Author: Marcia Dunn
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Countdown begins for April’s total solar eclipse. What to know about watch parties and safe viewing
A total solar eclipse is coming to North America
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Saturn’s Death Star-looking moon may have vast underground ocean
Astronomers are reporting the best evidence yet of a vast, young ocean beneath the icy exterior of Saturn’s Death Star-looking mini moon
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Saturn’s Death Star-looking moon may have vast underground ocean
Astronomers are reporting the best evidence yet of a vast, young ocean beneath the icy exterior of Saturn’s Death Star-looking mini moon
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SpaceX giant rocket explodes minutes after launch from Texas
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX’s giant new rocket exploded minutes after blasting off on its first test flight Thursday and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas, near the…
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Large asteroid coming close, but zero chance of hitting us
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. • An asteroid big enough to wipe out a city will zip harmlessly between Earth and the moon’s orbit this weekend, missing both celestial bodies. Saturday’s close encounter will offer astronomers the chance to study a space rock from just over 100,000 miles away. That’s less than half the distance from here…
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NASA marks 20 years since space shuttle Columbia disaster
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. • NASA marked the 20th anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy with somber ceremonies and remembrances during its annual tribute to fallen astronauts on Thursday. More than 100 people gathered under a gray sky at Kennedy Space Center to remember not only Columbia’s crew of seven, but the 18 other astronauts…
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NASA capsule buzzes moon, last big step before lunar orbit
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. • NASA’s Orion capsule reached the moon Monday, whipping around the far side and buzzing the lunar surface on its way to a record-breaking orbit with test dummies sitting in for astronauts. It’s the first time a capsule has visited the moon since NASA’s Apollo program 50 years ago, and represents a…
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Space telescopes capture asteroid slam with striking clarity
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. • The world now has stunning new photos of this week’s asteroid strike, the first planetary defense test of its kind. NASA on Thursday released pictures of the dramatic event taken by the Hubble and Webb space telescopes. Telescopes on all seven continents also watched as NASA’s Dart spacecraft slammed Monday into…
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Why is a NASA spacecraft crashing into an asteroid?
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. • In the first-of-its kind, save-the-world experiment, NASA is about to clobber a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away. A spacecraft named Dart will zero in on the asteroid Monday, intent on slamming it head-on at 14,000 mph. The impact should be just enough to nudge the asteroid into a slightly…
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Space junk on 5,800-mph collision course with moon
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. • The moon is about to get walloped by 3 tons of space junk, a punch that will carve out a crater that could fit several semitractor-trailers. The leftover rocket will smash into the far side of the moon at 5,800 mph on Friday, away from telescopes’ prying eyes. It may take…