Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Image: Sotra Facula, Titan
Based on data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, this image shows an area of Saturn's moon Titan, known as Sotra Facula.
Paolo Nespoli arrives at the Space Station
The Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft docked this evening with the International Space Station carrying ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli and his crewmates Dmitri Kondratyev and Catherine Coleman. They will stay in orbit...
U.S. helps fund massive Oregon wind farm
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A $1.3 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy helps back what will be one of the world's largest wind farms, the energy...
NASA spacecraft provides travel tips for Mars rover
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Mars Opportunity rover is getting important tips from an orbiting spacecraft as it explores areas that might hold clues about past Martian environments.
New Comet Finding May Alter Theories About Life on Earth
Comets may contain much less carbon than thought, which could rewrite what role they might have played in delivering the ingredients of life to Earth.
The final frontier: Studying Earth-like planet's atmosphere in detail
Although Gliese 581g is the most Earthlike planet to be discovered to date, it's unclear whether the planet is habitable. Just because the planet is relatively similar in mass to...
Gazprom presses for pipeline to China
MOSCOW, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Russian energy company Gazprom is ready to deliver natural gas from Western Siberia to China if Beijing is ready to commit, a top executive...
Hot plasma explosions inflate Saturn's magnetic field
A new analysis based on data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft finds a causal link between mysterious, periodic signals from Saturn's magnetic field and explosions of hot ionized gas, known as...
IBEX makes first images of magnetotail structures, dynamic interactions occurring in space
NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft, designed to image the invisible interactions occurring at the edge of the solar system, captured images of magnetospheric structures and a dynamic event occurring...
Camera drones used to track arctic seals
BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Cameras on unmanned aircraft flying over the arctic are assessing declining sea ice and tracking seals as they haul up onto ice floes,...
Solar image library available online
PARIS, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency says its entire library of images from its solar observation programs is available online, allowing Internet users to explore the...
India's solar mission moving ahead
NEW DELHI, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- India's Solar Mission, aimed at generating 20,000 megawatts of solar power in the country over the next decade, has generated a positive response...
Mars Has Liquid Water Close to Surface, Study Hints
Pools of water may exist just below Mars’s surface, according to new research that suggests humans may one day tap into the liquid bounty.
In Time For Christmas, A Celestial Ornament
SNR B0509-67.5 (or SNR 0509 for short) appears to float serenely in the depths of space, but this apparent calm hides an inner turmoil. The gaseous envelope formed as the...
Catch a falling star and find out where it came from
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists are celebrating the discovery of a second meteorite in the Western Australian desert using star gazing cameras. The images from the cameras will reveal the space rocks...
Qatar-led international team finds its first alien world
In an exciting example of international collaboration, a Qatar astronomer teamed with scientists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics (CfA) and other institutions to discover a new alien world. This...
Minnesota blizzard caught by Terra satellite
The upper Midwest was hit by a powerful winter storm this past weekend as more than 17 inches of snow brought down the roof to the Metrodome football complex in...
The Most Amazing Science Images of 2010
Which Is the Robot? That dancer out front is actually a robot named HRP-4C, created by Japan's Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. HRP-4C and her steel legs of doom held their own...
"Supernova in a Jar" Offers Peek Inside Star Death
A chemical reaction in the lab is giving scientists a peek inside powerful star explosions called Type Ia supernovae.
Bolivia, China ink deal to build telecoms satellite
Bolivia and China have signed a deal to build a 300-million-dollar communications satellite to be launched into space within three years, officials here said Tuesday.
Engineers test underground border security system between US and Mexico
A unique underground surveillance system tested by researchers could be used to watch the entire US-Mexico border continuously. The border-monitoring system, known as Helios, consists of laser pulses transmitted through...
Penn astronomer opens new window on the universe's past
A new instrument designed, built and operated by University of Pennsylvania astronomer James Aguirre, with collaborators at the California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and University of Colorado, is...
Space Superfund Needed to Clean Mounting Orbital Trash
The growing threat of space junk to satellites and spacecraft may need a federal Superfund solution, a new report finds.
James Hansen's evidence to the Ratcliffe coal trial
Nasa scientist James Hansen's statement in the trial of 20 environmental activists who planned to shut down Ratcliffe power station in Nottinghamshire
Biracial and passing — as black
WASHINGTON, DC, December 8, 2010 -- In a country with Jim Crow segregation laws and the "one-drop rule" determining who was black and therefore where and what a...
Phantom Ray Drone Makes Its First Flight, A Piggyback Ride On A Shuttle-Carrier 747
Takeoff Boeing ST. LOUIS - Boeing's newest spy drone, the Phantom Ray, got its first taste of the air Monday while hitching a ride on a 747 designed to...
Giant Black Hole Swallows Smaller One in Breakthrough Simulation
Scientists have simulated the merger of a David black hole with a Goliath. Big surprise: Goliath wins.
USC nanosatellite blasts off from Cape Canaveral on SpaceX launch
and went perfectly -- December 8 at Cape Canaveral, with the newly developed Falcon 9 heavy lift vehicle sending into earth orbit a packet of nanosatellites, including a unit that...