13, 2012
Warm-up out of the way, Curiosity is set to "drive, drive, drive." Find out where it's headed—and why it may soon show its inner WALL-E.
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Jupiter Explosion Spotted by Amateur Astronomers
September 11, 2012
See the apparent comet impact that had one amateur astronomer exclaiming, "I observed an explosion on Jupiter this morning!"
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Space Pictures This Week: Mars Tracks, Asteroid Close-up, More
September 9, 2012
NASA's Curiosity rover stretches its legs (and an arm), auroras outshine the moon, and more in this week's best space pictures.<p> </p>
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Albatross's Effortless Flight Decoded—May Influence Future Planes
September 7, 2012
Aerospace engineers may have finally figured out how albatrosses go so far without flapping, and the findings could shape future planes.
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Silver in Space: Metal Found to Form in Distinct Star Explosions
September 7, 2012
Gold and silver are forged in different types of star explosions, a new study says—which may explain why the yellow stuff is rarer.
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Could Cyborg Cockroaches Save Your Life?
September 7, 2012
Electrode-implanted bugs can now be "driven" with surprising precision (see video), which may make them futuristic first responders.
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New Aurora Pictures: Solar Flare Sparks Sky Show
September 6, 2012
Sparked by a Friday solar flare, Sunday night's green-and-purple sky show seemed to glimmer with snakes, spears, and a fiery phoenix.
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Pictures: NASA's Space Shuttle Substitute?
September 4, 2012
From a killer whale-like rocket to a gumdrop-shaped Boeing capsule—see the craft that may keep NASA astronauts in the space race.
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Hubble Pictures: Top Five Hidden Treasures
September 4, 2012
Spiral galaxies and newborn stars feature among award-winning Hubble Space Telescope images.
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"Blue Moon" Friday—Last One Until 2015
August 30, 2012
Howling at the full "blue moon" this Friday might be the most appropriate response: The popular definition is rooted in an editorial error, experts say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Martian Vista, Neil Armstrong
August 29, 2012
Fresh images from Curiosity, telescopes, and satellites illuminate more of the universe, while a vintage photo of Neil Armstrong surfaces.
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Sugar Found In Space: A Sign of Life?
August 29, 2012
Simple sugar molecules floating around a star suggest the possibility of life on other planets, astronomers say.
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Double Planets Found Orbiting Twin Stars
August 29, 2012
Double planets have been spotted circling double stars for the first time, astronomers say.
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Triassic Mites Join World's Oldest Amber Animal Finds (Pictures)
August 28, 2012
Locked in tree resin since the dinosaur dawn, new fossils are among scientific gold that reveals how little some animals have evolved.
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Space Pictures This Week: "Blast" Crater, Mars Rover, More
August 22, 2012
A "stunning sky show," debris from an undersea volcano, and a Mars "blast zone" feature among the week's best space pictures.
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Meteor Dust Boosts Night-Shining Clouds
August 20, 2012
Trails of smoke left by meteors may be seeding mysterious night-shining clouds, a new study says.
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What's Causing Extreme Weather?
August 20, 2012
Wondering what's causing all the extreme weather we've seen lately? The short answer, scientists say, is rotten luck and a warmer planet.
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Terra Nova Pictures: Antarctic Explorer's Shipwreck Found
August 17, 2012
A century after Robert Falcon Scott's expedition to the South Pole, his ship Terra Nova has been located off Greenland.
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Sun Is Roundest Natural Object Known
August 17, 2012
The sun is the roundest natural object ever precisely measured, a discovery that may solve past climatic mysteries, new observations show.
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EREG Test 3
August 17, 2012
The sun is the roundest natural object ever precisely measured, a discovery that may solve past climatic mysteries, new observations show.
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Color-Changing Rubber Robot Could Aid Animal Study
August 17, 2012
A new inflatable robot changes color when fluid is pumped into its "body." The high-tech camouflage may be a boon to stealth science.
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How Your Brain Cleans Itself—Mystery Solved?
August 16, 2012
Talk about brainwashing—a newfound plumbing system helps our brain empty its waste, a new study says.
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Space Pictures This Week: Loner Galaxy, Mars Closeup, More
August 16, 2012
Meteors dazzle, the Mars rover gets busy, and a NASA test vehicle burns in the week's best space pictures.
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Galaxy Cluster Stuns Scientists—Supermassive and Spewing Out Stars
August 15, 2012
Supermassive and forging stars at unheard-of rates, a newfound galaxy cluster could be one-of-a kind—or evidence of a rarely visble phase.
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Night Sky to Turn Bluer?
August 14, 2012
The night may glow bluer as yellow-orange streetlights are gradually replaced by whiter, energy-saving lights, a new study says.
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Space Pictures This Week: Mars Touchdown, Odd Moon, More
August 13, 2012
Curiosity's first pictures of Mars, a tempest on the sun, and wildfires seen from above feature in this week's best space pictures.
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Watch Venus Disappear in Broad Daylight Today—No Telescope Needed
August 13, 2012
Venus will play a disappearing act this afternoon as the bright planet slowly appears to slip behind the crescent moon.
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Perseid Pictures: Meteors Mixed With Aurora, Seen From Space, More
August 10, 2012
Sneak a peek at what you might see this weekend, when the Perseid meteor shower peaks with roughly two shooting stars a minute.
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Perseid Meteor Shower—And Moon Flashes—Peaks Saturday
August 10, 2012
Among the year's best showers, the Perseids include a potentially flashy sideshow: shooting stars on the moon. Find out how to see it all.
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Biggest 3-D Universe Map Created—See Fly-Through Video
August 8, 2012
A new 3-D map of the universe provides the the biggest and most detailed view of the night sky ever made, astronomers say.
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First Color Mars-Rover Pictures, Plus Space Shots of Crashed Gear
August 7, 2012
The hits keep coming: After nailing a "crazy" landing, Curiosity sends images of its new home, while an orbiter snaps the rover itself.
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Bread-Loaf Size Satellites to Probe Atmosphere, Deep Space
August 7, 2012
CubeSats—low-cost satellites no bigger than loaves of bread—may hit the big time as affordable research tools, experts say.
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Curiosity Mars-Rover Landing: "Everything Worked Perfectly"
August 6, 2012
"Seven minutes of terror" gave way to clockwork performance, NASA exultation, and the Curiosity rover's first photos of Mars.
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Mars Rover Landing a Success—What Happens Now?
August 6, 2012
The Curiosity rover's "seven minutes of terror" are over. Find out what happens in the eighth minute—and the hours and days to come.
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NASA TV: Watch Mars Rover Landing Coverage Live
August 5, 2012
Before, during, and after the Curiosity rover's "seven minutes of terror," NASA TV offers live images and analysis. Streaming video.
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Mars Rover Landing Tonight: What Could Go Wrong
August 5, 2012
NASA experts pinpoint the two scariest moments in tonight's landing. "If any one thing goes wrong, we've pretty much lost the vehicle."
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Pictures: Mars Rover's "Crazy" Landing, Step by Step
August 4, 2012
NASA's Curiosity rover landing—due Sunday night—"even looks crazy to us," a NASA engineer says. Preview the process, step by step.
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Inside Mars Rover's "Terrifying" Landing: Hovercrafts, Chutes, and Shields
August 3, 2012
Get the full story of the Curiosity rover's fast-approaching "seven minutes of terror"—and find out why NASA's taking the hard way down.
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Sky Show Sunday: Planets to Align for Mars Rover Landing
August 3, 2012
A striking pregame show featuring Mars, Saturn, and the star Spica will set the stage Sunday for the landing of the Curiosity rover.
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Pictures: Lightest Material Ever Created?
August 2, 2012
Strong yet lighter than Styrofoam, a new, superblack material may hold promise for engineering and biotechnology, scientists say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Extreme Free Fall, Ice Island, More
July 30, 2012
A daredevil free-falls from near the edge of space, an iceberg breaks free, and Great Lakes glimmer in this week's best space pictures.
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Giant Icy Avalanches Seen on Saturn Moon
July 30, 2012
Icy landslides on Iapetus that travel unusually long distances may also solve a geologic mystery on Earth, a new study says.
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"Shocking" Greenland Ice Melt: Global Warming or Just Heat Wave?
July 25, 2012
Nearly the entire ice sheet surface was slush after a few days this month—the fastest melt yet seen by satellites. What does it mean?
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Best Satellite Pictures: Winning "Earth as Art" Shots From NASA
July 25, 2012
Algae swirl like a Van Gogh, a blue-ribbon Mississippi unfurls, and a sand sea blows in the favorite satellite images from a new NASA contest.
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Where Is Amelia Earhart? Three Theories but No Smoking Gun
July 24, 2012
Just in time for the aviator's 115th birthday comes news from the new search for her plane. Plus: Watch our streaming Earhart documentary.
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Space Pictures This Week: Retro Mars, Psychedelic Sun, More
July 20, 2012
Auroras shine over Antarctica, a celestial triangle takes shape, and Mars takes a retrograde trip in the week's best space pictures.
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New Planet Found: Molten "Mars" Is "Right Around the Corner"
July 19, 2012
In a surprise find, astronomers have discovered a planet possibly covered with oceans of magma "right around the corner."
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Mars Rover Landing's "Seven Minutes of Terror" Just Got Scarier
July 17, 2012
A malfunctioning orbiter may leave NASA in the dark for its new Mars rover's white-knuckle landing next month.
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Space Pictures This Week: Martian Dunes, Titan Vortex, More
July 17, 2012
Star trails illuminate rock art, Soyuz heads home, and nebulae glow in our editors' picks of this week's best space pictures.
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Sky Show Sunday: See Celestial Triangle at Dawn
July 13, 2012
A celestial triangle of the brightest nighttime objects will huddle together in the eastern sky early Sunday.
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Giant Red Sprite Seen From Space Station
July 13, 2012
A new image conveys the size of the rarely seen electrical phenomenon "better than any picture we've ever seen," expert says.
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Pictures: First Night-Shining Clouds of 2012
July 12, 2012
Rippling clouds glow against dark night skies in one of summer's strangest sights, which may be getting more common as Earth warms.
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New Pluto Moon Found—"Fringe Benefit" of Search for Risky Rings
July 12, 2012
The surprise moon was a "fringe benefit" of a Hubble search for dangerous rings—and underscores the dwarf planet's unexpected complexity.
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Dark Galaxies Discovered—May Be Cosmic "Missing Links"
July 11, 2012
Strange, dark galaxies nearly devoid of stars have been spotted 11 billion light-years away, according to a new study.
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First Picture of an Atom's Shadow—Smallest Ever Photographed
July 10, 2012
See the smallest thing yet photographed, and find out why the new imaging technique could be a cyberspy's dream.
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Arsenic-Life Discovery Debunked—But "Alien" Organism Still Odd
July 9, 2012
An organism that appeared to have rewritten the laws of life has been brought down to Earth by two new studies.
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Solar System's "Grotesque" Twin Found
July 6, 2012
Astronomers have detected our "grotesque" twin: A planetary system arranged much like our own solar system, a new study says.
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Space Pictures This Week: Flame Nebula, Star "Bubble," More
July 5, 2012
A cosmic skyrocket, a "butterfly" seen on Mars, and a disappearing star feature among our editors' picks for this week's best space pictures.
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New Type of Black Hole Found—Relic of Early Universe?
July 5, 2012
A newly discovered type of intermediate black hole may help astronomers explain how its giant cousins formed.
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"God Particle" Found? "Historic Milestone" From Higgs Boson Hunters
July 4, 2012
The Higgs boson, or its like, has been confirmed with 99 percent certainty. Without it, we'd have no galaxies and no life, theory says.
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Higgs Boson Found? Without "God Particle," No Galaxies—And No Life
July 3, 2012
Solid evidence of the "God particle" may be just hours away. Without it, we'd have no galaxies, no planets—and no life, theory says.
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Earth Farthest From Sun on Fourth of July—So Why So Hot?
July 3, 2012
Earth will be at its maximum distance from the sun Wednesday—but Northern Hemisphere dwellers shouldn't expect relief from the summer heat.
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"Leap Second" to Be Added to the Weekend
June 29, 2012
Blink and you'll miss it, but the world's atomic timekeepers are giving you a little more downtime this weekend.
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Space Pictures This Week: Mickey Mouse Craters, More
June 28, 2012
A cartoonish crater, luminous clouds, and a spiral galaxy feature among our editors' picks for this week's best space pictures.
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Asteroid Hunter to Be First Private Deep-Space Mission?
June 28, 2012
Using only private funds, a space nonprofit hopes to launch the Sentinel telescope to find and track asteroids that cross Earth's path.
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Planet Seen Evaporating Due to Huge Stellar Flare
June 28, 2012
A Jupiter-like gas giant has been spotted losing a chunk of atmosphere due to a violent outburst on its host star, a new study says.
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11,000 Super-Tornadoes Storm the Sun's Surface?
June 27, 2012
Thousands of huge twisters may dance across the sun—a possible mechanism for how the sun's upper atmosphere gets hotter than its surface.
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Meteor Shower Peaks This Week; Best Chance to See Bootids
June 26, 2012
Sky-watchers may get an unusually good glimpse of the annual Bootid meteor shower this week, thanks to late-night moonless skies.
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Mars Has "Oceans" of Water Inside?
June 26, 2012
The red planet could have "oceans" locked deep underground—hinting at volcanic origins for water on Mars's early surface, scientists say.
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Space Pictures This Week: White Marble, China Module, More
June 25, 2012
A frosty view of home, a Chinese space first, and a galactic display feature among our editors' picks for this week's best space pictures.
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Mars Snow Falls Like Dry Ice Fog
June 22, 2012
The carbon dioxide snowflakes that fall during Martian winter are about the size of red blood cells, according to a new study of NASA data.
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Moon Mystery Solved? Hovering Soil Linked to Glass Bubbles
June 21, 2012
Nanosize particles of glass may explain the odd properties of lunar soil, a new study says—but some moon experts aren't convinced.
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New Aurora Pictures: Huge Solar Blasts Spark Rare Colors
June 19, 2012
At least two titanic eruptions on the sun created intense auroral displays this weekend, painting skies with rare hues.
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Summer Solstice 2012: Why It's the Longest Day of the Year
June 19, 2012
Summer officially kicks off today, with the solstice marking the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
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Space Pictures This Week: Monkey Head, Cloud Hole, More
June 15, 2012
A simian nebula, a galactic illusion, and a hole in the sky feature among our editors' picks for this week's best space pictures.
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Large Asteroid to Buzz Earth Tonight—Watch It Live
June 14, 2012
As big as a city block, the newfound space rock 2012 LZ1 will pass close to our planet tonight—find out how to see it live.
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Saturn Moon Has Tropical "Great Salt Lake," Methane Marshes
June 13, 2012
Saturn's hazy moon appears to host a tropical oasis of liquid methane as large as Utah's Great Salt Lake, NASA images hint.
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NASA Launches New "Black Hole Hunter"
June 13, 2012
NASA's newly launched NuSTAR mission will use high-energy x-rays to shine light on exotic objects from blazars to magnetars.
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Meat-Eating Plants Getting "Full" On Pollution
June 12, 2012
Carnivorous plants in Swedish bogs are so stuffed on nitrogen pollution that they're able to eat fewer bugs, a new study says.
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NASA "Black Hole Hunter" to Launch Tomorrow
June 12, 2012
Lifting off Wednesday, NASA's NuStar mission will use high-energy x-rays to shine light on exotic objects from blazars to magnetars.
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Secrets of Natural Cocaine Production Revealed
June 11, 2012
A crucial step in the process coca plants use to build the cocaine molecule has been found, possibly paving the way to new, nonaddictive pain drugs, a study says.
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Microbes Beam Electrons to Each Other Via Mineral "Wires"
June 8, 2012
Bacteria can use minerals in soil as electrical grids, helping the microbes generate chemicals they need to survive, a new study says.
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Space Pictures This Week: Venus Transit, Shuttle Trek, More
June 7, 2012
A planet crossing, a scarred moon, and a massive galactic merger feature among our editor's picks for this week's best space pictures.
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Venus Transit 2012 Pictures: Last Looks for a Century
June 6, 2012
See shots of the "planet of love" crossing the face of the sun during the last transit of Venus until 2117.
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1,200-Year-Old Cosmic Blast Captured in Japanese Trees
June 6, 2012
Radioactive atoms in Japanese cedars hint at an unrecorded event that showered Earth with cosmic rays 1,200 years ago, scientists say.
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Venus Transit 2012—Sun Show Will Be Last for a Century
June 5, 2012
Tonight and tomorrow sky-watchers will see Venus glide across, or transit, the sun's face—the last chance until 2117.
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Venus Transit 2012: What You'll See This Week (Pictures)
June 4, 2012
Get a glimpse of what to expect during this week's transit of Venus, including sunrise shots, pinhole projections, and views from space.
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Transit of Venus 2012—Sun Show Will Be Last for a Century
June 4, 2012
Sky-watchers around the world will see the planet glide across the sun's face—the last chance to witness such an event until 2117.
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SpaceX Dragon Landing Caps "Grand Slam" Mission to Space Station
May 31, 2012
The private spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific after a nearly flawless mission to the International Space Station.
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Space Pictures This Week: Partial Eclipse, Dragon Capture
May 31, 2012
A crescent eclipse, a candy-colored galaxy, and a spaceflight milestone feature among this week's best space pictures.
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Partial Lunar Eclipse Monday—During a "Supermoon"
May 31, 2012
On Monday Earth's shadow will seem to take a bite out of a slightly larger-than-normal full moon, thanks to an unusual celestial alignment.
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Sunscreen in the Sky? Reflective Particles May Combat Warming
May 29, 2012
Spraying particles of titanium dioxide via balloons could help scatter enough sunlight to reduce global temperatures, a scientist says.
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SpaceX's Dragon Captured by Space Station—A First
May 25, 2012
Plucked from orbit by a robotic arm, the Dragon capsule is now the first commercial craft to make contact with the orbiting laboratory.
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Magma Rise Sparked Life as We Know It?
May 23, 2012
Oxygen-breathing life exists on Earth today because of changes in the planet's magma 2.5 billion years ago, a new study says.
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SpaceX Launches for Space Station—Like "Winning the Super Bowl"
May 22, 2012
A Falcon 9 rocket sent an unmanned capsule into orbit on its way to rendezvous with the International Space Station.
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Solar Eclipse Pictures: 2012 "Ring of Fire" Dazzles U.S., Asia
May 21, 2012
See stunning images of the annular eclipse that created a "ring of fire" enjoyed by millions of sky-watchers in Asia and the U.S. West.
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Solar Eclipse 2012: How to See "Ring of Fire" May 20
May 20, 2012
A "time traveling" solar eclipse will turn the sun into a ring of fire over Asia and the U.S. West.
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SpaceX Aborts Launch to Space Station
May 19, 2012
An engine problem caused the rocket to automatically abort seconds before liftoff. Mission managers now hope to try again Tuesday.
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Space Pictures This Week: Trippy Stars, Spooky Moon, More
May 18, 2012
Stars whirl in a psychedelic sky, NASA spies a ghostly eye, a cloud-stained moon rises, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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SpaceX to Launch First Private Craft to Space Station Tomorrow
May 18, 2012
Dragon is slated to become the first commercial craft to visit the International Space Station—and it should return with used gloves.
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Approaching Asteroid May Get Close Enough to Smash Satellites
May 17, 2012
The newfound space rock 2012 DA14 will pass so close to Earth in February that it might hit a communications satellite, scientists say.
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"Ring of Fire" Solar Eclipse Coming Sunday
May 17, 2012
A "time traveling" solar eclipse will soon turn the sun into a ring of fire for sky-watchers in parts of Asia and the U.S. West.
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Hundreds of Superflares Seen on Sunlike Stars
May 16, 2012
But the new data from a NASA spacecraft cast doubt on a popular theory for what triggers the planet-roasting bursts of energy.
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Best Night-Sky Pictures of 2012 Named
May 15, 2012
A holiday comet, Icelandic auroras, and the Milky Way feature among the winning shots from the International Earth and Sky Photo Contest.
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Space Pictures This Week: Supermoon, Solar Flare, More
May 11, 2012
A supermoon looms, a solar flare erupts, and night-shining clouds glow in this week's best space pictures.
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Sun Is Moving Slower Than Thought
May 10, 2012
New NASA data hint that our star is moving too slow to form a bow shock, a structure long thought to protect us from cosmic rays.
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Light From a "Super Earth" Seen—A First
May 9, 2012
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has proven it's possible to capture the infrared glow from relatively small alien worlds, a new study says.
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Top Ten Infrared Space Pictures
May 9, 2012
From the Helix Nebula to the Sombrero galaxy—see top infrared shots from the Spitzer Space Telescope, chosen by Spitzer scientists.
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Is Saturn Moon's Haze Old Enough for Life?
May 9, 2012
Saturn's largest moon may have only recently turned hazy, according to two new studies that could spell trouble for the chances of life.
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Four White Dwarfs Found Eating Earthlike Planets
May 7, 2012
Four hungry white dwarfs have been found "snacking" on the shattered remains of Earthlike planets, a new study says.
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Supermoon Pictures: Best Shots of Year's Biggest Full Moon
May 7, 2012
This year's biggest, brightest full moon really shines in Nat Geo photo editors' picks of the best supermoon shots.
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Supermoon Tonight—Not a Threat to Earth
May 5, 2012
Despite disaster fears, "nothing particularly special" will happen during the year's closest full moon—except a great sky show, experts say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Thor's Helmet, Milky Moon, More
May 4, 2012
Stars forge a winged helm, the moon lights up La Palma, astronauts make a dusty homecoming, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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New Jupiter Mission to Target Alien Oceans
May 4, 2012
A European space probe called JUICE will be the first robotic craft dedicated to studying oceans on icy moons, scientists say.
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Pictures We Love: Best of April
May 4, 2012
From hippo dental care to hammer time—see National Geographic photo editors' favorite news pictures from last month.
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Supermoon Coming Saturday—Not a Threat to Earth
May 3, 2012
Despite disaster fears, "nothing particularly special" will happen during the year's closest full moon—except a great sky show, experts say.
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World's Oldest Blood Found in Famed "Iceman" Mummy
May 2, 2012
Using new nanotech—which could be a boon to modern murder investigations—scientists find that Stone Age Ötzi "definitely" died quickly.
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"Beautiful" New Particle Found at LHC
May 1, 2012
An atom-smashing experiment at the Large Hadron Collider has detected a new subatomic particle—and it's a beauty.
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Huge "Structure" of Satellites Found Orbiting Milky Way
April 30, 2012
The unexpectedly tidy grouping of galaxies and clusters spells trouble for theories of dark matter, its discoverers say.
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Space Shuttle Enterprise Arrives in New York City (Pictures)
April 27, 2012
NASA's first shuttle buzzed the Big Apple today on the way to its new home atop an aircraft carrier in the Hudson River.
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Space Pictures This Week: Solar Chicken, Aurora Angel, More
April 26, 2012
A rubber chicken flies high, a "split" galaxy is unmasked, heavenly lights spread over Sweden, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Huge Spirals Found on Mars—Evidence of New Lava Type?
April 26, 2012
Hundreds of giant coils suggest that volcanoes—not ice—shaped an area near the equator that's otherwise etched like elephant skin.
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Pictures: Huge "Snowballs" Seen Piercing Saturn's Outer Ring
April 25, 2012
Odd objects seen sailing through the planet's outer F ring create glittering trails of ice dubbed mini-jets, researchers have announced.
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Auroras Pictured in HD From High-Flying Balloons
April 24, 2012
About a dozen high-flying balloons carrying HD cameras and science experiments were launched this month as part of a new study of auroras.
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Dark Matter Hits the Average Human Once a Minute?
April 24, 2012
The average human body gets hit by a particle of dark matter about once a minute, according to new calculations.
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Lyrid Meteor Pictures: Fireball Boom, Auroras Add Spark to Shower
April 23, 2012
With cameos by auroras and a surprise sonic boom, the Lyrid meteor show this weekend left viewers (and listeners) starstruck.
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Space Pictures This Week: Sun Tsunami, Hubble Spider, More
April 20, 2012
The sun spits a plasma cloud, Hubble peers at a tarantula's heart, a shuttle gets a new home, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Space Shuttle Discovery Rolls Into New Home (Pictures)
April 19, 2012
NASA's "workhorse" shuttle rolled down the runway this week to become an official part of the Air and Space Museum collection.
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Synthetic DNA Created, Evolves on Its Own
April 19, 2012
"XNA" may help answer basic questions of biology, study says.
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Lyrid Meteor Shower to Peak This Weekend; May Be Best in Years
April 19, 2012
A dark, moonless night should offer the best view in years for a sky show known to offer occasional surprises, an astronomer says.
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Dark Matter Is Missing in Sun's Neighborhood?
April 19, 2012
Based on the motions of nearby stars, the invisible substance isn't "where we needed it" to match current theories, a new study says.
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Pluto Neighbor Gets Downsized
April 18, 2012
The remote object called Sedna is even smaller than Pluto's largest moon, new infrared observations reveal.
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Space Shuttle Discovery Arrives to Take "Place of Honor"
April 17, 2012
NASA's "workhorse" space shuttle was greeted with cheers and nostalgia as it landed near its new home at a Virginia museum.
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Space Shuttle Discovery Buzzes Washington, D.C., Monuments (Pictures)
April 17, 2012
On its final flight, space shuttle <em>Discovery</em> soared low over Washington, D.C.—a monumental ending to a record-breaking career.
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SpaceX to Launch First Private Craft to Space Station—Next Stop: Mars?
April 16, 2012
The private firm is so far on course to visit the space station this month, but the company's founder has sights set on the red planet.
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Life on Mars Found by NASA's Viking Mission?
April 13, 2012
A fresh look at NASA data suggests that a robotic mission uncovered microbial life on Mars—more than 30 years ago.
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Auroras Seen on Uranus For First Time
April 13, 2012
In a stroke of luck, astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have captured auroras lighting up Uranus's icy atmosphere.
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Space Shuttle in Extreme Detail: Exclusive New Pictures
April 13, 2012
As Discovery prepares to roll into its new home in a Virginia museum, take a 360, zoomable tour of the iconic spacecraft.
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Emperor Penguins Counted From Space—A First
April 13, 2012
New satellite images show the population of emperor penguins in Antarctica has doubled since 1992, scientists report.
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Space Pictures This Week: Aurora Embrace, Shuttle Carrier
April 12, 2012
Northern lights hug Canada, a NASA jet prepares for shuttle delivery, Mars pits are exposed, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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North Korea Nuclear Test: How Will We Know? What Could Happen?
April 11, 2012
In addition to a controversial rocket launch, North Korea looks to be prepping a nuclear bomb test. Here's what to expect.
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Drug-Resistant Bacteria Found in 4-Million-Year-Old Cave
April 11, 2012
Deep in an ancient New Mexico cave, scientists have discovered nearly a hundred types of bacteria that can fight modern antibiotics.
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Record Nine-Planet Star System Discovered?
April 10, 2012
A star celled HD 10180 may have even more planets than the sun, which would make the planetary system the most populated known.
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Space Pictures This Week: Cosmic Flower, Inside-Out Star
April 6, 2012
An "iris" blooms among the stars, auroras paint Norway, a supernova gets mapped, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Cameron Exclusive: After Record Dive, Why Go Back to Mariana Trench?
April 5, 2012
With his first dive a success, James Cameron is eager for scientists to continue exploring Earth's deepest point in his custom-built sub.
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How the Mariana Trench Became Earth's Deepest Point
April 5, 2012
Now that James Cameron has made it to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, learn about the forces that made the abyss so deep.
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New "Sunquake" Trigger Found: Huge Solar Belches
April 5, 2012
Earthquake-like events on the sun can be set off not only by solar flares but also by huge belches of charged particles, researchers say.
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Monster Black Holes Gobble Binary Stars to Grow?
April 4, 2012
Black holes at the centers of galaxies might be achieving their monstrous girth by tearing apart stellar partners, new models suggest.
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Earth Has Scores of Mini-Moons, Models Predict
April 2, 2012
Thousands of captured asteroids are in orbit at any time—and some eventually fall to Earth as fireballs, according to new computer models.
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Space Pictures of the Week: "UFO Galaxy," Triple Sunset, More
March 30, 2012
Three suns set over a super-Earth, stars shine in UFO and yuletide formations, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Solar Eclipses Can (Slightly) Change Weather on Earth
March 28, 2012
The inky shadows of solar eclipses can alter local weather on small scales, according to new analysis of a 1999 total eclipse.
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Giant Solar Tornado Caught in NASA Video
March 28, 2012
A solar twister big enough to swallow a hundred Earths mesmerized researchers with its "ethereal, strange dance" (with video).
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Photos: NASA Rockets Make Weird Clouds Near Edge of Space
March 27, 2012
Five suborbital rockets launched from Virginia created milky white clouds visible in predawn skies Tuesday along the U.S. Northeast coast.
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Oldest Alien Planets Found—Born at Dawn of Universe
March 26, 2012
Two Jupiter-like worlds have been found orbiting a star that formed less than a billion years after the big bang, scientists say.
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James Cameron on Earth's Deepest Spot: Desolate, Lunar-Like
March 26, 2012
James Cameron describes Challenger Deep as a desolate, "lunar" environment, saying the dive felt as if he'd gone to another planet.
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Cameron's Historic Dive Cut Short by Leak; Few Signs of Life Seen
March 26, 2012
Despite technical challenges, James Cameron made history Monday in the Mariana Trench, which he said "looked like the moon."
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James Cameron Now at Ocean's Deepest Point
March 25, 2012
Stuffed into a "vertical torpedo," the explorer-filmmaker has become the first human to reach the Mariana Trench's Challenger Deep alone.
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James Cameron Begins Descent to Ocean's Deepest Point
March 25, 2012
After years of preparation and days of uncooperative weather conditions, James Cameron is sinking fast to Earth's deepest, and perhaps most alien, realm in his futuristic sub.
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James Cameron Completes Record-Breaking Mariana Trench Dive
March 25, 2012
Filmmaker-explorer James Cameron just became the first human to reach Earth's deepest abyss alone—and the only one to explore it in depth.
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James Cameron May Dive Mariana Trench This Weekend, If "Weather Gods" Allow
March 24, 2012
After years of preparation, the filmmaker and explorer may be hours away from diving to the ocean's deepest point, if "weather gods" allow.
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Hyperspeed Planets Are Hurtling Out of the Milky Way?
March 22, 2012
Runaway worlds could be streaking out of our Milky Way galaxy at up to 30 million miles an hour, computer models predict.
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Space Pictures This Week: Aurora Bubble, Martian Veins, More
March 22, 2012
Northern lights shine over Sweden, minerals crisscross Mars, a robotic astronaut gets tested, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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New Supernova Found "Next Door"—Getting Brighter
March 22, 2012
A freshly exploded star has been confirmed in a relatively nearby galaxy, offering astronomers a glimpse at the earliest stages of a supernova.
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Grasslands More Diverse Than Rain Forests—In Small Areas
March 20, 2012
Sorry, tropical rain forests. Grasslands have the most plant species—at least in areas smaller than a few parking spaces.
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Rare "Emerald Cut" Galaxy Found
March 20, 2012
A distant dwarf galaxy is a rare "emerald cut" gem, according to astronomers who spied the oddity in recent images.
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Vernal Equinox 2012: First-Day-of-Spring Myth Busted
March 20, 2012
Are day and night equally long today, the 2012 vernal equinox (or spring equinox)? Get the answer—and other first-day-of-spring facts and oddities.
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Space Pictures This Week: Conjunction, Aurora, More
March 16, 2012
Planets meet over a monastery, a cosmic unicorn sparkles, the Milky Way flows over Borneo, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Venus-Jupiter Conjunction Peaks Thursday—Easy-to-See Sky Show
March 13, 2012
Thursday evening, look to the west as Jupiter and Venus make their closest approach of the current conjunction—no binoculars needed.
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Space Pictures This Week: 3-D Sun Storm, Mars Devil
March 12, 2012
See a Martian dust devil, a solar storm in 3-D, and a "surreal" desert in some of our favorite space pictures of last week.
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Moon Oddly Magnetic—Giant Asteroid Crash to Blame?
March 12, 2012
An asteroid that slammed into the moon billions of years ago may explain strange patches of magnetic rock, new models suggest.
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First Look: James Cameron's Sci-Fi Sub for Deepest Dive
March 8, 2012
The custom-made sub for James Cameron's dive to Earth's deepest point sports a vertical design, a robotic arm—and an eye-popping paint job.
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Solar Storm: Why It Fizzled ... for Now
March 8, 2012
Despite warnings of possible GPS, communications, and power failures, Thursday's sun storm has been a softy. A NASA physicist explains.
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Daylight Saving Time 2012: Why and When Does It Begin?
March 8, 2012
Why do we spring forward Sunday? Should daylight savings be abolished? Get the facts—and a few controversial takes on changing time.
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Solar Flare: What If Biggest Known Sun Storm Hit Today?
March 8, 2012
Thursday's big solar storm seems gentle enough so far. But if a storm like the 1859 record-holder hit, modern life could be paralyzed
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Pictures: A New Hub for Solar Tech Blooms in Japan
March 7, 2012
As Japan faces a nuclear-free future, at least in the short term, a new facility aims to develop solar technology that will create both energy and earnings at home.
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Titanic Sunk by "Supermoon" and Celestial Alignment?
March 6, 2012
As the moon swung very close to Earth—and the sun fell in line—the resulting pull might have sent icebergs on a collision course in 1912.
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Dark Matter Blob Should Not Exist, But There It Is
March 6, 2012
An unusual patch of sky devoid of galaxies could hint at the existence of more than one type of dark matter, scientists say.
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Alien Species Invading Antarctica via Tourists, Scientists
March 5, 2012
Antarctic tourists and scientists may be inadvertently seeding the icy continent with invasive species, a new study says.
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Saturn Moon Has Oxygen—New NASA Evidence Boosts Search for Life
March 5, 2012
Saturn's moon Dione likely has a wisp of an oxygen atmosphere, generated by ice and sunshine—a possible boost to the search for life.
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Space Pictures This Week: Aurora, Hubble … Frazils?
March 5, 2012
See stars, auroras, a grasping sun, and funnily named crystals in some of our favorite space pictures of last week.
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More Than 1,000 Potential New Planets Found
March 2, 2012
Almost 200 potential Earth-size worlds are part of the latest batch of candidates from NASA's Kepler mission, a new study says.
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Pictures We Love: Best of February
March 1, 2012
See the pictures we love, as chosen by National Geographic photo editors—from gravity-defying fighters to a "flaming" caterpillar.
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New Aurora Pictures: Surprise Shows Due to Earth-Shield Cracks
March 1, 2012
The month's unexpectedly intense displays of northern lights were likely due to cracks in Earth's magnetic shield, scientists say.
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Women Can Make New Eggs After All, Stem-Cell Study Hints
February 29, 2012
Women may make new eggs throughout their reproductive years, suggests a new stem-cell study that challenges a long-held biological tenet.
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James Cameron Headed to Ocean's Deepest Point Within Weeks
February 29, 2012
In a sci-fi sub, filmmaker and explorer James Cameron is soon to make history on a National Geographic mission to Earth's deepest point.
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Pictures: Spanish Solar Energy
February 28, 2012
Spain’s solar energy boom of the past decade has waned, but the Iberian peninsula nurtured innovative technologies that may pave the way for future large-scale renewable energy.
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See 5 Bright Planets in Night Sky—First Time in 8 Years
February 28, 2012
Find out when and where this week to see the naked-eye planets, the two brightest stars, and the moon parade across the sky in one night.
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"Nomad" Planets More Common Than Thought, May Orbit Black Holes
February 24, 2012
Stars and even black holes likely harbor rogue planets, new simulations suggest.
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Space Pictures This Week: Supernova Preview, Spacewalkers, More
February 24, 2012
A nebula hints at a star's end, a light cone rises over Pennsylvania, the moon "bites" the sun, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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New Ultradense Planet Found; Astronomers Baffled
February 22, 2012
An odd Jupiter-like world is so compact that it defies established theory—and may even represent a new class of planet, astronomers say.
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Earth Spun Faster in 2009 Due to Ocean Current?
February 22, 2012
A slower Antarctic current, possibly linked to El Niño, made our planet spin slightly faster in November 2009, a new study suggests.
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Extreme Scientific Imaging: Best of 2011 Named
February 22, 2012
An underwater city in 3-D and the sharpest picture of an atom yet are among winners of the 2011 Australian Extreme Imaging competition.
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New Scars Found on Moon, Hint at "Recent" Tectonic Activity
February 21, 2012
Long trenches spotted on lunar highlands suggest that the moon has been recently active, geologically speaking.
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Space Pictures This Week: Rocket Launch, Saturn "Snowman"
February 17, 2012
Nebulae punctuate the sky, Europe lifts up a new lightweight, Saturn moons get stacked, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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"Light Echoes" From Monster Star's Eruption Found—A First
February 16, 2012
For the first time, astronomers have glimpsed reflections of light from a "supernova impostor"—the 19th-century eruption of Eta Carinae.
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Is Dark Energy Really "Repulsive Gravity"?
February 15, 2012
A powerful repulsion between normal matter and antimatter could explain the mysterious force known as dark energy, a new theory claims.
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Venus Spinning Even Slower Than Thought—Scientists Stumped
February 14, 2012
Planet lovers take note: Venus is rotating 6.5 minutes slower than it did 16 years ago—and scientists are stumped.
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Life on Earth Began on Land, Not in Sea?
February 13, 2012
The first cellular life on Earth probably arose in vats of volcanic mud akin to Darwin's idea of a "warm little pond," a new study says.
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Space Pictures This Week: Sun Storm, Mars Lander, More
February 10, 2012
A star nursery shines, a sun storm erupts, a Mars orbiter spies its cousin, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Dwarf Galaxy Found Secretly Feasting on Smaller Dwarf
February 10, 2012
For the first time, astronomers have captured highly detailed pictures of a dwarf galaxy consuming a smaller companion, a new study says.
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Two Earth-Size Planets Born of Battered "Jupiter"?
February 9, 2012
A pair of Earth-size worlds orbiting a dying star may be the fractured remnants of a single Jupiter-like gas giant, a new study says.
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Black Hole in Milky Way Seen Snacking on Asteroids?
February 9, 2012
An ongoing rocky buffet would explain bright x-ray flares seen around our galaxy's supermassive black hole since 1999, astronomers say.
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European "Disco Ball" Probe to Test Einstein's Relativity
February 8, 2012
Italy's LARES spacecraft, launching Monday, will test an effect of general relativity with unprecedented accuracy, mission managers say.
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New "Porta Potty" Flower Discovered
February 7, 2012
A new relative of the "corpse flower" growing in Madagascar smells like rotting meat and feces, researchers say.
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"Ping-Pong" Planets Can Bounce From Star to Star
February 6, 2012
A planet in a two-star system can chaotically bounce between its stars for thousands of years before being ejected, a new study suggests.
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Space Pictures This Week: Hubble Galaxy, Poet Nebula, More
February 3, 2012
Hubble captures a Milky Way "twin," winds shape Mars lava fields, stars carve a nebula's face, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Best Science Pictures of 2011 Announced
February 2, 2012
A spiny cucumber and a nanotube ''city'' feature among the winners of the 2011 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge.
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New "Super Earth" Found at Right Distance for Life
February 2, 2012
The likely rocky planet orbits squarely in its star's habitable zone, making it a prime candidate for life, astronomers report.
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Two New Moons Found Orbiting Jupiter
February 2, 2012
Two tiny satellites add to the planet's swarm of "backward" moons and bring the full Jovian family up to 66 natural satellites.
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Pictures: Civil War Sub Finally Revealed
February 1, 2012
See the wreck of the <em>Hunley—</em>the world's first submarine to sink an enemy ship—finally unveiled after 11 years in a steel truss.
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New Life-Forms Found in Blue Holes—Clues to Life in Alien Oceans?
February 1, 2012
Bacteria in water-filled Caribbean sinkholes could offer clues to what might live on icy moons such as Europa, scientists say.
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"Alien" Particles Found Invading Our Solar System—A First
January 31, 2012
For the first time, a NASA spacecraft has directly observed particles that came from beyond our solar system, astronomers announced.
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"Solar Systems" Common Across the Galaxy, NASA Probe Hints
January 31, 2012
A new analysis of Kepler data hints that scientists can add more than 400 new worlds to the NASA mission's confirmed discoveries.
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First Picture of Alien Planet … Isn't?
January 30, 2012
The first picture of a planet outside our solar system may actually depict a swirl of space dust, a new study suggests.
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Hyperactive Sun Helping to Clear Out Space Junk
January 27, 2012
The recent uptick in solar flares and other sun activity has been causing orbiting debris to fall faster, a NASA scientist reports.
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Space Pictures This Week: Sun Loops, Blue Marble, More
January 27, 2012
Plasma arcs over the sun, Earth shines in high resolution, a colorful halo surrounds the moon, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Hottest Thing on Earth: X-rays Heat Metal to 3.6 Million Degrees
January 27, 2012
By zapping a scrap of metal with superpowerful x-rays, scientists created plasma that rivals the sun for heat.
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Giant Veil of "Cold Plasma" Discovered High Above Earth
January 25, 2012
Clouds of slow-moving charged particles reach from the top of Earth's atmosphere to a quarter of the distance to the moon, new data show.
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Death Valley's Big Bang: Volcano "Potentially Active"
January 25, 2012
It may be barren, but California's Ubehebe Crater is anything but dead, according to a new study.
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New Aurora Pictures: Solar Storms Trigger Northern Lights
January 25, 2012
Intense northern lights displays dazzled sky-watchers this week as the strongest solar storm since 2003 swept over Earth.
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Biggest Solar Storm in Eight Years Now Pummeling Earth
January 24, 2012
The strongest solar storm since 2003 is hitting our planet. Find out why planes are being rerouted and what other effects are predicted.
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Rare Pictures From the Dawn of NASA Spaceflight
January 23, 2012
Newly released digital scans offer a rare high-resolution glimpse into NASA's Project Gemini, the precursor to the Apollo moon missions.
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Space Pictures This Week: Italy Shipwreck, Squashed Moon
January 20, 2012
The<em> Costa Concordia</em> from above, a rusty dead star, a "fresh" Mars crater, and a sinking moon are among the week's best space pictures.
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Unknown "Structures" Not Tugging on the Universe After All?
January 20, 2012
Unseen structures on the edges of creation most likely aren't tugging on our universe, according to a new study that found a slower flow.
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Second Try: LanzaTech Grabs Failed Biofuel Refinery in Georgia Pine
January 19, 2012
A new chapter begins in the effort to brew advanced biofuel in the “Million Pines City” of Soperton, Georgia, with a startup's purchase of a failed U.S. government-backed biorefinery.
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Comet Seen Vaporizing in Sun's Atmosphere—A First
January 19, 2012
For the first time, a NASA craft has watched as a "suicide" comet breaks apart in the sun's upper atmosphere.
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How Diamond-Studded Magma Rises From Earth's Depths
January 19, 2012
New experiments show how molten material can carry gems scraped from Earth's depths to the surface without destroying the precious cargo.
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Mystery Deepens Over Where Sun Was Born
January 17, 2012
The star cluster M67 has been knocked out of the running, bringing the quest for the solar system's origin back to square one, experts say.
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New Calendar Would Add Extra Week to December
January 17, 2012
If a new annual calendar is adopted, you'd get an extra week off at the end of 2017, experts say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Hubble Bubble, Dusty Dwarf, More
January 13, 2012
A "soap bubble" in space, stellar royals in hiding, and a new look at an old galactic neighbor are among this week's best space pictures.
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Russian Mars Probe to Crash Sunday—Visible as "Surreal Comet"?
January 12, 2012
Visible to the naked eye, the failed Mars probe Phobos-Grunt will soon crash into Earth like a "surreal comet," experts say.
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Injections Could Lift Venice 12 Inches, Study Suggests
January 12, 2012
Pumping billions of gallons of water under the sinking Italian city could save it from worsening floods as seas rise, a new study says.
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Smallest Exoplanets Found—Each Tinier Than Earth
January 11, 2012
Three new planets found outside our solar system are each tinier than Earth, astronomers announced today.
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Tons of Tatooines: Planets With Two Suns Common?
January 11, 2012
The discovery of two new "Tatooines" suggests there are millions of double-sun planets in our galaxy.
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Black Hole Caught Pulling Trigger on Gas "Bullets"
January 10, 2012
New ultrasharp pictures show the exact moment a black hole fired knots of gas at a quarter the speed of light, scientists say.
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"Tatooine" Planet With Two Suns Could Host Habitable Moon?
January 9, 2012
A cold, Saturn-like planet orbiting two stars could host an Earthlike moon, and that world may have the right conditions for life, a new study says.
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Old Mice Made "Young"—May Lead to Anti-Aging Treatments
January 6, 2012
Aging mice injected with stem cells lived three times as long, according to findings one scientist found initially unbelievable.
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Space Pictures This Week: Cosmic Cigar, Solar Spout, More
January 6, 2012
The sun spews hot gas, a meteor shower lights up New Jersey, stars shine in a rosy nebula, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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"Time Cloak" Created; Can Make Events Disappear
January 4, 2012
A new experiment bent light to make a hole in time—albeit one that lasted only about 40 trillionths of a second.
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2012 Pictures: 6 Maya Apocalypse Myths Debunked
January 3, 2012
See six good reasons why the world (probably) won't end in the new year, despite supposed warnings in the Maya calendar.
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First Meteor Shower of 2012 to Peak Wednesday
January 3, 2012
Named for a "lost" constellation, the Quadrantid shower is considered one of the year's best, with meteors visible even from the suburbs.
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Moss Has Cloned Itself for 50,000 Years, Study Says
December 30, 2011
A Hawaiian moss is an ancient clone that may be one of the oldest multicellular organisms on Earth, a new study says.
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Pictures We Love: Best of December
December 29, 2011
See National Geographic photo editors' favorite news pictures of the month—a winter swimmer, burned Egyptian treasures, and more.
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Space Pictures This Week: Blue Moon, Wreath Nebula, More
December 28, 2011
A Saturn moon shows its colors, a nebula shines like a holiday wreath, a new island emerges, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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New Comet Pictures: Lovejoy Dazzles Holiday Sky-Watchers
December 27, 2011
After surviving a close encounter with the sun, comet Lovejoy became visible to the naked eye in the Southern Hemisphere's predawn skies.
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Space Pictures This Week: Cosmic Ornament, Pulsing Star
December 22, 2011
A starry bauble, a space shuttle decked with lights, and a rare warped galaxy feature among this week's best space pictures.
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New "Deep Fried" Planets Found—Survivors of Star Death
December 21, 2011
Two new Earth-size planets are probably the charred survivors of a near-death encounter with their fading parent star, scientists say.
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Winter Solstice 2011: Facts on Shortest Day of the Year
December 21, 2011
Find out why the first day of winter always falls around December 21 and how the shortest day of the year is marked by cultures worldwide.
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NASA's Kepler Finds Two Earth-Size Planets Around Sunlike Star
December 20, 2011
Two planets orbiting a sunlike star are the first truly Earth-size worlds discovered by NASA's Kepler mission, scientists said today.
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Pictures: Cars Capture Solar Energy in Chilean Desert
December 20, 2011
The need for a wide, flat surface to harvest sunlight gives an otherworldly look to solar cars racing the Atacama Desert of Chile.
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Top Ten Discoveries of 2011: Nat Geo News's Most Popular
December 19, 2011
An Earth-like planet and the biggest great white shark are among National Geographic News's most visited coverage of 2011 discoveries.
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Space Pictures This Week: Rebel Angel, Sloshed Galaxies
December 16, 2011
A stellar "angel" spreads its wings, a dead star blooms, a galaxy cluster gets sloshed, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Comet "Harpoon" Being Test Fired in NASA Lab
December 15, 2011
The space agency is working on an explosive-powered harpoon for collecting samples from deep inside comets, researchers said this week.
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Heavy Rainfall Can Cause Huge Earthquakes
December 15, 2011
Heavy rainfall can trigger devastating earthquakes in what one scientist calls "disaster triggering disaster."
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Supermassive Black Hole About to Eat Gas Cloud?
December 14, 2011
A long-lasting flare could soon erupt in our galaxy's heart as the Milky Way's supermassive black hole feeds, astronomers say.
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Water Ice on Mercury? NASA Probe Close to Proof, Teams Say
December 14, 2011
Move over, Mars: Evidence is mounting that water exists on the solar system's innermost planet, Mercury, astronomers say.
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Hints of Higgs Boson Seen at LHC—Proof by Next Summer?
December 13, 2011
Data from a European atom smasher could be closing in on the "God particle"—and one expert thinks we'll know if the Higgs exists by 2012.
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Lunar Eclipse Pictures: See Last Weekend's Red Moon
December 12, 2011
See what you may have missed: the moon going red for Earthlings in the right places at the right times last weekend.
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Geminid Meteor Shower to Peak Tuesday; Visible Despite Moon
December 12, 2011
The annual shower should produce colorful meteors—and maybe fireballs—that'll be visible despite glare from the moon, astronomers say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Sinking Moon, Frosty Leo, More
December 9, 2011
A starlight reserve, a warped moon, record-breaking black holes, and an icy nebula feature among the week's best space pictures.
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4 Ways Your Phone Could Change How You Travel in 2012
December 9, 2011
From augmented reality to a handheld translator, see how the smart phone will become an even more vital traveling companion.
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Solar Storms Are "Sandblasting" the Moon, NASA Study Hints
December 9, 2011
Solar eruptions can strip up to 200 tons of lunar material—but footprints from the moon landing won't erode anytime soon, experts say.
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Pictures: Lunar Eclipse "Preview"—What You'll See Saturday
December 9, 2011
See lunar eclipses that resemble the upcoming moon show—the last total lunar eclipse until 2014.
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Rover Finds "Bulletproof" Evidence of Water on Early Mars
December 8, 2011
A vein of gypsum found by a NASA rover is the "single most powerful piece of evidence" early Mars had liquid water, an expert says.
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Total Lunar Eclipse This Weekend—Last One Until 2014
December 8, 2011
The full moon will be painted red on Saturday during the last total lunar eclipse until 2014. Find out when and where to see it.
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People Can Hallucinate Color at Will
December 7, 2011
People can hallucinate color just with the power of suggestion, a finding that may help those fearful of hypnosis therapy, a new study says.
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Pictures: "Scary" Volcano Erupts in Ecuador
December 7, 2011
Ecuador's "throat of fire" volcano is once again erupting in earnest—so close to people "it's scary," one expert says.
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Lightning Sprites, Elves Caught on Camera
December 7, 2011
Flying above the U.S. Midwest, scientists have made the first 3-D video of mysterious bursts of energy that appear high over thunderstorms.
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Earthlike Planet Found Orbiting at Right Distance for Life
December 5, 2011
The new planet Kepler-22b is the first alien world to be confirmed orbiting in the middle of its star's habitable zone, NASA has announced.
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Beam It Down: A Drive to Launch Space-Based Solar
December 5, 2011
The first demonstration of long-awaited space-based solar power technology could come in the next decade, experts say. Likely early use: Disaster relief energy.
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Space Pictures This Week: Cosmic Pinwheel, Mountain Meteor
December 2, 2011
A Swedish rocket launch, a glowing spiral galaxy, and a meteor streak over Iran feature among the week's best space pictures.
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Best News Pictures of 2011: Your Picks From Nat Geo News
December 2, 2011
Japan's tsunami aftermath, an Area 51 spy plane, and a huge crocodile feature among the most viewed Nat Geo News photo galleries of 2011.
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Voyager Probes Detect "Invisible" Milky Way Glow
December 1, 2011
For the first time, NASA's twin Voyager probes have glimpsed light from our galaxy that's effectively invisible from Earth.
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Best Space Pictures of 2011: Editors' Picks
December 1, 2011
An arcing aurora, a blood-red eclipse, and a warped galaxy feature among Nat Geo News's picks for the best space pictures of the year.
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Japan Quake Lifted Seabed 16 Stories—Largest Recorded
November 30, 2011
The devastating Japanese earthquake in March 2010 caused the largest slip ever recorded, according to a new study.
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NASA Mars Rover Set for Launch This Weekend
November 25, 2011
The huge, "power hungry" robot Curiosity is slated to being its trek to the red planet to search for signs of Mars's ability to host life.
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Space Pictures This Week: Green Flash, Saturn Storm, More
November 25, 2011
An astronaut homecoming, a star called Jabbah, and a rare double flash over the sun feature among the week's best space pictures.
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Why Does Evolution Allow Some People to Taste Words?
November 23, 2011
The neural tangling known as synesthesia may have survived evolution because it offers benefits in creative thinking, a new study hints.
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Pictures: Five "Cursed" Mars Missions
November 23, 2011
The Mars curse has claimed roughly two thirds of all human attempts to reach the red planet—will NASA's Curiosity rover be next?
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Pictures: Amazing Transportation Inventions
November 23, 2011
Jet packs, magnetic levitation, magic buses: Some amazing transportation ideas are truly fiction, while others could propel us in smart new ways.
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Louis Daguerre: Pictures Illuminate Google's Man of the Day
November 18, 2011
Go behind the lens of Louis Daguerre—honored today, his 224th birthday, with a Google doodle.
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Space Pictures This Week: Pink Nebula, Moon Map, More
November 18, 2011
See an hourglass-shaped nebula, a space "garbage truck," and an "amazing" new map of the moon—among this week's best space pictures.
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Giant, Dinosaur-Age Islands Found in Deep Sea?
November 18, 2011
Together the size of West Virginia, pieces of an ancient continent from dinosaur times may have been found underwater, scientists say.
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Pictures: Giant Walls of Plasma Seen on Sun
November 17, 2011
Eight Earths tall and looking like giant walls of fire, loops of plasma have recently been spotted by sun observers worldwide.
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"Great Lakes" Discovered on Jupiter Moon?
November 16, 2011
Hidden inside the icy crust of Jupiter's moon Europa may be a Great Lakes-size body of water, NASA announced today.
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Photos: 65-Story Eruption Spurs Explosive New Adventure
November 16, 2011
New, 65-story lava fountains are a big draw in the Congo. But travel at your own risk, officials say—despite the armed guards.
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Antarctica's "Ghost" Mountains Explained
November 16, 2011
Stuck in a "deep freeze" for millennia, a mysterious mountain range deep under the Antarctic ice is finally coming to light.
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Sky Show Thursday: Leonid Meteor Shower to Peak
November 15, 2011
Peaking this week, the 2011 Leonids may be easy to locate but hard to see, thanks in both cases to a bright moon.
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Space Pictures This Week: Mars Volcano, Eagle Nebula, More
November 11, 2011
A "broken" Mars volcano, a Mercury crater full of hollows, and a neighboring star cluster feature among this week's best space pictures.
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Giant Sunspot Now Aimed Directly at Earth
November 10, 2011
An active region on the sun wider than Jupiter is pointed at our planet, carrying potential for intense aurorae and damaging radiation.
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Can Russia's Stuck Mars Spacecraft Be Saved?
November 9, 2011
A failed star sensor is the most likely reason the Phobos-Grunt probe is now stuck in Earth's orbit, mission managers say.
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Russia Launches Mission to Mars Moon; Probe to Send Back Dust
November 8, 2011
After 20 failed missions to Mars and no attempts since 1996, Russia has successfully launched the Phobos-Grunt sample-return spacecraft.
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Giant Asteroid to Buzz Earth Tuesday; When and How to See It
November 7, 2011
As big as an aircraft carrier, 2005 YU55 will pass inside the moon's orbit, the first asteroid this size to get so close since 1976.
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New Meteor Pictures: Orionids Light Up Aurora and More
November 4, 2011
See shots of the falling pieces of Halley's comet that streaked through starry skies, and even auroras, in late October.
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Pictures: Mock Mars Mission "Returns" to Earth
November 4, 2011
After 520 days of isolation, the crew of the Mars500 mission has "returned" to Earth. See what the six men got up to during the trip.
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Meteor Shower to Peak This Weekend—Fireballs Expected
November 4, 2011
Get ready for a Taurid affair: The meteor shower, peaking this weekend, is known for producing spectacular fireballs.
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Space Pictures This Week: Gamma-Ray Burst, Chile Volcano, More
November 4, 2011
The space station gets a delayed delivery, a brilliant explosion lights up the early universe, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Nigeria’s Solar Projects Yield Both Failure and Success
November 2, 2011
Solar power offers hope to villages that lack electricity, but Nigeria’s experience shows that it won’t work without adequate investment and care.
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Uranus Has a Bright New Spot, Picture Shows
November 2, 2011
In a surprise to astronomers, Uranus recently presented onlookers with a bright new spot on its northern hemisphere.
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Planets Being Pulverized Near Giant Black Holes?
November 1, 2011
Planets and asteroids could be colliding close to supermassive black holes, generating dust clouds that have long puzzled astronomers.
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Space Pictures This Week: Red Auroras, Mars Avalanche
October 28, 2011
A mysterious "guest star," southern auroras, and a toothy nebula feature among this week's best space pictures.
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KPMG Captures Heat for Data Center Cooling
October 28, 2011
An innovative combined heat and power system at KPMG’s international headquarters in New Jersey could be a model for cutting data center energy waste.
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Halloween Pictures: Ten Spooky Objects in Outer Space
October 27, 2011
A hellish planet, cannibal black holes, and zombie stars are among the top ten scary space objects, as chosen by Nat Geo editors.
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Pluto's "Twin" Has Frozen Atmosphere
October 26, 2011
The dwarf planet Eris is not only close to Pluto in size, it also appears to have a frozen version of Pluto's atmosphere, new data hint.
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Aurora Pictures: Rare Northern Lights Seen in U.S. South
October 25, 2011
In a rare treat for sky-watchers, an intense geomagnetic storm Monday spawned blood-red auroras as far south as Georgia.
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Youngest Planet Picture: Gas Giant Seen in Throes of Creation
October 21, 2011
A new picture of a Jupiter-like world is a direct image of what may be the youngest planet yet seen, astronomers say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Baby Planets, "Magic" Mirrors, More
October 21, 2011
Hints of planets being born, reflections of swirling stars, and a massive comet storm feature among the best space pictures this week.
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Pictures: NASA Lands on Underwater "Asteroid"
October 20, 2011
At an underwater laboratory in the Florida Keys, the NEEMO 15 mission will test ways humans might one day visit asteroids.
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Orionid Meteor Shower to Peak This Weekend
October 20, 2011
Although the meteors may be modest, the Orionid shower has a claim to fame: The sky show is the product of Halley's comet.
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Another Dead Satellite to Fall to Earth This Weekend
October 19, 2011
The European ROSAT orbiter is slated to make an uncontrolled reentry this Saturday or Sunday, prompting a few worries—and even a wake.
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Space Pictures This Week: Pulsing Crab, Moon Halo, More
October 14, 2011
Gamma-ray pulses from a nebula, a ring around the moon, and newfound "failed" stars feature among this week's best space pictures.
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Weird Form of Carbon Acts as "Reversible" Diamond—A First
October 13, 2011
A strange form of glassy carbon can go from soft to diamond-hard and back again, depending on the pressure, a new study shows.
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Picture: Asteroid Has Mountain Three Times as Tall as Everest
October 12, 2011
The asteroid Vesta hosts a peak that's three times as tall as Mount Everest, seen in a new picture from a NASA spacecraft.
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Illinois Team Wins Oil Spill Cleanup X CHALLENGE
October 11, 2011
With a more than threefold improvement in oil spill cleanup technology, Team Elastec of Carmi, Illinois, captures the $1 million top prize in the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE.
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Uranus Got Knocked Over by One-Two Punch
October 7, 2011
The planet Uranus got knocked on its side not by a single, massive blow but by two powerful impacts, new computer simulations hint.
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Space Pictures This Week: Mars Landing, Solar Flare, More
October 7, 2011
Colliding galaxies, a planned Martian touchdown, and a star with "hidden" planets feature among this week's best space pictures.
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Seven Supernovae Found in Single Galaxy—A First
October 6, 2011
In a galaxy 250 million light-years from Earth, astronomers have spotted a record-breaking number of supernovae found at the same time.
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Pictures: X PRIZE Contest Seeks a Better Oil Spill Cleanup Solution
October 6, 2011
Ten teams deployed new skimmer designs in the $1.4 million Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE. Will the contest yield better protection for shores and seas?
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Meteor Shower This Weekend: Space Station at Risk?
October 6, 2011
This year, the Draconids could see peak rates of 600 meteors an hour, posing possible risks to the space station and other satellites.
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Photos: Life-Changing Nobel Chemistry Breakthroughs
October 5, 2011
Quasicrystals today joined scores of Nobel prize-winning chemistry advances that have changed how we live—from radiology to neon signs.
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What Created Earth's Oceans? Comet Offers New Clue
October 5, 2011
The group of comets that delivered water to early Earth likely came from Pluto's home, the Kuiper belt, a new study says.
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Pictures: Saturn Moon Coated in Fresh Powder
October 4, 2011
The ice geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus coat the surface in "the finest powder a skier could hope for," scientists say.
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Physics Nobel Explainer: Why Is Expanding Universe Accelerating?
October 4, 2011
The prize-winning discovery of universal acceleration still has many experts trying to solve "the most profound problem" in modern physics.
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Picture: New ALMA Telescope Peers Into Galaxy Smashup
October 3, 2011
A psychedelic view of the Antennae Galaxies is the first release from a new telescope array being built high in Chile's Atacama Desert.
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New Aurora Pictures: "Severe" Sun Storm Brightens Skies
September 30, 2011
A huge solar storm this week sparked auroras around the globe, including some unusually colorful displays.
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Space Pictures This Week: Star Gems, Galaxy Bubbles, Fogbow
September 30, 2011
A glittering nebula, auroras from above, a fogbow at sea, and a strange super-Earth feature among this week's best space pictures.
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Ig Nobel Prizes Honor Wasabi Alarm, Odd Beetle Sex, More
September 30, 2011
Wasabi as a wake-up call, beetles that mistook bottles for mates, and failed doomsday prophets were among this year's research honorees.
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Storage, Biofuel Lead $156 Million in Energy Research Grants
September 30, 2011
Seeking to push high-risk energy research, the U.S. government gives a boost to heat storage, rare earth metal, and biofuel technology projects.
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Mercury "Hollows" Found—Pits May Be Solar System First
September 29, 2011
The planet Mercury is dotted with holes that appear to be unlike anything else yet seen in the solar system, new NASA pictures show.
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Pictures: Solar Decathlon Students Race to Renew Home Energy
September 26, 2011
Twenty college teams are competing in the U.S. government’s fifth Solar Decathlon contest to design and build affordable, appealing, and livable homes that run on energy from the sun.
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"Dark" Supermoon Tomorrow: New Moon Gets Closest to Earth
September 26, 2011
The new moon will make a close approach to Earth Tuesday, giving rise to a nearly invisible "supermoon," astronomers say.
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NASA Satellite Debris Likely Fell in Ocean, May Never Be Found
September 24, 2011
The UARS satellite most likely splashed harmlessly into the Pacific Ocean, and its final resting place may never be known, NASA says.
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NASA Satellite Falls to Earth, But Debris Location Still a Mystery
September 24, 2011
The doomed UARS satellite plummeted out of orbit over the Pacific Ocean, but no one yet knows where debris may have landed, NASA says.
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Particles Moved Faster Than Speed of Light?
September 23, 2011
A claim that neutrinos traveled faster than light would be revolutionary if true, but "I would bet against it," physicist says.
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Space Pictures This Week: Sun Halo, Galaxy Swarm, More
September 22, 2011
Astronauts come home, colorful rings encircle the sun, galaxies gather like fireflies, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Autumnal Equinox 2011: Sky Show Caps First Day of Fall
September 22, 2011
Stars and planets are lining up for the change of seasons during the Northern Hemisphere's autumnal equinox this year.
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NASA Satellite Falling Faster Due to Solar Activity
September 21, 2011
The six-ton UARS spacecraft is due to crash-land on Friday—sooner than anticipated, due to increased solar radiation, experts say.
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Solar Megastorm Could Cripple Satellites for a Decade
September 20, 2011
Earth-orbiting satellites may take a hit if the sun unleashes a megastorm, scientists warn.
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Space Pictures This Week: Saturn Quintet, Star Blob, More
September 16, 2011
A Saturnian "group portrait," a cosmic lagoon, and a sparkling cluster of stars feature among the week's best space pictures.
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Pictures: NASA's New Rocket—And 4 "Lost Launchers"
September 15, 2011
NASA's new rocket design for sending humans into space comes from a lineage of rockets that have been drastically redesigned or abandoned.
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New Saturn-Like Planet Has Two Suns, NASA Says
September 15, 2011
Like the <em>Star Wars</em> world Tatooine, a Saturn-like planet 200 light-years away orbits two stars, NASA announced today.
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New Aurora Pictures: Sun Storms Trigger Sky Shows
September 14, 2011
A series of sun eruptions triggered northern lights this weekend—as far south as Minnesota, Vermont, and Washington State.
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Colossal Storm May Rage on Jupiter-like "Failed Star"
September 13, 2011
A colossal tempest even bigger than Jupiter's Great Red Spot appears to be raging on a cool brown dwarf, astronomers say.
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Fifty Exoplanets Found—Largest Haul Yet
September 12, 2011
The largest new planet haul yet announced at one time includes 16 Earthlike planets—one of which is potentially habitable, astronomers say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Hidden Aurora, Mars Devil, More
September 12, 2011
Northern lights tint the clouds, an icy moon hangs out, a dust devil towers on Mars, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Pictures: Best Astronomy Photos of 2011 Named
September 9, 2011
A sharp Jupiter, brilliant auroras, and a moon "hunt" are among the winners of the 2011 Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest.
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Space Debris: Five Unexpected Objects That Fell to Earth
September 9, 2011
As NASA eyes a 6.5-ton satellite due to fall from orbit, get a roundup of notable objects that previously made it back to Earth.
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Saturn Moon Has Thin Atmosphere, Astronomers Discover
September 9, 2011
Magnetic "fingerprints" reveal that the icy body Dione has an atmosphere—and it's possibly made of oxygen, a new study says.
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9/11: Six Tech Advances to Prevent Future Attacks
September 7, 2011
Remote-control airliners and "dazzlers" are among proposed tech to tackle airline terrorism—because "someone will attack airplanes again."
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Meteors Delivered Gold to Baby Earth, New Study Hints
September 7, 2011
New clues from some of the world's oldest rocks support the notion that space rocks carried precious metals to our planet, scientists say.
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See-Through Mouse Brains Created; May Aid Medical Scans
September 2, 2011
A new chemical may soon allow scientists to see exactly what's on your mind—because the substance turns brain tissue totally transparent.
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Space Pictures This Week: Sun Halo, Saturn Crater, More
September 2, 2011
Star jets in Orion, a ring around the sun, a black hole pair, and a "titanic" crater feature among the week's best space pictures.
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Pictures: "Walking" Fish a Model of Evolution in Action
September 1, 2011
The first close look at the Pacific leaping blenny may offer clues to how ancient fish first made the transition to land, a new study says.
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Pictures We Love: Best of August
September 1, 2011
See National Geographic photo editors' favorite news pictures of the month—an invisible man, sardine "storm," Swiss daredevil, and more.
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New Hubble Videos Show Star Jets in Action—A First
August 31, 2011
Vivid new time-lapse Hubble movies reveal the behavior of stellar jets—many times wider than our solar system—in unprecedented detail.
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Pictures: New Views of Saturn's "Sponge" Moon Hyperion
August 31, 2011
New pictures from a recent flyby of Hyperion may help scientists decipher the body's oddly cratered surface and "tumbling" rotation.
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Dark Matter Is an Illusion, New Antigravity Theory Says
August 31, 2011
The mysterious substance may not be needed, according to a new theory of gravitational interactions between matter and antimatter.
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New Planet May Be Among Most Earthlike—Weather Permitting
August 30, 2011
An alien world 36 light-years away may be one of the most Earthlike known—if it has enough clouds, a new study predicts.
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Blackbeard's Ship Confirmed off North Carolina
August 29, 2011
A shipwreck off the North Carolina coast is definitely that of the infamous 18th-century pirate Blackbeard, state officials say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Mars Pit, Warped Galaxy, More
August 25, 2011
NASA probes a Martian ''skylight,'' a galaxy gets bent, a meteor falls on the Andes, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Huge Asteroid Impact Formed "Rubble Pile" Space Rock
August 25, 2011
A Frankenstein's monster, the asteroid Itokawa is made from parts of a space rock that broke up in a cataclysmic impact, a new study says.
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Space Station Crew Not Stranded, Despite Russian Crash
August 24, 2011
Despite the accident, the space station crew has ways home and could live for up to a year with no deliveries, officials say.
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"Diamond" Planet Found; May Be Stripped Star
August 24, 2011
The planet—most likely made of carbon crystals—is a former star that got transformed by its orbital partner, a new study says.
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Oldest Antarctic "Sea Monster" Found
August 24, 2011
The Loch Ness monster-like creature swam warm Antarctic seas 85 million years ago, a new study says.
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Should Pluto Be a Planet? New Finds Drive Debate
August 23, 2011
Discoveries made since the 2006 ruling have astronomers divided over whether the definition of a planet passes scientific muster.
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Hurricane Irene Headed for U.S. East Coast
August 23, 2011
A strengthening Hurricane Irene could make landfall on the North Carolina coast this weekend as a major hurricane, experts say.
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New Drug Cures Multiple Viruses in Human Cells
August 22, 2011
A new drug that works with the body's natural defenses can kill off many kinds of viruses, including the common cold.
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Space Pictures This Week: Shuttle Swap, Hubble's Jewels
August 18, 2011
Space shuttles trade places, Hubble shows a cosmic gem, a crater gets its day in the sun, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Sunspots Can Now Be Predicted Days in Advance
August 18, 2011
A new technique using sound waves can "see" the spots rising inside the sun, possibly improving forecasts of solar storms, scientists say.
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Why Giant Space Blob Is Glowing—Mystery Solved?
August 17, 2011
Like fireflies in a mason jar, galaxies inside a huge cloud of gas make the distant object shine brightly, a new study says.
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Perseid Pictures: Meteor Shower Seen From Space, Earth
August 15, 2011
The Perseid meteor shower has put on a show for stargazers in space and on Earth—and there's still time to catch a few shooting stars.
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Darkest Planet Found: Coal-Black, It Reflects Almost No Light
August 12, 2011
It may be hard to imagine a planet blacker than coal, but astronomers say they've found one—and it reflects almost no light.
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Texas and Antarctica Were Attached, Rocks Hint
August 12, 2011
About 1.1 billion years ago, what are now El Paso, Texas, and Antarctica appear to have existed side by side, scientists say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Mars Rover, Galaxy Smashup, More
August 11, 2011
Galaxies "punctuate" the cosmos, the sun shoots a huge flare, a Mars rover reaches its target, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Perseid Meteor Shower to Peak This Weekend
August 11, 2011
If you know when and where to look, this year's Perseid meteor shower can still be a crowd pleaser despite glare from the full moon.
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Three New "Plutos"? Possible Dwarf Planets Found
August 11, 2011
Relatively bright space rocks found in Pluto's neighborhood may be new members of the dwarf planet family, astronomers say.
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Photos: Multicolored Auroras Sparked by Double Sun Blast
August 10, 2011
Sparked by two blasts of charged particles from the sun, last weekend's northern lights amounted to "the most brilliant display in years."
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New Meteor Shower Discovered; May Uncover New Comet
August 10, 2011
They won't rival the upcoming Perseids, but the February Eta Draconids may help us find a potential danger to Earth, scientists say.
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Antimatter Found Orbiting Earth—A First
August 10, 2011
For the first time, antiprotons have been found in Earth's magnetic field, offering a rare chance to study the particles outside the lab.
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Other Universes Finally Detectable?
August 9, 2011
A new method for detecting bruises from collisions with other cosmoses could "forever change how we view our own universe," experts say.
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Mutated DNA Causes No-Fingerprint Disease
August 9, 2011
A genetic mutation causes a very rare few to be born without fingerprints, a new study says.
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Space Station to Fall to Earth—Find Out How and Where
August 8, 2011
While reports of its demise in 2020 were somewhat exaggerated, the International Space Station will have a watery end one day, experts say.
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How Planets Can Survive a Supernova
August 5, 2011
Putting a twist on fundamental physics, a new study predicts what happens to planets when a star explodes.
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NASA's Juno Spacecraft Headed to Jupiter Friday
August 4, 2011
The Juno spacecraft is about to launch toward the gas giant planet, where it will study Jupiter's climate, auroras, and deep interior.
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Space Pictures This Week: Star Valley, Sun Waves, More
August 4, 2011
The moon skims Earth, towering jets sway on the sun, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Japan Earthquake Vibrations Nearly Reached Space
August 3, 2011
The Japan earthquake and tsunami were so strong that their vibrations made it to Earth's upper atmosphere, a new study says.
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Earth Had Two Moons, New Model Suggests
August 3, 2011
Our moon once had a smaller companion, but it was destroyed in a slow-motion collision that left one side of the lunar orb lumpy, scientists say.
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Trojan Asteroid Found Sharing Earth's Orbit—A First
July 28, 2011
A tiny space rock that's partially tethered to Earth by a gravitational leash is our planet's first known Trojan asteroid, astronomers say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Superbubble, Kinky Galaxy, More
July 28, 2011
Stars blow a huge bubble in space, the space shuttle seems to drop from the sky, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Drug Could Make Aging Brains More Youthful?
July 28, 2011
You can't teach an old brain new tricks—but you can restore its ability to remember old ones, a new monkey study suggests.
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Bats Drawn to Plant via "Echo Beacon"
July 28, 2011
A Cuban plant that depends on bat pollination evolved a special leaf that acts as an "amp" for bats' sonar, new research says.
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Ancient Sacrificer Found With Blades in Peru Tomb?
July 27, 2011
With ceremonial knives at his side, an elite 14th-century executioner has been uncovered in a Peruvian tomb, archeologists suggest.
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"Soccer Ball" Nebula Discovered by Amateur Astronomer
July 26, 2011
Found by an amateur astronomer, the sporty stellar remnant may shed light on how so-called planetary nebulae form, scientists say.
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Black Hole Hosts Universe's Most Massive Water Cloud
July 26, 2011
A black hole 12 billion light-years away hosts a cloud of water that's 40 billion times Earth's mass, astronomers say.
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"Spectacular" Double Meteor Shower This Week
July 25, 2011
A celestial traffic jam may be on tap Friday as two meteor showers combine forces to put on a brilliant sky show.
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Heat Wave Due to "Exceptionally Strong" Air Mass
July 22, 2011
A stubborn high-pressure system is causing sweltering temperatures in much of the U.S—and there's no relief in sight, experts say.
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Space Shuttle Pictures: Final Flight of Atlantis
July 21, 2011
From launch to landing, see some of the key moments from the final mission of <em>Atlantis</em>, the last U.S. space shuttle to fly into orbit.
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Neighboring Galaxy Caught With Stolen Stars
July 20, 2011
A large galaxy spirited away hundreds of stars from its neighbor about 1.2 billion years ago, new stellar sleuthing reveals.
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The Most Unforgettable Space Shuttle Pictures
July 20, 2011
See the shots chosen by National Geographic photo editors as the most memorable pictures from the entire U.S. space shuttle program.
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New Moon Discovered Orbiting Pluto
July 20, 2011
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has found a fourth moon around the dwarf planet, and a spacecraft is already on its way to help investigate.
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Longest Polar Bear Swim Recorded—426 Miles Straight
July 20, 2011
A polar bear has swam a record nine days straight, covering the distance between Washington, D.C., and Boston, a new study says.
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"Death Dance" Stars Found—May Help Prove Einstein Right
July 19, 2011
Before they collide in nearly a million years, two newfound stars may offer insight into supernovae and Einstein's gravity.
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Cocaine Addiction Uses Same Brain Paths as Salt Cravings
July 19, 2011
Drugs such as heroin and cocaine may owe some of their addictive powers to an ancient instinct—our appetite for salt.
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Space Shuttle Pictures: Rare Behind-the-Scenes Views
July 18, 2011
A photojournalist with unique access shares visions of the people and places behind the scenes at the final U.S. space shuttle launches.
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Snails Survive Being Eaten by Birds—A Mystery
July 18, 2011
Tiny snails can travel through a bird's digestive tract and mysteriously emerge perfectly healthy, a new study says.
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NASA's Dawn Spacecraft to Reach Asteroid This Weekend
July 14, 2011
The Dawn spacecraft will settle into orbit around the asteroid Vesta this weekend, kicking off a year-long survey of the space rock.
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Giant Undersea Volcanoes Found Off Antarctica
July 14, 2011
Large undersea volcanoes off Antarctica—some Mount Fuji-size—were recently discovered via sonar, scientists say.
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Rainbow Toad Rediscovered, Photographed for First Time
July 14, 2011
After 87 years, an "extinct," toxic toad has been rediscovered in the jungles of Southeast Asia.
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Space Pictures This Week: Last Spacewalk, Saturn Storm, More
July 14, 2011
Astronauts take a milestone walk in space, a storm wraps around Saturn, and more in the best space pictures this week.
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"Dark Fireworks" Seen on Sun—Blast as Big as Ten Earths
July 14, 2011
New videos of a solar flare as big as ten Earths show strange plasma blobs in the sharpest detail yet.
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Neptune Discovered a Year Ago Today*
July 12, 2011
It's been one Neptunian year—or about 165 Earth years—since astronomers first observed the most distant planet from the sun.
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Space-Time Cloak Possible, Could Make Events Disappear?
July 11, 2011
It's no illusion: Science has found a way to make not just objects but entire events disappear, experts say.
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Afghanistan Bright Spot: Wildlife Thriving in War Zones
July 11, 2011
Surprisingly, Afghanistan's bears, wolves, and big cats have survived decades of war—but they're not out of the woods yet, conservationists say.
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Space Shuttle Pictures: NASA's Last Launch a Success
July 8, 2011
See <em>Atlantis</em>'s Friday launch—the final time a NASA space shuttle will rocket to the International Space Station, or anywhere else.
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After Space Shuttle, Does U.S. Have a Future in Space?
July 8, 2011
With the final space shuttle mission underway, NASA is under pressure to unveil the next innovation in U.S. spaceflight.
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Watch Final Shuttle Launch: Replay of Atlantis Liftoff
July 8, 2011
See NASA video of today's launch of the space shuttle Atlantis—the final shuttle launch in the program's 30-year history.
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Space Pictures This Week: Shuttle, Strange Clouds, More
July 7, 2011
"Night shining" clouds creep southward, a space shuttle shuts down, a storm circles Saturn, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Last Chance to See Orbiting Shuttle With Naked Eyes
July 7, 2011
Can't make it to the final shuttle launch? You may still be able to see the iconic spacecraft fly above your backyard—find out how.
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Earth Has "Spare Tire"—And Ice Melt's Keeping It That Way
July 6, 2011
Our oblong planet's waistline bulge has stopped slimming, thanks to massive ice melt, according to new research.
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Shuttle Astronaut's Four Most Extraordinary Moments
July 6, 2011
From an embarrassing spill to a stranding, U.S. astronaut David Wolf has had some unforgettable experiences, thanks to the shuttle program.
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Star Caught Eating Another Star, X-Ray Flare Shows
July 5, 2011
A tiny cannibal has been caught in the act, thanks to a superbright flash of x-rays recently spied by cosmic hunters.
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Space Pictures This Week: Lunar Sunrise, Saturn Slice, More
July 1, 2011
The most distant quasar yet, a sunrise over a lunar crater, and a pair of starry "eyes" feature among this week's best space pictures.
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Earth Farthest From Sun on Fourth of July—So Why So Hot?
June 30, 2011
Earth will be at its maximum distance from the sun Monday—but Northern Hemisphere dwellers shouldn't expect relief from the summer heat.
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Secrets of Giant Cloud Holes Revealed
June 30, 2011
Mysterious cloud formations made by aircraft may owe their huge sizes to a little bit of heat, a new study suggests.
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Space Shuttle's Final Days
June 30, 2011
As NASA's space shuttle program nears its last mission, see some of the final "firsts" made aboard this icon of U.S. spaceflight. Video.
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Asteroid Just Buzzed Earth—Came Closer Than the Moon
June 27, 2011
The school bus-size space rock could have made a "decent-size crater" if it had been on a collision course, an expert says.
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Space Pictures This Week: Lunar Eclipse, Sun Spurts, More
June 23, 2011
The moons rests in the Milky Way, opals shine on Mars, a black hole spits gamma rays, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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How Gulf Spill Estimates Got It So Wrong
June 23, 2011
How much oil spilled into the Gulf last year? An engineer explains how he caused estimates to rise sharply practically overnight. Video.
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New Comet Found; May Be Visible From Earth in 2013
June 22, 2011
There's a newfound comet closing in on the sun, and when it gets here in 2013, you may be able to see it with your naked eye, experts say.
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Pluto to Make a Star "Wink Out" Twice This Week
June 22, 2011
The dwarf planet and its moons will pass in front of bright stars twice this week, and astronomers are moving out to catch the rare events.
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Oldest Art in Americas Found on Mammoth Bone
June 22, 2011
The Americas' oldest known artist has been confirmed as an Ice Age hunter in what is now Florida, according to a new study.
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Summer Solstice 2011: Why It's the First Day of Summer
June 21, 2011
Find out why the summer solstice is the first day of summer, and why it's the longest day of the year—but not the hottest.
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Garbage-Filled Spaceship to Fall to Earth Tuesday
June 20, 2011
Filled with waste from the International Space Station, the unmanned Johannes Kepler spacecraft will soon disintegrate over the Pacific.
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Space Pictures This Week: Galaxy Tendrils, Star Glob
June 16, 2011
Hubble sees a cosmic briar patch, a supernova shows its age, volcanic ash spews over Chile, and more in this week's best space pictures.
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Black Hole Caught Eating a Star, Gamma-Ray Flash Hints
June 16, 2011
A huge "belch" of radiation from a supermassive black hole indicates that the cosmic monster recently devoured a star, scientists say.
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Lunar Eclipse Pictures: See Wednesday's Red Moon Rising
June 15, 2011
See pictures of the June 15 total lunar eclipse—the longest in a decade—which turned the moon blood red for almost two hours.
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Giant Black Holes Found at Dawn of the Universe
June 15, 2011
Long gazes into deep space have turned up signs of supermassive black holes at the hearts of the universe's first galaxies, scientists say.
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Lunar Eclipse NOW—Watch Live Video of Longest in Decade
June 15, 2011
Out of the lunar eclipse-viewing area? Watch a live video feed, courtesy of Google—and get the facts behind the "rare event."
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Sun Headed Into Hibernation, Solar Studies Predict
June 14, 2011
When the current solar cycle wraps up, the sun is going to take a breather, according to a suite of studies forecasting a solar lull.
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"Rare" Lunar Eclipse Wednesday—Longest in a Decade
June 14, 2011
Will you be able to see the longest, deepest total lunar eclipse in more than a decade? Get the facts behind the "rare event."
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Star Found Shooting Water "Bullets"
June 13, 2011
Firing epic quantities of water at Superman speeds—faster than a speeding bullet—a young star may be helping other stars to grow.
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Pictures: Nat Geo Picks of the Week
June 10, 2011
See National Geographic photo editors' favorite news pictures of the week, including a cross-eyed opossum, an epic ashfall, and more.
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Highest Flying Bird Found; Can Scale Himalaya
June 10, 2011
The bar-headed goose can flap to heights of 21,120 feet on its migration over the Himalaya, a new study finds.
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Space Pictures This Week: Solar Flare, Green Aurora
June 10, 2011
The sun erupts, a green aurora glows, and a partial solar eclipse shines over Norway in this week's best space pictures.
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Frothy Magnetic-Bubble Sea Found at Solar System's Edge
June 9, 2011
Long seen as a shield, the edge of our solar system may really be a sea of magnetic "bubbles" that lets in dangerous rays, NASA says.
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"Vampire" Stars Found in Heart of Our Galaxy—A First
June 9, 2011
Cannibals that drain life from other stars have been discovered for the first time in the heart of our galaxy, new research shows.
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Rare Video: Japan Tsunami
June 8, 2011
The March 11 earthquake and tsunami left more than 28,000 dead or missing. See incredible footage of the tsunami swamping cities and turning buildings into rubble. Video.
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Pictures: Homemade Personal Spacecraft Lifts Off
June 8, 2011
Private spaceflight took one giant step forward Friday, when the homemade, one-person <em>Tycho Brahe</em> spacecraft lifted off in Denmark.
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New Type of Exploding Supernova Found—Brightest Yet
June 8, 2011
The new, superbright class of exploding supernovae may cast a radioactive glow, astronomers announced this week.
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Solar Flare Sparks Biggest Eruption Ever Seen on Sun
June 8, 2011
A sun storm has shot perhaps the largest amount of particles into space ever recorded, scientists say.
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Coelacanths Can Live Past 100, Don't Show Age?
June 7, 2011
An ancient lineage of fish also have long life-spans, a new study suggests.
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Space Pictures This Week: Crystal "Rain," Shuttle Finale
June 6, 2011
The shuttle <em>Endeavour</em> retires, green crystal "rain" douses a star, and plasma gets tugged by the sun in this week's best space pictures.
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World's Fastest Bird? Chubby Snipe Snaps Nonstop Record
June 6, 2011
An unlikely speed demon, the rotund great snipe has completed the animal world's fastest long-distance, nonstop flight, a new study says.
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Spiders Evolved Spare Legs
June 2, 2011
Scientists may have uncovered why spiders are so creepy-crawly—they have more legs than they actually need, a new study says.
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Solar Eclipse Pictures: See Last Night's Midnight Madness
June 2, 2011
A solar eclipse at night? See the rare sky show enjoyed by high-north stargazers last night.
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New "Devil Worm" Is Deepest-Living Animal
June 1, 2011
Found miles under the Earth, a newfound worm species is the deepest-dwelling animal yet discovered, a new study says.
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Pictures: Space Shuttle Endeavour's Final Mission
June 1, 2011
See pictures of space shuttle <em>Endeavour</em>'s final mission, from a cloud-busting launch to the shuttle program's last spacewalk to today's touchdown.
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Solar Eclipse Tonight: Sun to Smile on Arctic
June 1, 2011
That's right, not today—tonight. Viewers in the Arctic land of the midnight sun should see a solar smile hugging the horizon.
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Wormlike Parasite Detected in Ancient Mummies
May 31, 2011
A tiny parasite that plagues people worldwide also infected ancient Africans, new mummy analyses reveal for the first time.
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Space Pictures This Week: Lone Star, Shining Spirit
May 27, 2011
A stellar giant sits alone, astronauts return home, a Mars rover ends its run, and more in our editors' picks of the best new space shots.
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800-Mile-Wide Hot Anomaly Found Under Seafloor Near Hawaii
May 26, 2011
Hawaii's traditional birth story—that the volcanic islands were fueled directly by Earth's core—could be toast, a new study hints.
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Mini Black Holes Zip Through Earth Every Day?
May 25, 2011
One or two primordial black holes smaller than atoms pass unnoticed through the planet each day, according to a new theory.
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NASA Asteroid Mission Set for 2016
May 25, 2011
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has been selected for launch in 2016 and will bring samples of an asteroid back to Earth by 2023, officials said.
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Densest Matter Created in Big-Bang Machine
May 24, 2011
Besides black holes, an exotic form of matter made in the Large Hadron Collider is the densest stuff yet observed, scientists announced.
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Revealed: How Area 51 Hid Secret Craft
May 20, 2011
Veterans of the secret U.S. base reveal how they shielded futuristic prototypes—and jury-rigged low-tech decoys.
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Big Hurricane Season Predicted—Has U.S. Run Out of Luck?
May 19, 2011
Up to six major hurricanes could form in the Atlantic—and the U.S. may not be as lucky this year, forecasters say.
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Giant Saturn Storm Revealed; Wider Than Earth
May 19, 2011
New techniques have uncovered the full ire of a storm so big it completely circles Saturn, a planet nearly ten times bigger than Earth.
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Japan Earthquake Shifted Seafloor by 79 Feet
May 19, 2011
For the first time, scientists have directly measured how an earthquake moves land underwater.
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Space "Egg," Meteorite Yield All-New Minerals
May 18, 2011
Two new minerals that formed at the birth of our solar system have been found inside meteorites, new research shows.
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Alien Planets Outnumber Stars, Study Says
May 18, 2011
No matter how innumerable the stars may seem, there are far more planets lurking out there in the darkness, a new study suggests.
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Species Extinctions Overestimated by 160 Percent?
May 18, 2011
Dire predictions of mass animal and plant die-offs may be overblown, but extinctions are still a critical problem, a new analysis suggests.
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Best Night-Sky Pictures of 2011 Named
May 17, 2011
Star trails, an "alien" lake, and a "rainbow" aurora are among winning visions of the splendor of the night—and effects of light pollution.
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Superhuman Hearing Possible, Experiments Suggest
May 16, 2011
Vibrating the ear bones could create shortcuts for sounds to enter the brain, thus boosting hearing, according to new research.
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Tarantulas Shoot Silk From Feet, Spider-Man Style
May 16, 2011
The big, hairy spiders spin silk from "spigots" in their feet to climb slippery surfaces, scientists have found for the first time.
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Space Shuttle Pictures: 12 Endeavour Images to Remember
May 16, 2011
Now that NASA's <em>Endeavour</em> has launched for the last time, see the space shuttle in a 12-picture retrospective of the craft's career.
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Deep Magma Ocean Fuels Hundreds of Volcanoes on Jupiter Moon
May 12, 2011
The Jupiter moon's record volcanic action is driven by an extensive layer of "slushy" molten rock, a new study says.
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Space Pictures This Week: Hubble Starburst, Sun Magnetism
May 12, 2011
Hubble spies star birth, hot gas hovers over the sun, satellites see fires burn in Georgia, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Space Pictures This Week: Vibrant Lagoon, Mock Mars
May 6, 2011
A nebula swirls with color, a Mars mission gets a trial run, satellites see a Russian eruption, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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New Species of Tiger Stingray Named
May 6, 2011
An orange-black stingray with a tiger-like tail has finally earned its scientific stripes, a new study says.
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Einstein Theories Confirmed by NASA Gravity Probe
May 5, 2011
A NASA spacecraft has done what Einstein himself didn't think possible: measure his predicted effects of Earth's gravity on space and time.
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Photos: Space Suit Evolution Since First NASA Flight
May 5, 2011
See how U.S. space suits have advanced since Alan Shepard made the first U.S. human spaceflight 50 years ago in modified Navy pilot gear.
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Dense, Hot Super-Earth Is "New Class of Planet"
May 4, 2011
While mystery swirls around the exact size of 55 Cancri e, two independent teams agree that it's one of the most exotic planets ever seen.
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Women Can Sniff Out Men Without Knowing—And Vice Versa
May 2, 2011
Sniffing sexual chemicals can trick people into thinking an ambiguous human figure is male or female, a new study says.
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Sea Urchin Body Is One Big Eye
May 2, 2011
Sea urchins may use their entire bodies—from the ends of their "feet" to the tips of their spines—as huge eyes, a new study says.
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NASA Delays Space Shuttle Launch Until Next Week
April 29, 2011
After weathering heavy rains and lightning, the space shuttle Endeavour saw its final flight postponed due to a heater malfunction.
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Space Shuttle Launch to Put Giant Ray Detector in Space
April 29, 2011
NASA's Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer—a $1.5 billion cosmic ray detector—will blast off with Friday's Endeavour shuttle launch.
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Monster Alabama Tornado Spawned by Rare "Perfect Storm"
April 28, 2011
The monster tornado that devastated Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Wednesday was spawned by unusual "perfect storm" conditions, experts say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Shuttle Launch, Green Flash
April 28, 2011
X-rays arc in a supernova, a green flash caps the moon, <em>Endeavour</em> preps for its final flight, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Time Travel Impossible, Mini "Big Bang" Hints
April 27, 2011
A new material that simulates the motion of particles after the big bang shows that time can move in just one direction, physicists say.
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Marijuana Trade Threatens African Gorilla Refuge
April 26, 2011
Forests in Africa's Virunga National Park are literally going to pot—sparking renewed conflicts between rangers and rebels.
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Bacteria Grow Under 400,000 Times Earth's Gravity
April 25, 2011
Some bacteria can even reproduce under the same crushing gravity found on massive stars or in supernova shock waves, a new study says.
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Lyrid Meteor Shower Peaks This Weekend
April 21, 2011
Nature will be putting on a light show this Earth Day, with the peak of the annual Lyrid meteor shower coming on Friday night.
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Space Pictures This Week: Hubble's Rose, Glinting Lagoon
April 21, 2011
Auroras on Saturn and Hubble's birthday rose are among National Geographic editors' picks of the best new space pictures.
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Alien Auroras to Aid Hunt for New Planets?
April 20, 2011
Radio signals from alien auroras may help expand the search for new planets outside the solar system, astronomers suggest.
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China's Electric Car Drive: Impressive, But Not Enough
April 20, 2011
China's electric vehicle program is the world's most ambitious, but a new World Bank report raises questions on sustainability.
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Pluto Has Toxic Carbon Monoxide in Its Atmosphere
April 19, 2011
In addition to being cold and distant, the dwarf planet Pluto has highly toxic carbon monoxide gas in its atmosphere, new data confirms.
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Europe Starting to Dive Under Africa?
April 19, 2011
Colliding tectonic plates along the Algerian and Sicilian coasts are creating a new zone of increased quake and tsunami risks, an expert says.
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Gulf Oil Spill Pictures: Oiled Beaches Time Line
April 19, 2011
See the evolution of Florida and Alabama beaches blackened by the Gulf oil spill, from the first oiling to a spring-break-ready shore.
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Alien Trees Would Bloom Black on Worlds With Double Stars
April 19, 2011
On worlds with two or more stars, plants would evolve to be black, to move locations, and to secrete sunscreen, new simulations suggest.
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Some Arctic Coasts Eroding by a Hundred Feet a Year
April 18, 2011
Arctic permafrost is collapsing into the sea by as much as a hundred feet a year in some places, new studies say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Aurora Sunrise, "Sliced" Moon
April 14, 2011
An aurora lights up Lake Superior, galaxies make a cosmic lens, a tiny moon gets "sliced," and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Yellowstone's Volcanic Plume Even Bigger Than Thought
April 13, 2011
The plume of hot rock feeding Yellowstone's supervolcano is larger than thought, according to a new study of the plume's electric properties.
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Yuri Gagarin: First Human Space Flight in Pictures
April 12, 2011
On the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first orbit, see pictures of the man, his spacecraft, and the global impact of his flight.
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Is Armenia's Nuclear Plant the World's Most Dangerous?
April 12, 2011
Japan's earthquake-triggered crisis has focused attention on the seismic risk to Armenia's aging Soviet-style nuclear plant.
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What Yuri Gagarin Saw on First Space Flight
April 12, 2011
On the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic first orbit, watch video by a modern astronaut that re-creates what Gagarin saw in 1961.
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New Aurora Pictures: Deep-Sky Lights Revealed
April 8, 2011
Sometimes invisible to the naked eye, faint auroras as far south as Wisconsin sprang to life in long-exposure pictures taken last week.
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Space Pictures This Week: Star Jets, Saturn Moons
April 7, 2011
A nebula ''party'' shines in infrared, a star makes twin jets, colors swirl off the French coast, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Solar System's "Nose" Found; Aimed at Constellation Scorpius
April 7, 2011
A NASA craft has uncovered the solar system's "nose," which points in the direction our sun is moving through the Milky Way, a new study says.
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Pictures: 2,500-Year-Old Brain Examined
April 6, 2011
An ancient brain mysteriously preserved in English mud likely belonged to an Iron Age man who was hanged and beheaded, studies show.
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Ancient "Pickled" Brain Mystery Explained?
April 6, 2011
Scientists may have partially cracked how Britain's oldest known brain was preserved in mud for some 2,500 years.
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Space Poison Helped Start Life on Earth?
April 6, 2011
Formaldehyde on asteroids and comets may have helped seed early Earth with complex, carbon-rich molecules, a new study says.
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New Gravity Map Reveals Lumpy Earth
April 5, 2011
The best map yet of Earth's gravity field can help track ocean currents and study the forces behind major earthquakes, experts say.
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Martian-Fog Study Finds Thick Haze, "Diamond Dust"
April 4, 2011
Nights on Mars are shrouded in icy fog that turns to scattered precipitation, laser scans by a NASA spacecraft have revealed.
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Space Pictures This Week: Aurora Orb, Galaxy Dance
March 31, 2011
Auroras ripple over Canada, galaxies tango toward a merger, stars make a ''rose'' bloom, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Robert Bunsen: Breakthroughs Bigger Than the Burner
March 31, 2011
A lab flame fuels Wednesday's Google doodle for Robert Bunsen's 200th birthday. But the chemist did much more than better his burner.
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NASA's First Pictures of Mercury Taken From Orbit
March 30, 2011
After a six-year journey, NASA's MESSENGER has sent back its first pictures from Mercury orbit, showing the hot planet in sharp focus.
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Electric Wand Makes Fire Disappear
March 29, 2011
With a wave of the hand, scientists can now extinguish small fires, and someday firefighters may be able to too—no spells required.
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Alien "Earths" Less Common Than Expected, Study Says
March 29, 2011
Even at two billion per galaxy, Earthlike worlds are scarcer than expected, according to a new estimate based on NASA data.
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Rejection Really Hurts, Brain Scans Show
March 28, 2011
Maybe words can hurt you as much as sticks and stones: Romantic rejection, at least, causes physical pain, a new brain study says.
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Earth Getting Mysteriously Windier
March 28, 2011
The world has gotten stormier over the past two decades—but the reason is a mystery, a new study says.
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Space Pictures This Week: Supernova Stripes, Trojan Moon
March 25, 2011
Satellites spy power outages in Japan, a supernova remnant shows its stripes, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Coldest Star Found—No Hotter Than Fresh Coffee
March 23, 2011
A dim brown dwarf found 75 light-years away has a surface no hotter than a freshly brewed cup of coffee, astronomers say.
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Supermoon Pictures: Best Shots of Biggest Full Moon
March 21, 2011
See our favorite supermoon shots by National Geographic fans and seasoned photographers, who took a shine to the biggest full moon in years.
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First Day of Spring: Myths, Facts, and Equinox Science
March 21, 2011
Were day and night equally long on Sunday, the 2011 vernal equinox (or spring equinox)? Get the answer—and other first-day-of-spring facts and oddities.
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Space Pictures This Week: Stormy Sun, Oldest Galaxies
March 19, 2011
See the "stunning" Tarantula Nebula, before-and-after pictures of the Japan earthquake, and "surreal" star births in this week's best space photos.
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NASA Probe Successfully Orbiting Mercury—A First
March 17, 2011
After more than six years and several million miles, NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft is now in orbit around the tiny planet Mercury.
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"Supermoon": Biggest Full Moon in 18 Years Saturday
March 17, 2011
The moon will make its closest approach to Earth in 18 years—making the so-called supermoon the biggest full moon in years.
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Spring Rains Darken Saturn's Moon Titan
March 17, 2011
They probably won't bring May flowers, but April showers of methane do fall on Saturn's largest moon, according to a new study.
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Japan Tsunami, Before & After: Zoomable Satellite Images
March 15, 2011
See satellite zoom pictures of Japan before and after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake spawned a deadly tsunami.
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Why Transylvanian Chickens Have Naked Necks
March 15, 2011
Scientists have cracked why the Transylvanian naked neck chicken has a featherless neck—and it isn't to give vampires easier access.
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Japan Earthquake Shortened Days, Increased Earth's Wobble
March 15, 2011
The magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan last Friday was powerful enough to shorten Earth's day by 1.8 microseconds, scientists say.
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Japan Earthquake Not the "Big One"?
March 14, 2011
Though Friday's earthquake was the largest in Japanese history, it struck far from where experts had predicted the "big one," experts say.
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Space Pictures This Week: "Runaway" Star, Shuttle Flyby
March 11, 2011
A French island becomes a world awash in stars, <em>Discovery</em> streaks over Earth for the last time, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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"Sleeping" Volcanoes Can Wake Up Faster Than Thought
March 10, 2011
Dormant volcanoes can stir to life in mere days instead of hundreds of years, according to a new volcano model.
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Earth-Size "Lone Wolf" Planets May Host Life
March 9, 2011
Rocky planets ejected from their star systems may still have enough internal heat to support liquid water—and thus life, a new study says.
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"First Skyscraper" Built to Fight Solstice Shadow?
March 9, 2011
Built below the mountain where Satan is said to have tempted Christ, the Tower of Jericho may shielded against the peak's solstice shadow.
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Space Shuttle Discovery: Final Flight in Pictures
March 9, 2011
As the space shuttle <em>Discovery</em> lands for the last time, see highlights from the final historic mission of NASA's "workhorse" orbiter.
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Pictures: Discovery Launch Seen via Miles-High Balloon
March 9, 2011
Built with student aid, a helium balloon loaded with cell phones and cameras captured the shuttle's liftoff from high above Earth.
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Huge Impact Crater Found in Remote Congo
March 7, 2011
A circular depression deep in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been confirmed as the first known impact crater in central Africa, a new study says.
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Space Pictures This Week: Discovery Docks, Orion Sparkles
March 4, 2011
A space shuttle makes its final flight, the sun explodes with activity, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Elusive Clouded Leopard Captured on Film—a First
March 2, 2011
A camera trap has caught one of the world's most elusive cats on film for the first time, conservationists say.
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What If the Biggest Solar Storm on Record Happened Today?
March 1, 2011
If this solar cycle produces a flare like the 1859 Carrington Event, we may face trillions in damages and year-long blackouts, experts say.
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3 Surprising Ways Global Warming Could Make You Sick
March 1, 2011
Global warming may cause human health problems due to microbes, bacteria, and toxic algae blooms in coming decades, new research suggests.
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Rockies Mystery Solved by New Mountain-Creation Theory?
February 28, 2011
A tough hunk of rock that may be under Wyoming could explain why the Rockies seem to be out of place, a new mountain-formation theory says.
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Little Fish Exploding in Number, Models Show
February 25, 2011
There are still plenty of fish in the sea—they're just the little ones, according to new models of fish decline.
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Space Pictures This Week: Woolly Galaxy, Solar Flare, Shuttle
February 24, 2011
An island draped in sea ice, flares spurting from the sun, and dark landslides on the moon are featured among the week's best space pictures.
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Pictures: Five Forerunners of NASA's Robot Astronaut
February 24, 2011
See some of the forerunners of NASA's first android in space, Robonaut 2, which blasts off today aboard the space shuttle Discovery.
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New Zealand Earthquake Spurs Giant Glacier Collapse
February 23, 2011
The powerful magnitude-6.3 temblor cast off an iceberg the size of 20 football fields from the country's longest glacier.
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Heaviest Antimatter Found; Made in U.S. Atom Smasher
February 22, 2011
In a kind of reverse alchemy, physicists turned gold into samples of the heaviest antimatter particle yet found, researchers announced.
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Three Theories of Planet Formation Busted, Expert Says
February 19, 2011
The more new planets we find, the less we seem to know about how worlds are actually born, a leading planet hunter says.
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New Aurora Pictures: Solar Storms Light Up Arctic Night
February 18, 2011
Shimmering curtains of neon color added sparkle to Valentine's Day, as bursts of particles from the sun triggered brilliant auroras.
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Amelia Earhart Spit Samples to Help Lick Mystery?
February 18, 2011
Geneticists plan to mine DNA from envelope seals to help identify remains of aviator Amelia Earhart, who vanished over the Pacific in 1937.
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Space Pictures This Week: Black Hole Blobs, Mars Rations
February 17, 2011
Images of a Pacific-island "Valentine," a hungry black hole, and a mock meal on Mars are among the week's best space pictures.
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Hibernating Bears Keep Weirdly Warm
February 17, 2011
Hibernating black bears can dramatically lower their metabolism without major drops in body temperature, a surprising new study says.
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Best Science Pictures of 2010 Announced
February 17, 2011
A horror-movie virus and a forest of fungi feature among the winners of the 2010 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge.
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Watson Wins Jeopardy!—6 Artificial Intelligence Milestones
February 17, 2011
IBM's Watson seemingly came from out of nowhere to win Jeopardy! But the computer is just the latest artificial intelligence sensation.
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Biggest Solar Flare in Years—Auroras to Be Widespread Tonight?
February 16, 2011
Magnetic instability has sparked a flare and aimed a "firehose" of charged gas at us—which could mean auroras far south tonight, NASA says.
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Pictures: "Deep Impact" Comet Revealed by NASA Flyby
February 16, 2011
In the first NASA mission to visit a comet twice, close-ups of Tempel 1 show that a 2005 smashup left a scar.
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Astronauts Walk on "Mars," Start Experiments
February 14, 2011
After months of simulated space travel, three astronauts have ventured into a darkened, sand-filed room designed to look like Mars.
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NASA Probe Has a Valentine's Date With a Comet
February 14, 2011
The aging Stardust space probe will have one last tryst for Valentine's Day, offering scientists new views of the battered comet Tempel 1.
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How Do Fleas Jump? New Video Solves Mystery
February 11, 2011
It was no small task, but researchers have used high-speed video to solve how the insects jump—by taking off from their toes.
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11 Thomas Edison Predictions That Came True—Or Didn't
February 11, 2011
Celebrated Friday with a Google doodle, Thomas Edison was the "nation's inventor philosopher." See how his predictions hold up in 2011.
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On Thomas Edison Bulb Anniversary, Lighting Breakthrough
February 11, 2011
On the anniversary of Thomas Edison's invention of the light bulb, companies in October announced a reading-quality LED to fit existing lamps.
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Squid Get Violent After Touching Eggs, Study Says
February 11, 2011
A chemical on longfin squid eggs causes males to rapidly shift from calm swimming to extremely aggressive fighting, scientists say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Black Hole Ring, Moon Pit, More
February 10, 2011
Black hole ''jewels'' adorn a galactic ring, the sun aims a particle stream at Earth, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Astronauts Could Ride Asteroids to Mars, Study Says
February 8, 2011
Astronauts could reach the red planet inside asteroids, which would shield crews from damaging cosmic rays, a new study says.
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8 Jules Verne Inventions That Came True (Pictures)
February 8, 2011
See eight real-life inventions dreamed up decades earlier by Jules Verne—whose 183rd birthday is honored Tuesday with a Google doodle.
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Galaxy "Crumbs" Found in Milky Way—Proof of Recent Feeding
February 7, 2011
A newfound stream of stars is all that's left of a smaller galaxy recently gobbled up by the Milky Way, a new study says.
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Venomous New Pseudoscorpion Found in Colorado Cave
February 4, 2011
Unless you've been living in a cave, you probably haven't run across the poisonous, nearly blind pseudoscorpion described in a new study.
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Space Pictures This Week: Fiery Aurora, Surreal Venus, More
February 4, 2011
Stars swirl through the northern lights, the moon and Venus meet over the Alps, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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"Killer" Winter Storm Seen From Space; U.S. Blanketed
February 2, 2011
A new NASA picture shows just how big the current U.S. winter storm is. Hitting at least 30 states, it's among the worst in 50 years.
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Bat Uses Pitcher Plant as Toilet; Plant Benefits
February 2, 2011
It's no load of crap—a carnivorous plant in Borneo survives mostly off of bat feces, a new study says.
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Six New Planets: Mini-Neptunes Found Around Sunlike Star
February 2, 2011
NASA's Kepler spacecraft has spied the most tightly packed planetary system yet, filled with odd worlds dubbed mini-Neptunes.
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New Invisibility Cloak Closer to Working "Magic"
January 28, 2011
Unlike earlier systems, the new cloak works in visible light and can hide objects big enough to see with the naked eye, scientists say.
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5 Myths of Challenger Shuttle Disaster Debunked
January 27, 2011
On the 25th anniversary of the space shuttle disaster, find out what really happened to <em>Challenger.</em> For starters, there was no explosion.
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Gulf Spill Dispersants Surprisingly Long-lasting
January 27, 2011
Massive amounts of chemical dispersants pumped into the Gulf of Mexico to break up the BP oil spill lingered in the deep ocean for months, new research shows.
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Space Pictures This Week: Bow Shock, Mars Moon, More
January 27, 2011
A speeding star makes waves, a pitted moon gets its closeup, Jupiter's scar is diagnosed, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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"Gooey" New Mud Volcano Erupts From Arabian Sea
January 26, 2011
The "gooey" dot of land off the coast of Pakistan appeared in November but will likely wash away within a few months, experts say.
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New Hybrid Whale Discovered in Arctic
January 25, 2011
Antarctic minke whales desperate for food may be swimming north and mating with their Arctic cousins, a scientist suggests.
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"Nightmare" Star Flares Dim Odds for Alien Life?
January 24, 2011
Many of the known planets outside the solar system are orbiting stars that may be too dangerous for life, new research suggests.
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Space Pictures This Week: Orion's Jewel, Horned Dunes, More
January 21, 2011
Amateurs dig up cosmic gems, a Mercury-bound craft feels the heat, a whirlpool brims with dust, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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New Aurora Pictures: First Big Show of 2011
January 20, 2011
In the year's first big northern lights show, ''gusts'' of solar wind set the Arctic sky alight in shades of green.
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Pictures: Best Amateur Astronomy Images Announced
January 20, 2011
A spooky bubble and other "hidden treasures" are among the winners of a contest that asked the public to process raw astronomy data.
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Smallest Farmers Found? Amoebas Carry, Plant "Seeds"
January 19, 2011
In lean times, amoebas can pack up "seeds," migrate, and start fresh in greener pastures, a new study says.
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Yellowstone Has Bulged as Magma Pocket Swells
January 19, 2011
Some parts of the ground around Yellowstone's simmering supervolcano rose by ten inches between 2004 and 2010, experts report.
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"Suicide" Comet Storm Hits Sun—Bigger Sun-Kisser Coming?
January 17, 2011
A recent swarm of small comets that bombarded the sun may herald the coming of a much larger icy visitor, astronomers say.
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Dark-Matter Galaxy Detected: Hidden Dwarf Lurks Nearby?
January 14, 2011
Galaxy X: An entire galaxy—made mainly of dark matter—may be lurking just outside our own, scientists say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Ring of Fire, Rare Moon, More
January 14, 2011
A solar eclipse occasions a blazing halo, Earth-size jets shoot from the sun, and more in this week's best space pictures.
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Thunderstorms Shoot Antimatter Beams Into Space
January 11, 2011
An orbiting spacecraft was recently hit by an intense beam of positrons that was traced back to a thunderstorm in Namibia, astronomers say.
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Fastest Spinning Dust Found; Solves Cosmic "Fog" Puzzle
January 11, 2011
Tiny space specks that twirl billions of times a second are the source of a mysterious microwave "fog" in our galaxy, astronomers say.
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NASA Finds Smallest Earthlike Planet Outside Solar System
January 10, 2011
NASA's Kepler spacecraft has confirmed the discovery of a rocky world just 1.4 times the size of Earth circling a sunlike star.
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Glowing, Green Space Blob Forming New Stars, Hubble Shows
January 10, 2011
The odd cloud of gas known as Hanny's Voorwerp is unexpectedly giving birth to stars, a new Hubble Space Telescope picture has revealed.
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Huge Black Hole Found in Dwarf Galaxy
January 10, 2011
A supermassive black hole in a tiny, oddly shaped galaxy may help solve a chicken-and-egg mystery in galaxy evolution, a new study says.
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Space Pictures This Week: Fiery Eclipse, Blue Lagoon, More
January 7, 2011
The space station makes an eclipse cameo, streams of dust carve a nebula, blue fans decorate Mars, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Gulf Oil Spill Surprise: Methane Almost Gone
January 6, 2011
Bacteria have dispatched with most of the methane released during the Gulf of Mexico spill—in just four months, a new study says.
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2011 Quadrantid Meteors: See What You May Have Missed
January 6, 2011
Did the winter chill keep you from watching the Quadrantids this week? See global views of this "reliable and productive" meteor shower.
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Solar Eclipse Pictures: See What You May Have Missed Today
January 4, 2011
Miss Tuesday's rare partial solar eclipse? Look now (no funny glasses required).
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Partial Eclipse "Preview": What You'll See Tomorrow
January 3, 2011
Find out when and where to see Tuesday's partial solar eclipse, and get a glimpse of what lies in store for sky-watchers.
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Weird Asteroid Really a Crusty Old Comet?
January 3, 2011
An asteroid known since 1906 recently started spewing gases like a comet, hinting that the body may belong to a mysterious group of hybrids.
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Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight: How to See 2011 Quadrantids
January 3, 2011
Slated to be one of the best meteor showers of the year, the 2011 Quadrantids will be especially bright thanks to a moonless sky.
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Solar Eclipse Tomorrow: Europe to See Crescent Sunrise?
January 3, 2011
The moon will appear to take a bite out of the sun Tuesday during the first of four partial solar eclipses slated to occur in 2011.
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Space Photos This Week: Gravity Waves, Chicken Nebula
December 30, 2010
Stars swirl over Kilimanjaro, the moon gets a color treatment, weird waves roll off New Zealand, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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New Prehistoric Crocodile Found in "Kitchen Counters"
December 30, 2010
Fossils of a new species of ancient crocodile cousin have been found in limestone once destined for Italian kitchen countertops, a new study says.
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Bee Viruses Spread via Flower Pollen, Study Says
December 29, 2010
Viruses that could play a role in the recent decline in honeybee colonies may be spreading through flower pollen, new research finds.
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Rock-Chewing Sea Urchins Have Self-Sharpening Teeth
December 28, 2010
A very close look at sea urchins has uncovered the mystery of how the animals can literally chew through stone without dulling their teeth.
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Sun Pictures: A Full Year in a Single Frame
December 28, 2010
Can a single picture sum up all of 2010? In a way, yes. Follow the sun's path over the course of a year in analemmas past and present.
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Space Circles Are Proof of a Pre-Big Bang Universe?
December 27, 2010
Ring-like patterns in primordial radiation suggest a universe existed before the big bang, according to a controversial new study.
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Lightning Captured by X-Ray Camera—A First
December 23, 2010
The first x-ray images of a lightning strike have been captured by a new, refrigerator-size camera, researchers say.
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"Chilling" Child Sacrifices Found at Prehistoric Site
December 23, 2010
Eighty-two child victims of a "chilling" bloodletting ritual have been discovered in Peru, a new study says.
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Pictures: Giant Mars Pits Revealed in Sharp Detail
December 21, 2010
Peer inside two mysterious, debris-strewn holes that may be evidence for caves on Mars. But don't worry—no sign of space slugs yet.
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Lunar Eclipse 2010 Pictures: See What You Slept Through
December 21, 2010
So you were snug in bed while the moon turned red? We've got you covered—see the first winter solstice lunar eclipse in 372 years.
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Solar-Powered Hornet Found; Turns Light Into Electricity
December 21, 2010
The oriental hornet's "skin" pigments trap light and generate electricity, according to a new study.
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Lunar Eclipse Pictures: When the Moon Goes Red
December 20, 2010
Call it foreshadowing: Past lunar eclipse pictures hint at what you may see during the first winter solstice lunar eclipse in 372 years.
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Life Ingredients Found in Superhot Meteorites—A First
December 20, 2010
NASA astronomers were surprised to find amino acids—the fundamental foundation for life—in meteorites that had been naturally superheated.
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Lunar Eclipse + Winter Solstice—First in 372 Years
December 20, 2010
In 2010, for the first time in 372 years, a total eclipse of a full moon falls on the winter solstice. Find out whether you might be able to see the lunar eclipse before dawn Tuesday.
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Chimp "Girls" Play With "Dolls" Too—First Wild Evidence
December 20, 2010
Wild young female apes use sticks as dolls, but males rarely do—suggesting there's at least some biological basis to gender-based toy choices, a new study says.
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Pictures: Entire Sun Rocked by Explosions
December 20, 2010
Intense storms can envelop the entire sun at the same time, a new NASA satellite reveals for the first time.
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Winter Solstice + Lunar Eclipse—First in 372 Years
December 17, 2010
In 2010, for the first time in 372 years, a total lunar eclipse falls on the winter solstice. Find out whether you might be able to see it before dawn Tuesday.
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Mummified Forest Found on Treeless Arctic Island
December 17, 2010
"Surreal" remnants of a prehistoric forest have been discovered on a now treeless island in the Canadian Arctic.
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Seven Great Mars Pictures From Record-Breaking Probe
December 17, 2010
See highlights from the ten-year career of NASA's Mars Odyssey, which this week became the longest-working craft to study the planet.
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Pictures: Brilliant Geminid Meteors Dazzle Sky-Watchers
December 16, 2010
See what you missed: Earlier this week dark skies provided the ideal backdrop for the peak of the 2010 Geminid meteor shower.
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Pluto Has Oceans Under Ice?
December 16, 2010
Frigid Pluto may harbor a liquid ocean beneath its miles-thick ice shell, a new model of the dwarf planet's radioactive heat suggests.
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Space Pictures This Week: Cosmic Gem, Sun Burp, Vegas
December 15, 2010
A supernova leftover glows like an opal, the sun spews hot gas, snow blankets the Midwest, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Saturn Moon Has Ice Volcano—And Maybe Life?
December 15, 2010
New NASA pictures suggest Saturn's moon Titan has a giant ice volcano—and perhaps a better shot at harboring life.
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Mars Has Liquid Water Close to Surface, Study Hints
December 14, 2010
Pools of water may exist just below Mars's surface, according to new research that suggests humans may one day tap into the liquid bounty.
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"Supernova in a Jar" Offers Peek Inside Star Death
December 13, 2010
A "gentle" chemical reaction in the lab is giving scientists a peek inside powerful star explosions called Type Ia supernovae.
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Saturn's Rings Made by Giant "Lost" Moon, Study Hints
December 13, 2010
A huge moon stripped of its icy shell gave rise to Saturn's famous rings, says a new study that also helps explain Jupiter's four giant companions.
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Ancient Balloon-Headed Dolphin Found by Fishers
December 13, 2010
A 20-foot dolphin with a bulbous head roamed the North Sea 2.5 million years ago, a newfound fossil reveals.
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Killer Alien Weed May Threaten Biggest Animal Migration
December 10, 2010
An invasive weed found recently in southern Kenya may kill off native vegetation that wild animals and livestock depend on for survival, scientists warn.
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Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight; Best of 2010?
December 10, 2010
With a recent growth in intensity, the annual shower may outshine the August Perseids as the best meteor shower of 2010, experts say.
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Space Pictures This Week: Sun Snake, Ice Curtain, More
December 10, 2010
A plasma loop erupts from the sun, Falcon 9 takes flight, Hubble spies a star-spangled ''eagle,'' and more in the week's best space pictures.
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New Bacteria Found on Titanic; Eats Metal
December 10, 2010
The metal-munching bacteria found on the famous wreck may help teach engineers how to protect deep-sea oil rigs, experts say.
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Huge Asteroids Brought Gold to Infant Earth, Study Says
December 9, 2010
There was no frankincense and myrrh, but huge asteroids may have brought gold and other precious metals to infant Earth, a new study says.
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New Planet Found; Star's Fourth World Stumps Astronomers
December 8, 2010
A fourth planet found around a sunlike star has its discoverers scratching their heads as to how the oddly spaced system took shape.
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Japan Probe Missed Venus—Will Try Again in Six Years
December 8, 2010
The Akatsuki spacecraft sped past Venus yesterday, but the craft will return to the planet to try again in six years, officials say.
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"Fake Diamond" Star Discovered
December 8, 2010
A glittering blue bauble 2,000 light-years away is the most zirconium-rich star yet seen, astronomers say.
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Best Space Discoveries of 2010: Nat Geo News's Most Popular
December 7, 2010
Bright meteors and mind-bending theories about the universe were among National Geographic News's most viewed space stories of 2010.
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Ten Weirdest New Animals of 2010: Editors' Picks
December 7, 2010
A fish with "hands," a T. Rex leech, and a self-cloning lizard are among National Geographic News's picks for the weirdest new species in 2010.
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Japan Probe Arrives at Venus, But Orbit Is Unclear
December 7, 2010
Designed to study weather on Venus, the Akatsuki probe arrived at the planet today, but it's uncertain whether the craft made it into orbit.
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New Biggest Volcano in the Solar System?
December 3, 2010
If a new theory holds true, Tharsis Rise on Mars is about to cast down Olympus Mons as the largest known volcano in the solar system.
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Space Pictures This Week: Towering Cloud, Moon Geysers
December 2, 2010
A thundercloud aims high, stars are born near a galactic void, a Saturn moon spews ice, and more in the week's best space pictures.
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Big Bang Poured Out "Liquid" Universe, Atom Smasher Hints
December 2, 2010
Just after the big bang, the universe was made of a quark-gluon plasma that behaved like a dense, superhot liquid, new data suggest.
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NASA Life Discovery: New Bacteria Makes DNA With Arsenic
December 2, 2010
No, NASA didn't find life on another world. But scientists did uncover a new species of bacteria that's perhaps the most ''alien'' yet seen.
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Ten NatGeo News Stories You Might Have Missed in 2010
December 1, 2010
See our editors' picks of the best stories of 2010 that flew under the radar, including space-time "wrinkles" and squid plastic surgery.
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Earth-Size Planet Has Hot and Steamy Atmosphere?
December 1, 2010
An Earth-size planet orbiting a dim, red star either has a blanket of ultrahot steam or a noxious, cloudy haze of hydrogen, new data reveal.
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Sleep Cherry-picks Memories, Boosts Cleverness
December 1, 2010
The sleeping brain "calculates" what memories to remember and forget, allowing for sharper thinking, new research suggests.
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Best Space Pictures of 2010: Odd Aurora, Ring of Fire, More
November 30, 2010
See our editors' picks of the best space pictures of 2010, including a "moonbow," a disintegrating spacecraft, and a rare view of a craggy asteroid.
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New Planet System May Be Most Populated Yet Found
November 30, 2010
A tight group of planets orbiting a sunlike star may be the closest match yet found to our solar system, astronomers say.
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Top Ten Discoveries of 2010: Nat Geo News's Most Popular
November 30, 2010
A time-bending earthquake, a fish with "hands," and "Yoda bat" are among National Geographic News's most visited coverage of 2010 discoveries.