Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
U.S. Air Force reveals ‘neighborhood watch' spy satellite program
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The United States plans to launch a pair of satellites to keep tabs on spacecraft from other countries orbiting 22,300 miles above the planet, as...
NASA Mars Orbiter views Opportunity Rover on ridge
A new image from a telescopic camera orbiting Mars shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at work on "Murray Ridge," without any new impact craters nearby.
Heart in Darkness | Space Wallpaper
This fascinating Chandra X-Ray Observatory space wallpaper of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region.
Space eye with 34 telescopes will investigate one million stars
The exploration of planets around stars other than the Sun, known as extrasolar planets or ‘exoplanets’, is one of the most exciting topics of 21st century science. One of the...
Rocks around the clock: Asteroids pound tiny star
Scientists have found evidence that a tiny star called PSR J0738-4042 is being pounded by asteroids -- large lumps of rock from space. The environment around this star is especially...
Indonesia announces world's biggest manta ray sanctuary
Indonesia on Friday instituted the world's biggest manta ray sanctuary covering millions of square kilometres as it seeks to protect the huge winged fish and draw more tourists to the...
With Simple, Homemade Telescopes, You Can Explore the Stars (Op-Ed)
You don't have to grind your own lenses to build your own telescope.
NASA's NuSTAR Telescope Gets First Peek at Core of Supernova
How do stars explode? Astronomers hope they’re a step closer to answering one of the universe's enduring mysteries, thanks to first-of-its-kind X-ray mapping by NASA’s NuStar telescope of remnants of...
More precision added to mass estimate of electron
The electron has been weighed with unprecedented precision. Its new and improved mass is 17 times as precise as the previous best estimate.
Google Lunar XPRIZE selects five teams to compete for US$6 million in milestone prizes
The Google Lunar XPRIZE announced today the five international teams selected as finalists for Milestone Prizes, with a total purse of US$6 million to be awarded this year. After...
'Gravity'-style space debris threat from giant satellite explored
Physics students have pointed out that the huge observational satellite Envisat -- which lost contact with Earth in 2012 -- could potentially pose a threat similar to the events which...
Video: The Secret of the Jellyfish
Key design feature makes the jelly—and a host of other animals—excellent swimmers and fliers
Giant Magellan telescope looking toward construction
The international consortium of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) project has passed two major reviews and is positioned to enter the construction phase. When completed, the 25-meter GMT will have...
NASA Seeks Targets For Asteroid-Capture Mission
NASA has set up a "rapid response system" to pick the best candidates for its ambitious asteroid-capture mission, which aims to haul a near-Earth object into a stable orbit around...
Alaska Sets New Wind Chill Record
Gusting winds blew away Alaska's wind chill record on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14), setting a new low of minus 97 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 71 degrees Celsius).
Dead Landsat Satellite Photobombs Successor
The retired Earth-watching satellite Landsat 5 may have quit taking pictures of planet, but it’s apparently not finished posing in them.
Stars Sparkle Like Diamonds in Space Scorpion Tail (Photo, Video)
A new image of M7 shows stars shining like diamonds in the tail of Scorpius. The star cluster is about 200 million years old and a part of its population...
Strange Martian Dunes | Space Wallpaper
In this space wallpaper of a dune field on Mars in a large crater near Mawrth Vallis, some of the dunes appear to be in a V-shaped formation. For dune...
Moon shots stuck on Earth
Some Google Lunar X Prize contenders book launches for 2015 — but many say that is a stretch.Nature 506 278 doi: 10.1038/506278a
Space History Photo: Technician Checks Soil Sampler on Viking Lander
A technician checks the soil sampler before the Viking Lander goes to Mars.
Must-See Space TV: Astronauts Star in New Network TV Series
NASA astronaut Mike Massimino is back on 'The Big Bang Theory' in a new episode of the hit CBS comedy, but he soon will not be the only spaceman on...
Astronomy: Death of a comet
Before it shattered near the Sun, Comet ISON became a scientific celebrity. Now researchers are trying to piece together its lessons.Nature 506 281 doi: 10.1038/506281a
Lockheed enables Apache helicopter pilots to see targets in color
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama (Reuters) - The U.S. Army has unveiled new technology that will for the first time allow AH-64 Apache helicopter pilots to see targeting and surveillance data in full,...
Can Quiet, Efficient 'Space Elevators' Really Work?
A space elevator consisting of an Earth-anchored tether that extends 62,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) into space could eventually provide routine, safe, inexpensive and quiet access to orbit, some researchers say.
Scientists recreating early universe quark-gluon plasma in giant particle accelerators
(Phys.org) —In the first few microseconds after the big bang, the universe was a superhot, superdense primordial soup of "quarks" and "gluons," particles of matter and carriers of force respectively....
Image: Orbital Science's commercial spacecraft Cygnus-1
Orbital Science's commercial spacecraft Cygnus-1 left the International Space Station today, 17 February 2014, after spending around a month in space.
Image: Coronal loops in an active region of the sun
An active region of the sun just rotating into the view of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory gives a profile view of coronal loops over about a two-day period, from Feb....
Moon, Mars and Star Form Celestial Triangle Wednesday Night
If your weather is clear Wednesday night (Feb. 19), take a look at the sky toward the east-southeast horizon to spot a 'celestrial triangle' formed by the moon, a bright...