Articles

Emily Lakdawalla

In a move that's kind of hard to understand in the wake of the immense public outreach success of the Hayabusa mission, JAXA is closing JAXA i, its public information center in Tokyo today (December 28 in Japan).

Emily Lakdawalla

Time to open the twenty-sixth door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system is this rayed crater?

Emily Lakdawalla

Time to open the twenty-fifth door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system are these conjoined craters?

Emily Lakdawalla

Each day until the New Year, I'll be opening a door onto a different landscape from somewhere in the solar system. Where in the solar system are these squirrely spots?

Emily Lakdawalla

Time to open the twenty-third door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system is this oozing wound?

Emily Lakdawalla

Time to open the twenty-second door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system are these degraded craters?

Emily Lakdawalla

Cassini's busy downlinking photos from yesterday's close pass by Enceladus, including some neat shots of Dione and this one where Mimas skipped briefly in to the field of view.

Emily Lakdawalla

Time to open the twenty-first door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system is this rumpled blanket?

Emily Lakdawalla

Unless you live under a rock you probably know that there is a total lunar eclipse tonight, one that should be particularly favorable for viewing from North America but which will be at least partially visible to viewers in South America, Europe, and easternmost Asia and Australia too.

Emily Lakdawalla

Time to open the twentieth door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system is this diffuse blob and stripy sea?

Emily Lakdawalla

Ordinarily it's not my thing to do so many updates on a mission that failed to arrive in orbit, but I know that it's difficult for English-speaking readers to locate information on Asian missions so I'm keeping up the reporting on Akatsuki.

Emily Lakdawalla

Time to open the nineteenth door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system are these folded rocks?

Emily Lakdawalla

Time to open the eighteenth door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system is this brush-stroked surface?

Emily Lakdawalla

The Hayabusa update is brief: having opened the first Hayabusa sample return chamber (compartment A) last month, JAXA has now opened compartment B, and they found nothing inside.

Emily Lakdawalla

Time to open the seventeenth door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system are these strange promontories?

Emily Lakdawalla

Time to open the sixteenth door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system is this widespread fan?

Emily Lakdawalla

The Planet Hunters website, like Zooniverse's other projects, is very, very easy to get up and running.

Emily Lakdawalla

Time to open the fifteenth door in the advent calendar. Where in the solar system is this cratered world?

Emily Lakdawalla

Today Opportunity has driven to within 20 meters of Santa Maria crater, and the blocks around it are really, really cool-looking. This one is a dead ringer for the severed tail of an alligator.

Emily Lakdawalla

Don't blink when you play the video below -- it's only 15 seconds long, but it's so cool.