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Friday, October 12, 2012

For Sale: A Chunk Of Mars

A fragment of the meteor that crashed into Tissint, Morocco.

October 12, 2012 A meteorite from Mars hit the Moroccan desert in 2011. Now its otherworldly fragments are telling scientists about the history of the red planet. You, too, can own a piece of Martian history — if you've got a couple hundred thousand dollars to spare.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

Krulwich Wonders...

Sun Goes Down. Up Comes A Mystery

If the night sky is filled with stars, why is it still so dark?

October 12, 2012 A child's question and an old paradox: If the sky is filled with stars, why is it dark at night? Physicists say the answer lies in those deep dark spaces between stars — evidence of our expanding universe.

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Monday, October 08, 2012

Krulwich Wonders...

Eat Your Heart Out, Columbus: A Sailing Ship That Travels On Sunshine

Christopher Columbus on the Santa Maria.

October 8, 2012 Sailing voyages on Earth required explorer to harness the wind and waves. However, Japanese scientists have developed a method of cosmic sailing fueled by light particles, or photons. The "kite-craft," named IKAROS, deployed its sails and has already sailed past Venus.

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Friday, October 05, 2012
Wednesday, October 03, 2012

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Welcome To The Third Copernican Revolution

Just the tiniest slice of what's out there: the Pencil Nebula is pictured in an image from the European Southern Observatory's La Silla facility in Chile. This peculiar cloud of glowing gas is part of a huge ring of wreckage left over after a supernova explosion that took place about 11,000 years ago.

October 3, 2012 In 1543 Copernicus moved the Earth from the center of the cosmos to a less exalted position. In 1924 Hubble did it again, moving our galaxy from the center of the universe to its place in the crowd. Are we on the verge of realizing our universe also is just one among many?

Summary

Krulwich Wonders...

Are Those Spidery Black Things On Mars Dangerous? (Maybe)

Spidery black dots on the Martian surface hint at an explosive geography.

October 3, 2012 From Earth, lifeless Mars can seem like a serene and boring planet. However, scientists noticed some little black dots in a satellite image of the Martian sand that may hint at an exciting, explosive geography.

Summary

Friday, September 28, 2012

NASA's Curiosity Finds Water Once Flowed On Mars

NASA says it has found proof that water shaped the rocks on the left, in a photograph taken by the Mars rover Curiosity (left). For comparison, the agency released an image of rocks from Earth (right).

September 28, 2012 NASA's newest Mars rover snapped photos of rocky outcroppings that jut out from the alien soil. Scientists say they look like the remnants of an ancient stream bed where water once flowed on the surface of the red planet.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

Thursday, September 27, 2012

The Two-Way

Streams Of Water Once Flowed On Mars; NASA Says Photos Prove It

NASA says it has found proof that water shaped the rocks on the left, in a photograph taken by the Mars rover Curiosity (left). For comparison, the agency released an image of rocks from the Earth (right).

September 27, 2012 NASA's Curiosity rover has found definitive proof that water once ran across the surface of Mars, the agency announced today. NASA scientists say that new photos from the rover show rocks that were smoothed and rounded by water. The rocks are in a large canyon and nearby channels that were cut by flowing water, making up an alluvial fan.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Looking For Answers Beyond The Cosmic Horizon

This spectacular image of the large spiral galaxy NGC 1232 was obtained by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in 1998. NGC 1232 sits in the constellation Eridanus (The River) at a distance of about 100 million light-years and is about twice the size of the Milky Way galaxy.

September 26, 2012 The notion that the Big Bang is like an exploding bomb is completely wrong. But what, then, lies beyond the edge of space? Can we ever know whether the Universe is infinite?

Summary

Friday, September 21, 2012

The Two-Way

Touchdown: Space Shuttle Endeavour Lands In Los Angeles

Spectators Mario Vasquez, 40, of Redondo Beach and his son Mario Jr., 2, watch as space shuttle Endeavour, atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, prepares to land at Los Angeles International Airport Friday.

September 21, 2012 Riding piggy-back atop a Boeing 747, the shuttle performed a fly-by at several iconic spots, from Malibu and Santa Monica to the Getty Center, the Griffith Observatory, and Vandenberg Air Force Base.

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