Universe Today's 2015 Holiday Gift Giving Guide for the Space and Astronomy Fan

By nancygraz - December 11, 2015 01:06 PM UTC | Site News
Yes, it's that time of year again when everyone struggles with what gifts to buy their family and friends for their holiday-of-choice. Whether you are hoping to foster a love of space and science in a young child, or want to surprise that special adult "Super Space Nerd," we here at Universe Today are here to help our readers out with ideas and recommendations to fit virtually any budget, experience level, and area of interest, including telescopes, books, and other items that the "space/science geek" in your life would love to receive!
Continue reading

Book Review: We Are All Stardust

By david-freiberg - December 07, 2015 10:52 AM UTC | Astrobiology
Every scientist has a story. Though not all have a specific moment they can point to that 'got them into science', they all have people or places or moments which inspired them, or gave them some critical insight, or just kept them going through difficult or tedious times. "We Are All Stardust" is about those scientists, and about those stories.
Continue reading

Mars Compared to Earth

By Matthew Williams - December 05, 2015 07:00 PM UTC | Planetary Science
Mars is the 4th planet from Sun, and the place that holds our imagination because of the possibility that there might be life there. There are some similarities to Earth, like its day length, solid ground and polar caps, but there are many differences as well, like its much smaller size, mass and gravity. And don't forget about the extremely cold temperatures. Let's learn about Mars compared to Earth.
Continue reading

New Horizons Takes Closest Image Ever of a Kuiper Belt Object

By Nancy Atkinson - December 04, 2015 05:52 PM UTC | Planetary Science
The New Horizons spacecraft is already 209,437,000 km (130,138,000 miles) past Pluto (as of Dec. 4, 2015), making it 5,226,950,000 km (3,247,880,000 miles) from Earth. So, yes, it's way out there. Recently, it took the closest images ever of a distant Kuiper Belt object, setting a record by a factor of at least 15, according to NASA. The team says this image demonstrates the spacecraft's ability to observe numerous similar bodies over the next several years.
Continue reading

What are the Earth's Layers?

By Matthew Williams - December 04, 2015 09:00 AM UTC | Planetary Science
There is more to the Earth than what we can see on the surface. In fact, if you were able to hold the Earth in your hand and slice it in half, you'd see that it has multiple layers. But of course, the interior of our world continues to hold some mysteries for us. Even as we intrepidly explore other worlds and deploy satellites into orbit, the inner recesses of our planet remains off limit from us.
Continue reading