Year of the Comet
Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS)

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Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON)

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Astronomy News

Your online destination for news articles on planets, cosmology, NASA, space missions, and more. You’ll also find information on how to observe upcoming visible sky events such as meteor showers, solar and lunar eclipses, key planetary appearances, comets, and asteroids.

August 2004
Fred Whipple at 95
Best known for his revolutionary ideas about comets, Whipple touched on a variety of fields in his long career.
By Francis Reddy
Published: August 31, 2004
Artist's rendition of newfound Neptune-sized planet
Two groups discover planets with masses similar to Neptune's, unexpectedly bringing astronomers one step closer to finding Earth-size worlds around other stars.
By Francis Reddy
Published: August 31, 2004
Magnetic view of Mars
New radar helps shuttle, telescope groundbreaking in Utah, mapping magnetic Mars, perky Perseids, and more
Published: August 27, 2004
Matthew Pasek in the lab
The notion that the seeds of life on Earth may have come from space is an old one, but two University of Arizona scientists have given it a surprising twist.
By Francis Reddy
Published: August 26, 2004
Cassini adjusts orbit
The spacecraft at Saturn sets up for its 4-year tour.
By Francis Reddy
Published: August 24, 2004
Gaspra
A small asteroid missed Earth by a whisker last March.
By Robert Burnham
Published: August 23, 2004
Genesis spacecraft in collection mode
NASA's Genesis capsule is set to return to Earth and where it will be captured through an unconventional recovery method for space payload.
By Jeremy McGovern
Published: August 19, 2004
Longhorn vista
New evidence for water in Mars's past and more discoveries of intriguing rocks mark the twin rovers' extended missions so far.
By Laura Baird
Published: August 18, 2004
Chandra X-ray Observatory
Astronomers celebrate the X-ray satellite's fifth year of operation.
By Dan Falk
Published: August 17, 2004
Saturn fills Cassini's field of view
Cassini scientists discover the first of what they expect to be many new moons.
By Francis Reddy
Published: August 16, 2004
Saturn's south pole in the infrared
The spacecraft discovers a radiation belt, listens to lightning, and examines a hazy, glowing moon.
By Francis Reddy
Published: August 12, 2004
Dextre: the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator
NASA moves forward with a plan to service the Hubble Space Telescope without the space shuttle.
By Francis Reddy
Published: August 12, 2004
Astronauts service Hubble
An instrument that accounts for nearly one-third of Hubble science has fallen silent.
By Francis Reddy
Published: August 10, 2004
A Perseid streaks through Cygnus
Get ready for the annual summer show of shooting stars.
Published: August 4, 2004
Artist rendition of MESSENGER
The MESSENGER spacecraft was launched on August 3, 2004, on a 6.5-year trip to Mercury. It will be the first spacecraft to visit the planet in more than 30 years.
By Robert Burnham
Published: August 3, 2004
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