Astronomy
This false-color X-ray and radio frequency image made available by NASA on Friday, May 28, 2021 shows threads of superheated gas and magnetic fields at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. X-rays detected by the NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory are in orange, green, blue and purple, and radio data from the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa are shown in lilac and gray. The plane of the galazy is horizontal, in the center of this vertical image. Astronomer Daniel Wang of the University of Massachusetts Amherst said Friday he spent a year working on this, while stuck at home during the pandemic. (NASA/CXC/UMass/Q.D. Wang, NRF/SARAO/MeerKAT via AP)
NASA releases stunning new pic of Milky Way's 'downtown'

By Marcia Dunn May. 28, 2021 02:46 PM EDT

FILE - This Feb. 17, 2021 file photo, shows a full-scale model of the Ingenuity helicopter displayed for the media at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Space engineer Loay Elbasyouni was part of the NASA team that made history this month by launching an experimental helicopter from the surface of Mars. But he says an expedition to his hometown in the Gaza Strip, where posters celebrate his achievement, feels even farther off because of Israeli and Egyptian restrictions. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
Gazan behind Mars drone says visiting home is no small step

By Fares Akram Apr. 29, 2021 01:13 PM EDT

A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off in this time exposure from Launch Complex 39A Friday, April 23, 2021, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Four astronauts will fly on the SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
SpaceX launches 3rd crew with recycled rocket and capsule

By Marcia Dunn Apr. 23, 2021 05:52 AM EDT

In this image from NASA, NASA's experimental Mars helicopter Ingenuity lands on the surface of Mars Monday, April 19, 2021. The little 4-pound helicopter rose from the dusty red surface into the thin Martian air Monday, achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. (NASA via AP)
NASA's Mars helicopter takes flight, 1st for another planet

By Marcia Dunn Apr. 19, 2021 11:26 AM EDT

President Joe Biden congratulates NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars 2020 Perseverance team for successfully landing on Mars during a virtual call in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Thursday, March 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Biden lauds NASA team for giving US 'dose of confidence'

By Alexandra Jaffe And Aamer Madhani Mar. 04, 2021 06:09 PM EST

In this illustration made available by NASA, the spacecraft containing the Perseverance rover slows down using the drag generated by traveling through the Martian atmosphere. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)
NASA rover lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life

By Marcia Dunn Feb. 18, 2021 04:15 PM EST

This image made available by NASA depicts a possible area through which the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover could traverse across Jezero Crater. This mosaic is composed of aligned images from the Context Camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS via AP)
NASA rover attempting most difficult Martian touchdown yet

By Marcia Dunn Feb. 17, 2021 11:42 AM EST

This image made available by the China National Space Administration on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020 shows the Tianwen-1 probe en route to Mars. China's duo _ called Tianwen-1, or “Quest for Heavenly Truth” _ will remain paired in orbit until May, when the rover separates to descend to the dusty, ruddy surface. If all goes well, it will be the second country to land successfully on the red planet. (CNSA via AP)
Next stop Mars: 3 spacecraft arriving in quick succession

By Marcia Dunn Feb. 07, 2021 10:06 AM EST

This image provided by Jan Kath Design GmbH shows an outer space themed rug. German designer Jan Kath has created a rug collection called Spacecrafted inspired by imagery of gas clouds and asteroid nebulae from the Hubble telescope. (Dimo Feldmann/Jan Kath Design GmbH via AP)
RIGHT AT HOME: Space-themed decor brings the heavens indoors

By Kim Cook Jan. 26, 2021 09:03 AM EST

FILE - In this Wednesday, May 15, 2019, file photo, actor George Clooney talks to reporters on arrival at the premiere of the television mini-series "Catch22," in London. Clooney was honored Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, by co-stars and colleagues at the annual film benefit for the Museum of Modern Art, held virtually. (Photo by Grant Pollard/Invision/AP, File)
Q&A: Clooney on 'Midnight Sky' and his twilight as an actor

By Jake Coyle Dec. 23, 2020 01:42 PM EST

FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2019, file photo, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley, left, and Bob Behnken work with teams from NASA and SpaceX to rehearse crew extraction from SpaceX's Crew Dragon, which will be used to carry humans to the International Space Station, at the Trident Basin in Cape Canaveral, Fla. For the first time in nearly a decade, the two astronauts blasted towards orbit aboard an American rocket from American soil on May 30 2020, a first for a private company. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP, File)
World's space achievements a bright spot in stressful 2020

By Marcia Dunn Dec. 16, 2020 11:36 AM EST

Viewers wear special glasses to watch a total solar eclipse in Piedra del Aguila, Argentina, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. The total solar eclipse was visible from the northern Patagonia region of Argentina and from Araucania in Chile, and as a partial eclipse from the lower two-thirds of South America. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Daytime darkness: Total solar eclipse wows in Latin America

By Esteban Felix And Eva Vergara Dec. 14, 2020 03:04 PM EST

Editorial Roundup: New England

By The Associated Press Dec. 12, 2020 11:05 AM EST
Recent editorials of regional and national interest from New England’s newspapers: CONNECTICUT: Dead pool at Hartford...

U.S. Ambassador John Rakolta talks with a UAE TV presenter during the U.S.A Pavilion handover ceremony at the Dubai Expo 2020, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. The U.S. showed off a literally star-studded pavilion Wednesday for Dubai's upcoming Expo 2020, complete with a replica SpaceX rocket body beside it. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
US shows off its star-studded Expo 2020 pavillion in Dubai

By Jon Gambrell Nov. 18, 2020 04:38 AM EST

This combination photo shows, from left, Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert, who are nominated for Entertainer of the Year for the 54th Annual CMA Awards. Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker host the CMA Awards, airing live from Nashville, Tennessee, at 8 p.m. EST Wednesday on ABC. (AP Photo)
New this week: 'I Am Greta,' Chris Stapleton & CMA Awards

By The Associated Press Nov. 09, 2020 10:25 AM EST

This Aug. 11, 2020 photo shows the sampling arm of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft during a rehearsal for an approach to the "Nightingale" sample site on the surface of the asteroid Bennu. After almost two years circling the ancient asteroid, OSIRIS-REx will attempt to descend to the treacherous, boulder-packed surface and snatch a handful of rubble on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020. (NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona via AP)
US spacecraft touches asteroid surface for rare rubble grab

By Marcia Dunn Oct. 20, 2020 07:15 PM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2020, file photo, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate, at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis, File)
Whitmer's meteoric rise leaves Democrats excited for future

By David Eggert Aug. 12, 2020 12:51 PM EDT

This combination photo shows actor-director Werner Herzog, left, and actress-director Regina King. The Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday unveiled a lineup featuring the directorial debut of Regina King and the latest documentary from Herzog. King directs a drama about a young Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay, titled “One Night in Miami,” and Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer have a meteorite documentary called “Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds." The festival, which is set to run Sept. 10-19, has plotted a largely virtual 45th edition due to the pandemic. (AP Photo)
Toronto sets lineup, Regina King to debut Muhammad Ali film

By Jake Coyle Jul. 30, 2020 10:00 AM EDT

An Atlas V rockets lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center with NASA's Perseverance rover on its way to Mars, Thursday, July 30, 2020, at Cape Canaveral, Fla. The biggest, most sophisticated Mars rover ever built, a car-size vehicle bristling with cameras, microphones, drills and lasers is part part of an ambitious, long-range project to bring the first Martian rock samples back to Earth to be analyzed for evidence of ancient life. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
NASA launches Mars rover to look for signs of ancient life

By Marcia Dunn Jul. 30, 2020 07:52 AM EDT

Excerpts from recent South Dakota editorials

By The Associated Press Jul. 27, 2020 03:07 PM EDT
Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan, July 23 For once, a comet that didn't disappoint I’ve spent the last several nights...