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Peter N. Spotts

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Christian Science Monitor

Rebuilding after tornadoes: two designs that could save lives in another storm

By Peter N. Spotts | 05/27/11
Following the tornado-driven tragedies that have struck the United States in the past month or more, many survivors are opting to remain and rebuild.
Christian Science Monitor

Red dwarf star systems: Promising for life, but watch the apocalyptic flares

By Peter N. Spotts | 01/11/11
Note from the Hubble Space Telescope: Looking for a home outside the solar system and considering that tempting-looking planet around an "old" red dwarf star?
Christian Science Monitor

Hey, space hounds! Here are our top space stories of 2010

By Peter N. Spotts | 12/23/10
The year 2010 fairly burst with astronomical discoveries, secret space-plane launches, and more questions than answers about the direction of the US human spaceflight program. Here's our sampler of some of the most interesting and significant. <
Christian Science Monitor

Where once a star shone, scientists see evidence of a baby black hole

By Peter N. Spotts | 11/17/10
The leftovers from a star that blew up in a galaxy some 50 million light-years away may be giving astrophysicists their first look at an infant black hole - an object whose gravity is so immense that even light fails to travel fast enough to esca
Christian Science Monitor

To swap broken pump on space station, a first-of-its-kind spacewalk

By Peter N. Spotts | 08/03/10
When a cooling pump aboard the International Space Station broke Saturday, it set the scene for a space-station first.
Christian Science Monitor

Gulf oil spill: Signs of recovery, cautions from scientists

By Peter N. Spotts | 08/02/10
With oil no longer flowing from the Gulf blow-out and green shoots beginning to appear in some patches of marshland where oil from the damaged well made landfall, scientists are beginning to note a few, tiny, early signs of the environment's recover
Christian Science Monitor

Tornadoes spur VORTEX 2 research for earlier warning system

By Peter N. Spotts | 06/23/10
With the 2010 US tornado season in full swing, scientists are diving into a treasure trove of data gathered during VORTEX 2 - the largest tornado research project ever undertaken.
Christian Science Monitor

Gulf oil spill: Louisiana's berm plan bold but full of uncertainty

By Peter N. Spotts | 06/08/10
Louisiana is gearing up to build offshore embankments of sand as bulwarks against the Gulf oil spill.
Christian Science Monitor

Will this be final flight for space shuttle Atlantis?

By Peter N. Spotts | 05/14/10
The space shuttle Atlantis and its six-member crew are set for launch Friday afternoon for a 12-day mission to the International Space Station - the final planned launch for Atlantis in the waning months of the space-shuttle program.
Christian Science Monitor

How to stop the BP oil spill: What else can be tried now?

By Peter N. Spotts | 05/04/10
As oil from an offshore drilling blowout spreads across the northern Gulf of Mexico, engineers are scrambling to staunch the flow of crude with everything from deep-sea submersibles to a little-tested approach for capturing the oil in a special stru