Sure, you have a general idea of how gravity works, how things orbit other things and the like, but it can be hard to really parse those kinds of things because they generally happen on such an enormous scale. That’s why experiments in micro-gravity can be so enlightening, and moreover, cool to watch. Check out this video of a water droplet orbiting a knitting needle, the first of many as part of a series being developed by NASA and the American Physical Society who aim to bring more cool videos from the International Space Station — and astronomical knowledge in general — down to Earth.

In case you had forgotten, NASA has extended its search for new astronauts online in recent years, giving anyone the chance to apply for what is probably the coolest job on the planet. Hopefully you didn’t forget to turn in your application, because the NASA won’t be taking anymore for a while. However, the space agency repots that it was a banner year, boasting the most applications since 1978. So if you did remember to apply, you’re going to have a lot of competition.

Last week, a NASA released a gorgeous picture of Earth, focused on the Western Hemisphere. The picture gained steam as being the largest photo of Earth ever taken, but it turns out it isn’t — it is simply a composite. It’s still gorgeous, so when NASA released a picture of the Eastern Hemisphere created using the same methods as the Western Hemisphere picture, we’re not exactly unhappy about pointing our eyes in its general direction.

NASA’s GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory), which we’ve been following, has provided its first video of the far side of the moon. You know, the part we can’t normally see and Hollywood blockbusters like to sling spaceships around when they need a boost. This isn’t the first video of that side of the moon, but GRAIL’s first, so keep in mind you’re not witnessing impressive history, but you’re witnessing something pretty cool in its own right regardless. The video, taken with the GRAIL’s MoonKAM, shows the North Pole to the South Pole, and shows us that all of the secret alien bases hidden on the other side of the moon aren’t there, or at the very least, packed up and went below the moon’s surface until the MoonKAM stopped trying to record them.

Over the past few days, you may have seen the above picture of Earth floating around the ol’ Internet, dubbed the largest picture of Earth ever taken. While the picture is absolutely gorgeous, it’s not actually the largest picture of Earth ever taken. Norman Kuring, the NASA oceanographer who made the picture, says though the picture is indeed large, it’s by no means the biggest, and on top of that, is actually a composite of a bunch of different segments.

This map is the result of years of research by NASA, the National Geological Survey, and the U.S. Forest Service. It shows, in staggering detail, the total of woody biomass (read trees) across these United States. Presenting the entire nation at a 30 meter resolution, with 4 pixels representing an acre land, it’s one amazing map. While impressive in its own right, this tree map aims to help keep a record of the amount of carbon being held in Earth’s plant matter. With concerns over carbon’s role in climate change, surveys like this are invaluable tools. See the full map, after the break.

If you just can’t keep up with what Mars is doing these days due to the hustle-bustle of your awesome, exciting, too-busy-for-Mars lifestyle, has NASA got the thing for you. Presenting: An iPhone app that sends new pictures of Mars directly to your phone, so you can still be that amateur Martian hunter you’ve always wanted to be, while being an adult and grabbing a coffee on the way to do spreadsheets at the office.

In late December, just before Christmas, a volcano in the Red Sea began shooting plumes of lava 60 feet into the air. The plumes of smoke and ash could be seen for miles in every direction; it was the birth of land. New imagery from NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite shows that the cooling lava has formed a new island is about 1,700 by 2,300 feet across and is expected to become a permanent resident. Welcome to the map, little island.

NASA’s Hubble captured this shot of the star-forming region, Sharpless 2-106, which happens to look pretty similar to a snow angel. NASA explains that twin lobes of super-hot gas stretch outward from the central star, creating what looks like snow angel wings. Even space is telling you to have a happy holiday season, so do it. You don’t want to let space down, do you?

NASA’s Kepler has found the first earth-sized planets orbiting a star outside of our solar system. Unfortunately for extraterrestrial life enthusiasts, the planets are too close to the star, so they are not in the star’s habitable zone. Dubbed Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f, the planets are in located a distance from the star that liquid water could not exist on their respective surfaces, however, the planets set a record for being the smallest exoplanets found orbiting a star similar to our sun.