Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Delays and costs mount for Nasa's James Webb Telescope
Our previous Spacewatch on 3 November anticipated the imminent launch of the shuttle Discovery on its final mission to the International Space Station. But a chain of technical issues, initially a leak in...
Looking for Earth-like Alien Planets? Focus on the Blue Ones
Astronomers hunting for Earth-like alien worlds could improve their odds by zeroing in on planets that look blue from afar, just like Earth, a new study suggests.
Study: An idle mind is not a happy one
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The motto "be here now" is backed up by findings that the mind is least happy when wandering, Harvard researchers say.
Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Wednesday
The Leonid meteor shower best viewing this year will be in the two to three hours before dawn on Nov. 17 and 18, according to the editors of StarDate magazine.
Light and dark in the Phoenix Lake
(PhysOrg.com) -- They say you can't judge a book by its cover but, with planets, first impressions do count. New images show where complex fault lines in Mars Phoenicis Lacus...
'Necropanspermia' suggested as a way of seeding life on Earth
(PhysOrg.com) -- Panspermia is a mechanism for spreading organic material throughout the galaxy, but the destructive effects of cosmic rays and ultraviolet light tend to mean most organisms would be...
Race for Private Space Stations: It's U.S. Versus Russia
A new space race is beginning, but this time between private companies, not nations.
Saturn Then and Now: 30 Years Since Voyager Visit
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft made its closest approach to Saturn on Nov. 12, 1980, revealing mysteries that NASA's Cassini spacecraft is working to crack.
Scientists call for new Mars life search
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Finding life on Mars should be the top priority for any future robotic probes or rovers sent to the planet, some U.S....
Veterans Day In Space: Astronauts Honor Sacrifice By Vietnam Vet
This Veteran's Day, astronauts on the International Space Station honor U.S. service members and one fallen soldier in particular.
Indonesia building satellite launcher
JAKARTA, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Indonesia has announced it is building a rocket with a range of 125 miles as the first step toward a rocket capable of putting...
Life possible 400 million years earlier
Earth's atmosphere was able to sustain complex life 1.2 billion years ago, or 400 million years earlier than previously accepted, a new study finds.
Paper plane launched into space
A camera on the plane's wing captured dramatic images as it flew back down through the earth's atmosphere.
Polar ice caps studied on airborne science mission
In February 2010, NASA satellite ICESat-1 (Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite) was decommissioned. Designed as a three-year mission, it successfully met its goal of returning science data for five...
NASA test fires new rocket engine for commercial space vehicle
NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi conducted a successful test firing Wednesday of the liquid-fuel AJ26 engine that will power the first stage of Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Taurus...
SERVIR launches Himalayan node in Nepal
SERVIR-Himalaya made its successful debut in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Oct. 5, taking the stage as the third global node in the SERVIR Regional Visualization and Monitoring System. SERVIR-Himalaya expands the...
A murmuration of starlings
As winter closes, the skies will light up with murmurations, the beautiful aerobatic displays of starlings.
Nasa discovers galaxy 'bubbles'
Astronomer David Whitehouse explains the discovery of "remarkable balloons" in the Milky Way
Image: Tattooed Mars
Originally released Aug. 1, 2007, this image is of Mars' Russell Crater dune field, which is covered seasonally by carbon dioxide frost.
A Final Cocoon: Dying at Home
For some of the terminally ill, creating a space that embodies their deepest longings is part of saying goodbye.
Space Photos This Week: Leaky "Heart," Sun Devil, More
A heart-shaped sea ebbs, plasma dances on the sun, galaxies collide, and more in the week's best space pictures.
Pale Green Dot: Failed Star Is Cold and Stinky
NASA's WISE spacecraft has discovered a cold failed star that glows green and has a deadly atmosphere that is pretty stinky, too.
SETI Astronomers Launch New Campaign to Eavesdrop on E.T.
In a gigantic cosmic redial experiment, astronomers in a dozen countries will point telescopes at some of the stars that were part of the world's first search for alien life...
Primordial Haze Theory Competes with Primordial Soup in Debate over Life
Life on Earth may have originated high up in the atmosphere rather than in the surface waters of oceans or pools, a new study suggests.
NASA Doles Out $7.5 Million for Heavy-Lift Rocket Concept Studies
NASA has awarded a total of $7.5 million spread across 13 different U.S. companies to fund new concept studies into affordable heavy-lift rocket ideas.
SOFIA Prepares for Short Science
(PhysOrg.com) -- The SOFIA flying observatory was the subject of several nights of telescope system checkout activities in mid-October in preparation for upcoming early astronomical science flights.
China's satellite manoeuvres draw scrutiny
China has pulled off a tricky and uncommon feat in space flight, manoeuvring one of its satellites to within about 300 metres of another while they were orbiting Earth, space...
Venus and Saturn Now Grace the Predawn Sky
Venus and Saturn, two bright planetary gems of the sky, are now visible in the eastern predawn sky.