Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Record response to call for new astronauts
GREENBELT, Md., Feb. 7 (UPI) -- NASA says it received more than 6,300 applications for a position in the space agency's next class of astronauts, twice as many as...
Mars Express radar yields strong evidence of ocean that once covered part of Red Planet
ESA's Mars Express has returned strong evidence for an ocean once covering part of Mars. Using radar, it has detected sediments reminiscent of an ocean floor within the boundaries of...
Surface of Mars an unlikely place for life after 600 million year drought
Mars may have been arid for more than 600 million years, making it too hostile for any life to survive on the planet’s surface, according to researchers who have been...
Mock Mars mission to study food preference
ITHACA, N.Y., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they're looking for volunteers for a four-month Mars mission in a mockup space capsule on Earth to measure appetites and...
Space Rock of Love: Asteroid Eros Attracts Skywatchers in Earth Flyby
The close pass of the asteroid Eros this week allows astronomy buffs to measure the size of the solar system.
Russia's Space Woes Stress NASA's Need for Private Spaceships
NASA has a critical need for commercially built spacecraft to fill the gap in human spaceflight.
Mars Express reveals wind-blown deposits on Mars
(PhysOrg.com) -- New images from ESAs Mars Express show the Syrtis Major region on Mars. Once thought to be a sea of water, the region is now known to be...
Hunter's Moons: Astronomers Use Kepler Spacecraft to Search for Exomoons
Astronomers have discovered a trove of exoplanets --more than 700 worlds in orbit around distant stars, with leads on thousands of additional suspects. So now, naturally, they're beginning to...
The hills are evolving: New model predicts speed of spreading valleys
From high above the Florida Panhandle, the Apalachicola Bluffs -- a winding system of steep ravines -- look like the branching veins of a leaf.
Cutting-edge cocktails light up New York
You're not allowed to light a cigarette in New York bars, but there's nothing to stop a bartender from setting your cocktail on fire with a 815 degrees Celsius (1,500...
Best Space Photos of the Week - Feb. 3, 2012
From a stunning image of our marbled earth to city lights from space, it's been a remarkable week for space photography.
Space cats [video] | @GrrlScientist
Just in time for our Caturday morning video smile, an astronomy video about catsHere's an astronomy video about cats, just in time for our Caturday morning video smile! This video is a...
Roger Boisjoly, 73, Dies; Warned of Shuttle Danger
Mr. Boisjoly wrote a portentous memo six months before the Space Shuttle Challenger’s explosion, warning that if it was too cold, seals connecting sections of the shuttle’s rocket boosters could...
Iran launches student-built satellite
TEHRAN, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Iran says it has launched a satellite into space, a fully indigenous project built by Iran university students.
Entropy in the kitchen | Jon Butterworth | Life & Physics
One of the best discussions I've had in the comments on this blog was about entropy, and it took us from black holes to a cup of tea. This excellent video completes...
Schoolgirls' Mystery Illness: Mass Hysteria or Environmental Toxin?
Schoolgirls in New York have developed a mysterious tic that seems contagious.
Should NFL Teams Go for It More on Fourth Down?
Is it better for teams to punt or kick a field goal, or just go for it?
High-precision map of Milky Way's magnetic fields charted
Scientists have pooled their radio observations into a database, producing the highest precision map to date of the magnetic field within our own Milky Way galaxy.
NASA Awash In Astronaut Applications, But Still Lacks Spaceships
Not since 1978 have so many people wanted to be a NASA astronaut.
France Picks Five More University Groups for Major Investment
PARIS—French Prime Minister François Fillon today announced that five more conglomerates of universities and...
Virgin Galactic's Private Spaceship Ramping Up Toward Passenger Flights
Powered test flights should occur this summer.
Record-Setting Female Astronaut Shannon Lucid Leaving NASA
Shannon Lucid is a veteran of five spaceflights, logging more than 223 days in space.
Image: Saturn and its moon Dione
(PhysOrg.com) -- Saturn and Dione appear askew in this Cassini spacecraft view, with the north poles rotated to the right, as if they were threaded along on the thin diagonal...
Planets Circling Around Twin Suns
In the last two decades, the study of extrasolar planets — those that lie outside our own solar system — has become one of the most important fields of astrophysics....
Largest optical telescope created
Astronomers at the Paranal observatory combine four telescope to create the world's largest virtual device with a 130m-mirror.
VIIRS eastern hemisphere image: Behind the scenes
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Suomi NPP satellite is in a polar orbit around Earth at an altitude of 512 miles (about 824 kilometers), but the perspective of the new Eastern hemisphere...
Radio stars: Caltech's astronomy professor searches for cosmic radio waves
Growing up in rural northwest Ireland, beyond the reach of city lights, Gregg Hallinan fell in love with the night sky. "When you didn't have bad weather, and you didn't...
Need Statistics Lessons For HEP Data Analysis ? Look Here.
Last week I spent a few interesting days in the pleasant winter setting of Engelberg, a mountain location in the Swiss alps. There I attended the CHIPP 2012 winter school,...