Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
A Magnificent Space Diary in Pictures
Turns Out that Space Shuttle Commander Douglas Wheelock is a Camera Bug, Too
As a Hurricane, Earl Looked Like 'Magnificent Chaos' From Space
The former Hurricane Earl looked like 'magnificent chaos' from space to the International Space Station crew.
Did Viking Mars landers find life's building blocks? Missing piece inspires new look at puzzle
Experiments prompted by a 2008 surprise from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander suggest that soil examined by NASA's Viking Mars landers in 1976 may have contained carbon-based chemical building blocks of...
1st Canadian Commander of Space Station Named
A Canadian astronaut is set to become the first International Space Station commander from the maple leaf nation.
NASA imagery reveals a weaker, stretched out Fiona
NASA satellite data has noticed that Tropical Storm Fiona is getting "longer." That is, the storm is elongating in almost a north-south direction, indicating that she's weakening and may not...
Some Ancient Galaxies Had Wild Youth
New research pins down the epoch when galaxy clusters make the last of their stars, helping astronomers understand more about how galaxies form.
Setting sail in the sun
Propelled by sunlight pressure, large lightweight sails made of ultrathin aluminum-coated plastic could one day take probes to the edge of our solar system and other stars.
Space Photos This Week: Rocket Test, Tropical Storm, More
The world's strongest solid rocket motor revs up, a star nursery is seen in its sharpest view yet, and more in this week's best space pictures. ...
For Star-Gazers, September Brings New Night Sky
September brings a new view of the night sky as the autumn constellations appear.
University of Colorado students, staff help NASA decommission satellite
University of Colorado at Boulder undergraduates, who have been helping to control five NASA satellites from campus, participated in the unusual decommissioning of a functioning satellite with a failed science...
IceCube neutrino observatory nears complete
In December 2010, IceCube - the world's first kilometre-scale neutrino observatory, which is located beneath the Antarctic ice - will finally be completed after two decades of planning. In an...
Big Alien Planet's Atmosphere is Hot and Cloudy
Astronomers peering at a gas-giant exoplanet found it has an atmosphere unlike that of any extrasolar planet yet studied.
NASA Narrows List of Asteroid Targets for Manned Mission
Human explorers can only reach a limited number of asteroids during the next several decades.
What Created This Smooth, 200-Mile-Long Trench On Mars?
Orcus Patera ESA The European Space Agency has released a series of new images of Orcus Patera, a long crater near Mars's Mons Olympus whose rim rises some 6,000 feet....
Classic NASA Photos Rocket onto Flickr
NASA has posted almost 200 pictures to the photo-sharing site Flickr in what is the first of many batches of photos the space agency plans to share for public feedback.
Still no Earths, but getting closer
Two newly discovered planetary systems shed light on odds of forming terrestrial planets
Tracing the big picture of Mars' atmosphere
One of the instruments on a 2016 mission to orbit Mars will provide daily maps of global, pole-to-pole, vertical distributions of the temperature, dust, water vapor and ice clouds in...
Historic Mercury Launch Pad Reimagined As Classroom
The launch pad used by Mercury astronauts fly the first U.S. missions to orbit may see new life as a classroom.
Air Force Scrambling to Salvage Ailing High-Tech Satellite
An expensive new Air Force spacecraft may be stranded in an unsafe orbit thanks to an engine malfunction.
New Sunspot Pictures: Sharpest View Yet in Visible Light
A new telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory has captured the most detailed image yet of a sunspot in visible light, astronomers say. ...
Self-Cleaning Solar Panels
ACS Meeting News: Collected dust particles that block sunlight can be shaken off with a jolt of electricity.
Which Ray?: Conflicting Data on High-Energy Cosmic Rays Leave Their Source--or Sources--Unresolved
Nature certainly has a way of one-upping the fruits of human ingenuity. Extreme astrophysical objects have long been known to accelerate the particles that make up cosmic rays...
Astronaut William Lenoir, Who Flew on 1st Operational Shuttle Mission, Dies
Retired NASA astronaut William Lenoir, who flew on the 1st operational flight of shuttle Columbia in 1982, has died.
Poll: When Will Humanity Truly Find an Alien Earth?
Cast your vote on whether true Earth-like planets the size of our world will be found around alien stars in habitable zones.
Space Telescope's New Survey of Outer Galaxy Helps Astronomers Study Stars
Iowa State University astronomers Massimo Marengo and Charles Kerton are now using the Spitzer Space Telescope to study stars in the outer regions of our Milky Way galaxy. Marengo studies...
'Plymouth Rock' Deep Space Asteroid Mission Idea Gains Ground
Plans for sending humans to visit an asteroid are heating up, with one company already studying how to rework Orion spaceships into deep space cruisers.
Flyby
This chronicle of the innovative Voyager mission also ponders the nature and meaning of exploration itself.
Japan loses spy satellite
TOKYO, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Japan's only working radar satellite has malfunctioned and officials say they may not be able to save it. ...