Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
'Potentially hazardous' asteroid 2000 EM26 to fly close to Earth
Space rock to pass by Earth 2.1m miles away, but astronomers say 270-metre object poses significant danger in case of impactA "potentially hazardous" asteroid the size of three football fields will come uncomfortably...
NASA's robotic lander Morpheus soars in test flight
NASA's next robotic moon lander Morpheus successfully completed its fifth free-flight test this week
Image: Crawler-transporter passes milestone test at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
The crawler-transporter that will carry NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B for launch on Exploration Mission-1 in 2017 recently passed the first phase of...
Heart of the Atacama
Earth observation image of the week: Chile’s heart-shaped Miscanti lake, also featured on the Earth from Space video programme
A good year to find a comet
(Phys.org) —A team of European astronomers has found a previously unknown comet, detected as a tiny blob of light orbiting our Sun deep in the Solar System.
Extracting Hydrogen for Fuel on Mars (Video)
Can Mars soil provide enough hydrogen for fuel?
Cosmic Creativity: A NASA Resident Artist's View of Space
Art brings a new dimension to help people explore space.
Four unknown galaxy clusters containing thousands of galaxies discovered 10 billion light years from Earth
Four unknown galaxy clusters each potentially containing thousands of individual galaxies have been discovered some 10 billion light years from Earth. An international team of astronomers used a new way...
Japanese Astronaut Creates Amazing Light Spirals in Space (Photos)
A Japanese astronaut created a microgravity, multicolored light show in part of the International Space Station in the name of art.
Image: Landsat 8's first year
On Feb. 11, 2013, the Landsat 8 satellite rocketed into a sunny California morning onboard a powerful Atlas V and began its life in orbit. In the year since launch,...
How Our Milky Way Galaxy Got Its Spiral Arms
The Milky Way's spiral shape may look a bit like a snail — but galaxies like Earth's own haven't always had this structure. Now researchers say they know when and...
Microsoft's Bing accused of Chinese-language censorship
Microsoft's search engine Bing appears to be heavily censoring its Chinese-language search results across the globe as well as inside China, a cyber-monitoring group said Wednesday.
Seal spotted in Monmouth after rain
A seal is spotted on the banks of the River Wye in Monmouth after venturing 15 miles up the river which is swollen by the rain.
Ethene
Hayley Birch discovers the compound that links explosive anaesthetics, plastics and ripe bananas: Ethene
Space Station Spits Earth-Watching Satellites Into Orbit
The first mini-spacecraft in what's destined to be a 28-satellite constellation of Earth-watchers were ejected into orbit from the International Space Station on Tuesday, using a spring-loaded launcher.
Winter Storm Battering Southeast Seen from Space
An Earth-watching satellite has spotted the latest winter storm threatening to paralyze the southeastern United States Tuesday (Feb. 11).
Gemini Program: Two-Man Prep for Moon Missions
The Gemini program tested docking, rendezvous, spacewalks and long-duration spaceflight in preparation for the moon missions of the late 1960s.
Apollo reflectors performance: Source of 'full moon curse' revealed by eclipse
Signals bounced off reflectors on the lunar surface return surprisingly faint echoes on full moon nights. Scientists think it's the result of uneven heating of the reflective lenses, which would...
Hubble and Cassini get a 360-degree view of Saturn's auroras (w/ video)
(Phys.org) —NASA trained several pairs of eyes on Saturn as the planet put on a dancing light show at its poles. While NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, orbiting around Earth, was...
Image Processing Scientists Find Love on a Turkish Salt Lake
Two image processing scientists found love in one of the most unlikely places--a salt lake in Turkey. Larry Leigh, an imaging engineering from South Dakota, agreed to spend four...
Fermilab's Neutrino Detector Sees Its First Particles
Up Top Electronics get installed onto a Fermilab's neutrino detector. Photo by Fermilab They've traveled 500 miles underground, passing through soil and rock as easily as Casper the Friendly Ghost glides through walls....
After committing a crime, guilt and shame predict re-offense
Within three years of being released from jail, two out of every three inmates in the US wind up behind bars again -- a problem that contributes to the highest...
Europe's Billion-Star Mapping Spacecraft Snaps 1st Photo (Image)
A new European spacecraft tasked with mapping a billion stars beamed its first picture back to Earth. The European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft aimed its gaze a dense young cluster...
Sonic Boom Seen - Rocket Launch Shockwave Ripples Clouds | Video
As NASA launched its Solar Dynamics Observatory on Feb.11th 2010, the booster’s pass thru Mach 1 (“sound barrier”) produced a visible trace. The transonic wave interacted with a sundog, refracted...
Sun's Beautiful Fury On Display In Observatory's 4th Year Highlights | Video
Dancing plasma rippling through the Sun's atmosphere, astonishing solar explosions and time-lapsed sunspots photographed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory’s many lenses during 2013. The probe launched from Kennedy Space Center...
Space History Photo: STS-79 Destacking in VAB
From above, a dramatic view as a space shuttle orbiter is lifted from its stack.
Linear accelerator mimics incredibly energetic particles hitting atmosphere
(Phys.org) —In a SLAC test facility, scientists have set the stage for an experiment that mimics what happens when incredibly energetic particles hit our atmosphere. The players include the lab's...
How GIFs are changing the way we talk science
The use of "GIFs" has exploded in recent years. They are used for news, views and entertainment but are most commonly seen as a light-hearted medium. Now scientists are beginning...