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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Best "Arsenic and Odd Life" coverage
Last night I asked via Twitter for recommendations for articles that did the best job explaining the significance of the work, by people who actually read the relevant paper in Science.
Arsenic and Deep Space?
If you or I ingest arsenic, well...it doesn't go so well. If you are, on the other hand, a certain species of bacterium from Mono Lake, California, ingesting this seemingly toxic metal is simple enough.
Door 2 in the 2010 advent calendar
Time to open the second door in the advent calendar. Until the New Year, I'll be opening a door onto a different landscape from somewhere in the solar system. Can you guess where this crater-scarred surface lies?
Door 1 in the Planetary Society Blog 2010 advent calendar
December really has arrived, and that means that the year is racing to a close. Continuing last year's tradition, I'm counting the days to the New Year with an advent calendar, where each
What's the significance of this unremarkable spot on the Moon?
This was a fun image released by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera science team. Take a look at it and see if you can figure out what the significance of the red arrow is.
A few Mars Express Phobos goodies
To celebrate Mars Express' recent mission extension to 2014, here are some cool pictures that it took of Mars' inner and larger moon Phobos.
Final set of Voyager Mission Status Bulletins: The Voyager 2 Neptune flyby and beyond
I'm surprised no one's emailed me demanding the last batch of Voyager mission status bulletins! Well, here they are.
Jupiter's outbreak is spreading
Jupiter, always a pretty sight in the sky, is now worth visiting every day; the
Deep Impact at Hartley 2: Two weeks after the flyby
Today the Deep Impact/EPOXI science team held a press briefing that followed up on their very successful flyby of two weeks ago, a status report on what they can say so far about the science that's coming out of the encounter.
Asteroids and comets to scale, including Hartley 2
Just in time for today's Deep Impact press briefing, which you can watch on NASA TV in a few minutes: I've updated my montage of all the asteroids and comets that have been visited and photographed to include Hartley 2.
A little more information on the Hayabusa samples from Itokawa
Since I posted an update Monday about JAXA confirming extraterrestrial samples in the Hayabusa sample return capsule, JAXA has posted an English-language version of their press release, which contains a bit more information.
365 Days of Astronomy Podcast: What's in a Science Meeting?
Today the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast aired my contribution, What's in a Science Meeting?, about what scientists do at big meetings like the Division of Planetary Sciences.
I can't wait for MAHLI to land on Mars
JPL has just released some test images from the camera that has just been installed on the end of the Curiosity rover's robotic arm.
JAXA announcement: Itokawa sample return successful!
It's official: in a press release today, JAXA announced that some 1,500 dust grains scraped from the interior of Hayabusa's clean-looking sample return capsule are not of terrestrial origin so must be from Itokawa.
Five amazing engineering camera videos from Chang'E 2
I couldn't believe these videos when I first saw them: five views from engineering cameras of important events in the Chang'E 2 spacecraft's journey to the Moon.
First pictures from Chang'E 2 released
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced the success of Chang'E-2 lunar mission on Monday. Yong-Chun Zheng, an associate professor at the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, presents the mission's first released pictures.
The Disturbance is Starting
Jupiter's faded belt may be coming back.
DPS 2010: Centaurs and Trans-Neptunian objects
I attended all day Tuesday of the Division of Planetary Sciences meeting on October 5. The afternoon session on Tuesday was a grab bag about different small objects in the outermost solar system.
Opportunity bags a few craters
In the last few days, Opportunity's passed by several craters, and the rover drivers took advantage of the chance encounters for what they call
WISE's first brown (green?) dwarf
Look at the center of this star-studded image and you'll find an emerald green dot.



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