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Scientists studying images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have found that heat from within the planet powers the jet streams.

Lichen is an example that was exposed to space conditions on the International Space Station for 18 months. Some lichens survived the ordeal and continued to grow in the laboratory. Several trays filled with organisms were installed on the outside of the European Columbus laboratory.

Planetrise: An artist's conception shows Kepler-36c as it might look from the surface of neighboring Kepler-36b.

NLSI scientists have mapped Shackleton crater with unprecedented detail, finding possible evidence for small amounts of ice on the crater’s floor. Using a laser altimeter on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft, the team essentially illuminated the crater’s interior with laser light, measuring its albedo, or natural reflectance. The scientists found that the crater’s floor is in fact brighter than that of other nearby craters — an observation consistent with the presence of ice, which the team calculates may make up 22 percent of the material within a micron-thick layer on the crater’s floor.

An annual conference that presents and publishes the best in computer graphics and technical research chose a NASA excerpt as one of its select entries of 2012.

Black holes in the early universe needed a few snacks rather than one giant meal to fuel their quasars and help them grow, a new study shows.

A new university-led study with NASA participation finds ancient Antarctica was much warmer and wetter than previously suspected. The climate was suitable to support substantial vegetation -- including stunted trees -- along the edges of the frozen continent.

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this view of the dwarf galaxy UGC 5497, which looks a bit like salt sprinkled on black velvet in this image.

Researchers anticipate that asteroid 2011 AG5, discovered in January 2011, will fly safely past and not impact Earth in 2040.