Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
ESA on countdown to flagship mission selection
International collaborations at risk as three candidates vie for one spot.
For Super Bowl SUNday, NASA Unveils First 360-Degree View of Sun
NASA has released the first 360-degree view of the entire sun today, just in time for Super Bowl Sunday.
Cirrus Clouds On...Titan?
Sure, Los Angeles has a terrible smog issue but it could be worse; movie stars could live on Titan. Titan, Saturn's largest moon, looks like a dirty orange ball but...
First stars in universe were not alone
The first stars in the universe were not as solitary as previously thought. In fact, they could have formed alongside numerous companions when the gas disks that surrounded them broke...
Solar explosions generate unstable clouds
Cosmic Log: When clouds of material explode from the sun, instabilities appear to form. Because these instabilities are similar to those observed in Earth's clouds and oceans, researchers have a...
Images show Mars' shifting dunes
A study of the Martian polar region by an orbiting satellite shows that sand dunes, once thought to be frozen and static, change radically every year.
Mars Express puts craters on a pedestal
(PhysOrg.com) -- ESA's Mars Express has returned new views of pedestal craters in the Red Planet's eastern Arabia Terra.
XMM-Newton technology on new telescopes
(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers gazing deep into the night sky to uncover the Universe's secrets will soon be able to discover even more star-births and planets thanks to new telescopes being...
Water vapor in space
(PhysOrg.com) -- Water is a critical molecule for human life, and, because it is abundant in the interstellar medium, it also plays an important role in the life of molecular...
3 Questions: Sara Seager on discovering a trove of new planets
NASAs Kepler -- an orbiting, planet-finding telescope launched in 2009 -- has dramatically increased the discovery rate of planets around stars other than the sun, known as exoplanets. Before Kepler,...
New Secrets of Huge Soviet Moon Rocket Revealed
New details surface about the former Soviet Union's attempts to send cosmonauts to the moon on huge N-1 rockets.
Scientists suggest protocol for messaging to aliens
(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1974, humans broadcast the first message targeted at extraterrestrial life using the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico. The message, which was aimed at the globular star...
China stealth-jet firm eyes US contracts: report
The maker of China's new stealth fighter plans to team up with a small California firm for what would seem like mission impossible: bidding for US defence contracts, a report...
WikiLeaks Cables Suggest U.S.-China Space Weapons Race
The United States and China both shot down their own satellites using advanced missiles in a mutual show of military strength, documents published in the U.K.'s Telegraph newspaper showed.
Planet Hunter Bill Borucki Calls Kepler Discoveries 'Game-Changing'
Kepler investigator discusses the latest finds and how it's likely to shape our search for life elsewhere in the galaxy.
Will Apophis Hit Earth in 2036? NASA Rejects Russian Report
An asteroid named Apophis is heading toward Earth with a reported estimated collision of 2036. Life’s Little Mysteries answers the question: How scared should we be?
Europe's ATV space ferry ready for launch
(PhysOrg.com) -- ESA's latest Automated Transfer Vehicle is ready for launch to the International Space Station on Tuesday, 15 February at 22:08 GMT from Europes Spaceport in Kourou, French...
Image: NASA's world's largest vacuum chamber
(PhysOrg.com) -- The world's largest vacuum chamber resides at the NASA Glenn Research Center's Space Power Facility, located at Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio.
Earth's life support systems discussed in an open-access special issue
In the search for life on Mars or any planet, there is much more than the presence of carbon and oxygen to consider. Using Earth's biogeochemical cycles as a reference...
Stellar discovery excites students
In the constellation of Ophiuchus, above the disk of our Milky Way Galaxy, there lurks a stellar corpse spinning 30 times per second -- an exotic star known as a...
'Marstinis' could help explain why the red planet is so small
Mars is a small planet. In fact, for scientists who do solar system modeling, the planet is too small. This is an outstanding problem in terrestrial planet formation, said Dr....
Alien Planet Hunt's Next Big Step: Finding Another Earth
NASA's Kepler mission has found 1,235 potential alien planets, but it will likely be a few years before it finds an alien Earth.
Planck Surveyor: 15,000 New Celestial Objects
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists of the "Planck" satellite mission present first results in a conference in Paris.
STAR TRAK for February 2011
Jupiter will be the only bright planet visible as evening twilight fades during February, coming into view in the southwest. At mid-northern latitudes, this will be the last month until...
Astronomers discover 'pancake' galaxy
SANTIAGO, Chile, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Astronomers in Chile say they have captured an image of a distant galaxy with an uncommon flat, pancake-like shape without the normal central...
ASU Mars camera keeps a watchful eye for dust
(PhysOrg.com) -- Summertime is coming to the south of Mars, and days are growing longer and warmer. This is not good news, however and the reason why can be...
A Disturbingly Weird Exoplanet System
Kepler discovery of six planets tightly packed around one star leaves theorists befuddled
ET’s home planet?
NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has discovered an extraordinary planetary system with six rocky worlds capable of supporting life about 2000 light years from Earth. I am sure that there will be...