Space News: Page 23

Video: Rosetta Flyby of Asteroid 21 Lutetia (April 28, 2012): ESA's Rosetta orbiter approached and passed the asteroid 21 Lutetia, a 100-kilometer wide asteroid, in 2010.

Lake on Titan Resembles Namibia Mudflat (April 27, 2012): Ontario Lacus, a footprint-shaped lake on Saturn's moon Titan, resembles a salt pan on Earth in Namibia called the Etosha Pan.

Cassini Finds Saturn's Moon Phoebe has Planet-Like Qualities (April 27, 2012): Data from NASA's Cassini mission reveals that Phoebe, one of Saturn's many moons, has more planet-like qualities than previously thought.

Lava Coils Found on Mars (April 26, 2012): High-resolution photos (see here and here) of lava flows on Mars reveal coiling spiral patterns that resemble snail or nautilus shells.

Meteorite Hunter Finds Tiny Pieces From Minivan Sized Meteor That Exploded Over California Sunday (April 26, 2012): NASA reports that a meteor the size of a minivan exploded over northern California on the morning of Sunday, April 22, 2012.

Planetary Resources Plans to Mine Near-Earth Asteroids (April 24, 2012): A company named Planetary Resources has announced plans to mine Near-Earth Asteroids for raw materials.

High School Students Send Rubber Chicken Into Space (April 21, 2012): High school students in Bishop, California sent a rubber chicken, named Camilla Corona, into space during last month's intense radiation storm.

NASA Releases Animation of Upcoming Rare Astronomical Event, the Venus Transit (April 20, 2012): NASA released an animation showing an artist's conception of the upcoming Venus Transit when Venus passes directly between earth and the sun.

Researchers Capture Glimpses of Uranus Auroras (April 19, 2012): Scientists have captured images of auroras above the giant ice planet Uranus for the first time.

Enterprise and Discovery Space Shuttles Meet Nose-to-Nose at Smithsonian (April 19, 2012): Space Shuttles Enterprise, left, and Discovery meet nose-to-nose at the beginning of a transfer ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

NASA's Cassini Spacecraft Takes New Images of Saturn's Moons Enceladus and Tethys (April 18, 2012): NASA's Cassini spacecraft took new images of Saturn's moons Enceladus and Tethys on April 14, 2012.

Spectacular Solar Eruption Produces M1.7 Class Flare (April 17, 2012): The Sun unleashed a M1.

Hubble Panoramic View of 30 Doradus, a Star-forming Region of the Tarantula Nebula (April 17, 2012): This stunning Hubble image provides a panoramic view of 30 Doradus, a star breeding ground located in the Tarantula nebula.

Some Stars Capture Rogue Planets (April 17, 2012): New research suggests that billions of stars in our galaxy have captured rogue planets that once roamed interstellar space.

Sombrero Galaxy in the Infrared (April 16, 2012): This infrared image of the Sombrero Galaxy was re-released to celebrate the extension of the Spitzer warm mission through 2015.

New Analysis of Data From NASA's 1976 Viking Mission Suggests Life Was Found on Mars (April 14, 2012): Researchers looking at data from NASA's Viking missions in 1976 say the data indicates the Viking LR experiment found microbial life on Mars.

Astronomers Discover the Musket Ball Cluster, a System of Colliding Galaxy Clusters (April 13, 2012): Astronomers have announced the discovery of the Musket Ball cluster, a system of colliding galaxy clusters.

Intelligent Dinosaurs May Rule Other Planets Says Scientist (April 11, 2012): Columbia University scientist Ronald Breslow, Ph.

Elephant on Mars Created by Flood of Lava (April 9, 2012): University of Arizona planetary geologist Alfred McEwen says the elephant on Mars (pictured above) is an example of pareidolia.

Astronomers Discover Planetary System Containing at Least Five Planets (April 6, 2012): Astronomers using ESO's HARPS instrument have discovered a planetary system containing at least five planets.

Swiss Building Satellite to Collect and Remove Space Junk From Earth's Orbit (April 3, 2012): Swiss scientists at the the Swiss Space Center at EPFL are building a satellite, called CleanSpace One, designed to clean up space junk.

How Astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson Convinced James Cameron to Re-Edit Titanic Because the Star Field Was Wrong (April 3, 2012): After returning from his dive to the Mariana Trench, director and explorer James Cameron has been doing a lot of media interviews to promote the 3-D release of the film >Titanic.

Inside the Meteorite Clean Room at the Smithsonian (April 3, 2012): This video provide a glimpse into the Smithsonian's new Antarctic meteorite storage facility in Suitland, Md.

IBM to Build Exascale Computer System for Square Kilometer Array (April 2, 2012): ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy and IBM have announced plans to build an exascale computer system for the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

Supermassive Black Holes Grow by Eating Binary Star Partners (April 2, 2012): A study by University of Utah astrophysicist Ben Bromley and colleagues at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory has found that supermassive black holes grow by swallowing single stars from pairs of stars that wander too close.