Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Meteor showers in Asia disappoint
(AP) -- Thousands of stargazers across Asia stayed awake overnight to catch a glimpse of what was advertised as an intense Leonid meteor shower, but the show fizzled rather...
ESA said comet chaser's boost a success
PARIS, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency said its comet chaser Rosetta successfully gained a boost from swinging by the Earth in an attempt to rendezvous with...
Digital cloud may rise over London (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- An international group of artists, engineers and architects have proposed an enormous "digital cloud" to turn London's skyline into an overhead display of data and images.
For Mars rover Spirit, it's do or die
NASA scientists have a new plan to free the robot from its sand trap, but failure could mean its end. ...
To Find New Planets, Look for the Lithium?
Sunlike stars that harbor planets are low on lithium, according to a recent study that may offer a new tool in the hunt for planets beyond our solar system.
Rapid Star Formation Spotted In 'Stellar Nurseries' Of Infant Galaxies
The Universe's infant galaxies enjoyed rapid growth spurts forming stars like our sun at a rate of up to 50 stars a year, according to scientists at Durham University.
60-year-old solar mystery finally solved
The search for planets beyond our solar system may be a little easier, thanks to a new comparison of sun-like stars that has revealed a key difference in the chemistry...
WISE Is Chilling Out
(PhysOrg.com) -- Engineers are busy cooling the science instrument on NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The spacecraft is scheduled to blast into space from Vandenberg Air Force Base...
Seeing stars, Proba-2 platform passes its first health check
(PhysOrg.com) -- Into its second week in orbit, Proba-2's spacecraft platform has proven to be in excellent health. This leaves the way clear for commissioning the many new technology payloads...
Are You Drinking Water From Outer Space Right Now?
A study suggests that Earth's water was imported by asteroids, long after the planet was first formed Life on Earth first came out of the oceans, but the water itself may have...
A lightning strike in Africa helps take the pulse of the sun
Sunspots, which rotate around the sun's surface, tell us a great deal about our own planet. Scientists rely on them, for instance, to measure the sun's rotation or to prepare...
Early life on Earth may have developed more quickly than thought
The Earth's climate was far cooler -- perhaps more than 50 degrees -- billions of years ago, which could mean conditions for life all over the planet were more conducive...
Fermi Telescope Detects Antimatter in Lightning Storms
Whilst carrying out its normal workaday duties of scanning corners of the universe billions of light years from Earth, the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has made a discovery that hits decidedly closer to...
Take Me Out to the Ballpark - On Mars!
Students in fourth through seventh grade will work to create the ultimate baseball experience "on Mars," even designing the rules for how to play a game on the Red Planet.
Sky Target: Spot the Double Cluster
Messier missed it, but you shouldn't: one of the finest deep sky objects.
A bubbling ball of gas (w/ Video)
The Sun is a bubbling mass. Packages of gas rise and sink, lending the sun its grainy surface structure, its granulation. Dark spots appear and disappear, clouds of matter dart...
South Asia News in brief: 29 October–11 November 2009
The Maldives ahead of carbon neutral target, South Asia marred by slow broadband, Nepal to discuss climate at Everest's base, and more.
Vatican Ponders the Existence Of Alien Life
After years of lagging behind in the acceptance of scientific fact, the Vatican has not only caught up, but, with a conference this week, moved far past the boundaries of modern science....
Engineers Will Create Planetary Rover From Retinal Implant Test Robot
(PhysOrg.com) -- The research, led by Wolfgang Fink, will aid both people with visual impairments and scientists involved in planetary exploration.
Atomic Particles Help Solve Planetary Puzzle
A University of Arkansas professor and his colleagues have shown that the Earth's mantle contains the same isotopic signatures from magnesium as meteorites do, suggesting that the planet formed from...
SPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK: Sun Storm, Galactic Core, More
The active sun extends loops of particles, chaos reigns in the Milky Way's middle, tropical storm Ida gets spotted from above, and more in the week's best space pictures.
Small Asteroid 2009 VA Whizzes By Earth
A newly discovered asteroid designated 2009 VA, which is only about 7 meters in size, passed about 2 Earth radii (14,000 km) from Earth's surface Nov. 6 at around 16:30...
New NASA 3-D Video Shows Thunderstorms in Tropical Storm Ida (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM satellite has the ability to provide data that can be made into three-dimensional images. Visualizers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center...
The Stars My Destination
The Voyager spacecraft are now in the outermost layer of the heliosphere, traveling toward interstellar space - the first man-made spacecraft to travel such a vast distance from Earth.
New Telescope Photographs Edge-on Galaxy
A brand new observatory telescope spots a spiral galaxy off in the distance.
3 Telescopes Combine for Stunning Milky Way Photo
Images of Milky Way hub from Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra combined into composite.
The Milky Way, aglow with activity
New view of galactic core uses X-ray and infrared data from three orbiting observatories
Troubled Asteroid Mission Stumbles on Road Home
Hopes are fading for the return of the Hayabusa space probe after another of its ion thrusters failed last week, leaving just one already-damaged engine to guide the hard-luck spacecraft...