This week we explored the possibility of living in a multiverse, saw exploding stars and the largest solar flare on the sun. Vote for your top space story of the week:
The ingredients of DNA and other organic compounds have now been discovered in meteors, shedding light on how Earth got the building blocks for life.[<a href="http://www.space.com/12569-meteorites-dna-building-blocks-discovery.html">Full Story</a>]
Asteroid and comet impacts on Earth don't wax and wane regularly, ruling out the existence of the so-called "Nemesis" companion star to the sun, a new study finds.[<a href="http://www.space.com/12559-nemesis-star-nibiru-existence-comet-impact.html">Full Story</a>]
Scientists are trying to recreate the atmosphere of Jupiter right here on Earth. [<a href="http://www.space.com/12587-jupiter-atmosphere-recreated-nasa-juno-spacecraft.html">Full Story</a>]
An extremely powerful solar flare, the largest in over four years, rocked the sun early Tuesday (Aug. 9), but it was unlikely to wreak any serious havoc here on Earth, scientists say. [<a href="http://www.space.com/12580-sun-unleashes-major-solar-flare.html">Full Story</a>]
After a nearly three-year journey, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity reached a giant crater, called Endeavour, on Wednesday, Aug. 10. [<a href="http://www.space.com/12594-nasa-mars-rover-opportunity-arrives-huge-crater.html">Full Story</a>]
E.T., the phone line is open and SETI is waiting for your call. And apparently Jodie Foster, too. After a temporary shutdown due to budget cuts, SETI's Allen Telescope Array is back in business with donations from Foster and other supporters. [<a href="http://www.space.com/12600-seti-alien-search-jodie-foster-allen-telescope-revival.html">Full Story</a>]
To judge how far away objects are, astronomers must rely on other objects whose properties are already known — such as certain kinds of exploding stars called supernova. New research is shedding light on the identity of one of these "standard candles," so-called because their brightness is standard enough that their true distance can be deduced from it. [<a href="http://www.space.com/12608-supernova-explosions-cosmic-yardstick-type-1a.html">Full Story</a>]
The troublesome build-up of space debris has reached a critical point and smashups between objects will continue to occur. A new coordinate approach to tackling the space junk menace is vital for future spaceflight, according to NASA's space debris office. [<a href="http://www.space.com/12602-space-junk-cleanup-grand-challenge-21st-century.html">Full Story</a>]
An unmanned military plane billed as the "fastest aircraft ever built" crashed into the Pacific Ocean Thursday(Aug. 12) after a malfunction caused it to stop sending signals while flying at more than 20 times the speed of sound, military officials said. [<a href="http://www.space.com/12610-superfast-military-aircraft-crashed-pacific-ocean-darpa.html">Full Story</a>]
Is the universe just one of many? Scientists are seriously investigating the possibility in a new test. [<a href="http://www.space.com/12613-multiverse-universe-eternal-inflation-test.html">Full Story</a>]
