Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Massive Japan Quake Even Rattled Upper Atmosphere
Link could provide early warning for tsunamis.
A cosmic inkblot test: Spitzer captures view of Dumbbell Nebula
If this were an inkblot test, you might see a bow tie or a butterfly depending on your personality. An astronomer would likely see the remains of a dying star...
Falcon HTV-2 is lost during bid to become fastest ever plane
US military loses contact after 36 minutes with rocket-launched carbon fibre spaceplane designed to fly at 13,000mphUS military officials lost contact with the fastest plane ever built on Thursday during a hypersonic test...
Jodie Foster Helps Revive SETI Search for Aliens
E.T., the phone line is open and SETI is waiting for your call.
Astronauts Spy Beautiful Summer Day in NYC
All five boroughs of New York City — Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island — and the clear skies above them can be seen in this image taken...
Atmosphere May Help Power Huge Freak Waves
Rogue waves have plagued sailors for centuries, but their cause remains mysterious.
News in Brief: Atom & Cosmos
Oxygen molecules in space, Earth’s second moon, a mission to Jupiter and more in this week’s news
Virgin Galactic gets NASA contract
The space tourism company Virgin Galactic is one of seven companies that will carry technology and research equipment to the boundary between the Earth and space under new NASA contracts.
Scientists Cook Up Jupiter's Atmosphere on Earth
Using a pressurized "oven," Earth-bound scientists seek to create what Jupiter's atmosphere might look like.
NASA Picks 7 Private Spaceships for Trips to Edge of Space
NASA is spending $10 million to fund the suborbital private spaceship plan.
The dark clouds over US astronomy
The proposed cancellation of NASA's latest space telescope shows the difficulties ahead. But there is a solution, says Michael S. Turner.
HARPS tunes in on 'noisy' planets
Able to achieve an astounding precision of 0.97 m/s (3.5 km/h), with an effective precision of the order of 30 cms-1, the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) echelle...
Scientists: Potential Mars water find a "big deal"
Discovery has scientific world excited, also has implications for future manned mission
NASA Selects Seven Firms To Provide Near-Space Flight Services
NASA has selected seven companies to integrate and fly technology payloads on commercial suborbital reusable platforms that carry payloads near the boundary of space. As part of NASA’s Flight...
Jupiter's Great Red Spot
This image was taken through color filters and recombined to produce the color image.
Pay TV losing subscribers in funky economy
Americans are canceling cable and satellite TV subscriptions in record numbers
Seven days: 5–11 August 2011
The week in science: water on Mars; new rules on scientific integrity; tension over China's deep-sea exploration.
NASA, Sweden partner on small spacecraft technology development
NASA and the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB) are collaborating to develop powerful low-cost satellites for advanced space missions.
A Freaky Fluid inside Jupiter?
NASA's Juno probe has begun a 5-year voyage to Jupiter. A key goal of the mission is to find a freaky fluid deep inside the giant planet.
Stunning Photos of Solar Flares & Sun Storms
The sun seems constant, but it boils constantly with virulent activity.
Critical milestone reached for 2012 Landsat Mission
The Operational Land Imager (OLI), built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo., has been approved by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for shipment to Orbital Sciences Corporation, Gilbert,...
Plan to build giant solar farm in Calif. comes before judge
A proposal to build one of the world's largest solar farms south of Silicon Valley had its day in court Monday as a long-simmering battle between the San Francisco Bay...
China hit by 500,000 cyberattacks in 2010
China said Tuesday it was hit by nearly 500,000 cyberattacks last year, about half of which originated from foreign countries including the United States and India.
Lightning is less frequent in winter, but is much more noticeable than in summer
"Study of lightning rays in the Basque Country, and their relation to precipitation" is the title of the PhD thesis that physicist Joseba Areitio presented at the University of the...
Searching for gravitational waves
Colliding neutron stars and black holes, supernova events, rotating neutron stars and other cataclysmic cosmic events Einstein predicted they would all have something in common oscillations in the fabric...
Distant star moved by tides
Giant alien planet pulls surface of its star up and down.
Alien Outposts Discovered In Antarctica?
A UFO researcher has found strange shapes in images of Antarctica using Google Earth. Pareidolia, a psychological phenomenon, is the likeliest explanation.
Moonless Earth Could Potentially Still Support Life, Study Finds
Scientists have long thought the Earth's moon was vital for its habitability. But that may not be so.