But there are a couple of very interesting things that you may NOT yet know about that earthquake. Here’s the first: the quake moved the entire city of Concepcion, home to more than 200,000 people, 10 feet to the west. That’s right. An entire city moved 10 feet. Imagine if you woke up tomorrow morning and your bedroom was 10 feet west of where it is right now! And Concepcion wasn’t alone in its relocation, as no fewer than three other cities, including Santiago, Chile’s capital, moved at least a few inches.

There’s more. You see, NASA has determined that the earthquake actually shortened the length of a day AND changed the tilt of the earth’s axis ever so slightly. Neither effect is noticeable to the naked eye, but scientists have concluded that the length of a day is now 1.26 millionths of a second shorter, and that the earth’s figure axis deviated about three inches. Follow the link above to learn all about it from the fine folks at National Geographic.

That should change in the coming months, however. Over the weekend the White House announced plans for a space conference to be held in Florida on April 15. During that conference, the president will outline what are said to be “ambitious plans” for the future of U.S. space exploration, and it appears that those plans will include, among other things, trips to Mars and beyond.

It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds. When the president first announced that he was calling off NASA’s previously-scheduled moon mission and looking instead at funding commercial space travel, there was widespread concern that his ultimate goal was to scale back space-related funding. Instead, it appears that his plans include an overall increase in funding, a more aggressive approach to developing new technologies and a long-term timetable for manned flights to the outer reaches of our solar system.

Keep an eye on this story, and as always, feel free to post your own comment or to email us if you want to weigh in!

At the beginning of each month, we always look forward to this regular feature from MSNBC.com. It features the best pictures from (or of, or about) space to have popped up in the last 30 days. Without exception, it is always cool.

Among the highlights from February: Spacewalking, a unique view of the recent snowstorms to hit the northeast, Martian chocolate and one very big cosmic potato.

Galahad series author Dom Testa unveils a brand new series of articles exclusively at ClubGalahad.com!

Beginning today, Dom will tackle a series of scientific subjects related to the Galahad series and bring them to life right before your eyes. Are you ready to get the real-life download on artificial intelligence, comets, anti-gravity, space farms, and much more?

Follow this link to learn all about the science behind Galahad!

The expansion is called Tranquility — named for the spot where Americans first landed on the moon in 1969. For now, it’s just a nice amenity, but the plan is to eventually outfit Tranquility with all the bells and whistles (like, say, a toilet) that will allow it to be converted into living quarters.

“I don’t think space station’s ever going to be the same after this,” said NASA’s mission control in a congratulatory phone call.

For the American astronauts involved in the project, there won’t be much time to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The shuttle Endeavor and its six astronauts are due back in Florida by the end of the weekend, with the shuttle Discovery scheduled to take their place at some point in April.

The second entry in the Galahad series, The Web of Titan, hits bookstores on June 29. You can find it at your local independent bookstore or you can pre-order it on popular sites like Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

What is the mysterious metal pod orbiting one of Saturn’s moons? How will Triana and the crew deal with a sweeping, unknown epidemic? And why are the systems aboard Galahad beginning to fail one by one? Find out for yourself on June 29!

And don’t forget that the new paperback edition of The Comet’s Curse is available everywhere on March 2!

2010 is shaping up to be the year of Galahad — hop on board now!

You can watch video of the launch here. And remember: these aren’t CGI, Hollywood-style special effects. This is a real rocket, launched into space at 2,300 miles per hour. Amazing.

One of the important outcomes that is expected to come from this mission is the ability to predict solar weather disturbances, which include things like solar flares. We may not realize it, but variations in the sun’s weather can cause major problems here on Earth, like disrupting power grids and knocking out satellite communications, which we use for things like cell phones and cable television.

As Dean Pesnell, an SDO project scientist for NASA, puts it, “Our sun affects our lives more and more as we depend more and more on technology.”

Speaking of technology… there’s even an iPhone application that allows you to track the progress of the SDO mission and get a constant stream of 3-D views of the sun. You can download it for free right here. Enjoy!

Among the highlights this time around: Saturn’s moons, the Flame Nebula, Martian sand, and a very unique look at the immediate aftermath following the recent earthquake in Haiti (as seen from space).

Enjoy.

Oh wait, there is. This link will take you to a blog post appropriately titled, “100 Coolest Science Experiments on YouTube.” As writers, we appreciate the descriptive succinctness of the title. And as fans of science experiments, we appreciate having so many gathered together in one place for our viewing pleasure.

You may find that your favorite video details whether ingesting Pop Rocks and soda will make your stomach explode. Or you may really enjoy learning how to make a tornado in a bottle. We like those too, but when it comes to science experiment videos, we’re pretty sure that there’s no one better than Steve Spangler. Thankfully several of his videos made the list (whew).

Watch and enjoy.

• Friday, January 29 will bring us the biggest and brightest full moon of the year, and this article explains WHY it’s so much bigger and brighter than all the others. We also learn that the first full moon of the year is called the Wolf Moon, and that anyone with clear skies over their head tonight will be able to see it.
• Speaking of the moon… according to several published reports, President Obama is expected to end NASA’s plan to return to the moon. But that doesn’t mean that he’s backing away from funding space travel. In fact, early estimates say that he’s committing $100 billion dollars to space exploration through the year 2015 — but where and how that money is spent looks to be drastically changing.
• India, the world’s second most populous country and a rapidly-growing world power, is planning a manned space mission for the year 2016. The proposal, which still needs final approval, would send two astronauts into orbit for seven days.
• And last but not least, construction is underway in New Mexico on the runway to space. Expect this to become a much bigger story in the months and years ahead.