On the cover: Ashen Waves of Grains. White Sands National Monument in New Mexico offers visitors a tour of their dark skies. For other summer vacation stargazing spots, see below. (NEW MEXICO MAGAZINE)

As the warmth of summer takes hold this month, we offer two icy respites: Antarctica and Europa.

Deep Freeze
In her first article for StarDate, Sara Latta takes us to the white continent where astronomers are constructing a huge astrophysics experiment to detect high-energy neutrinos. These esoteric subatomic particles have little or no mass and rarely interact with matter. Billions are passing right through you as you read this. Detecting neutrinos is tricky business, but the more astronomers learn about them, the closer they may get to understanding the missing dark matter in the universe. Meanwhile, the Galileo probe continues its reconnaissance of Jupiter's icy moon Europa, finding frosty valleys and icy cliffs.

Destination: Darkness
If you're starting to plan your summer vacation, consider stopping at one of the spots highlighted in our summer stargazing guide. From Yosemite National Park in California's Sierra to the Gulf Coast of Florida to the remote plateaus of North Dakota, public programs for enjoying dark skies in beautiful settings are plentiful.

AstroNews: Asteroid close call, automated sky survey

Read archived news from StarDate magazine in the Resources section.

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