Topic: Mike Wall
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Geminid meteor shower reigns in the night sky (+video)
Geminid meteor shower: Last night's annual meteor shower was a crowd pleaser. The Gemind meteor shower comes from debris shed by a 3-mile-wide asteroid called 3200 Phaethon.
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Geminid meteor shower peaks tonight: When to watch for falling stars
A new and as-yet unnamed meteor shower may also make an appearance tonight, ramping up the celestial display even further.
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NASA: Astronauts could survive Mars radiation
Radiation on the surface of the Red Planet is roughly similar to that experienced by astronauts on the international space station, report NASA scientists. The findings help researchers understand the planet's capacity for supporting life and will assist NASA in preparations for future manned flights to the planet.
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Gigantic orphan planet: Homeless world hurtles through space without star (+video)
The free-floating object, called CFBDSIR2149, is likely a gas giant planet four to seven times more massive than Jupiter.
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Where can today's total solar eclipse be seen?
Most of the world's population will be far from the eclipse's path. But anyone with access to the Internet can follow the action live.
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Newfound 'super-Earth' could be habitable for life
HD 40307g is one of three newly discovered worlds around the parent star, which was already known to host three planets. The finds thus boost the star's total planetary population to six.
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Will election results affect NASA funding?
Predictions say NASA funding is unlikely to rise under either a Democratic or Republican president. However, NASA's priorities under Obama or Romney might be different.
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Hurricane Sandy: Does a full moon cause high tides? How?
Forecasters warn that storm surges from Hurricane Sandy could be particularly powerful, because the storm coincides with a full moon. How does that work, exactly?
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Mars rover begins munching dirt, finds weird bright stuff (+video)
The soil has been successfully delivered to the rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, or CheMin, mission scientists announced Oct. 18.
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Moon formed from humongous Earth collision, new theories attempt to explain
The new research potentially plugs a big hole in the giant impact theory, long the leading explanation for the moon's formation.
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Newfound Earth-sized planet too distant to visit
The exploration of the planet known as Alpha Centauri Bb will require technology not currently in existence, say researchers. But if it has sibling planets in a 'habitable zone' scientists may be encouraged to develop the new technology required to such explore new and distant worlds.
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Ancient streambed latest clue in Mars water mystery
The discovery suggests that water had flowed fast and relatively deep — perhaps hip-deep, in fact — through the area billions of years ago.
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Mars Curiosity rover discovers ancient streambed on planet's surface (+video)
This water flow was likely quite vigorous, perhaps akin to the flows produced by flash floods in desert areas here on Earth, researchers announced.
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How can humans touch Mars? Bring back a soil sample
A new report from NASA suggests that the agency prioritize bringing samples back from Mars to Earth for study. NASA will not make a specific plan for how they'll achieve this goal until after the president releases his 2014 budget in February.
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Mars Curiosity rover touches rock, 'does a science' (+video)
Curiosity spent the past several days investigating a strange pyramid-shaped stone named 'Jake Matijevic,' testing out some of the gear at the end of its 7-foot-long arm.
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Mars rover eclipse photos to shed light on planet's composition (+video)
Scientists will use these photos to nail down the orbits of Phobos and Deimos precisely, and to determine how much they have changed over the last few years, researchers said. This information, in turn, could yield key insights about the interior of Mars, which remains largely mysterious.
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Curiosity Mars rover tells us that it is feeling pretty good so far
For the past month, the Curiosity Mars Rover has been methodically giving itself a health checkup, which it has been passing almost flawlessly, says NASA.
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Mars rover beams back spectacular photos, NASA greeting
Mars rover: NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has beamed home some extraordinary images of Mount Sharp, the three-mile-high mountain near the rover's landing site. Curiosity has also sent back a greeting from NASA administrator Charles Bolden, the first human voice ever to be broadcast from another planet.
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Is NASA focusing too much on Mars? (+video)
Even as the Curiosity Mars rover was still testing its equipment in preparation for its surface mission, NASA has unveiled plans for another unmanned mission to Mars. Is the agency playing favorites?
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Mars rover Curiosity to go for first drive Weds. (+video)
Engineers successfully tested the rover's steering abilities on Monday, and now they're ready to turn its six wheels for the first time since Curiosity landed on Mars on Aug. 5, officials announced today.
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Curiosity Mars rover gets ready to roll (+video)
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover, which hasn't yet moved from its landing spot, is set to make its first tracks on the Red Planet on Tuesday or Wednesday.
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NASA's Curiosity rover prepares to fire laser beam at Martian surface
Before embarking on its maiden drive on the Red Planet, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover will fire its rock-vaporizing laser beam. A chemical sensor will sniff the vaporized bits to determine their composition.
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A Q&A with mohawk-festooned rocket scientist Bobak Ferdowsi
Bobak Ferdowsi, a Curiosity Mars rover flight director at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., is now known worldwide as 'Mohawk Guy,' for his patriotic hairstyle seen by the millions who watched the rover's successful landing on August 5.
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The unprecedented Phoenix Galaxy Cluster: How many stars does it form? (+video)
Here's a by-the-numbers look at the Phoenix cluster, which researchers say could yield key insights into how galaxies and colossal clusters evolve:
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NASA: Mars rover Curiosity brain surgery complete (+video)
After a four-day software upgrade, NASA's Curiosity is ready to continue its 2-year search for Martian microbes. In about a week, the rover will go for its first test drive. Once it begins moving, it will be able to travel about the length of a football field daily.
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