Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
News galaxy growth method described
MUNICH, Germany, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- The first galaxies formed less than a billion years after the big bang and were much smaller than the giant ones we see...
Nanoscopic particles resist full encapsulation, Sandia simulations show
It may seem obvious that dunking relatively spherical objects in a sauce - blueberries in melted chocolate, say - will result in an array of completely encapsulated berries...
Paris supports gas upgrades in Ukraine
KIEV, Ukraine, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Paris is ready to consider a proposal in the European Union to modernize Ukraine's natural gas transit system, the French envoy to Kiev...
We Survive An Asteroid (again)
A 32-foot asteroid flew between the Earth and the Moon this morning. It was spotted in advance. It did not hit the Earth, but passed about 28,000 miles up. If...
SpaceShipTwo�s Tourist Joyrides Could Launch Next Year
After making its first solo glide flight Oct. 10, the private suborbital spacecraft SpaceShipTwo could achieve another major milestone - a powered test flight involving the firing of its...
Mass limits of dark matter derived from 'strange' stars
(PhysOrg.com) -- Much of the matter in our universe may be made of a type of dark matter called weakly interacting massive particles, better known as WIMPs. Although some scientists...
ISS Could Serve As Base Camp For Future Moon Missions
ISS Above Earth The station as seen from space shuttle Discovery in March 2009. NASA The world's leading space agencies are reportedly discussing the use of the International Space Station as a...
Cosmic Log: Follow our electric Volt odyssey
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Follow along via the Internet as we take an 800-mile drive from Seattle to San Francisco in the electric-powered Chevy Volt.
Instant Expert: What Interstellar Dust Can Tell Us
The Life of a Dust Grain koppillustration.comDust may help astronomers understand the formation of stars and planets Riding in a car through space, if you were to hang your white-gloved hand out the...
Meteors from obscure shower spotted by NASA cameras
Camelopardalis. It's a strange-sounding name for a constellation, coming from the Greco-Roman word for giraffe, or "camel leopard". The October Camelopardalids are a collection of faint stars that have no...
The secret of the 'Unicorn' revealed
A new infrared image from ESO's VISTA survey telescope reveals an extraordinary landscape of glowing tendrils of gas, dark clouds and young stars within the constellation of Monoceros (the Unicorn)....
Neptune could not have knocked planetoids in Cold Classical Kuiper Belt to edge of solar system
New research is challenging popular theory about how part of our solar system formed. Contrary to popular belief, new evidence suggests the planet Neptune can't have knocked a collection of...
Space Double Play: Identical Twin Astronauts Share Jokes Across Final Frontier
Identical twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly may have the ultimate brotherly bond. They look alike and talk alike, at times they even joke alike.
U.S. Lawmaker Balks at NASA Chief's China Visit
NASA chief Charles Bolden plans to visit China this month for high-level talks about possible cooperation on human spaceflight.
Q&A: Refining the search for extraterrestrial life
A UC Irvine astrophysicist discusses what the SETI Institute has done wrong and how we might enhance our chances of receiving a signal from 'out there.'Gregory Benford, his brother James...
Black Hole Blasts Superheated Early Universe
Monster galaxies with supermassive black hole hearts released fierce blasts that superheated the universe about 11 billion years ago, a new study says.
Webb Telescope sunshield passes launch depressurization tests to verify flight design
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope continues to make significant progress, successfully completing a series of sunshield vent tests that validate the telescope's sunshield design.
NASA's Mobile Mars Laboratory almost ready for flight
The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite has completed assembly at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and is nearly ready for a December delivery to NASA's...
NASA Mission to Asteroid Gets Help from Hubble
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured images of the large asteroid Vesta that will help refine plans for the Dawn spacecraft's rendezvous with Vesta in July 2011.
ScienceShot: Mars's Grand Canyon
Huge chasm brims with signs of ancient water flows
Podcast: Moon-Driven Rain, the Origin of Thoroughbred Horses, and More
Listen to a roundup of some of our favorite stories from this week
Discovery of an extrasolar earth-sized planet
(PhysOrg.com) -- There are now over 490 confirmed extrasolar planets. The vast majority are gas giants like Jupiter, but they are much stranger because many orbit close to their stars...
Life may have started sky high
Experiments suggest basic chemical ingredients formed in the upper atmosphere
Space Photos This Week: Sun Circles, Mars Rock, More
Atmospheric circles above France, a meteor on Mars, and a catalog of Earth's most threatening neighbors—all in the week's top space pictures.
NASA thruster test aids future robotic lander's ability to land safely
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., collaborated with NASAs White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, N.M., and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, Calif., to successfully...
Mars mysteries could be answered through airplanes
There are regions on Mars where the ground is much too rugged for a rover to explore. Instead, a robotic, rocket-powered airplane could be the ideal way to investigate some...
'A-Train' satellites search for 770 million tons of dust in the air
Using data from several research satellites, scientists will spend the next three years trying to understand the climate impacts of about 770 million tons of dust carried into the atmosphere...
Peptide balls prove tougher than steel
Could Alzheimer's-related material help produce a space elevator?