Space : Science World Report

Feb 23, 2012 08:31 AM EST

NASA World Observatory: Mackenzie Bay, Antarctica

Off the northeastern edge of Antarcticaâ€™sAmery Ice Shelf lies Mackenzie Bay, which was painted with a ghostly blue-green mass in early February 2012. Similarly colored tendrils also streamed northward across the ocean, their flow sometimes interrupted by icebergs.

Feb 23, 2012 08:20 AM EST

Activity at Kizimen Volcano

The ongoing eruption of Russiaâ€™s Kizimen Volcano is reshaping the mountain. A massive lava flow is growing on the volcanoâ€™s eastern flank, and debris from the flow is building up the lower slopes. Additional debris is filling a stream valley north of the volcano.

Feb 22, 2012 01:25 PM EST

NASA Spacecraft Reveals Recent Geological Activity on the Moon

New images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft show the moon's crust is being stretched, forming minute valleys in a few small areas on the lunar surface. Scientists propose this geologic activity occurred less than 50 million years ago, which is considered recent compared to t...

Feb 22, 2012 12:32 PM EST

Hubble Reveals a New Type of Planet

Our solar system contains three types of planets: rocky, terrestrial worlds (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn), and ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). Planets orbiting distant stars come in an even wider variety, including lava worlds and "hot Jupiters."

Feb 22, 2012 10:20 AM EST

Heavy Snow in Lebanon and Syria

From February 17 to 19, 2012, a severe storm blasted the Lebanese coast with 100-kilometer (60-mile) winds and dropped up to 2 meters (7 feet) of snow on parts of the country, news sources said. Temperatures dropped to near freezing along the coast while snowplows struggled to clear the main roadway...

Feb 22, 2012 10:12 AM EST

Thick Sediment in Madagascarâ€™s Onibe River

In February 2012, Tropical Cyclone Giovanna made landfall in eastern Madagascar, packing winds of 125 knots (230 kilometers per hour) and heavy rains in excess of 250 millimeters (10 inches) along the coast. On February 20, Integrated Regional Information Networks reported that Giovanna had damaged ...

Feb 21, 2012 04:21 PM EST

What did John Glenn See?

Fifty years ago, on February 20, 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. He also was one of the first humans to study the planet from space.

Feb 21, 2012 01:41 PM EST

Global Permafrost Zones in High-resolution Images on Google Earth

Thawing permafrost will have far-reaching ramifications for populated areas, infrastructure and ecosystems. A geographer from the University of Zurich reveals where it is important to confront the issue based on new permafrost maps -- the most precise global maps around. They depict the global distr...

Feb 21, 2012 07:50 AM EST

El Hierro Submarine Volcano Eruption

Four months after it began, the underwater volcanic eruption off El Hierro Island persists. This natural-color satellite image, collected on February 10, 2012, shows the site of the eruption, near the fishing village of La Restinga.

Feb 20, 2012 04:55 PM EST

Gamma-ray Bursts' Highest Power Side Unveiled by Fermi Telescope

Detectable for only a few seconds but possessing enormous energy, gamma-ray bursts are difficult to capture because their energy does not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere. Now, thanks to an orbiting telescope, astrophysicists are filling in the unknowns surrounding these bursts and uncovering new qu...

Feb 20, 2012 04:36 PM EST

Flooding in Southeastern Australia

Along the border between the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales, several communities were flooded in early February 2012. By mid-month, the flood waters had moved west. On February 19, online news source NineMSN reported that as many as 10,000 residents of northeastern New South Wal...

Feb 20, 2012 11:20 AM EST

NASA: Lake Fitri as â€œTerminalâ€ Lake in the Southern Sahara Desert

Lake Fitri is an endorheic or â€œterminalâ€ lake in the southern Sahara Desert. Deserts get so little rainfall that the rivers passing through them often cannot reach the sea, instead ending at depressions in the land surface where they form lakes.