WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama plans to host a conference in Florida next month on his administration's approach to the next step in space exploration. The White House says Obama and top officials as well as leaders in space will discuss the future of U.S. efforts in human space flight. Details of the conference, scheduled for April 15, are to be announced later.

NASA scientists say February's magnitude 8.8 Chilean earthquake might have shifted one of the Earth's axes and shortened the length of an Earth day. The scientists noted Earth's figure axis is not the same as its north-south axis, with the two being offset by about 33 feet. JPL scientist Richard Gross said the same computer model was used to estimate the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran earthquake and it showed last week's event, although of a lesser magnitude, had a bigger impact on the planet because it was located in Earth's mid-latitudes -- not near the equator.

Mar. 1--The UA College of Optical Sciences is putting the final touches on an ultra-thin mirror that will be a crucial part of a new telescope funded by Discovery Communications and the Lowell Observatory. The $44 million Discovery Channel Telescope, being built about 40 miles southeast of Flagstaff in the town of Happy Jack, has been in the works since 2003. The new instrument will serve as a valuable research tool for Lowell astronomers and will allow the media company to share outer space with the world, said Martin Valente, director of the Optical Fabrication and Engineering Facility in the UA College of Optical Sciences.

ANAHEIM, Calif., Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Vivitar, a leading brand of digital cameras and photographic accessories for over 70 years, sets sights on PMA 2010 with the highly anticipated launch of their Series 1 collection of quality optics from the trusted brand. This new line offers something for everyone with exciting new features, high quality product and affordability. Vivitar's TEL-76700 is Vivitar's first astronomical telescope to feature Reflector based architecture and technology.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA astronaut John Grunsfeld, who participated in three spaceflights to service the Hubble Space Telescope, is leaving the agency to become the deputy director of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. The institute is the science operations center for Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope, which is planned for launch in 2014. "During the past 18 years, John has been a true asset to the agency," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, a former astronaut who flew on the STS-31 mission that deployed the Hubble.

EDWARDS, Calif., Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A NASA jumbo jet that will help scientists unlock the origins of the universe with infrared observations reached a milestone Friday when doors covering the plane's telescope were fully opened in flight. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, a modified 747 jet known as SOFIA, flew for one hour and 19 minutes, which included two minutes with the telescope's doors fully opened. It was the first time outside air has interacted with the part of the plane that carries the 98-inch infrared telescope.