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A team of researchers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., has found radiation from protons could further enhance a process that occurs during tumor progression. This information may help lead to better methods to protect astronauts from the harmful effects of radiation in space, as well as help cancer researchers on Earth better understand the effects of radiation treatment on the human body.

Seventeen Cameras on Curiosity
This graphic shows the locations of the cameras on NASA's Curiosity rover. The rover's mast features seven cameras: the Remote Micro Imager, part of the Chemistry and Camera suite; four black-and-white Navigation Cameras (two on the left and two on the right) and two color Mast Cameras (Mastcams). The left Mastcam has a 34-millimeter lens and the right Mastcam has a 100-millimeter lens. There is one camera on the end of a robotic arm that is stowed in this graphic; it is called the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI). There are nine cameras hard-mounted to the rover: two pairs of black-and-white Hazard Avoidance Cameras in the front, another two pair mounted to the rear of the rover, (dashed arrows in the graphic) and the color Mars Descent Imager (MARDI).

Ladon basin in full colour

Messier 68 captured by Hubble

On July 28, 2012, the sun emitted a mid-level flare, categorized as an M6.2 flare. The flare is visible here in the lower left-hand side, coming from an active region on the sun named AR 1532. This image was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in the 131 Angstrom wavelength, which is typically colorized in teal and which is a particularly good wavelength for observing flares.

This oblique view of the lower mound in Gale Crater shows layers of rock that preserve a record of environments on Mars.

New research using data from European Southern Observatory telescopes, including the Very Large Telescope, has revealed that the hottest and brightest stars, known as O stars, are often found in close pairs. Many of these binaries transfer mass from one star to another, a kind of stellar vampirism depicted in this artist's impression.

For several days this month, Greenland's surface ice cover melted over a larger area than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations.