How much rain can a cloud hold? We'll see ...

Why do some clouds produce lots of rain, while others do not? By flying an aircraft into rain clouds, NASA scientists are on a mission to find out. The mission will reveal the inner workings of rainmaking clouds and is unprecedented in scope, said mission team members. Scientists will combine data gathered by instruments on the ground with measurements taken by high-tech instruments installed on aircraft flying above and into rain clouds. The data should further the team's goal of forecasting and measuring rainfall from satellites. What's your favorite rainy day activity? Board games? Movies? A good book?

Celebrate educators during Teacher Appreciation Week May 2-6, 2011

If you appreciate the knowledge you have acquired over the years thanks to your teachers, Teacher Appreciation Week is a great time to show your gratitude. Dedicated to the celebration of our favorite educators worldwide, Teacher Appreciation Week is not only a way for students to celebrate their teachers, but also for people to learn more about teaching as a profession and its merits worldwide since teaching is done differently in each country. Teacher Appreciation Week allows teachers to discover why their teaching is appreciated. Tell us about your favorite teacher!

Human terrarium, Biosphere 2, looking good at 20

In the 1990s, eight scientists agreed to spend two years sealed inside a 3-acre terrarium in Arizona's Sonoran Desert. Their mission was to see whether humans might someday be able to create self-sustaining colonies in outer space. Two decades later, scientists are still using the 7.2-million-square-foot Biosphere 2, only now the focus is figuring out how we'll survive on our own warming planet. Researchers say Biosphere 2 may be even more relevant today than when those first people passed through the airlocks on Sept. 26, 1991. Experience Biosphere 2 for yourself when you travel to the Grand Canyon with Discovery Student Adventures.

Yellowstone supervolcano's size exceeds expectations

Beneath Yellowstone National Park lurks a partially molten plume rising from the Earth's mantle, fueling the park's famous geysers and hot springs, and causing the crust above to bulge and recede in response to its forces. Now, researchers report that the source beneath the surface may be even more massive than previously thought. Using a new technique, they have created an image of the plume beneath Yellowstone showing the cyclone shape stretching at a 40-degree angle to the west at a depth of 200 miles for 400 miles east to west, as far as the new technique can reach. Witness extraordinary geologic features on a journey to Yellowstone with Discovery Student Adventures.