Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Scientists Test System To Steer Drivers Away From Dangerous Weather
Scientists are testing an innovative technological system in the Detroit area this month that ultimately will help protect drivers from being surprised by black ice, fog, and other hazardous weather...
Scientists pinpoint edge of space
CALGARY, Alberta, April 10 (UPI) -- An instrument that tracks particles has pinpointed the edge of space at 73.321 miles above Earth, say scientists at Canada's University of...
Dust Cover Jettisoned From NASA's Kepler Telescope
Engineers have successfully ejected the dust cover from NASA's Kepler telescope, a spaceborne mission soon to begin searching for worlds like Earth.
James Webb Space Telescope First Flight Mirror Completes Cryogenic Testing
The first mirror segment that will fly on the James Webb Space Telescope has completed its first series of cryogenic temperature tests in the X-ray and Cryogenic Facility at the...
Global Temperature Report - March 2009
The global composite temperature increased during March, according to data provided by research scientists at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Data gathered by microwave sounding units on NOAA and...
Twin Spacecraft To Explore Gravitational 'Parking Lots' That May Hold Secret Of Moon's Origin
Two places on opposite sides of Earth may hold the secret to how the moon was born. NASA's twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft are about to enter these...
For Sale: A Lunch Date with Astronaut John Glenn
Famed Mercury astronaut John Glenn has an open seat at his lunch table, provided you're willing to foot the bill.
Q and A: John Holdren
White House science adviser dishes on nuclear weapons, space exploration, and teaching evolution
Hidden star-forming galaxies from early universe revealed
A telescope lifted into the upper reaches of the atmosphere by a helium balloon more than two years ago has given Canadian and international researchers new insight into early galaxy-formation...
Famed star observatory in Quebec loses federal support
A Quebec observatory, home to the world's first dark sky preserve, is at risk of shutting down because of federal funding cuts.
Nickel "Famine" Led to Oxygen-Breathing Life?
Life as we know it may have evolved because Earth's early oceans ran low on nickel, a new study suggests.
Autonomous Antarctic Observatories Gather Space Weather Data
(PhysOrg.com) -- An international scientific consortium has developed a series of autonomous observatories in Antarctica that for the first time provide critical year-round "space weather" data from the Earth's harshest...
Journey to the Martian Arctic with Space Explorer April 16
Peter Smith, senior research scientist at the University of Arizona and principal investigator of NASA's Phoenix Mars Mission, will highlight the novel spacecraft's discoveries in the "The Journey of the...
Can Life Thrive Around a Red Dwarf Star?
Not astrobiologists' first choice, red dwarf stars have now gained acceptance as potential hosts for habitable planets
Beyond Apollo: Moon Tech Takes a Giant Leap
The flight computer onboard the Lunar Excursion Module, which landed on the Moon during the Apollo program, had a whopping 4 kilobytes of RAM and a 74 KB "hard drive."...
NASA's Space Shuttle Replacement Makes First Splash
NASA's Orion shuttle replacement is making its first water tests in the ocean.
Extragalactic study solves infrared puzzle
PHILADELPHIA, April 9 (UPI) -- A U.S.-led study that shows all of Earth's far infrared background comes from distant galaxies has essentially solved the question of the radiation's...
UBC, U of T team helps solve mystery of starlight's origins
Scientists from the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia have helped unveil the birthplaces of ancient stars using a two-tonne telescope carried by a balloon the size...
Prize for 'Sun in the box' cooker
A solar cooker made from a cardboard box, invented in Africa, wins a competition for bright environmental ideas.
Geoengineer climate? Obama aide won't rule out
The president's new science adviser said Wednesday that global warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing radical technologies to cool Earth's air.
Herschel and Planck to lift off on 6 May
(PhysOrg.com) -- With the additional checks related to the flight worthiness of the Herschel telescope now completed, ESA and Arianespace have set the launch date of Herschel and Planck for...
Astronaut Class of 2009 Has No Spaceship
NASA's 2009 astronaut class will be the first in 3 decades with no chance to launch on a space shuttle.
Youthful supernovae explained?
A team of astronomers, led by Dr Bo Wang from the Yunnan Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have developed a new model which explains the formation of the...
Scientists team up with B.C. firm to build world's biggest telescope
The design of a gargantuan telescope that will give astronomers their first glimpse into the farthest, faintest depths of the universe is well on its way, guided by Canadian and...
Mars500 diary: settling in
One week into their simulated Mars mission inside a special isolation facility in Moscow, the crew of six are reported to be in good spirits. ESA-selected crewmember Oliver Knickel sent...
PHOTOS: "Jupiter's Ghost," Galaxies Mark Skywatch Event
New pictures of a planetary nebula, a stellar nursery, and scads of sparkling galaxies were among the images released as part of a live astronomy webcast, Around the World in...
SPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK: Blank Sun, Lacy Galaxy, More
See a backlighted galaxy, Martian frost patterns, a potential ice volcano, and more in this week's space pictures.