Blog Archive

Planetary Society Weekly Hangout: Being WISE about asteroids, comets, and brown dwarfs with Amy Mainzer

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/03/14 02:00 CDT

This week I'll be talking with NEOWISE principal investigator Amy Mainzer about moving objects that the WISE mission has spotted both inside and outside our solar system.

CRISM map of Gale crater, with Curiosity landing site marked

Yes, it was once a Martian lake: Curiosity has been sent to the right place

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/03/12 05:36 CDT | 7 comments

The news from the Curiosity mission today is this: Curiosity has found, at the site called John Klein, a rock that contains evidence for a past environment that would have been suitable for Earth-like microorganisms.

Checking in on Jupiter

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/03/12 01:57 CDT | 2 comments

We don't have any spacecraft at Jupiter right now, which is a pity. Until we do, we have to rely upon Earth-based astronomers to monitor the changing face of the largest planet.

The First Taste of Mars

Posted by Bill Dunford on 2013/03/11 10:53 CDT | 3 comments

Nearly four decades before Curiosity, we dug into Mars for the first time. The pictures are still amazing.

Atacama Diary for March 10, 2013--Pisco Sours and Liquid Helium

Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2013/03/10 11:10 CDT

Great dinner and great conversation with staff of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, topped by Chile's national drink.

Atacama Diary for March 8, 2013-Noon at LAX

Posted by Mat Kaplan on 2013/03/09 05:32 CST

Another audio blog post, with excerpts from the National Science Foundation briefing on the ALMA Observatory, edited while I was waiting for my planet to Chile at LAX.