[The text below is a modified transcript of this video.] 5) Couch Potatoes on Mars When you’re sending a manned mission to Mars, you need to plan for every aspect of the trip; including how to get a good night’s rest. A simulated Mars mission has shown the importance of balancing activity with sleep to [...]

[The text below is a modified transcript of this video.] 2012 is almost over and it’s time take a look back at the top space stories of the past year. We’ll find out what happened in the weeks and months after the news broke. And, hey, don’t forget to tell us your top five in [...]

[The text below is a modified transcript of this video.] Story 5 For all those who have been dreaming of venturing into space, now is the time! For as little as… $750 million dollars, you could be the first person to step on the moon in 40 years. Golden Spike, a private spaceflight company, announced that [...]

Story 5 In 2005, the dwarf planet Makemake passed between the Earth and a very bright star, casting a shadow known as an occultation. A new study of data collected from the occultation reveals that Makemake lacks an atmosphere. Links: Rare Apparition of Dwarf Planet Makemake Reveals a Largely Airless World Story 4 Internet billionaire [...]

Story 5 Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson helped DC comics locate Superman’s fictional home planet Krypton in the non-fictional universe.  Because Krypton revolves around a red sun, Tyson has placed the planet in the constellation Corvus, which has a red dwarf star. Links: Superman’s Home Planet Krypton “Found” Story 4 Many people living in New York [...]

Story 5 Hurricane Sandy hit New York City and surrounding areas hard this week, flooding streets and damaging homes. The full moon played a role in the severity of the flooding, due to a phenomena called syzygy. Links: Astronomy links full moon to Hurricane Sandy high tide Story 4 Astronomers have detected ancient starlight from [...]

Story 5 Astronomers have discovered an Earth-mass planet circling Alpha Centauri B, a star only four light-years from our own solar system. Links: The Exoplanet Next-Door: Astronomers Discover World in Nearest Star System Story 4 The retired Space Shuttle Endeavour cruised the streets of Los Angeles on the way to its new home at the [...]

Story 5 A team of Harvard-based astronomers have discovered two black holes cohabiting Messier 22, a globular cluster of stars. Links: Cluster Coexistence: Neighboring Black Holes Defy Predictions of Violent Interactions Story 4 A far-out scheme to mitigate global warming calls for tethering space dust to a near-earth asteroid. Links: Asteroid Dust Could Fight Climate [...]

Story 5 The winners of YouTube’s SpaceLab competition learned the results of their experiments in the first-ever livestream from the International Space Station. Links: YouTube Space Lab: From 250 Miles Above the Earth Story 4 Scientists have discovered a giant magnetic star with a mass 20,000 times that of the sun. Links: Giant Super-Magnetic Star [...]

Story 5 Astronauts from five different space agencies are participating in the CAVES project, an underground training exercise beneath the island of Sardinia. Links: Astronauts Heading Deep Underground for Spaceflight Training Story 4 Scientists have discovered a two-star solar system orbited by two planets, an astronomical first. Links: Two Alien Planets Found with Twin Suns [...]