Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Star Wars—these could be the droids we're looking for in real life
The latest episode of Star Wars is now upon us and has unleashed a new era of science fantasy robots, or "droids" as they are known.
Will Ferrell rethinks Santa Claus on 'Tonight Show'
Marilyn MalaraNEW YORK, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Will Ferrell appeared on Wednesday night's episode of the "Tonight Show'" not as himself but as the "new Santa Claus."
Galileo’s dozen: 12 satellites now in orbit
The pace of deploying Europe’s own satellite navigation system continued to increase with today’s launch of the latest pair of Galileo satellites, doubling the number of satellites in space within...
NASA Receives $19.3 Billion in Final 2016 Spending Bill
Planetary science, commercial crew among the long-awaited bill's big winners.
Nearby star hosts closest alien planet in the 'habitable zone'
Australian astronomers have discovered the closest potentially habitable planet found outside our solar system so far, orbiting a star just 14 light years away. The planet, more than four times...
U.S. Army selects General Dynamics for Abrams tank production
Ryan MaassSTERLING HEIGHTS, Mich., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army has awarded General Dynamics a $92 million contract to upgrade M1A2 SEP V2 Abrams tanks to the M1A2 SEP...
Cosmic Jailbreak! Blazar's Gamma Rays Make It To Detectors Unscathed | Video
In April 2015, a blast of high energy gamma rays – traveling from more than halfway back in time to the Big Bang – hit NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.
Physicists in Europe Find Tantalizing Hints of a Mysterious New Particle
One possibility is that the particle — assuming it is real — is a heavier version of the Higgs boson, a particle that explains why other particles have mass.
Meanwhile, in a galaxy not so far, far away...
The fantasy creations of the "Star Wars" universe are strikingly similar to real planets in our own Milky Way galaxy. A super Earth in deep freeze? Think ice-planet "Hoth." And...
Rare '69 Dodge Charger Daytona found in barn expected to fetch $150K at auction
Doug G. WareKISSIMMEE, Fla., Dec. 15 (UPI) -- A rare 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, one of just over 500 ever built, discovered recently in an Alabama barn might fetch nearly...
Scientists launch NASA rocket into auroral "speed bumps" above Norway
A team of scientists led by Marc Lessard of the University of New Hampshire Space Science Center launched an instrument-laden, four-stage sounding rocket from Norway's Andøya Space Center about 280...
Citizen scientists name planet
Volunteers from the Perth based citizen astronomy project theSkyNet have won the right to name a planet around a distant star as part of a global contest run by the...
100m radio telescope maps the complete northern sky in the light of neutral hydrogen
Radio astronomers from Bonn University and the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie have reached a scientific milestone with their publication in the January issue of the international science journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
VERITAS fields galactic gamma rays from halfway across the visible universe
Brooks HaysCAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 15 (UPI) -- VERITAS, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System, recently fielded a blast of gamma rays from half-way across the visible universe.
Arion, Copernicus, and Spe? 31 exoplanets get cool new names
Meet Arion, Copernicus, and Spe, some of the newest named planets in our universe. Thirty-one planets beyond our solar system and the 14 stars they orbit have new monikers suggested...
'Flipped' classrooms improve physics education
A feather is dropped on the moon from a height of 1.40 metres. The acceleration of gravity on the moon is 1.67 m/s2. Determine the time for the feather to...
Physicist celebrate expansion of international agreement at Auger Observatory
LSU Physicist James Matthews and an international team of scientists are reconstructing the path of the universe's most energetic cosmic rays, bringing new insights into the origin and nature of...
Space Adventure 'Elite: Dangerous' Simulates Milky Way in Stunning and Accurate Detail
Instead of fighting, trading or hunting for pirates, many players of the space adventure game "Elite: Dangerous" are turning tail and heading for parts unknown deep within the galaxy.
Life on ‘Mars’ by Way of Hawaii: Q. and A.
Six researchers are living for a year in a NASA habitat that simulates the red planet.
Leonardo DiCaprio details multiple near-death experiences
Wade SheridanLOS ANGELES, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Much like his character Hugh Glass in the upcoming survival drama "The Revenant," star Leonardo DiCaprio has had his fair share of near-death...
Saudi, Emirati military commanders, dozens others killed in Houthi rocket strike in Yemen
Fred LambertTAIZ, Yemen, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- An Emirati officer and a Saudi special forces colonel were killed when a rocket fired by Houthi rebels struck a command center in...
Police: Escaped suspect broke into home, put on pajamas, took a nap
Ben HooperDELTONA, Fla., Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida said an escaped shoplifting suspect allegedly broke into a home, took a shower, put on some pajamas and took a...
Josh Groban to make his Broadway debut in September
Karen ButlerNEW YORK, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Grammy Award-winning recording artist Josh Groban is to make his Broadway debut next September in "Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812."
Boston police search for missing 'SWAT Cat'
Daniel UriaBOSTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Boston Special Weapons and Tactics police have embarked on a very special mission to find their missing feline mascot known as SWAT Cat.
Schweickhard "Schwick" Von Goeler, Inventor of Groundbreaking Diagnostics Used to Analyze Fusion Experiments Worldwide, Dies at 84
Schweickhard "Schwick" von Goeler, an award-winning physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) for more than 35 years and the inventor of numerous X-ray diagnostics...
How NASA Sees El Nino Effects From Space
NASA data are helping scientists learn more about some of El Niño's key impacts around the globe.
What did Jesus look like? Science is still trying to solve the mystery
Was he blond like Brad Pitt? Was he black like Kanye "Yeezus" West?
Small Satellites to Pave Way for Future Space-Borne Weather Observations
Colorado State University researchers are creating the next generation of environmental monitoring satellites, at a hundredth the size and weight scale.