NASA Astronomers and amateur asteroid hunters alike believe they have tracked down fragments of the fireball that exploded somewhere over the Sierra Nevadas early Sunday morning. By analyzing a weather radar loop, Dr. Petrus Jenniskens of the NASA Ames Research Center near Mountain View, traced the a handful of space debris to an asphalt parking lot in the tiny town of Lotus, California in El Dorado County. more ›

Regarding that meteor that may or may not have struck the Earth near Lake Tahoe this past weekend, NASA now has a better estimate of just how big that flying chunk of colorful flaming space rock really was: Roughly the size of a minivan, except it was over 40 times heavier than your standard Plymouth Voyager (space joke) and it blew up over California's Central Valley with the energy of a 5-kiloton explosion. more ›

Forty years ago today, inside a Culver City movie studio, the lunar module parked on the alleged surface of the Moon, and out came a couple of guys who made history as the first human beings to land up there. The first one to emerge from the pod was Neil Armstrong, who made some sort of famous quote about baby steps and giant leaps and kind men, followed by Buzz Aldrin. Michael Collins, sadly, had to keep the engine running by orbiting above as the two men played with each other on the moon's surface. more ›

Our sister site LAist informs us, via the Mars Phoenix Lander's Twitter, that water ice has been found on the planet Mars today. At around 5:15 p.m., NASA folks exclaimed, "Are you ready to celebrate? Well, get ready: We have ICE!!!!! Yes, ICE, *WATER ICE* on Mars! w00t!!! Best day ever!!" more ›

In case any slimy, green Maritans appear, brandishing pointy laser guns--and all experts agree that there will be--keep track of them and the Mars Phoenix Lander on Twitter. It's scheduled to land on Mars this evening at 4:53 p.m. (PDT). Or so. more ›