Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Titan may boast ice-spewing volcanoes
Cassini spacecraft spots possible cryo-activity on Saturn's moon.
Liquid Saltwater Is Likely Present On Mars, New Analysis Shows
Salty, liquid water has been detected on a leg of the Mars Phoenix Lander and therefore could be present at other locations on the planet, according to analysis by a...
NASA's Fermi mission, Namibia's HESS telescopes explore a blazar
An international team of astrophysicists using telescopes on the ground and in space have uncovered surprising changes in radiation emitted by an active galaxy. The picture that emerges from these...
Big and small dents
The Earth explorer satellite GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer), built by the European Space Agency ESA, was successfully launched from the Russian Cosmodrome Plesetsk. GOCE is the...
Opportunity sights destination crater rim
PASADENA, Calif., March 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says its Mars rover Opportunity is within sight of the horizon of the big crater toward which it...
Real-Life Astronaut Dishes on 'Battlestar Galactica'
Astronaut Garrett Reisman may have cameo in final "Battlestar" episode.
NASA Celebrates Sun-Earth Day With Illuminating Webcast
NASA scientists will reveal new information and images about our sun and its influence on Earth and the solar system for Sun-Earth Day, recognized each year in conjunction with the...
ESA postpones Herschel-Planck launch
PARIS, March 18 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency says it has postponed the Herschel and Planck spacecraft launch that was initially planned for April 16.
The Day The Sun Brought Darkness
On March 13, 1989 the entire province of Quebec, Canada suffered an electrical power blackout. Hundreds of blackouts occur in some part of North America every year. The Quebec Blackout...
Space tourism from Sweden to start in 2012
Short tourist flights into space are expected to begin launching from northern Sweden in 2012, one of the companies involved in the project said Wednesday.
NASA Explorer Schools Compete in Lego Robotics Contest
Fillmore's San Cayetano Elementary School and Mesa Union School from Somis captured top honors at the 3rd Annual Southern California NASA Explorer Schools Robotics Competition at JPL on Tuesday, March...
NASA releases unique frozen Earth movie
GREENBELT, Md., March 18 (UPI) -- NASA says it has produced a unique movie about Earth's changing ice and snow cover to be shown at U.S. science centers...
SPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK: Galaxy Clash, Blue Medusa, More
See colliding galaxies, the dark side of a moon, a "cat's eye" nebula, and more in this week's roundup of images from space.
Liftoff for latest REXUS flights
Three educational experiments sponsored by ESA’s Education Office blasted off to the edge of space on 12 and 13 March during the latest REXUS sounding rocket campaign from the Esrange...
Clues To A Secret Of Life Found In Meteorite Dust
NASA scientists analyzing the dust of meteorites have discovered new clues to a long-standing mystery about how life works on its most basic, molecular level.
Second near-miss by Tunguska-sized space rock this month
I don't know the statistics for events like this, but I'd like to. In any case, two Tunguska-sized objects zipping by at less than one-fourth the distance to the Moon...
No sweat: Shuttle's exercise gear on the fritz
Space junk from a Soviet satellite no longer poses a threat to Discovery shuttle, but astronauts face a vexing new problem: the spacecraft's exercise equipment is on the fritz, NASA...
Space Station Construction Visible Through Backyard Telescopes
The STS-119 mission coincides with a series of ISS flybys over North American towns and cities. People who go outside after sunset can see the shuttle-station combo with their naked...
Military Satellite Set to Give Major Communications Boost
An Atlas 5 rocket will launch a new military communications satellite late Tuesday.
How Rookie Astronauts Adapt to Space
For nearly half of Discovery's crew, space is likely an exhilarating, though until now alien, experience.
Gravity probe blasts off
€350m craft to provide high-resolution map of Earth’s gravitational field
Robotic Lunar Bulldozers
Lunar bulldozer robots may perform site preparation for moon bases.
Scheme to Curb Global Warming Could Backfire
Proposed geoengineering scheme would reduce light available for solar power.
Seeking Out the Sun's Long-Lost Siblings
For decades astronomers have been on the hunt for so-called "solar twins"--stars with the same ages, masses, temperatures, luminosities and chemical abundances as our own sun. [More]
NASA awards launch services contract
WASHINGTON, March 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it has selected United Launch Alliance of Littleton, Colo., to provide launch services for various missions.
Galactic Dust Bunnies Found To Contain Carbon After All
Stars rich in carbon complex molecules may form at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. This discovery is significant because it adds to our knowledge of how stars form...
Blobs in Photos of Mars Lander Stir a Debate: Are They Water?
A theory that Mars salts could allow liquid water at close to 90 below.
Black Holes: Eternal Prisons No More, Stephen Hawking's Lecture
Celebrated physicist, Stephen Hawking, delivered an inspiring speech to a full house in Bovard Auditorium on March 10. USC College Dean Howard Gillman kicked off the event by introducing Nick...