Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Ariane rocket puts two satellites into orbit
CAYENNE, French Guiana (Reuters) - An Ariane rocket has put two satellites into orbit after a launch from French Guiana on Saturday, space officials said.
Space shuttle missions likely to be postponed: NASA
The two final US space shuttle missions before the shuttle program is phased out will likely be postponed, a NASA spokesperson told AFP on Friday.
Seventh graders find a cave on Mars
Using the camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, 16 seventh-graders at Evergreen Middle School in Cottonwood, Calif., found lava tubes with one pit that appears to be a skylight to...
NASA's New Direction: FAQ
Frequently asked questions about President Barack Obama's new plan for NASA
Canyons form quickly, recent gusher suggests
Some of the most spectacular canyons on Earth and Mars were probably formed in the geologic blink of an eye, suggests a new study that found clues to their formation...
Image: Aurora Australis Observed from the International Space Station
(PhysOrg.com) -- Among the views of Earth afforded astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), surely one of the most spectacular is of the aurora. These ever-shifting displays of colored...
Video: A Bright Idea for America
Americans have just four years to go before the plug is pulled on the incandescent light bulb. Jim Axelrod reports on "Where America Stands" to create an energy-efficient replacement.
Video: Shooting the Stars
Harry Smith spoke with videographer Colin Rich about the stunning images he captured from a homemade air balloon.
Video: Vital Rig Information Revealed
New documents show what should have happened to cut off the flow of oil after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded. Sharyl Attkisson reports.
Polar weather satellites twin up
The next-generation of Europe's polar orbiting weather satellites will fly as pairs.
Scientists Spot Subatomic Particles Underground: Geoneutrinos May Help Drive Earth's Internal Heat
Geoneutrino Detector Princeton University scientists and others in the Borexino Collaboration have detected geoneutrinos at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics. The discovery could explain how reactions...
Scientists get a look at the birth of the Milky Way
For the first time, a team of astronomers has succeeded in investigating the earliest phases of the evolutionary history of our home Galaxy, the Milky Way. The scientists, from the...
Experts discover heavenly solar music
Musical sounds created by longitudinal vibrations within the Sun's atmosphere, have been recorded and accurately studied for the first time by experts at the University of Sheffield, shedding light on...
Jumbo jellyfish or massive star?
Some might see a blood-red jellyfish in a forest of seaweed, while others might see a big, red eye or a pair of lips. In fact, the red-colored object in...
Where Lightning Strikes More Than Twice
Lightning is one of Mother Nature's double-edged swords; it is beautiful to watch as it lights up the sky, but it is dangerous when it hits the ground at a...
Team Observes Record-Low Densities in Upper Atmosphere
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists from the Naval Research Laboratory and George Mason University reports that the Earth's upper atmosphere has recently experienced the lowest density in 43 years....
Meteor Party! David Levy's Leonids
Come to a special invitation-only star party: this one's all about meteors. Dave Brody reports from David Levy's Jarnac observatory in Arizona as the Leonid meteor storm approaches...
Comet Visible During Brief Visit
(PhysOrg.com) -- Comet McNaught is quickly approaching the sun this week, but it is visible with binoculars or telescopes in the early hours before dawn. The best views are away...
Jean-Jacques Dordain remains ESA chief
PARIS, June 21 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency announced Jean-Jacque Dordain will continue as its director general for another four years.
Hawking addresses Canadian think tank
WATERLOO, Ontario, June 21 (UPI) -- Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking received a welcome befitting a celebrity as he prepared to give a lecture at a Canadian think tank, observers...
Star Caught in Act of Birth
The youngest unborn star currently known - an object so early in its formation that it isn't fully developed into a true star - has been caught on camera in...
Universal Transversal Oscillations - Music From The Sun
High-resolution images show that the solar corona is filled with large, banana-shaped magnetic structures called coronal loops. It is thought that these coronal loops, some over a few 100,000 km...
Super-complex organic molecules found in interstellar space
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists from the Instituto Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the University of Texas has succeeded in identifying one of the most complex organic molecules yet...
New radio telescope will listen to the universe on the FM-band
The first major radio telescope to be built in Britain for many decades will 'listen' to the sky at FM frequencies, providing vast quantities of data to a supercomputer in...
Extreme gravity effects revealed by oxygen for the first time in neutron star that 'eats' white dwarf
Astronomers have found blurred oxygen signatures in the X-rays from a neutron star that 'eats' a white dwarf. For the first time, the effects of extreme gravity are revealed by...
A $100 Million Pool for Solar Financing
PG&E Corporation, the California utility holding company, has created a $100 million tax equity fund to finance residential solar installations by SunRun, a San Francisco startup that leases photovoltaic arrays...
Soil Gives Away Soybean Pathogen's Presence
Scientists identify soil pH as an indicator of the presence of soybean cyst nematodes
VISTA views the Sculptor Galaxy
A spectacular new image of the Sculptor Galaxy has been taken with the European Southern Observatory's VISTA telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile as part of one of its...