NASA’s Kepler mission confirms the discovery of the first near-Earth-size planet in the “habitable zone” around a sun-like, G2-type star. It is located 1,400 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. Called Kepler-452b, the planet is thought of as the “older, bigger cousin to Earth.” It has a 385-day orbit around is located 5% farther from…
Today’s Google Doodle honors Inge Lehmann, the female seismologist who discovered the earth’s inner and outer cores. Designed by Doodler Kevin Laughlin, the animated logo uses a glowing orb to represent Lehmann’s discovery. Born in Østerbro, Denmark, Lehmann was appointed the head of the department of seismology at Denmark’s Geodtical Institute in 1928. After intensive…
Wednesday morning’s total lunar eclipse, which will be the last total lunar eclipse this year, will begin at 4:45 a.m. ET and end at 9:05 a.m. ET. However, the most brilliant part of the eclipse, when the Earth completely shadows the moon from the light of the sun, will start at 6:25 a.m. ET and…
A rare double burst of magnetically charged solar storms will hit Earth Thursday night and Friday, raising concerns that GPS signals, radio communications and power transmissions could be disrupted. Individually, the storms, known as coronal mass ejections wouldn’t warrant special warnings, but their unusual close timing and direct path toward Earth spurred the National Oceanic…
After decades of searching scientists have discovered that a vast reservoir of water, enough to fill the Earth’s oceans three times over, may be trapped hundreds of miles beneath the surface, potentially transforming our understanding of how the planet was formed. [the guardian]
NASA announced Wednesday its Kepler spacecraft discovered 715 new planets orbiting 205 stars. “Nearly 95 percent of these planets are smaller than Neptune, which is almost four times the size of Earth,” NASA said. “This discovery marks a significant increase in the number of known small-sized planets more akin to Earth than previously identified exoplanets,…
A rare solar eclipse was seen by millions at sunrise on Sunday morning. The display was seen on across the east coast of the United States as far west as eastern Ohio, and as far south as Florida. A total eclipse of the sun was visible to those in central Africa. USA Today
American director and producer Michael Bay was injured on Thursday in an attack in Hong Kong during filming for his latest Transformers movie. Two brothers surnamed Mak, aged 27 and 28, approached Bay on the set during filming for the American science fiction film and the younger brother demanded payment of HK$100,000 or $12,900, a…
NASA has shared new images of the Earth and moon, as seen from Saturn and Mercury. In this photo captured by the Cassini orbiter on July 19, Saturn’s rings can be seen with Earth and the moon. Earth is a blue dot at the center right; the moon can be seen as a fainter protrusion…
‘City Killer’ Giant Asteroid Passes Earth Today 1.7 mile wide rock and its moon fly by at 5pm ET An asteroid as long as the Golden Gate Bridge will pass harmlessly by Earth on Friday as NASA and private firms aim to explore or commercially exploit these rocky interplanetary bodies rich with precious metals and…
Asteroid To Make Close Approach To Earth Next Week An asteroid half the size of a football field will make a close approach to Earth next week, but poses no threat of crashing into our planet, NASA officials say. Asteroid 2012 DA14’s close encounter is a record-breaking celestial event, according to Don Yeomans, the head…
