Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Thin air - Cassini finds ethereal atmosphere at Rhea
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has detected a very tenuous atmosphere known as an exosphere, infused with oxygen and carbon dioxide around Saturn's icy moon Rhea. This is the first time a...
Jupiter's Missing Cloud Stripe Bounces Back Big Time
A dark brown spot that had faded on Jupiter last year has finally reappeared on the gas giant, astronomers announced Wednesday.
Chinese Military Communications Satellite Reaches Orbit
China successfully orbited a military communications satellite Wednesday (Nov. 24) on a Long March rocket.
Hylas-1 in orbit brings Europe broadband from space
A flawless launch has delivered Hylas-1, ESAs first publicprivate partnership in a full satellite system, into space. The satellite was released today into its transfer orbit after a textbook launch...
NASA awards contracts for 'green' airliner
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- NASA says future airliners need to be quieter, greener and more fuel-efficient, and the agency is putting its money where its mouth is, officials...
Galaxy-forming collision recreated
PARIS, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Andromeda, the nearest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way, was born from the collision of two smaller galaxies, an international team of astronomers says.
Radar guns might spot suicide bombers
SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Radar guns used by police to spot speeding motorists could help identify suicide bombers by detecting the wiring in an explosive vest,...
Young-star discovery hints magnetism common to all cosmic jets
Astronomers have found the first evidence of a magnetic field in a jet of material ejected from a young star, a discovery that points toward future breakthroughs in understanding the...
UK team begins Antarctic crossing
A team of explorers, mechanics and scientists is set to begin an attempt to cross Antarctica by land.
The rate of star formation
(PhysOrg.com) -- New stars continue to appear in the night sky, as the gas and dust in giant interstellar clouds gradually coalesces under the influence of gravity until nuclear burning...
Possible eruption on brink for symbiotic variable star
November 23rd, astronomers from the Asiago Novae and Symbiotic Stars collaboration announced recent changes in the symbiotic variable star, AX Persei, could indicate the onset of a rare eruption of...
Cosmic rebirth
Circular patterns in the universe's pervasive background radiation suggest the Big Bang was only the latest of many
Two new Earth observation missions chosen for further study
As part of the procedure to realise ESA's series of Earth Explorers, two new mission proposals have been selected for further development. The missions, called FLEX and CarbonSat, now vying...
Can we grow crops on other planets?
Science fiction lovers arent the only ones captivated by the possibility of colonizing another planet. Scientists are engaging in numerous research projects that focus on determining how habitable other planets...
Interview: Adventures in Borneo
Dwayne Heard talks to Holly Sheahan about discoveries in atmospheric chemistry and his experience with pygmy elephants and Antarctica
Could Space Farmers Grow Crops On Other Planets?
The surfaces of Mars, Venus and the Moon could be suitable for farming, study suggests.
Dot Earth: A Black Friday Push, From Twitter to Beijing
A global push, from the Web to China, to spread the gospel of shopping.
Massive Galaxies May Have Formed Much Earlier Than Predictions
Some of the universe's most massive galaxies may have formed billions of years earlier than current scientific models predict, according to findings in the Astrophysical Journal. That conclusion was drawn because newly...
Soyuz capsule lands safely in Kazakhstan
A Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Americans and a Russian from the International Space Station has touched down in Kazakhstan in a landing that the Russian space program's chief described as...
Galaxies pin down dark energy
Observations support idea that vacuum is pulling universe apart
Planetary magnetic fields: The hunt for better models
Some three thousand kilometers below the surface of the Earth and with temperatures reaching those at the surface of the sun, the core of our home planet is no more...
Deficit hit men target NASA's post-shuttle plans
(AP) -- NASA's effort to farm out astronauts' space station trips to private companies over the next decade is under fire again. This time it's by federal deficit hit...
Big wind
With the UN climate meeting about to open, David Shukman heads to Texas, home to the world's largest wind farms.
Pulsating star mystery solved
The new results, from a team led by Grzegorz Pietrzynski (Universidad de Concepcion, Chile, Obserwatorium Astronomiczne Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Poland), appear in the 25 November 2010 edition of the journal Nature...
OGLE-LMC-CEP0227: Classical Cepheid Variables Mystery Solved?
Classical Cepheid Variables, commonly called Cepheids, are unstable stars larger and much brighter than the Sun which expand and contract in a regular way, taking anything from a few days...
U.S. Postal Service Reveals Designs for 2011 Space Stamps
The U.S. Postal Service has unveiled the designs for two new space-themed stamps to be released in 2011 to honor Alan Shepard and a mission to Mercury.
Space Pictures This Week: Flaming Runaway, Moon Avalanche
A "putrid sea" shines from above, an ejected star burns, a comet bites the dust, and more in the week's best space pictures.
XM, Sirius to merge in Canada
Satellite radio companies XM Canada and Sirius Canada have announced plans to merge.