Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
NASA satellite sees area affected by Japan tsunami
A new before-and-after image pair from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft shows a region of Japan's northeastern coast, northeast of the...
Orc Alert: Giant black hole resembles "Eye of Sauron"
Striking similarity between supermassive black hole and "Lord of the Rings" villain
Space shuttle worker falls to death at launch pad
Man fell while working on space shuttle Endeavour; Medics unable to revive him
Space Telescope Science Institute May 2011 Symposium Highlights Dark Matter
The "Dark Matter" 2011 May Symposium takes place May 2-5 at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md. and covers a wide range of topics in the areas...
Marangoni convection in space: Observing wine-glass phenomenon in a gravity-free environment
What do a wine glass on Earth and an International Space Station experiment have in common? Well, observing the wine glass would be one of few ways to see and...
New U.S. Spy Satellite Blasts Off On Secret Mission
A new U.S. spy satellite has begun a clandestine mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.
NASA Shows Topography of Tsunami-Damaged Japan City
A new image based on NASA radar data from 2000 shows the mostly low-lying topography of Sendai, Japan, devastated by the March 11, 2011, 8.9-magnitue earthquake and tsunami.
Wisconsin Governor Guts Union Power
Workers' Rights: Chemistry personnel in state university system are among those affected.
Why tsunami triggered an enormous whirlpool
The tsunami that hit northern Japan Friday created an enormous whirlpool in a harbor off the east coast of that country. According to researchers, whirlpools aren't unusual after waves of...
Black Hole's Boom Gravity's Drum
Black holes can pulse space itself making it resonate with gravitational waves. New and planned Earth-based detectors will rip such space songs for human ears. Hear what two dancing black...
Speed demon star creates a shock
Just as some drivers obey the speed limit while others treat every road as if it were the Autobahn, some stars move through space faster than others. NASA's Wide-field Infrared...
Image: Endeavour on the Pad
(PhysOrg.com) -- Bathed in xenon lights, space shuttle Endeavour, attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters, took one last journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch...
Lunar farside serves as stunning prelude of images to come
(PhysOrg.com) -- Today, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), run by the Arizona State University-based team under Professor Mark Robinson, kicks off a special series of featured images scheduled to...
More Secret X-37B Space Plane Missions Expected, U.S. Military Says
More hush-hush missions ahead for Air Force's X-37B space plane, but no firm dates yet.
Fasting for science on Space Station
With almost half of the MagISStra mission behind him, ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli has not had much free time on the International Space Station. In addition to his heavy workload,...
ESA remembers the night of the comet
Twenty-five years ago, ESA made its mark in deep space. A small spacecraft swept to within 600 km of Halley’s comet. The Giotto probe was nearly destroyed by the encounter...
Testing Mars missions in Morocco
This site is called Moon 2, says Gian Gabriele Ori of the International Research School of Planetary Sciences (IRSPS). He pauses, looks around, and then says with a laugh,...
NRL position unique elliptic-orbit TacSat-4 satellite for launch
Naval Research Laboratory spacecraft personnel make final preparations to ready the TacSat-4 spacecraft for a May 2011 launch. Transported March 1, to the Kodiak Alaska airport via an Air Force...
Astronomers continue to monitor asteroid Apophis
Asteroid Apophis continues to be an object of interest for astronomers. Even though the possibility of an Earth impact by the now-famous asteroid has been ruled out during its upcoming...
James Elliot Is Dead at 67; Discovered Rings of Uranus
Mr. Elliot was an astronomer who used light from distant stars to study planetary objects throughout the solar system, leading to the discovery.
Time Is Now for Human Mission to Mars Say Book Contributors
"The time for a human mission to Mars is now," write editors Paul Davies of ASU and Dirk Schulze-Makuch of Washington State University in "A One Way Mission to Mars:...
Melting Accelerating, Satellites Report, But Data Flow May Cease
Data published yesterday by scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California,...
NASA's Robot Airplane Practices for In-flight Refueling
NASA is participating in tests aimed at perfecting ways for flying robots that refuel themselves.
Tractor beams arrive two centuries early
Star Trek tool developed on small scale by U.S. and Chinese physicists
Want to Test Mars Robot Tools? Go to Morocco
Analog trials like this will help prepare scientists and their gear for real missions to the Red Planet.
Will Sunscreen Protect You From the Upcoming Solar Flares?
You should always wear sunscreen, but there's no need to wear more than usual during a solar flare.
Shuttle Discovery zooms back from final flight
World's most flown spaceship lands in Florida, will retire and head to Smithsonian Institution
Rocket vs. Human: Tug-O-War (and more)
Entrepreneur John Carmack's Armadillo Aerospace Has been working with NASA, Google Lunar X-Prize and the Rocket Racing League to dramatically lower the cost of space transport. Here's what they've been...