According to a Greek legend, the sea god Poseidon placed the figure of <a href="/the_universe/Constellations/circumpolar/cassiopeia.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">Cassiopeia</a> among the stars. It is said that Cassiopeia has a ridiculous upside-down position to punish her for having been pretentious.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of 1995 Visual Language (c). All rights reserved.</em></small></p>New observations by the MESSENGER spacecraft provide support for the hypothesis that Mercury harbors abundant water ice and other frozen volatile materials in its permanently shadowed (shown in red) polar craters. Areas where polar deposits of ice imaged by Earth-based radar are shown in yellow.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Arecibo Observatory</em></small></p>An <a href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc000905e.php">8.6 magnitude earthquake</a> struck on 11 April 2012 off of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, followed by a strong aftershock. Earthquake motion was primarily horizontal. A tsunami warning was issued for the Indian Ocean, but was cancelled at 12:36 UTC. A tsunami was observed at 1 meter or less. Find out more about <a href="/earth/geology/quake_1.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">earthquake</a> and <a href="/earth/tsunami1.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">tsunami</a> processes. Check out the resources <a href="/teacher_resources/2011_AGU-NESTA_GIFT_Workshop.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">here</a>.<p><small><em>NOAA</em></small></p>A group of Emperor penguins wait their turn to dive into the ocean near <a href="/people/postcards/jean_pennycook_11_29_0.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">Ross Island, Antarctica</a> on November 3, 2004. Emperor penguins routinely dive to 500 meters in search of food. Scientists are interested in understanding how they can endure the stress of these dives in such an <a href="/earth/extreme_environments.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">extreme environment</a>.<p><small><em> Image courtesy of Emily Stone, National Science Foundation</em></small></p>An artist's rendering of the moment of impact of a massive <a href="/our_solar_system/meteors/meteors.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">meteorite</a> at the end of the Cretaceous (at the end of the <a href="/earth/geology/hist_mesozoic.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">Mesozoic Era</a>). Many scientists have concluded for decades that a meteorite four to six kilometers in diameter impacted the Earth at this time, resulting in a <a href="/earth/past/KTextinction.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">mass extinction of dinosaurs</a> and many other life forms. Recent research suggests that perhaps <a href="/headline_universe/olpa/chicxulub.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">massive volcanic eruptions</a> may be been responsible for the extinction.<p><small><em>Courtesy of Don Davis, NASA</em></small></p>Lunar eclipses are special events that only occur when certain conditions are met. First of all, the Moon must be in <a href="/the_universe/uts/moon3.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">full phase</a>. Secondly, the <a href="/sun/sun.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">Sun</a>, <a href="/earth/earth.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">Earth</a> and <a href="/earth/moons_and_rings.html&edu=high&dev=1/images/moons/=/earth/climate/games_space_sense.html">Moon</a> must be in a perfectly straight line. If both of these are met, then the Earth's shadow can block the Sun's light from hitting the Moon. The reddish glow of the Moon is caused by light from the Earth's limb scattering toward the Moon, which is reflected back to us from the Moon's surface.<p><small><em>Image credit - Doug Murray, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida</em></small></p>


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