A new moon for Saturn – a family affair

The 60th moon of Saturn reveals itself in a sequence of images. The discovery suggests that the new moon, along with its neighbors Methone and Pallene (discovered by the Cassini imaging team in 2004), may form part of a larger group of moons in this region. The movie spans six hours. Initial calculations show the moon to have a width of approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles), with an orbit that lies between those of the moons Methone and Pallene. The moon's orbit is in resonance with another moon, Mimas, also seen in this sequence as a very bright, moving object. The new moon's location is indicated by a red box. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute


Space voyaging rock reveals insight into detecting life on other planets

Oct 02, 2008
Photo courtesy R. Demets/F. Brandstatter - Spacecraft after landing in Kazakhstan after the experiment. Samples, including Orkney sample, are screwed onto the outside.

A Star That Bursts, Blinks and Disappears

Sep 30, 2008
This illustration shows a flare from magnetar Swift J195509+261406. A starquake is probably what triggered the object's 40 optical flares. Credit: NASA/Swift/Sonoma State University/A. Simonnet

Hubble Snaps Close-up Views of Diverse Galaxies

Sep 30, 2008
These images taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are close-up views of four galaxies from a large survey of nearby galaxies. The galaxies have very different masses and sizes and showcase the diversity of galaxies found ...

Oldest Known Rock on Earth Discovered

Sep 26, 2008
Bedrock along the northeast coast of Hudson Bay, Canada, has the oldest rock on Earth. Credit: Jonathan O'Neil

Astronomers discover dusty remains of two terrestrial planets

Sep 24, 2008
An artist's rendering depicts planets colliding in a sun-like binary system about 300 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Aries. Artwork by Lynette R. Cook.