Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Study: The sun is not producing sunspots
BOZEMAN, Mont., June 12 (UPI) -- Scientists attending a U.S. international solar conference say the sun has stopped producing sunspots for the past couple of years.
NASA's gamma-ray telescope lifts off
NASA's powerful new gamma-ray telescope launched smoothly on Wednesday, bringing the space agency one step closer to exploring unknown phenomena such as dark matter and black holes.
Observatory: Activity in Saturn Ring May Provide Clues to Birth of Solar System
A new study of Cassini images shows there is a lot going on within Saturn’s F ring.
Space Weather: Interfering With The Global Positioning System
You can't always trust your GPS gadget. As scientists have long known, perplexing electrical activity in the upper atmospheric zone called the ionosphere can tamper with signals from GPS satellites....
Mystery of dolphin mass stranding
Initial post-mortem tests on some of the dolphins found dead in Cornwall reveal no clues to the cause of the mass stranding.
Astronauts Check Out Japanese Robotic Arm
With the third and final spacewalk completed Sunday, the Expedition 17 and STS-124 crews are heading into the home stretch of their joint mission.
Slovenia signs an agreement with the ESA
PARIS, June 9 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency says it has signed an agreement with Slovenia, confirming closer cooperation between it and that nation's government.
When it comes to nitrogen, the 'fix' is in
The discovery in the last decade of new suites of microorganisms capable of using various forms of nitrogen -- discoveries that have involved a number of University of Washington researchers...
New search for alien life is planned
BALTIMORE, June 9 (UPI) -- U.S. astronomers say they are developing plans to use the new Allen Telescope Array to search for extraterrestrial intelligence in the Milky Way...
NASA seeks lunar mission proposals
WASHINGTON, June 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it is seeking innovative, interdisciplinary lunar research projects for its Lunar Science Institute.
NASA essay competition winners announced
WASHINGTON, June 9 (UPI) -- A Colorado Springs seventh grader has taken top honors in the U.S. space agency's essay competition.
Giant Telescope Mirrors For The Moon Could Be Made With Carbon, Epoxy And Lunar Dust
Scientists working at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have concocted an innovative recipe for giant telescope mirrors on the Moon. To make a mirror that dwarfs anything on Earth, just...
Switchgrass: Finally a viable biofuel?
The idea of using switchgrass as a renewable source of energy could take off, supporters say, if we stopped thinking of it as a liquid-fuel replacement.
Video: Discovery astronauts make final spacewalk at international space station
Michael Fossum and Ronald Garan Jr wrapped up their work so quickly that mission control gave them some extra tasks
NASA Office Is Criticized on Climate Reports
NASA’s inspector general concluded that there has been distortion and suppression of climate science, mostly by the agency’s press office.
$50 Million More to Physics Institute
The founder of Research in Motion announced that he was donating an additional $50 million to the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario.
50 Years of NASA’s Home Movies
The message of “When We Left Earth,” a sweeping new video history of the American space program: Human space exploration is worthwhile, even necessary.
NASA Chief Urges Europe to Build Manned Spacecraft
NASA encouraged Europe on Thursday to develop its own manned spaceship.
Virgin Galactic Spaceline: Mega-Mothership Set for Rollout Debut
Rollout of the WhiteKnightTwo mothership is anticipated late July.
Phoenix Mars Lander Sifts For Samples, Continues Imaging Landing Site
On Sunday, Sol 14 of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander mission, mechanical shakers inside the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer will attempt to loosen clumped soils on the device's screens to allow...
Galaxy Collision Debris As A Laboratory To Study Star Formation
Astronomers have shown that debris formed when two galaxies collide makes a simpler, more accessible laboratory for studying the process of star formation.
Nobel Prize helps scientist find lost sister
Winning the Nobel Prize in medicine has helped Mario Capecchi discover the long-lost sibling he never knew he had.
Mystery Of Infamous 'New England Dark Day' Solved By Three Rings
At noon, it was black as night. It was May 19, 1780, and some people in New England thought judgment day was at hand. Accounts of that day, became known...
Radio astronomers detect 'baby quasar' near the edge of the visible Universe
An international group of radio astronomers has found an unexpected morphology in the most distant radio quasar ever. This was done using the world's most sensitive network of radio telescopes...
Burt Rutan, Designer Of SpaceShipOne, Steps Down as Scaled President
SpaceShipOne's designer steps down as Scaled President.
Stowaways Could Ruin Mars Missions
Contamination of a Mars spacecraft might lead to a false detection of life.
TV Review: When We Stayed Home to Leave Earth
The Discovery Channel showcases NASA missions in High Definition.
Hints of ‘time before Big Bang’
Our view of the early Universe may contain the signature of a time before the Big Bang, say physicists.