Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Kepler captures first views of planet-hunting territory
NASA's Kepler mission has taken its first images of the star-rich sky where it will soon begin hunting for planets like Earth. The new 'first light' images show the mission's...
Mars Rover Spirit Healthy, But Computer Reboots Raise Concerns
The team operating NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit is examining data received from Spirit in recent days to diagnose why the rover apparently rebooted its computer at least twice over...
NASA Experiment Stirs Up Hope For Forecasting Deadliest Cyclones
NASA satellite data and a new modeling approach could improve weather forecasting and save more lives when future cyclones develop.
Eyes Seek New Targets During Visual Search
The results indicate that inhibition of return occurs during visual search tasks, but not during other visual tasks.That is, volunteers in the search group were slower to shift their eyes...
Space-Based Solar Power Coming to California in 2016
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the near future, a solar power satellite may be supplying electricity to 250,000 homes around Fresno County, California. Unlike ground-based solar arrays, satellites would be unaffected by...
New ISS module name honours Apollo 11 anniversary
The International Space Station (ISS) module formerly known as Node 3 has a new name. After more than a million online responses, the node will be called 'Tranquility'...
PHOTOS: Solar Explosions Revealed by Twin Spacecraft
It can look and act like a Slinky, but plasma ejected from the sun is no game, and new 3-D technology is allowing for early warnings of the worst space...
NASA spacecraft show three dimensional anatomy of a solar storm
Twin NASA spacecraft have provided scientists with their first view of the speed, trajectory, and three-dimensional shape of powerful explosions from the sun known as coronal mass ejections, or CMEs....
Hubble witnesses spectacular flaring in extragalactic jet from M87's black hole
A flare-up in a jet of matter blasting from a monster black hole is giving astronomers an incredible light show. The outburst is coming from a blob of matter, called...
Duke physicists see the cosmos in a coffee cup
A Duke University professor and his graduate student have discovered a universal principle that unites the curious interplay of light and shadow on the surface of your morning coffee with...
Rocket Launches Damage Ozone Layer, Study Says
Solid-fuel rockets used to send up spacecraft could be the world's next worrisome emission sources, especially as space tourism takes off, according to new research.
KISSing Galactic Cousins Break the Mold
Survey detects large galaxies that may be too young to have grown so big
SPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK: Soyuz Lands, Titan's Gas, More
See how life might start on another planet, a test drive of a large new moon robot, a fresh look at a Saturn moon's atmosphere, and more in this week's...
Nasa Sun probes watch over Earth
Scientists say they have demonstrated the principle of a very effective early warning system that would give notice of huge eruptions on the Sun.
NASA online Earth Day poll is under way
WASHINGTON, April 14 (UPI) -- NASA says it's inviting the public to vote for the most important contribution the U.S. space agency has made toward improving life on...
Mars Sprinkled with Salty Mysteries
Detection of perchlorate by Phoenix lander has implications for water, ice, life on Mars.
Endeavour to move to stand-by launch pad
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., April 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it will move space shuttle Endeavour to a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center to...
Op-Ed Contributor: Boldly Going Nowhere
The desire to walk on an alien planet will not — any century soon — be sated by human-filled starships. Instead, we will extend our senses beyond Earth with telepresence...
Thieving dwarves cause supernovae
Researchers suggest that a common type of supernova occurs early because it steals mass from a nearby helium star.
Scientist at Work: John Grunsfeld: Last Voyage for the Keeper of the Hubble
For 18 years, one astronaut has tended to the Hubble’s needs. On May 12, John Grunsfeld is scheduled to ride to the telescope’s rescue one last time.
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.
Astronaut Eager to Hug Hubble Again
NASA astronaut Mike Massimino is getting ready for his second space shuttle flight to the Hubble Space Telescope.
NASA Heads up Mt. Everest
Steve "Ark" Vander Ark takes a deep breath at the foot of the stairs in a lonely, dusky stairwell, then turns and heads up ten long flights of steps -...
Weekend Sky Show: Little Green Comet Nears Earth
First reported late last month, the currently tail-less comet Yi-SWAN should be visible to backyard telescopes in the Northern Hemisphere from mid-April until about mid-May.
The Search for the Solar System's Lost Planet
Twin spacecrafts are heading out to search for leftovers from a rumored lost planet of the solar system.
The Rev. Stanley L. Jaki, Physicist and Theologian, Dies at 84
Father Jaki, a Benedictine priest, wrote extensively, delving into the histories of science and religion and exploring their boundaries.
Starwatch
As part of the Hubble Space Telescope's contribution to the International Year of Astronomy, and as a result of a
Heavyweights spotted in the early universe
Newfound massive galaxies may force theorists to revisit leading formation model