For the first time, NASA scientists have directly observed a small but significant force that has the power to change an asteroid's orbital path. The force, previously known in theory only, could provide crucial data to help deflect asteroids headed for Earth.

Penguin rookeries in Antarctica—weather permitting—will be audience to a total solar eclipse Sunday as the moon slips between Earth and the sun and casts a narrow band of the icy continent into daytime darkness. A few hundred humans, too, hope to catch the celestial show. They've paid thousands of dollars to journey to—or over—Antarctica, the only landmass where the minutes-long event will be visible.

Shooting stars should be visible tonight, the traditional climax of the Leonid meteor shower. Sky watchers in the Americas will observe peak activity early Wednesday morning, however, when up to 17 meteors every 15 minutes will be visible.

Chances for stargazers to witness a blazing fireball streak across the night sky improve as the Taurid meteor shower peaks over the next few weeks. The meteors' slow velocity and brightness make them of particular interest to astro-photographers.

On Saturday night the full moon will slip into Earth's shadow and darken to an orange-reddish glow, giving sky-watchers their second chance this year to catch an astronomer's delight: a total lunar eclipse. The celestial show will be visible throughout most of the Americas, Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia.

It's been a record-shattering ride for the Voyager 1 spacecraft since it was launched in 1977. Five years ago, it became the most distant human-made object in space. Now, after traveling 13.5 billion kilometers (8.4 billion miles), the probe may have exited the solar system.

Scientists plan to dive in the world's highest lake, on top of Chile's Licancabur Volcano, testing new space equipment and studying organisms that live in extreme conditions similar to those that might have existed in the ancient water courses of Mars. The research is supported by the National Geographic Society.

China successfully launched its first manned space mission today. Carrying a single astronaut, the Szenzhou 5 rocket blasted off from northwest China. It will orbit Earth 14 times before returning. Despite the national pride associated with it, the launch was shrouded in secrecy.

A flood of interstellar dust is breaching the sun's weakened magnetic shield and drifting into the solar system, according to European astronomers. The tide of dust may chip away at spacecraft solar panels and knock particles off asteroids, increasing the number of shooting stars observed on Earth.

In 1958 Eugene Parker discovered that a stiff wind blows incessantly from the sun, filling local interstellar space with ionized gas. The discovery forever changed how scientists perceive space and helped explain many phenomena, from geomagnetic storms that knock out power grids on Earth to the formation of distant stars.

Stargazers in a frenzy by the spectacle of Mars' closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years Wednesday may be compelled to snap a photo of the once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. They'll need some patience and a little luck, but it can be done. This story includes the latest image of Mars made by the Hubble telescope.

Riding on the coattails of the organic-gardening boom, moon gardening is waxing brighter with growing numbers of gardeners. The age-old practice is based on the moon's gravitational effect on the flow of moisture in soil and plants.

In 1961, Wally Funk, was one of 13 women slated for the "Women in Space" program—until NASA abruptly cancelled it. Today Funk, 64, is the rocket pilot for Interorbital Systems and still hopes to fly in space. This story airs tonight on our U.S. cable television program National Geographic Today.

Seeking to boost the commercial space race, a St. Louis foundation plans to award U.S. ten million dollars to the first team to send a trio to the edge of space and back in a reusable spacecraft. This story airs tonight on our U.S. cable television program National Geographic Today.

It is almost certain that Earth will be hit by an asteroid large enough to exterminate a large percentage of our planet's life, including possibly over a billion people, according to researchers. But as such cataclysmic collisions occur on average only once in a million years or so, are they really worth worrying about?