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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Philosophical after the first day's launch attempt
Oh well, the Sun sets on an earthbound New Horizons at least one more time. The first day's launch attempt was a strange experience in retrospect.
New Horizons launch scrubbed for today.
Well, it was a nail-biting morning and too bad that New Horizons didn't go but these things happen pretty frequently.
Less than 24 hours to New Horizons' Launch
New Horizons just experienced what we hope will be its last ever sunset on Earth. There will be three more sunsets to come.
Looking Forward to New Horizons' Launch (15 January 2006)
Another quick post from the Cape. Yesterday was our final pre-launch meeting of the Science Team.
Looking Forward to New Horizons' Launch (13 January 2006)
We're at the Cape! More properly, we're at Cocoa Beach just down the coast, having flown in from Denver today.
New Horizons progress report
There's a new
Looking Forward to New Horizons' Launch (12 January 2006)
This is probably my last missive before Jane and I leave for the Cape on Friday in preparation for the launch.
What will happen just after New Horizons' launch
Over the weekend, New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern posted a new
Great news for New Horizons
I'll just make this an
Looking Forward to New Horizons' Launch (9 January 2006)
I'm at home on a Sunday morning, five days before leaving for the Cape (assuming the current launch schedule, with the first launch opportunity on January 17th, continues to hold).
Looking Forward to New Horizons' Launch (2 January 2006)
I've been sifting through the data I obtained last week on the lightcurve of binary Kuiper Belt object 1998 SM165 during my three nights on the Lowell Observatory 72
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Descends Husband Hill as Opportunity Works at a Standstill on Olympia
The Mars Exploration Rovers have each completed their first Mars Year (687 Earth days) and are close to completing their second Earth year exploring their respective sites on the Red Planet. With both Spirit and Opportunity finding new variations of bedrock in the areas they are exploring, the mission is continuing to send the team holiday gifts in the form of intriguing discoveries.
A debate in Meridiani Planum
There was a big news splash about two articles that appeared in Nature about Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's landing site. The articles suggest two theories for the formation of the layered sulfur-rich deposits at Meridiani Planum that do not involve standing liquid water.
A nap for Venus Express
According to the latest Venus Express Status Reporton ESA's website, the Near Earth Commissioning Phase of the mission has been completed successfully, and the spacecraft is going to be napping for a few weeks as it continues to cruise toward Venus.
MESSENGER's first big deep space maneuver was successful
The Applied Physics Laboratory announced today that MESSENGER's first
Pretty Cassini pictures from near the ring plane
It's been a while since I posted some Cassini pictures here just because they were pretty.
Analyzing the first published Huygens results
I am working my way steadily through the seven Huygens papers that were released by Nature magazine Wednesday on their
Cassini Photographs the Fountains of Enceladus (and gets pics of Tethys, Janus, Epimetheus, and the G ring too)
Emily tackles this morning's ESA press conference about Huygens.
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Spirit Achieves Martian Year Milestone while Opportunity Reveals Harsh Challenges for Past Martian Life
In its orbit around the Sun, the Red Planet has been returning to where it was when the Mars Exploration Rovers first landed back in January 2004, and, as the twin robot field geologists are marking the milestone of their first Martian year -- equivalent to almost two Earth years -- fireworks are flashing all around the planet. Although the cause of the fireworks is actually debris from Halley's comet, through which Mars is currently passing, the timing seems so metaphorically appropriate.
Thruster trouble for Hayabusa
Hayabusa has been riding an incredible wave of luck lately, resulting in the dramatic success of the sample grab last week. But it looks as though Hayabusa's luck may be running out.