Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Cosmic Log: The year in science
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: The scientific stars of 2008 include cellular magicians, genetic decoders and the international team behind the world's biggest atom-smasher.
Environmental groups, scientists cheer Obama appointments
With a Nobel physicist and a former EPA chief on board, some expect Obama's White House to break from what they see as the Bush administration's record of overlooking science...
Mars Orbiter Completes First Phase Of Science Mission
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has completed its primary, two-year science phase. The spacecraft has found signs of a complex Martian history of climate change that produced a diversity of past...
Welcome to the Star Party! - Intro: What a Telescope Does
In this helpful guide to amateur astronomy, the friendly crew of Orion Telescopes and Binoculars introduce you to the night sky and how to best observe it.
Robotic Aircraft Designed For Weather Forecasting
At MIT, planning for bad weather involves far more than remembering an umbrella. Researchers in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics are trying to improve weather forecasting using robotic aircraft...
Looking for Extraterrestrial Life in All the Right Places
Scientists are expanding the search for extraterrestrial life -- and they've set their sights on some very unearthly planets. Cold "Super-Earths" -- giant, "snowball" planets that astronomers have spied on...
Planet Formation Could Lie In Stellar Storms Rather Than Gravitational Instability
New research suggests that turbulence plays a critical role in creating ripe conditions for the birth of planets. The study challenges the prevailing theory of planet formation. Using three-dimensional simulations...
Discovery Of Warm Plasma Cloak Surrounding Earth, New Region Of Magnetosphere
A detailed analysis of the measurements of five different satellites has revealed the existence of the warm plasma cloak, a new region of the magnetosphere, which is the invisible shield...
Astrophysicists recreate stars in the lab
Greater understanding of energetic processes in stars could accelerate development of clean energy from nuclear fusion: ESF project brings together astronomical theory, observation and experiment...
On the trail of polar lows
This has made it possible to determine, for the first time, the frequency of such polar lows in the past. Subsequent statistical analysis of data generated for the last 60...
Astronomers Dissect a Supermassive Black Hole with Natural Magnifying Glasses
Combining a double natural "magnifying glass" with the power of ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have scrutinised the inner parts of the disc around a supermassive black hole 10 billion...
The hottest white dwarf in its class
Astronomy & Astrophysics is publishing spectroscopic observations with NASA's space-based Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) of the white dwarf KPD 0005+5106. The team of German and American astronomers who present these...
Groundwater Springs Played Important Role In Shaping Mars, Perhaps Sheltering Primitive Life
Data and images from Mars Express suggest that several Light Toned Deposits, some of the least understood features on Mars, were formed when large amounts of groundwater burst on to...
The Medium Is The Message: Manipulating Salmonella In Spaceflight Curtails Infectiousness
Scientists have explored the novel environment of space to investigate the cellular and molecular machinery of virulence. Some of the latest findings are derived from experiments aboard NASA space shuttle...
Calgary Zoo to reopen stingray exhibit
The Calgary Zoo is planning to reopen its stingray exhibit seven months after the unexplained death of 41 rays.
Drama in the heart of the Tarantula
Found in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud, 30 Doradus is one of the largest massive star forming regions close to the Milky Way. Enormous stars in 30 Doradus, also known...
One Alien to Another: A Broadcast to the Stars
The makers of the new movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still” have arranged for it to be beamed into space on Friday.
NASA Chief 'Appalled' By Accusations He's Not Cooperating with Obama's Team
Griffin was charged with be less than cooperative with Obama's transition team. The NASA administrator denies the accusation.
Earth has warmed 0.4 C in 30 years
(PhysOrg.com) -- Half of the globe has warmed at least one half of one degree Fahrenheit (0.3 C) in the past 30 years, while half of that -- a full...
The Incredible Journey of the James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope, targeted for launch in 2013, is already taking an incredible journey right here on Earth. It's zigzagging up, down, and across the US to be...
European Mars500 participants announced
The final four Europeans who are set to take part in a 105-day simulated Mars mission were presented to the media in Paris today. From March next year, two of...
Astronomers use ultra-sensitive camera to measure size of planet orbiting star
A team of astronomers led by John Johnson of the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy has used a new technique to measure the precise size of a planet around...
Spinning drops could model black holes
Water droplets take on strange shapes when levitated and spun
Comet Threat More Constant Than Thought
New research says nearby stars and the galaxy influence Earth-bound comets.
Voiding the Cosmic Void: We're not at Center of the Universe After All
Models of the universe that place us near the center of a large, sparse region don't jibe with astronomical observations. Cosmologists at the University of British Columbia reached the conclusion...
Orchards of the Sun: Solar Power Springs Up
How much of the Sun's energy can be harvested? Is solar truly the most sustainable power source? Visit the Googleplex, home of Google.com, to find out.
Catch up on TV watching anywhere in world with SlingCatcher
When the Slingbox debuted in 2005, it was a godsend for sports fans and TV junkies. The device meant businessmen traveling to Europe could watch their favorite shows from their...
The Incredible Journey of the JWST
From humble beginnings in a Utah beryllium mine to the most advanced laboratories in the world, the mirrors of NASA's next great observatory are taking an incredible journey to space.