Topic: Venus (Planet)

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Kepler epitaph? Eight most intriguing finds of troubled telescope.

Kepler, the space telescope designed to help us find other Earth-like planets, is on the fritz. Scientists hope they will be able to fix it remotely, but if they can't, its brief, brilliant career could be over. Here are eight of its most important discoveries.
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Mission Patches
In Pictures: Space photos of the day 09/10
In Pictures: Space photos of the day 09/01
In Pictures: Space photos of the day 08/30

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Kepler epitaph? Eight most intriguing finds of troubled telescope.

Kepler, the space telescope designed to help us find other Earth-like planets, is on the fritz. Scientists hope they will be able to fix it remotely, but if they can't, its brief, brilliant career could be over. Here are eight of its most important discoveries.
How greenhouse gases might make humongous super-Earths habitable (+video)

On Earth, greenhouse gases are blamed for climate change, but elsewhere in the cosmos, they could help a planet not at all like Earth be habitable, one scientist suggests.
Livable super-Earths? Two candidates among Kepler's latest finds.

Researchers unveiled a total of three planets Thursday, including two potentially livable super-Earths. The discoveries bring the Kepler team closer to its goal.
NASA climate scientist James Hansen retires to join global warming fight full time

James Hansen, a devoted activist against climate change, announced his retirement from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and plans to challenge federal and state governments over carbon dioxide emissions.
NASA telescope spots smallest planet yet

Located some 210 light years from Earth, Kepler-37b is only slightly larger than our moon, making it the smallest planet ever discovered.
Curiosity makes history with scoop – and begins Mars mission in earnest

NASA's Curiosity rover has successfully drilled into bedrock and scooped the sample – a first for Mars exploration. It was the rover's last systems test, meaning the training wheels are off.
How Nicolaus Copernicus moved the Earth

Nicolaus Copernicus, whose 540th birthday is celebrated on Google's homepage Tuesday, kicked off the Scientific Revolution.
Cover Story The Mars mystique

After 50 years of missions to Mars, scientists are unlocking some of the mysteries surrounding a planet that has captivated mankind for millenniums. Will humans ever leave a boot print on Mars?
Tatooine-like planet: Astronomers spot pair of planets orbiting twin suns (+video)

Tatooine-like planet: In a cosmic first, astronomers have discovered two alien planets orbiting two stars, not unlike Luke Skywalker's home planet in the Star Wars films.
Bizarre vortex spotted on Saturn's largest moon

NASA's Cassini probe has photographed a swirling vortex of gas high above the south pole of Titan, Saturn's largest moon.
New method reveals atmosphere on 'Hot Jupiter' (+video)

Using a ground-based telescope to probe exoplanet atmospheres, which were visible only when illuminated by stars, scientists say they hope to study much cooler planets.
Astronomers discover an 'odd couple' of planets

The Kepler spacecraft has detected a pair of extrasolar planets with orbits so close that at times the larger planet looms more than twice the size of the full moon in the second planet's night sky.
Venus transit offers opportunity to study planet's atmosphere (+video)

The transit of Venus across the face of the sun Tuesday offered astronomers a chance to examine the dense atmosphere of Earth's 'sister planet.'
Transit of Venus: Skywatchers rejoice in rare space event (+video)

Around the world on Tuesday, civilians and scientists alike took advantage of the rare transit of Venus across the sun.
Venus transit 2012: a chance to test Earth-hunting techniques (+video)

Venus's 2012 transit across the sun will let researchers test methods for observing Earth-like planets light years away. It's an opportunity that won't be available again until December 2117.
How to watch the transit of Venus without blinding yourself (+video)

The transit of Venus across the solar disk won't make it okay to stare into the sun. Here's how to watch this rare astronomical event safely.
What the transit of Venus tells us about alien planets (+video)

The transit of Venus will help astronomers on the hunt for planets outside of our solar system.
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.
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.
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.
Bright Venus to show in daytime sky

Effulgent Venus will show just beside the moon today. Also, some cues on how to observe this rare and beautiful event.
Mercury: Unusual insides and active history

New information collected by NASA's Messenger shows that Mercury was more geologically active than scientists previously thought.
Strange features on Mercury upend thinking about 'first rock from sun'

New results from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft show Mercury to have features unlike anything scientists have seen elsewhere in the solar system. Here's one: a huge core for a planet this size.
Jupiter and Venus to dance together this week

Beginning tonight, the two brightest planets in the sky will be so close together that you'll be able to block both of them out with a few fingers held at arm's length.