Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Effect of cloud-scattered sunlight on earth's energy balance depends on wavelength of light
Atmospheric scientists trying to pin down how clouds curb the amount of sunlight available to warm the earth have found that it depends on the wavelength of sunlight being measured....
Space official: "220-mile-high club." only rumor
Rumors have long swirled that astronauts may have hooked up in orbit, perhaps even as part of secret sex-in-space experiments
See what Earth looked like 500 million years ago
Here's what the ancient Earth looked like during the Cambrian Period as viewed from outer space
CERN marks advance in universe mysteries search
GENEVA (Reuters) - Scientists at the CERN physics research center reported on Friday that they had smashed particles together at a record intensity in a key advance in their program...
Citizen Scientists Making Incredible Discoveries
People across the globe are working together to help scientists analyze data from NASA's Hubble, Kepler, and LRO instruments. And they're making surprising discoveries of their own!
Asteroid or Planet? NASA Aims to Settle Vesta Debate
Vesta is officially a minor planet, but some call it an asteroid.
Pope to call space station in papal first
(AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI will be in satellite contact with two Italian astronauts aboard the International Space Station in what would be the first papal call to space.
NASA prepares satellite for a new era of Earth observation
On Christmas Eve in 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts orbiting the moon snapped an ethereal photo of our cloud-speckled blue planet rising over the lunar horizon with a hand-held camera.
Lifelong pursuit of the secrets of the cosmos
In a small room at Caltech, space physicist Ed Stone and four of his colleagues puzzle over a trove of data that has just arrived from the bulbous edge of...
Ultraviolet spotlight on plump stars in tiny galaxies
(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers using NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer may be closer to knowing why some of the most massive stellar explosions ever observed occur in the tiniest of galaxies.
Roomba-maker iRobot clears path for robotics
Top scientists around the world are trying to improve upon robots, which can already detect bombs, perform surgery and even go into battle.
Telescope will track space junk
US Air Force unveils instrument to catalogue debris and protect satellites from collisions.
Did Atlas Just See The Higgs ?
It seems I am late on this one -an internal note by the Atlas collaboration seems to contain the discovery of a bump in the diphoton mass distribution from data...
See the Bright Yellow Star Arcturus in the Night Sky
The bright yellow star Arcturus is putting on a dazzling show in the night sky.
Florida Braces for Huge Crowds for Next Week's Space Shuttle Launch
Hotels in the area have been booked for months, and near record turnout is expected to come watch the liftoff.
Earth From Space: An Astronaut's Quest to Protect Our 'Fragile Oasis'
NASA astronaut Ron Garan's blog, Fragile Oasis, aims to inspire people to cherish the beauty and wonder of our planet Earth.
Huge dry ice deposit on Mars: NASA orbiter reveals big changes in Red Planet's atmosphere
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has discovered the total amount of atmosphere on Mars changes dramatically as the tilt of the planet's axis varies. This process can affect the stability of...
Mars' Thick Dry Ice Sheet Points to Planet's Wetter Past
The amount of dry ice on at the south pole of Mars could fill Lake Superior in the United States.
Deep Freeze: Mars Orbiter Finds Massive Stores of Buried Dry Ice
Buried under the south pole of Mars are the makings of one heck of a Halloween party. [More]
'Time machine' made to visually explore space and time in videos: Time-lapse GigaPans provide new way to access big data
Researchers have leveraged the latest browser technology to create GigaPan Time Machine, a system that enables viewers to explore gigapixel-scale, high-resolution videos and image sequences by panning or zooming in...
Astronomers peer into the dark
(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers from the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA) have produced a completely new catalogue of ~15,000 groups of galaxies that gives a new insight into dark matter, the...
School pupils to study space radiation belts
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Van Allen radiation belts are a hazardous environment, full of 'killer' electrons that can be lethal to orbiting satellites. And when those electrons sometimes hit the atmosphere,...
Dry ice lake suggests Mars once had a 'Dust Bowl'
If you think Mars is a hostile place now, it was harsher 600,000 years ago.
Underwater robots at work in Japan
Cosmic Log: Underwater robots equipped with imaging sensors that can see through murky waters are at work inspecting bridges, docks, and pipelines in port areas of the earthquake and tsunami...
Calling all candidates for Concordia
They are more cut off than the crew of the International Space Station. They are at Concordia in Antarctica, and one of them is ESA researcher Eoin Macdonald-Nethercott. If you...
Uranus and Venus Visible at Dawn on Saturday
The two planets will experience an unusual conjunction, offering rare views for skywatchers.
Wounded red-tailed hawk found in Pasadena gets a new lease on flight
Harry the Hawk had a mangled wing when he was found Feb. 11 outside the Pasadena Senior Center. After recuperating at a wildlife facility, he was set free Wednesday.Michael Hayes...
Weatherwatch: How do you measure sunshine?
How many minutes of sunshine did we have today? Nowadays meteorological stations measure the amount of time that the Sun shines with an electronic sensor, but until very recently a Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder...