Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Astronauts' Holiday Greetings Stress Unity on Earth
Before gathering around their foot-tall Christmas tree and tucking into some rehydrated turkey, astronauts aboard the International Space Station sent some Christmas greetings to Earth.
NASA: Next Mars rover will carry a laser
PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 23 (UPI) -- NASA says its next Mars rover will be equipped with a rock-zapping laser able to analyze the chemical composition of rocks and soil...
Stunning New Shots from Mars
Gallery: Mars Orbiter Finds Potential Future Landing Site, Ancient Lakebed
Mars movie: I'm dreaming of a blue sunset
A new Mars movie clip gives us a rover's-eye view of a bluish Martian sunset, while another clip shows the silhouette of the moon Phobos passing in front of the...
Opportunity studying a football-field size crater
(PhysOrg.com) -- On Dec. 16, 2010, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity reached a crater about the size of a football field-some 90 meters (295 feet) in diameter. The rover team...
Image: Where stars are born
(PhysOrg.com) -- This mosaic image is the sharpest wide-angle view ever obtained of the starburst galaxy, Messier 82 (M82). The galaxy is remarkable for its bright blue disk, webs of...
Texas A&M professor helps develop first high-temp spin-field-effect transistor
COLLEGE STATION, Dec. 23, 2010 -- An international team of researchers featuring Texas A&M University physicist Jairo Sinova has announced a breakthrough that gives a new spin to...
Sun-gazing spacecraft carries out never-before-tried slewing maneuver
The fastest path between Point A and Point B is a straight line. Not so fast, says a team of scientists and engineers who recently disproved this commonly accepted notion...
NASA Launches Contest for Best 'Space Craft'
A panel of NASA judges will convene early next year to pick the best design among a number of competing space crafts. But they'll be looking at paintings and sculptures,...
K-State Researchers Provide Year of Intriguing Discoveries
It's been a busy year of discoveries for Kansas State University researchers. Here is a sampling of some of the more intriguing and fun faculty and student research projects from...
Gazprom, Naftogaz partnership unlikely?
KIEV, Ukraine, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- It's unlikely that Russian gas monopoly Gazprom will form a joint venture with Ukrainian utility Naftogaz in the next year, an energy spokesman...
World wide wave for the International Space Station
Space enthusiasts hope thousands will join them in a unique, week-long celebration of human spaceflight.Not so many moons ago, I was invited to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, to peer at Mars,...
Planet-finding tweetup in California's Silicon Valley hosted by NASA
NASA will give 100 of its Twitter followers an insider look at its planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft and the agency's Ames Research Center on Feb. 11 in Moffett Field in California.
Kepler experienced 'safe mode' event
On Dec. 22, 2010, Kepler experienced a safe mode event. A safe mode is a self-protective measure that the spacecraft takes when something unexpected occurs. During safe mode, the spacecraft...
Balloon Measures Cosmic Rays Bombarding Earth
NASA and NSF just launched a scientific balloon from Antarctica to measure particles traveling at near light-speed.
Wanted for Theft: Sun Stole Its Comets From Other Stars
It turns out our sun may be a cosmic thief that's stolen most of its comets from other stars, a new study suggests.
Biodiversity at mercy of cosmic rays?
LAWRENCE, Kan., Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A regular rise and fall of biodiversity in Earth's past may be linked to our solar system's rhythmic movement around the Milky Way,...
U.K. telescope array yields first images
MANCHESTER, England, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- An array of radio telescopes in Britain has captured images of a galaxy pouring out a huge jet of matter from the black...
Weatherwatch: why stars twinkle
Twinkle, twinkle little star.... A crisp, clear, winter's night is the perfect opportunity to admire the stars, but why do they twinkle? Stars, as our own Sun demonstrates, are large balls of glowing...
Contract Marks New Generation for Deep Space Network
NASA has taken the next step toward a new generation of Deep Space Network antennas.
Something's amiss with aliens and arsenic
First comes NASA hinting at a finding tied to extraterrestrial life. But it's just the discovery of arsenic-eating bacteria in Mono Lake. Then come the skeptical scientists.The stage was set...
By Land, Sea, Air and Space: Top 12 Military Tech Stories of 2010
As 2010 comes to a close, here is a rundown (though in no particular order) of 12 of the year's top stories on TechNewsDaily touching on military technology.
Researchers train software to help monitor climate change
A computer program that automatically analyzes mounds of satellite images and other data could help climate scientists keep track of complex, constantly changing environmental conditions.
Apollo 8: Christmas on the moon
Christmas Eve, 1968. As one of the most turbulent, tragic years in American history drew to a close, millions around the world were watching and listening as the Apollo 8...
Stellar success for unprecedented close-up image of the Sun's fiery atmosphere
Astrophysicists have captured an unprecedented close-up image of the Sun's fiery atmosphere -- and, in doing so, have won a major new global award.
Astana eyes gas pipeline
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Kazakhstan could start work on an extension to a natural gas pipeline to China as early as February, a project manager announced.
A New class for Tau Scorpii
Many classes of stars are named for an early, distinguished member of a certain type of stars. For example, Cepheid variables take their namesake from the periodic variable Delta Cephei,...
Winter Stargazing: Orion and Friends Shine Brightly
After the Big Dipper, probably the best known grouping of stars in the sky is the constellation Orion.