Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Japan launches 5th spy satellite
(AP) -- Japan launched its fifth spy satellite into orbit Saturday in a bid to boost its ability to independently gather intelligence, the government said.
Volunteers wanted for simulated 520-day Mars mission
Starting in 2010, an international crew of six will simulate a 520-day round-trip to Mars, including a 30-day stay on the martian surface. In reality, they will live and work...
Face to faith: Galileo's lunar work drew on another Christian iconoclast who had lived 1,000 years earlier, says Mark Vernon
Face to faith: Galileo's lunar work drew on another Christian iconoclast who had lived 1,000 years earlierGalileo's earliest surviving drawing of the moon can be dated to 30 November 1609, almost exactly 400...
A nation divided by the weather
The Atlantic's storm track has slipped south, and the rain is more persistent than everThe life of the writer RB Cunninghame Graham is now much more interesting than anything he wrote –...
Signal fading on radio traffic reports
(AP) -- For more than 20 years, Mike Nolan was known to radio listeners as the "eye in the sky." He flew over Southern California freeways in his single-engine...
Herschel takes a peek at the ingredients of the galaxies
(PhysOrg.com) -- The European Space Agency has today released spectacular new observations from the Herschel Space Observatory, including the UK-led SPIRE instrument. Spectrometers on board all three Hershel instruments have...
Satellites identify mosquito breeding sites
Researchers are using satellite data such as soil moisture patterns to identify likely breeding sites of mosquitoes.
Fermi Telescope Peers Deep into Microquasar (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has made the first unambiguous detection of high-energy gamma-rays from an enigmatic binary system known as Cygnus X-3. The system pairs a hot,...
The Energy Sources of Ultraluminous Galaxies
(PhysOrg.com) -- Ultraluminous infrared galaxies ((ULIRGs) are galaxies whose luminosity exceeds that of a trillion suns; for comparison, the Milky Way galaxy has a typical (and much more modest) luminosity...
Hammerhead Sharks See 360 Degrees in Stereo
Hammerheads have outstanding forward stereo vision and depth perception, study finds.
China set for second lunar probe
BEIJING, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- The Chinese space scientist who designed the country's first lunar probe says the second probe is set for October of next year, he told...
Russia: No space for space tourists
There is no space for tourists wishing to fly to the International Space Station, a top Russian space official said Thursday.
Astronauts surprised by holiday turkey dinners
Space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts thought they were going to give thanks with pantry leftovers Thursday as their mission drew to a close, but found turkey dinners awaiting them.
Astronauts celebrate Thanksgiving in space
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Nov. 26 (UPI) -- A dozen astronauts in orbit were to pause for a weightless Thanksgiving Thursday even though they were aboard two separate spacecraft, NASA...
Cosmonauts get final tests before flight
STAR CITY, Russia, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Main and backup crews for the next mission to the International Space Station began final tests at a space training center near...
Gullies and Flow Features on Crater Wall
(PhysOrg.com) -- This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a sample of the variety and complexity of processes that may...
Is the 'Giant Impact' hypothesis in reality the 'Origin of the Moon' ?
The mystery of origin of the Moon has bothered the astronomers for hundreds of years. Big hopes were set on the landing of humans on the Moon. All Apollo missions...
Superconductor magnet spacecraft heat shield being developed
(PhysOrg.com) -- European space agencies and an aerospace giant are developing a new re-entry heat shield that will use superconductor magnets to generate a magnetic field strong enough to deflect...
NASA's Recipe for Space Cornbread Dressing
NASA's recipe for astronaut-approved space cornbread dressing.
Monster worm and sea star frenzy
Deep under the Antarctic ice, a rare colourful burst of starfish and monster worms is filmed by BBC camera crew.
ESA supports the European launch of Oceans
Oceans cover nearly three-quarters of Earth's surface, yet they remain the least explored territories of our planet. Oceans, a new film produced by filmmaker Jacques Perrin, captures the mysterious and...
Feature: What lifted the universe’s veil of darkness?
About a billion years after the universe formed, a veil of hydrogen gas tore apart and let the light in. Now scientists want to know why.
Milky Way Grew by Swallowing Other Galaxies
Findings contradict previous assumptions about galaxy formation [Read more]
Doorstep Astronomy: The 9-Day-Old Moon
The waxing gibbous moon reveals huge plains, dramatic mountain chains and highlands, and a variety of craters.
SPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK: Blue "Crab," Sun Tsunami, More
Dive into the heart of the Crab Nebula, see what's left of a "cannibal" galaxy's prey, ride a 62,000-mile-high wave on the sun, and more in the week's best space...
NASA Aircraft Flies Calif. Wildfire Post-Burn Mission
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's remotely piloted Predator B aircraft, named Ikhana, recently conducted post-burn assessments of two Southern California wildfire sites, the Piute Fire in Kern County and the Station Fire...
NASA's Aqua satellite sees Nida explode into a category 5 Super typhoon
Typhoon Nida is in a favorable environment that has enabled it to intensify faster and stronger than previously forecast, and has now exploded into a Super typhoon. NASA's Aqua satellite...
Cosmic 'dig' reveals vestiges of the Milky Way's building blocks
"The history of the Milky Way is encoded in its oldest fragments, globular clusters and other systems of stars that have witnessed the entire evolution of our galaxy," says Francesco...