Stories - AZPM

An artist's illustration of the Kepler telescope.

NASA Bids Farewell to Kepler, Pioneering Planet Hunter

After nine years and more than 500,000 stars observed, the space telescope is retiring.

Tucson Researcher Tracking Unusual Blue Asteroid

UA student's data includes comet Phaethon's link to Geminid meteor shower

Mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars, by the Viking Orbiter. The Valles Marineris canyon system is visible.

Mars Water Could Support Oxygen-Breathing Microbes

Simple, multicellular life, such as sponges, could survive in briny waters near the surface of the planet.

Scientists have found evidence of a possible exomoon, though they stress the need for more data and observations.

Scientists Put Forward Candidate For First Known Exomoon

If confirmed the discovery would be considered the first of its kind, scientists say.

Scientists think material from ice volcanoes once flowed across some of Ceres' now-cratered surface. Image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft.

Dwarf Planet Ceres Gaining New Attention From Scientists

A UA researcher says evidence of ice volcanoes on the surface make Ceres an interesting subject.

The UA HiRISE camera is aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been flying above Mars since March 2006.

UA Mars Camera Watching Dust Storm From Orbit

Storm has covered Mars since June, limiting surface missions

An illustration of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe.

UA Scientists Expect Bright Discoveries From Solar Satellite

NASA solar probe to be launched Saturday to measure sun's atmosphere

Scientists Discover Liquid Lake Under Mars Ice

Arizona researcher suggests it's the strongest evidence of liquid water so far.

An illustration of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Image courtesy [OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission](https://www.asteroidmission.org/).

OSIRIS-REx Due To Begin Asteroid Operations Soon

UA scientists prepare for spacecraft's first photos of the asteroid Bennu.

A Bright Touch: Harpist Christine Vivona

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Voices of protesters in Nogales; and a conversation with NASA nurse Dee O'Hara on the birth of the space program.

A helicopter drone could triple the distances that Mars rovers can drive in a Martian day and help pinpoint interesting targets for study.

Mars 2020 Rover Mission to Include Scout Helicopter

NASA will test the aircraft's feasibility with up to five flights in 30 days and use it for mission planning and rover navigation.

A poppy-seed-sized dent (the black spot near the top) was discovered on the heat shield of the OSIRIS-REx sample-return capsule in an image taken by an on-board camera March 2, 2017. The damage won't affect the capsule's performance.

Space Dust Dings OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft

Mission on target to encounter asteroid this year, return sample to Earth in 2023.

Scientists Want to Know: Can Table Salt Slow Global Warming?

Salt is superior to aluminum oxide to scatter heat-causing sunlight.

A supercomputer simulation of hot gas falling into the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The bright circular feature near the center of this image is the photon ring, predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity.

UA Focused on Project to Get First Images of Black Holes

National Science Foundation grant will help coordinate and compute data from telescopes.

The full moon in total eclipse, Sept. 27, 2015. Photographed in Tucson, Arizona, by Steward Observatory astronomer Glenn Schneider.

Catch a Total Lunar Eclipse Early Wednesday Morning

Early in the morning, the eclipse will cover a super, blue moon.

Catalina Sky Survey's 60-inch telescope atop Mount Lemmon.

Catalina Sky Survey Sets Record for Finding Asteroids

University of Arizona program bags 990 space rocks in 2017.

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