What kind of space rock is it?
By Sophia Dengo, CNN
When you hear about space rocks hitting the Earth, you may feel a little confused about the difference between objects such as "meteors," "meteorites" and "meteoroids." Here's a guide:
Source: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/faq/
Images: NASA/ESA/A. Feild, STScI, NASA, Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images, Peter Kneffel/AFP/Getty Images, John Thys/AFP/Getty Images
Live long and prosper: Vulcan wins vote to name Pluto moon
By Henry Hanks, CNN
Score one for Trekkers everywhere.
When two new moons were found near the dwarf planet Pluto, the SETI Institute asked the Internet to put it to a vote: What should they be named?
One of those names was Vulcan, best known in pop culture as the planet and alien species of Spock on "Star Trek."
Original "Trek" stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy took to Twitter to ask fans to vote for Vulcan.
According to the recently-posted results, it appears that Vulcan won by a wide margin. However, the final winner has not been officially announced.
Assuming that this vote total holds, we'll be looking at a real-life Vulcan orbiting Pluto in the next couple of months.
Are you excited by this most stellar event in "Star Trek" history? Let us know in the comments.
Glitch with SpaceX supply flight appears fixed
[Updated at 5:19 p.m.] SpaceX's unmanned Dragon cargo capsule suffered a temporary glitch with its thrusters after it achieved orbit Friday - a development that will delay its arrival at the International Space Station, NASA said.
The Dragon, launched Friday morning atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, had been expected to dock with the space station on Saturday to resupply the station's crew.
But Friday's hiccup will delay docking by at least a day, NASA said.
The Dragon is carrying more than 1,200 pounds of supplies for the crew and the crew's experiments. The supply mission is SpaceX's second of a planned 12 under a contract with NASA.
Science Seat: In search of the perfect tomato
By Kelly Murray, CNN
Editor's note: The Science Seat is a feature in which CNN Light Years sits down with movers and shakers from many different areas of scientific exploration. This is the fourth installment.
Ever wondered why some tomatoes taste great, and many others don’t?
Professor Harry Klee, a horticulturalist at the University of Florida in Gainesville, is on a mission to improve the taste and quality of supermarket tomatoes. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2012 for his efforts.
Klee presented his research in Boston recently at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting. CNN Light Years spoke with Klee before the conference. Here is an edited transcript:
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People in Orbit
Expedition 36 Commander
Expedition 36 Flight Engineer
Expedition 36 Flight Engineer
Contributors
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Elizabeth Landau
Writer/Producer -
Sophia Dengo
Senior Designer
