Submitted by David Kaplan except as noted

Keeping up with Rosetta
Rosetta’s comet is spinning down. The comet being observed by Europe’s Rosetta satellite is very gradually spinning down, most probably because its jets of gas and dust are acting like braking thrusters. BBC

Somewhere on Mars a Burger King…only kidding!Possible fatty acid detected on Mars. A fatty acid might be among organic molecules discovered on Mars by NASA’s Curiosity rover. BBC

Australia Finds ‘Huge Asteroid Impact’
Scientists in central Australia discover what they say is a 400 km-wide underground asteroid crater – the largest impact area ever found. BBC

Mars Rover Detects ‘Useful Nitrogen’
The Curiosity rover makes a detection of nitrogen compounds which provide further evidence that ancient Mars would have been a habitable world. BBC

What is the point of the Large Hadron Collider?
David Shukman explores the justifications for the £4bn ‘atom smasher’ buried under Geneva. BBC

Dark Matter Flits Through Collisions
A long-running study shows dark matter coasts unscathed through galactic collisions, betraying a ghostly lack of interaction with the known Universe. BBC

The Mission of Scott J. Kelly
NASA hopes to learn more about physical and psychological effects of space travel from the mission of Scott J. Kelly, who will have spent more time in space than any American when he returns. NY Times

Astrophotography Talk Forum Forum at Digital Photography Review
DPR

Ants In Space Grapple With Zero-G
A study finds that ants on board the International Space Station still use teamwork to search new areas, despite falling off the walls of their containers for up to eight seconds.
BBC

Mercury ‘Painted Black’ by Comets
The mystery of Mercury’s dark surface can be explained by a steady dusting of carbon from passing comets, research suggests.
BBC

NASA Releases Tool Enabling Citizen Scientists to Examine Asteroid Vesta
NASA (submitted by Michael Wright)

Don’t Try This at Home Guys
Green Light Laser Surgery (submitted by Michael Wright)

Signatures of Earth
A group of international scientists, including AAAP’s 50th Anniversary panelist Lisa Kaltenegger, has created a catalog of reflection signatures of Earth life-forms that provides researchers with a tool to help identify life on exoplanets. PNAS (submitted by Michael Wright)