Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Tim Radford: A black hole at the heart of the Milky Way confirms we're nothing special
The black hole at the heart of the galaxy – confirmed this week by a team from the European Southern Observatory – is good news for o
Space Shuttle Endeavour Finally Home
Space shuttle Endeavour returned home to NASA's spaceport Friday.
China, Russia plan Mars trip
China and Russia will co-operate on a Mars exploration project next year, the China Daily reported, citing an official at the Shanghai Space Administration.
NASA delays Mars rover launch to 2011
Technical problems make the planned 2009 launch impossible, officials say. The delay will add $400 million to the cost of the mission and might result in layoffs at JPL. ...
At Beverly Center, a healthier Hunky Santa
A big hit at the mall, this Kris Kringle comes with killer abs and a message about exercising and watching the milk and cookies. ...
Meteorites hitting oceans may have kick-started life
New origin-of-life experiments mimic meteorite sea impacts and create organic molecules
Hubble servicing mission launch date set
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency has set May 12 as the target launch date for space shuttle Atlantis' mission to repair the Hubble Space...
Atomic Clock Could Be Miniturized
The world's most precise clock - on which all time-keeping and navigation systems are based - might be made as small as a wristwatch with a new design proposed by...
Video: Branson's pledge to Virgin Galactic space tourists
If you are lucky enough to have $200,000 to spare and have signed up as one of Virgin Galactic's space tourists then this is the video Richard Branson will h
Shuttle's Calif. departure delayed
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Dec. 6 (UPI) -- The space shuttle Endeavour's departure from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for Florida was delayed Saturday due to technical...
China launches hybrid rocket
BEIJING, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- China, for the first time, has launched and recovered a hybrid rocket, the University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Bejing says.
Pieces Coming Together For First Test Launch Of NASA's New Spacecraft
NASA is using powerful computers and software programs to design the rocket that will carry crew and cargo to space after the space shuttle retires. But those computers will have...
NASA space probe to track CO2 on Earth
The occasionally acrimonious debate about the planet's climate has been missing a key component: accurate measurements of how much carbon dioxide is in the air and how it is being...
Nobel Prize Presentation Ceremony for Yoichiro Nambu
Yoichiro Nambu, the Harry Pratt Judson Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in Physics the University of Chicago, will be presented with the medal and diploma for the 2008 Nobel Prize in...
MoonLITE mission gets green light for next step
A possible UK-led Moon mission involving 'penetrator' darts that would impact into the Moon's surface will be the focus of a technical study to ascertain its feasibility, the British National...
Return of the Leonids
Astronomers from Caltech and NASA say a strong shower of Leonid meteors is coming in 2009. Their prediction follows an outburst on Nov. 17, 2008, that broke several years of...
Waterproof rice passes international field tests
A breed of rice that can withstand complete submersion for more than two weeks has passed its field tests and is close to official release.
Explore Moon Mountains from Your Backyard
The best time to observe the moon with a telescope may be a surprise.
ESA presents European participants in Mars500 isolation study
ESA Pr 48-2008. March 2009 will see two European participants entering a set of modules at the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow. Together with four Russian participants, they...
China, Russia to send probes to Mars next year
BEIJING (Reuters) - China will team up with Russia to launch two satellite probes to take pictures of Mars and one of its small moons in October next year as...
A celestial snow globe of stars
Like a whirl of shiny flakes sparkling in a snow globe, Hubble catches an instantaneous glimpse of many hundreds of thousands of stars moving about in the globular cluster M13,...
NASA orbiter finds Martian rock record with 10 beats to the bar
Climate cycles persisting for millions of years on ancient Mars left a record of rhythmic patterns in thick stacks of sedimentary rock layers, revealed in three-dimensional detail by a telescopic...
NASA Orbiter Finds Martian Rock Record With 10 Beats to the Bar
Climate cycles persisting for millions of years on ancient Mars left a record of rhythmic patterns in thick stacks of sedimentary rock layers, revealed in three-dimensional detail by a telescopic...
New Model of Jupiter's Core Ignites Planet Birth Debate
A controversial new computer model suggests the gas giant's core is more than twice as big as thought, sparking debate over two of the leading theories for planet formation.
This One's For You: ISS Space Barley Beer
(PhysOrg.com) -- Critics of the Space Program can utter a sigh of relief. Finally, an innovation with a good suds head on it. A colloborative effort between the Russian Academy...
Veteran astronaut Carl Walz leaves NASA
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says one of its veteran astronauts, Carl Walz, is resigning to take an unspecified job in the private sector.
Polar Dinosaurs Endured Cold Dark Winters
Most polar dinosaurs preferred to stick closer to home despite deadly winter weather.
NASA's Shana Dale announces resignation
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. space agency Deputy Administrator Shana Dale says she will resign her post effective Jan. 17 after serving as NASA's second in command...