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November 19, 2012 Look at this rocket ship. It is big. It is complicated. We could use long words to describe what's in it, or we could use short words. The author, cartoonist Randall Munroe, chooses short words. Ridiculously short words. Some will sneer. I cheer.

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October 28, 2012 An ongoing exhibition at the National Museum of African Art asks visitors to consider the connections between art and science — and the ways both disciplines help us explore the why, when and how of our existence. Artifacts in the exhibition show that we've been wondering about the stars for millennia.

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October 20, 2012 Maybe it's because Halloween is right around the corner, but when we saw this image, our first thought was nougat, a confection that's been around for centuries. But what we're looking at is a lot older — and more heavenly.

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October 17, 2012 Researchers have found a planet orbiting a neighboring star that's similar to our sun. Alpha Centauri B is a staple of science fiction, because the star is so close to our own solar system. Now scientists say they have evidence that the star is orbited by at least one planet and where there's one, there's probably more.

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October 15, 2012 Watching Felix Baumgartner's "space jump" on Sunday was exciting, riveting and unnerving. And it does make you wonder: What if something had gone wrong?

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October 15, 2012 Morse code isn't used very often for 21st century Earth communication. However, artists, scientists and ham radio enthusiasts still creatively use the dots and dashes to make their imprint in space.

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October 14, 2012 Ever wonder what it would look like to fly high above the Earth in the middle of the night? In a video by NASA scientist Justin Wilkinson, it's clear that while we're asleep, our planet is buzzing with city lights and lightning storms.

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October 13, 2012 The crowds that cheered the shuttle on Saturday changed their tune after a night of hassles that left the Endeavour still blocking L.A. traffic and threatening trees early Sunday morning.

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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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