Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
NASA infrared imagery hinted Darby would become a hurricane
Infrared imagery provides forecasters with a look at the temperature of cloud tops in tropical cyclones, sea surface and land surface temperatures and more. NASA infrared imagery from the morning...
MODIS Rapidfire For Citizen Scientists - #3
MODIS Rapidfire For Citizen Scientists - #3 This is part #3 of a brief explanation of the NASA/GSFC MODIS Rapid Response System - Rapidfire - together with a Howto for citizen...
BP, in Shift, Says Hayward Remains in Charge
BP officials said that Tony Hayward, their embattled C.E.O., was still in charge of all BP operations despite comments indicating that he was relinquishing his duties in the Gulf of...
Telescope searching for space 'threats'
KAHULUI, Hawaii, June 18 (UPI) -- A telescope in Hawaii has started searching space for asteroids or comets in orbits that could threaten a collision with Earth, scientists say.
Scientists focus on revealing hidden mysteries of the Universe
Secrets of the Universe are to be revealed as a new telescope equipped with the world's most powerful digital camera begins its observations of the night sky...
Astronomers witness a star being born
Astronomers have glimpsed what could be the youngest known star at the very moment it is being born. Not yet fully developed into a true star, the object is in...
Astronomers study Kuiper Belt object during stellar occultation
Until now, astronomers have used telescopes to find Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs), moon-sized bodies, and obtain their spectra to determine what types of ices are on their surface. They have...
Seventh Graders Find a Cave on Mars
(PhysOrg.com) -- California middle school students using the camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter have found lava tubes with one pit that appears to be a skylight to a cave.
HESS-II: a new camera for exploring the violent Universe
HESS, one of the world's best-performing ground-based gamma ray detectors, will soon boast a fifth telescope that will double its potential for making new discoveries. The telescope will be equipped...
Jean-Jacques Dordain to continue as Director General of ESA
ESA PR 13-2010: The Council of the European Space Agency today announced that Jean-Jacques Dordain will continue as the Director General of ESA for a further period of four years....
Visit to ESA Headquarters of Pierre Lellouche and Werner Hoyer
Pierre Lellouche, Secretary of State responsible for European Affairs in the French Government, and Werner Hoyer, Minister Delegate for European Affairs in the German Government, who are both General Secretaries...
Nimoy and Saldana give Yoostar film karaoke a whirl
Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy and new-generation star Zoe Saldana on Wednesday put their acting skills to the test in a Yoostar "film karaoke" videogame.
Cosmonaut Leonid Kizim, Who Visited 2 Space Stations in 1 Mission, Dies
Soviet cosmonaut Leonid Kizim, who in 1986 commanded the only mission in history to visit two space stations in one flight - which also marked the first crewed flight to...
Robots Could Hunt for Fossils on Europa
If extraterrestrial life exists on Jupiter's moon Europa, instead of deploying probes to drill past its ice shell to look for aliens in the ocean below, one might just go...
Research is getting closer to understanding critical nucleus in haze formation, prof says
COLLEGE STATION, June 14, 2010 – Haze, scientifically known as atmospheric aerosols – microscopic particles suspended in the Earth’s atmosphere – represents a major...
The Secret Life of Water at Very Low Temperatures
The secret life of water just got weirder. For years water has been known to exist in 15 phases -- not just the merry threesome of solid, liquid and gas...
Strange Martian Spirals Explained
Almost 40 years ago, NASA's Mariner 9 spacecraft relayed to Earth the first video images of Mars' northern polar ice cap, revealing a strange pattern of spiral swirls that has...
NASA TV announces planned outage
WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration says its satellite television transmissions will be disrupted Thursday as it conducts planned maintenance.
Iridium to launch new telecom satellites
US-based Iridium Communications Wednesday announced plans to launch a new fleet of satellites for global voice and data communications with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX).
Small World Beyond Neptune Covered in Ice
A small space rock that orbits the sun from out beyond Neptune is almost completely coated in water ice, according to a new study.
Space Photos This Week: Hayabusa Fireball, Whirlpools
A dazzling fireball from a Japanese spacecraft, a whirlpool galaxy with an appetite, and a boomerang-shaped stellar jet are among the week's space pictures. ...
In deserts, which dunes are the most stable?
By modeling a desert where the wind blows in two directions, researchers have succeeded in observing and highlighting, for the very first time, the formation process and long-term evolution of...
Telescope Takes Sharpest Pictures of Space Yet From Earth
A telescope in Arizona has taken the sharpest pictures yet of deep space from Earth with a new system that provides a level of clarity never seen before.
Call for Media: ESA’s Living Planet Symposium, Bergen, 28 June–2 July
ESA PR 11-2010. The media are invited to ESA's largest scientific event of the year: the Living Planet Symposium, in Bergen, Norway. The symposium covers all areas of Earth observation,...
VISTA views the Sculptor Galaxy
The Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253) lies in the constellation of the same name and is one of the brightest galaxies in the sky. It is prominent enough to be seen...
Sanyo announces world's most efficient solar module
(PhysOrg.com) -- Sanyo has announced its development of the world's most energy efficient solar module, the HIT-N230. The module was unveiled at a press conference run by Sanyo Electric's Solar...
Dwarf Planets Pluto and Ceres Make Night Sky Appearance
Stargazers can see the two brightest dwarf planets, formerly the asteroid Ceres and the planet Pluto, in June.
NASA Prepares for Potentially Damaging 2011 Meteor Shower
NASA is assessing the risk to spacecraft posed by the upcoming 2011 Draconid meteor shower, a seven-hour storm of space rocks that has the potential to ding major Earth-orbiting spacecraft.