Skip to Main Content

2008

Pin it

  • Naked-Eye Gamma-ray Burst Aimed Directly at Earth

    Sept. 10, 2008

    Scientists are beginning to unravel the mystery of an extraordinary gamma-ray burst on March 19, 2008, which was visible to the naked eye. It turns out the explosion was aimed directly at Earth.

  • Total Lunar Eclipse

    Feb. 13, 2008

    On Wednesday evening, February 20th, the full Moon over the Americas will turn a delightful shade of red and possibly turquoise, too. It's a total Lunar Eclipse- the last one until Dec. 2010.

  • New Radar Maps of the Moon

    Feb. 29, 2008

    New high-resolution radar maps of the Moon's south pole reveal a fantastic land with peaks as high as Mt. McKinley and crater floors four times deeper than the Grand Canyon.

  • First Light for the Fermi Space Telescope

    Aug. 26, 2008

    Today, NASA revealed first light images and announced a new name for its latest space telescope.

  • NASA Begins Hunt for New Meteor Showers

    Nov. 10, 2008

    NASA astronomers have set up a monitoring station to scan the night sky for unknown or unexpected meteor showers--and they're finding more than they bargained for.

  • Crescent Moon Alert

    April 4, 2008

    A crescent moon of perilous beauty is about to appear in the evening sky. The best night to look is Tuesday, April 8th, when The Moonjoins the Pleiades star cluster for a must-see conjunction.

  • Hubble Directly Observes a Planet Orbiting Another Star

    Nov. 13, 2008

    NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken the first visible-light snapshot of a planet circling another star. The planet, called 'Fomalhaut b', orbits the bright southern star Fomalhaut, located 25 light-years from Earth.

  • A Violent History of Time

    Jan. 24, 2008

    NASA is preparing to launch a new space telescope named GLAST to study the most violent explosions in the history of our Universe.

  • Name that Space Telescope!

    Feb. 8, 2008

    NASA is inviting members of the general public from around the world to suggest a new name for the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, otherwise known as GLAST, before it launches in mid-2008.

  • Solar Flare Surprise

    Dec. 15, 2008

    Solar flares are supposed to obliterate everything in their vicinity, yet one of the most powerful flares of the past 30 years has done just the opposite, emitting a beam of pure and unbroken hydrogen atoms. Researchers think this strange event could yield vital clues to the inner workings of solar flares.