Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Lunar Eclipse 2010 Pictures: See What You Slept Through
So you were snug in bed while the moon turned red? We've got you covered—see the first winter solstice lunar eclipse in 372 years.
Satellites give an eagle eye on thunderstorms
It's one of the more frustrating parts of summer. You check the weather forecast, see nothing dramatic, and go hiking or biking. Then, four hours later, a thunderstorm appears out...
Seven Great Mars Pictures From Record-Breaking Probe
See highlights from the ten-year career of NASA's Mars Odyssey, which this week became the longest-working craft to study the planet.
Scotland wants more offshore wind projects
ABERDEEN, Scotland, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Offshore wind energy projects in Scotland could contribute more than $11 billion to the economy within the next 10 years, the government said.
Chevron sanctions new deep-water oil field
SAN RAMON, Calif., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Sanctioning a new oil field in the Gulf of Mexico is symbolic of a commitment to U.S. energy, a Chevron executive announced.
Virgin Galactic joins fray to fly NASA astronauts
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Virgin Galactic, a U.S. offshoot of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, joined two separate teams vying for a $200 million NASA program to spur the development...
Meteorite just one piece of an unknown celestial body
Scientists from all over the world are taking a second, more expansive, look at the car-sized asteroid that exploded over Sudan's Nubian Desert in 2008. Initial research was focused on...
Unstable Antarctica: What's driving ice loss?
Scientists have previously shown that West Antarctica is losing ice, but how that ice is lost remained unclear. Now, using data from Earth observing satellites and airborne science missions, scientists...
Start-of-the-year press breakfast with ESA's Director General
ESA's Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain will meet the press at ESA's headquarters in Paris on Friday 14 January 2011.
NASA spies storm stretching across the Sun
Solar Dynamics Observatory reveals a connected solar surface
Website Lets You Smash Asteroid into Earth, See Aftermath
A new website lets astronomers - and anyone who likes to watch stuff blow up - calculate the damage a comet or asteroid would cause if it hit Earth.
Life's Building Blocks Found on Surprising Meteorite
Scientists have discovered the building blocks of life in a meteorite where none were expected.
Space Pictures This Week: Cosmic Gem, Sun Burp, Vegas
A supernova leftover glows like an opal, the sun spews hot gas, snow blankets the Midwest, and more in the week's best space pictures.
Space auction to sell 450 artifacts
Space buffs with hefty wallets can make one giant leap toward owning a piece of mankind's history exploring the cosmos next month, with the chance to buy any of 450...
Kepler Telescope Glitch Briefly Sidelines Its Planet Hunt
NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft is back to rights after a minor glitch this week cost it about 13 hours of lost time for science.
NASA's arsenic-eating life form gets a second look
Soon after NASA-funded researchers announced this month they had found a new life form that thrives on arsenic, critics took to the blogosphere with skeptical views and downright insults.
Arctic icecap safe from runaway melting: study
There is no "tipping point" beyond which climate change will inevitably push the Arctic ice cap into terminal melt off, according to a study released Wednesday.
U.S. wavers on climate commitments
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Washington isn't ready to sign a binding international pledge to reduce emissions unless other major emitters do so, a U.S. climate negotiator said.
Scripps scientists see the light in bizarre bioluminescent snail
Two scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have provided the first details about the mysterious flashes of dazzling bioluminescent light produced by a little-known sea snail...
Cyclone lasting more than 5 years is detected on Saturn
Researchers from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) have been monitoring a cyclone on Saturn for more than five years. This makes it the longest-lasting cyclone detected to date...
White House Wonders if Climate Will Be Hostage to Politics
John Holdren spoke at AGU meeting about the future of science and technology.
The Pioneer Anomaly, a 30-Year-Old Beloved Cosmic Mystery, May Be Resolved At Last
What is the mystery force slowing down the Pioneer spacecraft? Do we know the answer at last? Thirty years ago, NASA scientists noticed that two of their spacecraft, Pioneer 10 and Pioneer...
'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' Film Trailer Transforms Apollo History
In the teaser trailer released last week for the upcoming film "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," director Michael Bay rewrites the history of the first moon landing.
Deepwater lessons
In the 24-hour news cycle era, the Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico already feels like an event from yesteryear, an event that had its 15 minutes...
Are alien lifeforms among us?
The discovery of microbes which thrive in arsenic suggests life on Earth could have arisen more than once - with profound implications for the search for alien life.
Spacewatch: Asteroid collisions
Space is big; the chances of hitting an asteroid by accident, or having to dodge out of its way, are remoteWatch some science fiction movies, and you may think that any interplanetary...
Effort Falters on San Francisco Bay Delta
Four years into an effort to re-engineer a delta, the distance between competing water constituencies has been widening as self-imposed deadlines come and go.
Nuke-the-Asteroid Idea Revived to Protect Earth
If a big asteroid is streaking toward Earth, a well-placed nuclear explosion could help humanity avert widespread destruction - and not just in the movies.