Topic: Astronomy

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20 essential Android tips and tricks

Several weeks ago, we highlighted 20 useful iPhone tricks everyone should know. We got such good feedback from that feature that we wanted to share the love with Android users – who, after all, make up the largest proportion of the smart phone community.
Vatican Secret Archives: 6 of the most intriguing documents in church history

One hundred documents held in the Vatican’s Secret Archives are now on display in Rome for the first time. Read our list here of six standouts.
Five places we might find life in our own solar system

Life on Earth occupies some bizarre places – pools of pitch, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and lightless lakes buried under glaciers. While scientists hunt for hospitable planets circling other stars, the solar system has a few candidates. Here are five.
What makes a planet livable? Five things scientists look for.

Scientists have so far detected at least 550 planets outside the solar system – and another 2,000-plus await confirmation. But how to pick out the ones that may be Earth-like havens for life? Here's what one team looks for in assessing any planet's potential habitability and its similarity to Earth's properties.
David Foster Wallace's 10 favorite books

The late great novelist David Foster Wallace's 10 favorite books.

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Transit of Venus: Early 'tape measure' for size of our solar system (+video)

The next transit of Venus occurs June 5. Astronomers once used the transit of Venus across the sun to come up with the 'astronomical unit' – the distance from Earth to our sun.
Venus to have its final day in the sun for the 21st century

The planet Venus is due to pass in front of the sun on June 5th and 6th. It won't do so again until 2117.
Forget 'Men in Black 3': Why aliens won't attack Earth

SETI hunter Jill Tarter says Sir Stephen Hawking is wrong about aliens coming to attack or colonize Earth. If aliens can get here, Tarter reasons, they'll be advanced enough not to need slaves, food or other planets,
Chapter & Verse
How the transit of Venus opened the planet to our forefathers

Author Mark Anderson of 'The Day the World Discovered the Sun' explains how the transit of Venus allowed 18th-century astronomers to create an early GPS system.
Mars Opportunity rover sees its own shadow in crater

Opportunity just started moving again two weeks ago, after spending more than four months at a site along Endeavour's rim called Greeley Haven. The rover sat out the harsh Martian winter at the site, whose tilt allowed Opportunity to angle its solar panels toward the low-hanging sun.
Thousands gather for world's largest solar eclipse party (+video)

Solar eclipse party: Even a partial eclipse was enough to draw thousands to Folsom Field in Colorado to see the moon take a bite from the sun.
'Ring of Fire' eclipse delights millions in Asia, US (+video)

A solar eclipse was visible to millions Sunday when the moon hid the sun, creating a 'ring of fire.' It was the first annular eclipse seen in Japan since 1839, and it was broadcast live on TV.
Solar eclipse: How to safely watch this evening's 'ring of fire'

During this evening's 'ring of fire' solar eclipse, what should be a spectacular display will be seen across much of the American West. Here's how to watch it safely.
Solar eclipse 2012: All systems go for witnessing rare 'ring of fire' (+video)

A rare annular eclipse, where a ‘ring of fire’ outlines the moon as it crosses the sun, will greet US viewers Sunday evening. Residents of the US West will have a good shot at seeing the full fire ring.
How to photograph Sunday's solar eclipse

On Sunday, May 20, the western half of the United States will be treated to a spectacular annular eclipse as the sun sets in the western sky.
4,700 asteroids capable of catastrophic damage lurk near Earth

The survey found there are likely 4,700 potentially hazardous asteroids in orbits that occasionally bring them close enough to Earth to pose a concern.
Football stadium to host world's largest solar eclipse party

The eclipse will occur in the afternoon and early evening on Sunday, during which time the moon will pass between Earth and the sun, casting a shadow on the planet.
Solar eclipse visible from 154 national parks Sunday

Sunday's solar eclipse will be the first visible in the US this century. The annular eclipse will be best seen from 33 national parks, including the Grand Canyon.
NASA mission confirms: Ex-asteroid Vesta is a planet that almost was

Data from the orbiter DAWN confirm theories about the history of Vesta, which dates to the early days of planet formation. The protoplanet is also home to the solar system's second largest mountain.
Asteroid Vesta: Is it really an asteroid?

The humongous asteroid Vesta is actually a protoplanet left over from the early days of our solar system, new observations from a NASA space probe suggest.
Amazing photo shows 'swarm' of stars (+video)

Tens of thousands of stars can be seen clustered together in a new image.
How a solar flare could send us back to the Stone Age

A powerful enough solar flare could knock out our power grids, disrupt our GPS satellites, and bring the global economy to a halt, warns a British scientists.
Light from alien 'super-earth' seen for first time

NASA's Spitzer space telescope has detected a light source coming from a large earth-like planet.
Planetary wrecking balls: how Jupiter might have destroyed Earth

'Hot Jupiters' are Jupiter-mass planets orbiting close to stars. A study suggests that they might have been kicked inward from their original orbit, destroying or ejecting other planets.
'Monster sunspot' may foretell powerful solar flares, says NASA

A huge sunspot spanning more than 60,000 miles could erupt, sending high energy radiation into space.
Supermoon, earth-grazing meteors, spring midpoint, and Cinco de Mayo: Okay, it’s officially a party!

The brightest, biggest moon of the year will grace an evening that offers lots to celebrate, including the midpoint of spring and Cinco de Mayo. The only downside may be that the supermoon will make earth-grazing fireballs from the Aquarid meteor shower harder to see.
Supermoon Saturday: Why it's the biggest, brightest of 2012 (+video)

Supermoon Saturday: It's also called the 'Flower Moon,' and 'Milk Moon.' The 'supermoon' will be only 221,802 miles from Earth, the closest to our planet this year.
European Space Agency to explore Jupiter's moons (+video)

The ESA has given the go-ahead for a solar-powered space probe that will examine the icy Jovian moons of Ganymede and Europa, along with Jupiter's upper atmosphere.
Black hole emits humongous energy burst (+video)

An unusual brightness, documented by NASA's Chandra telescope appears to be coming from a black hole.
Supermoon Saturday: Biggest moon of the year (+video)

Supermoon 2012 comes on May 5. The 'supermoon' is when a full moon coincides with the moon's closest approach to Earth. The supermoon will be 16 percent brighter than a normal full moon.