Looking Up by Bob Eklund

GIANT TELESCOPE MIRROR COMPLETED – Scientists at the University of Arizona and in California have completed the most challenging large astronomical mirror ever made. For the past several years, a group of optical scientists and …[READ MORE]

PAINTBALLS MAY DEFLECT AN INCOMING ASTEROID – In the event that a giant asteroid is headed toward Earth, it might help if it were blindingly white. A white asteroid would reflect sunlight—and over time, this …[READ MORE]

HOW TO HUNT A SPACE ROCK – Peter Willis and his team of researchers at JPL had a problem. Actually, more like they had a solution that needed a problem. Confused? Let’s let Peter give …[READ MORE]

PLANET FOUND IN NEAREST STAR SYSTEM TO EARTH – European astronomers have discovered a planet with about the mass of the Earth orbiting a star in the Alpha Centauri system—the nearest to Earth. It is …[READ MORE]

UCLA ASTRONOMERS REPORT THE DISCOVERY of a remarkable star that orbits the enormous black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy in a blistering 11-and-a-half years—the shortest known orbit of any star near …[READ MORE]

NAVIGATING THE SEAS OF TITAN – Humanity has landed rovers on Mars. Now, say scientists, it’s time to land a boat on Titan. This outlandish scenario could become reality, according to engineers presenting their proposals …[READ MORE]

MARS ROVER TARGETS UNUSUAL ROCK EN ROUTE TO FIRST DESTINATION – NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has driven up to a football-size rock that will be the first for the rover’s arm to examine. Curiosity is …[READ MORE]

Goodbye Vesta, Hello Ceres—NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is on track to become the first probe to orbit and study two distant solar system destinations, to help scientists answer questions about the formation of our solar system. …[READ MORE]