Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
New theory for magnetic stripes on Mars
(PhysOrg.com) -- A controversial new theory has been proposed to explain a series of stripes of permanently magnetized minerals containing iron in the Martian crust. The magnetized stripes, which have...
Cosmic Collision Fires Up Quasar SDSS J0123+00
Using two of the world’s largest telescopes, the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile and the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) on La Palma in the Canary Islands, an international team...
Wet era on early Mars was global
Conditions favourable to life may once have existed all over Mars. Detailed studies of minerals found inside craters show that liquid water was widespread, not only in the southern highlands,...
India joins Thirty Meter Telescope project
The Minister of Science and Technology of India, Mr. Prithviraj Chavan, announced today the decision of India to join the Thirty Meter Telescope Project (TMT) as an Observer. TMT is...
America's Heavy Icebreakers Are Both Broken Down
With its two heavy icebreakers broken down, the United States is an Arctic country with no capacity to patrol icy Arctic waters.
Was Venus once a habitable planet?
ESA's Venus Express is helping planetary scientists investigate whether Venus once had oceans. If it did, it may even have begun its existence as a habitable planet similar to Earth...
New 'fix' for cosmic clocks could help uncover ripples in space-time
An international team of scientists including University of British Columbia astronomer Ingrid Stairs has discovered a promising way to fine-tune pulsars into the best precision time-pieces in the Universe...
Brown team finds widespread glacial meltwater valleys on Mars
Planetary scientists have uncovered telltale signs of water on Mars - frozen and liquid - in the earliest period of the Red Planet's history. A new claim, made public this...
Astronomers find cause of 'dicky tickers'
In today's issue of Science, CSIRO astronomer George Hobbs and colleagues in the UK, Germany and Canada report that they have taken a big step towards solving a 30-year-old puzzle:...
From the archive, 25 June 1997: Where no mannequin has been before
Originally published in the Guardian on 25 June 1997WASHINGTONAs an unexpected 100,000 UFO enthusiasts prepared to descend on the tiny New Mexico town of Roswell to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the alien...
Coldest Known Failed Stars Found
Astronomers have discovered what appear to be the coldest failed stars yet found in the universe - but they're a group of stellar misfits, according to a new study.
Earth-like planets may be ready for their close-up
Many scientists speculate that our galaxy could be full of places like Pandora from the movie "Avatar" -- Earth-like worlds in solar systems besides our own.
Scientists see evidence that rules of particle physics may need a rewrite
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two separate collaborations involving Indiana University scientists have reported new results suggesting unexpected differences between neutrinos and their antiparticle brethren. These results could set the stage for what...
Your Next Clock Could Be A Pulsar
An international team of scientists say a new technique could turn pulsars into superbly accurate time-keepers. A pulsar is the spinning, collapsed core of a massive star that ended in a...
Lightest Bits of Matter Just Got Lighter
Survey of galaxies places even tighter limit on mass of particles called neutrinos
U.S. House Members Call for 'Immediate Development' of Heavy-lift Rocket
More than 60 Congress members joined in a call to direct NASA to being building a heavy-lift rocket immediately.
Rare Hole In the Moon Photographed
New photos from a NASA probe have revealed the most detailed views yet of a rare hole in the moon.
N.J. company provides slow-motion cameras used in World Cup coverage
The next time you see a slow-motion replay of U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard diving at the feet of a World Cup foe, the chances are it will have been shot...
Improved telescope sees through atmosphere with pinpoint sharpness
A sharp view of the starry sky is difficult, because the atmosphere constantly distorts the image. A Dutch researcher has developed a new type of telescope mirror, which quickly corrects...
Japan lab finds trace of gas in deep space asteroid pod
Japan's space agency said it had found a trace of gas Thursday in a capsule thought to contain asteroid dust that was brought back to Earth after a multi-billion-kilometre (mile)...
NASA measures quake's impact on the planet
PASADENA, Calif., June 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it has recorded the first airborne radar images of the deformation of the Earth's surface caused by a...
Pitt Astronomer Leads Search for Supernovae, Star-Gobbling Black Holes for International Telescope Project
(PhysOrg.com) -- A University of Pittsburgh physics and astronomy professor will lead a multiyear effort to use the world's most powerful digital camera to search the sky for explosive and...
Malfunctioning Sun Camera Makes 'Miraculous' Comeback
A new space camera designed to watch the sun from its perch aboard an advanced weather satellite has taken its first photograph of our nearest star.
A Mine for Dark Matter
(PhysOrg.com) -- Deep in a mine 230 stories underground, physicists are trying to detect dark matter, the mysterious stuff that makes up nearly a quarter of the universe. Last December,...
Marathon at Wimbledon: More than 100 games in fifth set
John Isner of the United States and Nicolas Mahut of France are playing the longest match on record in tennis history at Wimbledon. And they will continue it tomorrow.
Changing atmosphere increases build-up of space debris
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from the University of Southampton have confirmed a long-term change in the Earth's upper atmosphere at altitudes where satellites are operating.
Quantum simulations uncoverhydrogen’s phase transitions
LIVERMORE, Calif. – Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and is a major component of giant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn. But not much is known about...
'L2' Will be the James Webb Space Telescope's Home in Space
(PhysOrg.com) -- When you ask an astronomer about the James Webb Space Telescope's orbit, they'll tell you something that sounds like it came from a science-fiction novel. The Webb won't...