Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
NASA Details Columbia Crew's Grisly Deaths
Seat restraints, pressure suits and helmets of the doomed crew of the space shuttle Columbia didn't work well, leading to "lethal trauma" as the out-of-control ship lost pressure and broke...
NASA: Continued Shuttle Use Would Be Risky
NASA's chief says it would cost an extra $3 billion a year to keep flying the space shuttle past next year's retirement date. Plus it would extend the risk of...
Cosmic Log: How evolution evolved
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Where did the theory of evolution come from? Where's it going? The countdown to Darwin's 200th birthday is a good time for deep questions like...
Monster Black Holes Spawned Early Galaxies
The discovery could solve the cosmic chicken-and-egg riddle of which came first—galaxies or the supermassive black holes nestled in their cores.
Earth Scientist Emerges as Possible Replacement for NASA Chief
Earth scientist Charles Kennel has arisen as a new candidate to replace NASA Chief Mike Griffin.
Dead Exploded Star Resurrected in 3-D
The remains of an exploded star are resurrected in a new 3-D film.
Biggest Full Moon of the Year: Take 2
The biggest full Moon of 2009 is coming this weekend. It's a perigee Moon as much as 30% brighter than lesser moons we'll see in the months ahead. Get...
Star Light, Star Bright, Its Explanation Is Out Of Sight
A mysterious flash of light from somewhere near or far in the universe is still keeping astronomers in the dark long after it was first detected by NASA's Hubble Space...
Half-baked Asteroids Have Earth-like Crust
Asteroids are hunks of rock that orbit in the outer reaches of space, and scientists have generally assumed that their small size limited the types of rock that could form...
Perfect Space Storm Could be Catastrophic on Earth, Study Concludes
A new study outlines grim possibilities on Earth for a worst-case scenario solar storm.
Astronomy can foster development
Strengthening astronomy in poor nations can help promote socio-economic development, says South African astronomer, Kevindran Govender.
Cassiopeia A comes alive across time and space
Two new efforts have taken a famous supernova remnant from the static to the dynamic. A new movie of data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory shows changes in time never...
Astronomers use gamma-ray burst to probe star formation in the early Universe
The brilliant afterglow of a powerful gamma-ray burst (GRB) has enabled astronomers to probe the star-forming environment of a distant galaxy, resulting in the first detection of molecular gas in...
PHOTO IN THE NEWS: Milky Way's Turbulent Core in Hi-Res
The first infrared panorama of the Milky Way's center has revealed a previously unknown population of massive stars scattered across the turbulent zone around our galaxy's core.
New Jersey UFO Likely a Hoax
A mysterious set of UFO lights that appeared over Phoenix, Arizona last year likely made an unexpected reappearance over New Jersey on Monday night.
Mystery ailment hits Calif. brown pelicans
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Scientists are trying to determine what is causing California brown pelicans to become disoriented, wandering onto freeways or hitting boats.
Rocky Planet Births Are Common, Dead Stars Suggest
Asteroid debris around the remains of dead stars once like our sun show chemical signatures similar to the makeup of our solar system's terrestrial worlds, according to a new study.
Fermi telescope unveils a dozen new pulsars
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has discovered 12 new gamma-ray-only pulsars and has detected gamma-ray pulses from 18 others. The finds are transforming our understanding of how these...
Brown Dwarfs Don't Hang Out With Stars
Brown dwarfs, objects that are less massive than stars but larger than planets, just got more elusive, based on a study of 233 nearby multiple-star systems by NASA's Hubble Space...
SpaceX Assembles New Rocket for Launch Debut
SpaceX has assembled the first Falcon 9 rocket at its Florida launch site.
U.S. still probing security satellite failure
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four months after the newest U.S. missile-warning satellite built by Northrop Grumman Corp failed in orbit, officials are still investigating what happened.
Baby Jupiter's huge weight gain
The planet Jupiter must have gained mass fast during its infancy, according to astronomers.
Keynote at CES will test Ballmer's star power
Not that he needed one, but Bill Gates had rock star Slash help him cap his performance at the International Consumer Electronics Show last year.
Mothers, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cattle Rustlers
Also in today's links: a cable from earth to space, parties at Stonehenge and more. read more
Milky Way 'bigger than believed'
The Milky Way has 50% more mass and is travelling 120,000km per hour faster than once thought, a study shows.
Orbiter, Finishing a Mission, Offers a Peek at Mars’ Wrinkles
Last month, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter wrapped up its two-year primary science phase, and Mars geologists are wallowing in a bounty of data.
VIDEO: Buried Spanish Galleon Found
Complete with canons and jars of olive oil, an 18th-century Spanish ship has been found at a Buenos Aires, Argentina, construction site.
SES Americom Shuts Down Satellite TV Service
SES Americom is shutting down its IP-Prime satellite TV service.