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MARS ROVER IN PERIL: NASA is hoping for a 'miracle from Mars' as mission controllers wait to hear from Spirit. The rover is trying to survive its toughest winter yet, and may never phone home again. Get the full story from Science@NASA.

CELESTIAL TRIANGLE: When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west. Venus, Saturn, and Mars have converged to form a skinny triangle in the sunset sky. Adrian New sends this picture from San Antonio, Texas:

For the next few nights, Saturn and Mars will be especially close together, only 2^o apart, forming an eye-catching pair opposite Venus. Keep an eye on the twilight! Sky maps: July 30, 31, August 1, 2.

triangle images: from Stefano De Rosa of Viverone lake, Turin, Italy; from Gary A. Becker of Coopersburg, PA

CORONAL MASS EJECTION: During the late hours of July 30th, a magnificent coronal mass ejection (CME) billowed away from the eastern limb of the sun. Click on the image to set the cloud in motion:

If a CME like this hit Earth, polar sky watchers would likely see bright auroras. In this case, however, the cloud is not aimed in our direction. At most, it would deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field around August 2nd, producing only minor geomagnetic activity.

The source of the blast was apparently sunspot 1092. Future CMEs could be more geoeffective as the sunspot turns to face Earth in the days ahead. Stay tuned!

Solar Eclipse Photo Gallery
[NASA: South Pacific Eclipse] [animated map]