Explore the exciting discoveries from two NASA missions to study comets, Stardust and Deep Impact, which collected valuable data about the nature of comets. The Stardust spacecraft was designed to capture dust particles from comet Wild 2 and deliver them to Earth for analysis. The Deep Impact missio
This video from NASA introduces a proposed mission to study potential habitable worlds around gas giants such as Jupiter. The Europa Jupiter System Mission, a proposed joint venture between NASA and ESA (the European Space Agency), would send two spacecraft to study Jupiter and its four largest moon
Meet NASA scientist Lynn Carter, who studies the geology of planetary surfaces, in this video adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Science Center. Carter describes how scientists learn about Earth by studying other planets and moons. Objects such as the Moon have older surfaces, which serve as a record
Learn about powerful cyclones seen at Saturn's north and south poles in this video from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. From a distance, Saturn appears to be serene; however, the Cassini spacecraft has provided detailed views that show the planet's active atmosphere. A giant cyclone (with a diamet
Discover dark features in Jupiter's atmosphere called "hot spots," and their connection to large-scale atmospheric waves. David Choi describes his research on hot spots clearings in Jupiter's atmosphere that appear bright in infrared light. Analysis of data from the Cassini mission in 2000 reveal ho
Learn about Earth's close encounter with asteroid 2012 DA14 on February 15, 2013, in this video from NASA. Asteroid 2012 DA14 passed safely about 17,000 miles (27,000 kilometers) from Earth's surface. Its orbit was well known and scientists were not worried about a possible collision. NASA observes
Look at the northern and southern aurorae of Saturn and explains how they are produced in this video from NASA. In 2009, there was a rare opportunity to observe both of Saturn's poles simultaneously. The Hubble Space Telescope gathered data over several days, and researchers used the images they gat
Discover how scientists plan to use data from the GRAIL mission and a map of the Moon's gravitational field to learn about its internal structure. By comparing data about the Moon's gravity with information about its topography, scientists can gain a better understanding of the Moon's formation and
Explore how human understanding of planetary orbits has changed throughout history in this video about Kepler's laws of planetary motion. Kepler's three laws of planetary motion accurately describe the elliptical orbits of objects around the Sun. This video presents the story of Johannes Kepler and
Learn about the education of chemist Percy Julian. Julian's early educational years paralleled an educational movement that prepared African Americans for industrial jobs, the growing white supremacist movement, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. Julian would eventually move north, and finally to Eur
In the early 1900s, most geologists thought that Earth's appearance, including the arrangement of the continents, had changed little since its formation. This video segment, adapted from the "Earth Explorer" episode of Discovering Women, describes the impact the theory of plate tectonics has had on
Learn how scientists used the fossils of one-celled aquatic organisms, called diatoms, to understand ancient climate conditions in eastern Africa, in this video from NOVA: Becoming Human. White layers of a rock formation consist of deep-water diatoms and darker layers consist of shallow-water diatom
