NASA Science News for August 19, 2008
What if you woke up one morning and found your whole planet had been swallowed by the atmosphere of a star? Don't laugh, it could happen to you, and NASA has a special program to deal with it.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/19aug_lws.htm?list894054

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml!

 

Space Weather News for August 5, 2008
http://spaceweather.com

COUNTDOWN TO THE PERSEIDS: The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks one week from today, on Tuesday, August 12th. The best time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday morning when forecasters expect 50 to 100 meteors per hour.  Get away from city lights if you can; plan a camping trip!  The darker the sky, the more meteors you will see.

The source of the Perseids is Comet Swift-Tuttle, which has littered the August portion of Earth's orbit with space dust.  The dusty zone is broad and Earth is already in its outskirts.  As a result, even before the peak on August 12th, you may see some "early Perseids" streaking across the night sky. Photos of these early arrivals will be featured in the days ahead on http://Spaceweather.com as part of our full coverage of the Perseid meteor shower.

BONUS:  Last Friday's total solar eclipse is history, but new pictures continue to appear in our photo gallery.  Start browsing at this URL: http://spaceweather.com/eclipses/gallery_01aug08_page3.htm
NASA Science News for August 11, 2008
Today's story from Science@NASA tells of NASA's plans to find water on the Moon by crashing a spacecraft into the lunar surface. The Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS for short) is on track for a 2009 launch and subsequent plunge into a crater near one of the Moon's poles. Amateur astronomers may be able to observe the impact through backyard telescopes.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/11aug_lcross.htm?list894054
NASA Science News for August 15, 2008
NASA scientists are preparing to launch a "flying tractor" with microwave sensors to explore the nitty-gritty realm beneath your feet.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/15aug_omega.htm?list894054
Space Weather News for Aug. 15, 2008
http://spaceweather.com

LUNAR ECLIPSE: This Saturday, August 16th, people on every continent *except* North America can see a lunar eclipse. At maximum, around 2110 UT (5:10 pm EDT), more than 81% of the Moon will be inside Earth's shadow, producing a vivid red orb in the night sky visible to the naked eye even from light-polluted cities.  The entire eclipse lasts more than 3 hours, so there's plenty of time for gazing, drinking coffee, and taking pictures.
North Americans can watch the eclipse via live webcast beginning 3:30 pm EDT on Saturday afternoon.  Eclipse-cam links may be found, along with time tables, visibility maps, and eclipse photo galleries, at http://spaceweather.com .

PERSEID RECAP:  The Perseid meteor shower peaked on August 13th with maximum rates exceeding 130 meteors per hour.  Despite interference from the bright Moon, it was arguably the best Perseid show in years.  Browse the gallery starting here:
http://spaceweather.com/meteors/gallery_12aug08_page3.htm