Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Close Calls: Planet Earth and Asteroid Flybys
Space Administrators Are Talking of a Space Defense against Doomsday Asteroids - and for Good Reason
Space-based solar power described
WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- A former president of India says satellites could harvest the sun's energy from space and beam it to Earth to solve the global energy...
Theory of mysterious moon 'bulge' proposed
SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Nov. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say tidal forces pulling on the moon when it still had a molten center may have caused a mysterious "bulge"...
SpaceX Raises Another $50 Million to Build Private Spacecraft
Rocket and spaceship builder SpaceX has raised another $50 million from investors to support its commercial space vehicle projects.
Sunspot 1121 unleashes X-ray flare
Active sunspot 1121 has unleashed one of the brightest x-ray solar flares in years, an M5.4-class eruption at 15:36 UT on Nov. 6th.
Huge Bubbles at Milky Way's Heart Could Reveal Black Hole
Scientists have detected two gigantic bubbles of high-energy radiation spilling out from the Milky Way's center that may have erupted from a supermassive black hole.
Video: Mystery Missile, Not A Missile
The U.S. government is still unsure what the object in the "mystery missile" footage actually is. David Martin reports.
Astronomers find giant, previously unseen structure in our galaxy
NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has unveiled a previously unseen structure centred in the Milky Way - a finding likened in terms of scale to the discovery of a new...
Cool star is a gem of a find
NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has eyed its first cool brown dwarf: a tiny, ultra-cold star floating all alone in space.
Role of melt in arctic sea ice loss found by NASA study
A NASA analysis of satellite data has quantified, for the first time, the amount of older and thicker "multiyear" sea ice lost from the Arctic Ocean due to melting.
Cassini to resume nominal operations
Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., expect the Cassini spacecraft will resume normal operations on Nov. 24. They have traced the steps taken by an onboard computer before...
Mars Rover sensor to measure radiation environment
About eight months before the NASA rover Curiosity touches down on Mars in August 2012, the mission's science measurements will begin much closer to Earth.
Atoms-for-Peace: A galactic collision in action (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- European Southern Observatory astronomers have produced a spectacular new image of the famous Atoms-for-Peace galaxy (NGC 7252). This galactic pile-up, formed by the collision of two galaxies, provides...
Astronomers find 'snooker' star system
Astronomers have discovered an unusual star system which looks like, and may even once have behaved like, a game of snooker.
Obama inks energy agreements in India
NEW DELHI, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- As President Obama wrapped up his trip to India, the two countries agreed Monday to set up a green energy research and development...
Taxonomists Propose Counting All of Earth's Species
A group spearheaded by Arizona State University taxonomists wants to launch a NASA-style mission...
Foucault revisited: Argentinean scientists show how to build a pendulum for any classroom
A Foucault pendulum is a simple device for observing the Earth's rotation. While such pendulums have been around for more than 150 years and are a staple of the modern...
Bringing a bit of Mars back home
If there is evidence of life on Mars, it will be found in the planets rocks. And as most scientists who study Mars will tell you, the best way to...
20 years later, spaceport partners aim to create the next Cape Canaveral
A runway in an otherwise vast, empty stretch of desert in southern New Mexico will soon become the starting point of weekly sightseeing trips to space for anyone who can...
Black holes' true power revealed by 'Russian doll' galaxy
Following a study of what is in effect a miniature galaxy buried inside a normal-sized one like a Russian doll astronomers using a CSIRO telescope have concluded that...
Aboriginal astronomers observed and recorded a 'supernova-impostor' event: research
(PhysOrg.com) -- New research by Macquarie University astronomers Duane Hamacher and David Frew supports the assertion that Aboriginal Australians were active observers of the night sky and incorporated significant astronomical...
NASA ready for 2011 arrival at Mercury
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- In 2011, as NASA retires its space shuttles and battles with Congress over its budget and direction, one ongoing mission will reach its destination...
Satellites to measure, report world snow
PARIS, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- People in Earth's Northern Hemisphere will get assistance from space this winter to help them cope with harsh weather conditions, European space officials say.
Hints on Dark Matter and a Wealth of Planets
Planetary science and cosmology are ripe for big news: respectively, about habitable planets beyond our solar system, and about what the universe is made of.
Well: Predicting the Future in Science - or Not
What can we expect from science and medical research next year? The possibilities are discussed in a special report in this week's Science Times.
Cosmic radio beacons
(PhysOrg.com) -- Because all cosmic objects evolve with time, astronomers sometimes have a difficult time deciding if two sources that seem different are actually related but just in different stages...
Analogy Watch: Muon Collisions And The Machine That Will See Them
The most recent issue of symmetry magazine has a feature titled, "When Muons Collide," by Leah Hesla. [Full disclosure: I have also written for symmetry.] The article lays out the...
Newly Discovered Fast-Changing Comet Visible in Small Telescopes
A newly discovered comet that has caught the attention of skywatchers around the world appears to be undergoing some dynamic changes.