SD times - Astronomy and Space archive

Severe Space Weather
Did you know a solar flare can make your toilet stop working? That's the surprising conclusion of a NASA-funded study by the National Academy of Sciences entitled Severe Space Weather Events—Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts. They found that almost nothing is immune from space weather—not even the water in your bathroom.

New Observations Show that the Pleiades May be Harboring Earthlike Planets
Rocky terrestrial planets, perhaps like Earth, or Venus, appear to be forming or to have recently formed around a star in the Pleiades star cluster, according to astronomers using the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The planets appear to be the result of "monster collisions" of planets or planetary embryos.

There IS life on Mars... but not as we know it, say Nasa scientists

Mars is alive, according to Nasa scientists, who revealed the first 'definitive proof' of plumes of methane gas seeping from the surface. Professor Michael Mumma said last night the discovery of the gas meant there was a 'substantial probability that life was there or still survives' on our celestial neighbour.

NASA Photo leak: Wood on Mars?

Someone at NASA released a photo that they shouldn’t have, a picture of a piece of timber the size of a railroad tie, a photo that could get someone killed. There is no mistaking that the object in the print below is a piece of wood. NASA claims that Mars is a desert planet with no life at all. NASA lies, repeatedly.

Martian stairs suggest ancient, predictable climate

They may not be the steps to paradise, but several outcrops of Martian rocks do resemble stairs, showing a regular pattern that suggests the ancient climate on the Red Planet wasn’t always a hellish amalgam of cataclysmic floods, volcanic eruptions and crater-gouging impacts, planetary scientists report.

Mile-thick glaciers found on Mars

Huge glaciers up to half a mile thick have been discovered close to the equator of Mars and are thought to be the remnants of an ice age on the planet. Hundreds of glaciers have been identified by researchers using ground-penetrating radar that allows them to see through a rocky layer of debris covering the ice.

Is Jupitor in the Midst ofViolent Climate Change?The Hubble Space Telescope and Keck Observatory images may support the idea that Jupiter is in the midst of violent global climate change. This theory was first proposed in 2004 by Phil Marcus, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. The planet's temperatures may be changing by 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit, with the giant planet getting warmer near the equator and cooler near the South Pole. Marcus predicted that large changes would start in the southern hemisphere around 2006, causing the jet streams to become unstable and spawn new vortices as has been proven out by the emergence of new swirling red storms.

Mysterious glowing aurora over Saturn
A stunning light display over Saturn has stumped scientists who say it behaves unlike any other planetary aurora known in our solar system. The blueish-green glow was found over the ringed planet's north polar region just like Earth's northern lights. It was discovered by the infrared instruments on NASA's Cassini spacecraft