Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Curiosity Mars rover adds reverse driving for wheel protection
Terrain that NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is now crossing is as smooth as team members had anticipated based on earlier images from orbit. On Tuesday, Feb. 18, the rover covered...
NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Guito exit the Mozambique Channel
NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Guito as it exited the Mozambique Channel and moved into the open waters of the Southern Indian Ocean.
Image: Australia's Kumbunbur Creek from orbit
This false-colour satellite image shows the Kumbunbur Creek in Australia's Northern Territory, about 260 km southwest of the city of Darwin.
Cosmic mismatch hints at the existence of a 'sterile' neutrino
A disagreement between observations of galaxy clusters and the cosmic background radiation could be explained by the existence of a fourth type of neutrino.Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2014.14752
Supermassive Black Holes Hide Inside Gigantic Clouds | Animation
Astronomers using data from NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) have accounted for a dozen instances of X-ray signals diminished by gas clouds. Scientists have surmised that the clouds can...
NASA training robot to perform medical procedures in space
NASA video shows how robot controlled by Earth-bound humans could help in medical emergencies at the International Space Station
Famous Star Explosion Lit by Ultrafast Mach 1,000 Shock Wave
Astronomers studying the remnants of a well-known stellar explosion discovered a blisteringly fast shock wave that is rushing inward at 1,000 times the speed of sound, lighting up what remains...
Hubble Space Telescope Spies Spin of Nearby Galaxy
Observations by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the central part of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy completes one rotation every 250 million years — the same time it takes...
When a black hole shreds a star, a bright flare tells the story
A new study explains what happens during the disruption of a normal sun-like star by a supermassive black hole. The study shows why observers might fail to see evidence of...
In the light of the night
Under the cover of darkness, Harvard’s campus is transformed. Shadows cast by lamplight and moonlight create a Hitchcockian atmosphere when rendered in black and white, like these photographs taken over...
IGR J11014-6103: Chandra sees runaway pulsar firing an extraordinary jet
(Phys.org) —NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has seen a fast-moving pulsar escaping from a supernova remnant while spewing out a record-breaking jet—the longest of any object in the Milky Way galaxy—of...
NASA Invites Private Companies To The Moon
Earth rise NASA NASA is officially looking to work with private companies to develop commercial robotic lunar landers that can deliver cargo to the moon's surface. The space agency explains in an announcement that partnerships in lunar cargo transportation "could...
The Week In Numbers: The Oldest Star In The Universe, Gaming For Science, And More
Love 'Bot Dan Bracaglia 90 minutes: the time it takes to make your own light-up Valentine's Day card using conductive ink 13 billion years: the age of the oldest known star in...
Scientists probe meteor link to Argentina explosion
Scientists said Tuesday that a meteor crashing to earth could explain reports of an explosion in the Argentine countryside some 350 kilometers (250 miles) northwest of Buenos Aires.
Watch: ISS takes out the trash, dumps Cygnus capsule
The International Space Station put the trash out, so to speak, releasing its orbiting lab and leaving it with one less capsule on its hands. NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins used...
Fun in Zero-G: Weightless Photos from Earth and Space
See amazing, and sometimes hilarious, photos of fun in weightlessness in these zero gravity photos on airplanes and spacecraft.
Are We Living in a Black Hole?
Some astrophysicists think our universe owes its origin to a monster black hole, wherein we reside today.
UTSA researcher tapped to lead international energy project
For the first time in the university's history, The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) has been invited to participate in an International Energy Agency (IEA) project along with...
From India, Proof That a Trip to Mars Doesn’t Have to Break the Bank
India’s recently launched mission to Mars was remarkable for its relatively low cost given the normally sky-high expense of space exploration.
Missing galaxy mass found
Gravitational lensing solves puzzle from the Big Bang’s echo.Nature 506 274 doi: 10.1038/506274a
Are aliens atheists? | Open thread
Richard Dawkins has tweeted that alien civilisation will be so advanced they won't be religious. Share your beliefs belowIf aliens ever visit us, will they be atheists? Richard Dawkins is certain that they...
Space History Photo: FIDO Rover
The FIDO Rover undergoes field test to prepare for conditions on Mars.
A month in space: Rosetta the comet chaser awakes, a cosmic Catherine wheel and the Hand of God – in pictures
This month's roundup of space-related imagery features the wake-up signal from a hibernating spacecraft, the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy and a nebula powered by a dead, spinning star
Heavily-contaminated water found in Thames Valley
High-levels of faecal-contaminated, disease-ridden bacteria have been found in floodwater in the Thames Valley Wraysbury, Berkshire in University of Reading analysis for Sky News and Channel 4 News.
Caps not the culprit in nanotube chirality
(Phys.org) —A single-walled carbon nanotube grows from the round cap down, so it's logical to think the cap's formation determines what follows. But according to researchers at Rice University, that's...
Researchers discover association of gas-rich galaxies near the infancy of cosmic time
(Phys.org) —Squinting close to the beginning of time, Dominik Riechers, Cornell assistant professor of astronomy, has discovered an association of gas-rich galaxies near the infancy of cosmic time. It's an...
Lighter engines a headache for satellite launcher Ariane
Arianespace rockets excel at lifting the heaviest payloads into space, but a new technology allowing for lighter satellites is causing another big bang for an already fast-changing industry.
Colo. pot aids kids with seizures, worries doctors
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- The doctors were out of ideas to help 5-year-old Charlotte Figi....