All articles from Pete Spotts

Millionaire plans to send couple to Mars in 2018. Is that realistic? (+video)

The Inspiration Mars Foundation, led by space tourist and multimillionaire Dennis Tito, announces its plan to send a married couple on a flyby mission to the Red Planet beginning in 2018.
Little telescope to hunt big game: hard-to-see near-Earth asteroids

Canada's NEOSSat space telescope was launched Monday atop an Indian rocket. It will monitor two groups of asteroids whose proximity to the sun makes them hard to see from Earth.
Briefing
How dangerous are near-Earth asteroids? 5 key questions answered.

On Feb. 15, asteroid 2012 DA14, discovered a year ago, cleared Earth by a scant 17,200 miles. The same day, a smaller, unrelated asteroid that no one saw coming exploded 12 to 15 miles above Russia’s Chelyabinsk region. Events that day highlight the risk that near-Earth objects (NEOs) can pose – although to some extent, humans can counter them.
Russian asteroid highlights astronomers' challenge: predicting such space objects

Astronomers have cataloged about 95 percent of the space objects wider than half a mile – those that could destroy civilization. But they have found less than 1 percent of the objects 100 feet across or larger, a class that includes the asteroid that flitted past Earth on Friday.
As asteroid zips past Earth, exploding meteor hints at what could have been (+video)

The meteor that exploded over Russia was much smaller than the asteroid that will buzz Earth Friday. But it shows how destructive Earth impacts can be – and how unexpected.
On thin ice: As Arctic Ocean warms, a scramble to understand its weather

Increasing summer ice melt in the Arctic Ocean could shift global weather patterns and make polar waters more navigable. But scientists say forecasting Arctic ice and weather remains a massive challenge.
Snowfall forecast for Blizzard of 2013 just got bigger. What changed?

Much of the region covered by blizzard warnings had been expected to get 18 to 24 inches of snow. Now the figure is 24 inches-plus. Features called snow bands are figuring into the calculus for Blizzard of 2013.
Winter storm update: Massive nor'easter could drop 36 inches in spots

The latest winter storm update for the nor'easter barreling toward Boston shows 18 to 24 inches of snow, with some spots getting more. Winds could hit 65 m.p.h. with a storm surge of five feet.
Earth-buzzing asteroid big enough to level a city, found by amateurs

Asteroid 2012 DA14 will set a record when it zips by within 17,000 miles of Earth next week. The 150-foot object was discovered by a team of dedicated amateur astronomers in southern Spain.
Are human-caused and natural global warming different? Study says yes.

A study suggests that human-caused and natural global warming episodes affect rainfall rates differently. The finding could help scientists better forecast what's ahead.
Northern winter not as cold as expected? It could be urban 'waste heat'

Waste heat has a smaller impact on global climate than does CO2, but heat from highly urbanized northern regions appears to explain observed deviations from climate forecasts, a study says.
Mass extinction? Man may still have time to catalog Earth's species.

A trio of respected biologists and zoologists concludes that Earth's sixth mass extinction may be unfolding slower than feared, giving time for the valuable work of cataloging the planet's species.
NIH should retire most chimpanzees from medical research, panel says (+video)

Hundreds of chimpanzees at NIH facilities should no longer be used as test subjects, the panel said, but 50 should be kept as a contingency, adding that all the chimps should be housed more comfortably.
Astronomers report largest structure in universe. Will it upend theories?

Recent work suggests that the upper limit to the largest gatherings of galaxies is about 1.2 billion to 1.5 billion light-years across. The structure that the team reports is nearly four times this theoretical limit.
How hot was 2012? Hottest on record in US, by a long shot (+video)

Global warming 'has had a role' in making 2012 the hottest ever recorded in the lower 48 states, says a US climatologist. The average temperature was 54.3 degrees F., a full degree higher than the previous annual record.
What's going on around Andromeda? Curious structure puzzles scientists.

Scientists have found 13 dwarf galaxies orbiting the Andromeda galaxy in what appears to be a fairly narrow ring. That makes no sense according to current models of galaxy formation.
Four planets in 'habitable zones' spotted within spitting distance of Earth

Astronomers say they used a new statistical technique to find four possible super-Earths orbiting in the habitable zone of two stars within 22 light-years of Earth, Gliese 667C and tau Ceti.
How reliable are drought predictions? Study finds flaw in popular tool.

Researchers say the Palmer Drought Severity Index, devised for monitoring short-term trends, has been misused for longer term analyses and is thrown off by higher temperatures from global warming.
Focus Surging storms: Can the US adapt in time to avert coastal damage?

Damage from severe storms such as Sandy is likely to escalate by the end of the century as the population grows and people continue to build along the Eastern Seaboard.
What sets newly found super Earth apart? It's simple as night and day. (+video)

Scientists say they have found a planet seven times more massive than Earth orbiting in a star's habitable zone 42 light-years away. It could have seas, and perhaps just as important, it could have an Earth-like climate because it has a day-night cycle.