The news of NASA

On an island inside the Arctic Circle last Sunday (Dec. 12), the frigid darkness of the early morning hours was broken by an intense orange glow, as a NASA rocket blasted off for a brief flight arcing through Earth's aurora, or northern lights.
During its 10-minute flight, the rocket sent reams of data back to Earth before hurtling into the Norwegian Sea about 900 miles (1,450 kilometers) south of its launch point.

Comet Hartley 2 Up Close

 See the stunning close-up photos of Comet Hartley 2 from the Nov. 4, 2010 flyby performed by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft. This close-up view of comet Hartley 2 was captured by the spacecraft's Medium-Resolution Instrument.

This is another of the first images sent back to Earth from the NASA's EPOXI mission after it flew by Comet Hartley 2 around 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT) on Nov. 4, 2010.