Life's Little Mysteries Space Archives
What Are Supernovas and What Do Scientists Learn from Them?
July 13, 2010, Lauren Cox
Burning a billion times brighter than our sun, the phenomena called supernovas have unlocked mysteries about black holes, the origin of metals such as gold and the expansion of the universe.
View Full Article »
What Causes the Aurora?
June 23, 2010, Remy Melina, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
The Aurora lights have dazzled and mystified human civilizations for centuries. The psychedelic light show is the natural result of fast-moving particles in the Earth's outer atmosphere.
View Full Article »
What's It Like to Live in Space?
June 23, 2010, Denise Chow, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Three astronauts who have spent time aboard the International Space Station describe what it is like to live, work and perform the most routine functions in space.
View Full Article »
What's at the Center of Black Holes?
June 22, 2010, Zoe Macintosh, Staff Writer
Produced from the implosion of massive stars, black holes are wells in the fabric of space-time so deep that nothing, not even light, can escape them.
View Full Article »
What's the Fastest Spacecraft Ever?
June 17, 2010, Denise Chow, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
For spacecraft that zoom through the cosmos at thousands of miles per hour, calculating which one is traveling at the fastest speed is slightly more complicated than simply clocking the first to cross ...
View Full Article »
What Will Replace the Hubble Space Telescope?
June 14, 2010, Denise Chow, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
The clock is ticking on the remaining life of the Hubble Space Telescope.
View Full Article »
Why Are Astronauts' Spacesuits Orange?
June 02, 2010, Clara Moskowitz, SPACE.com Senior Writer
International Orange was not a fashion decision.
View Full Article »
How Many People Have Flown On The Space Shuttle?
May 27, 2010, Stuart Fox, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
As the space shuttle enters retirement, the people who flew on it enter an exclusive club with a static membership.
View Full Article »
How Do Astronauts Go To the Bathroom in Space?
May 20, 2010, Karen Rowan, Life's Little Mysteries Managing Editor
NASA has a specially designed training room in which astronauts can carefully hone their technique before departing on their trip to weightless orbit.
View Full Article »
How Is Atlantis Different From the Other Space Shuttles?
May 12, 2010, Karen Rowan, Life's Little Mysteries Managing Editor
Even after 25 years of spaceflight this middle child of NASA's current space plane fleet still has its secrets.
View Full Article »
How Big Is the International Space Station?
May 12, 2010, Remy Melina, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
The ISS is so large that it is visible to the naked eye from the ground.
View Full Article »
How Can Astronauts Escape From an Exploding Rocket?
May 05, 2010, Karen Rowan, Life's Little Mysteries Managing Editor
If an explosion or fire were to occur during a launch, the crew capsule would need to move at high speeds to be a safe distance from the boosters.
View Full Article »
How Much Junk is in Space?
May 03, 2010, Clara Moskowitz
Space, a seemingly vast frontier, is actually pretty crowded with junk, and it's getting wors
View Full Article »
Could Extraterrestrials Really Invade Earth, and How?
April 28, 2010, Karen Rowan, Life's Little Mysteries Managing Editor
Experts weigh in on the question of whether aliens will visit Earth.
View Full Article »
Why Are Space Telescopes Better Than Earth-Based Telescopes?
April 24, 2010, Remy Melina, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
For twenty years, photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope have shown us what lies in the great beyond.
View Full Article »
What Will NASA Do With the Retired Space Shuttles?
April 19, 2010, Denise Chow, Staff Writer
NASA space shuttles Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour will be retired in September 2010, marking the end of the space agency's Space Shuttle program. Where will the shuttles go?
View Full Article »
What Are Cosmic Rays?
March 26, 2010, Denise Chow, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
The next time any of your electronics act up for no apparent reason, you might find that cosmic rays are to blame.
View Full Article »
Will an Asteroid Hit Earth? Are We All Doomed?
March 25, 2010, Robert Roy Britt
This is the question we get most often around here, in one form or another. Often it comes from someone who is really, really worried.
View Full Article »
Will Pluto Ever Hit Neptune?
March 25, 2010, Robert Roy Britt
Since Pluto's orbit intersects Neptune's orbit, will Pluto ever crash into Neptune or become one of Neptune's moons?
View Full Article »
Why is Earth Mostly Crater-Free Compared to the Moon?
March 25, 2010, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
Find out why the moon is such a pizza-face.
View Full Article »
Why Does the Moon Look Bigger on the Horizon?
March 25, 2010, Robert Roy Britt
You might have heard it is magnified by the atmosphere just as it rises. Not so. Instead, it's your brain on Moon drugs.
View Full Article »
Why Do Drops of Liquid Form Spheres in Space?
March 24, 2010, Corey Binns
Water is treated differently in outer space.
View Full Article »
Why Does Outer Space Look Black?
March 23, 2010, Corey Binns
The color black usually signals the absence of light. But inside the solar system, space is filled with light.
View Full Article »
What's the Temperature in Outer Space?
March 23, 2010, Michael Schirber
Is space cold or hot? It depends on whether it's sunny or not.
View Full Article »
What's the Largest Known Star?
March 23, 2010, Life's Little Mysteries Staff
The Pistol Nebula holds the most massive star.
View Full Article »
