Skip to Main Content

2001

Pin it

  • The Great Mars Rush

    May 15, 2001

    Hurtling toward Mars at 22,000 mph, Earth is heading for its closest encounter with The Red Planetin a dozen years. Mars is already a brilliant morning star and it will soon become a dazzling all-night spectacle.

  • Into the Storm

    Aug. 16, 2001

    While most people are trying to avoid the perils of this year's hurricanes, scientists will soon be flying right into the mighty storms!

  • A Propitious Alignment of Planets

    July 19, 2001

    In ancient times many people thought heavenly alignments influenced daily life on Earth. Nowadays they set the schedule for space exploration.

  • A Taste for Comet Water

    May 18, 2001

    When Comet LINEAR broke apart last year it revealed what many scientists thought all along: Water in Earth's oceans could have come from outer space.

  • Space Seeds Return to Earth

    July 25, 2001

    Seed pods from a commercial gardening experiment aboard the International Space Stationare back on Earth. The far-out pods could hold the key to long-term habitation of space.

  • Morning Coffee and Planets

    July 10, 2001

    Beginning Friday the 13th -- a lucky day for stargazers -- four planets, the Moon, and a giant red star will put on a dazzling show for early-rising sky watchers.

  • The Pacific Dust Express

    May 17, 2001

    North America has been sprinkled with a dash of Asia! A dust cloud from China crossed the Pacific Ocean recently and rained Asian dust from Alaska to Florida.

  • Planet Gobbling Dust Storms

    July 16, 2001

    An enormous dust storm has erupted on Mars, shrouding the planet in haze and raising the temperature of its atmosphere by a whopping 30 degrees.

  • Happy Anniversary, Viking Lander

    July 20, 2001

    On July 20, 1976, NASA's Viking 1 lander descended safely to the surface of Mars, revealing an alien world that continues to puzzle scientists and tempt explorers.

  • El Nino Repellent?

    June 28, 2001

    New satellite images of the Pacific Ocean hint that El Nino will not return this winter. Instead, La Nina-like weather patterns will persist thanks to a "Pacific Decadal Oscillation" that might also repel strong El Ninos.