Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
NM spaceport sets stage for commercial space race
(AP) -- British tycoon Richard Branson has dreamed of going to space since he was a teenager. He'll get his wish when Virgin Galactic begins taking tourists into suborbital...
Regular Space Tourism Promised Within 18 Months
World's First Commercial Spaceport Opened in New Mexico, Prelude to Commercial Space Flights
Alternative yardstick to measure the universe
Type II supernovae may join their Type Ia cousins as gauges of cosmic expansion.
Scientists find evidence for widespread water ice on the moon
Scientists from NASA's Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment team have detected the widespread presence of water ice in large areas of the moon's south pole...
Space telescopes reveal previously unknown brilliant X-ray explosion in our Milky Way galaxy
Astronomers in Japan, using an X-ray detector on the International Space Station, and at Penn State University, using NASA's Swift space observatory, are announcing the discovery of an object newly...
Astronaut 'Checks In' on Foursquare From Space
NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock, the space station commander, became the first person to use Foursquare, a mobile social networking application, in space today (Oct. 22) after "checking in" from the...
NASA: Huge Science Balloon Crashed Because of Human Complacency
Complacency in a variety of forms led to the crash of a huge scientific balloon in the Australian outback this spring, a NASA report has concluded.
White House Hosts A Science Fair
Winners: Exhibit of student projects emphasizes importance of science education.
Collateral Data: NASA's Planned Moon Crash Churned Up Water, Lots of Mercury and More
An spent rocket stage that NASA sent hurtling into the moon last year in hopes of kicking up water from a polar crater delivered on that mission, revealing that at...
X-Ray observations of an extrasolar planetary system
(PhysOrg.com) -- The majority of extra-solar planets (about 278 of them) are more massive than Jupiter. About 20% of this majority group orbit their stars at a distances of less...
Mediums collide in YouTube's Guggenheim exhibit
The results are in for YouTube's "biennial of creative video," after 23,358 submissions and countless double clicks.
An international vision for space exploration
A shared vision for space exploration came into sharper focus this week when European ministers, space executives and international representatives met to discuss their ambitions for future space exploration.
'Silvery' moon really does contain silver
PROVIDENCE, R.I., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- The phrase "by the light of the silvery moon" is more than just poetic, scientists say -- the moon really does contain deposits...
Murray Gell-Mann talks quarks
He started from the patterns of particles created by cosmic rays, took a name from James Joyce, and changed the way we see fundamental physicsMurray Gell-Mann clearly has a flair for names. The...
Infographic: Which Asteroids Are Swinging Closest to Earth?
Near Earth Objects Visualized via Power of Visualization Perhaps the most unsettling thing about a planet-killing asteroid is that we might never see it coming. But this infographic by Mechanicsville,...
Mars meteorite controversy continues
The most illustrious meteorite in history continues to inspire heated debate. Does it carry microbial fossils from Mars or are its strange features just the product of some unique geochemistry?...
Video: Father, Son Send Homemade iPhone Satellite to Space
Katie Couric reports on how a father and son from New York explored space using a video camera, an iPhone and a weather balloon.
NASA Blast Reveals Lots of Water on Moon
Moonshot Last Year Displaced 41 Gallons of Water, Offering Hope for Future Astronaut Outpost
Subaru telescope photographed 103P/Hartley
Scientists used Suprime-Cam at Subaru Telescope to catch the comet 103P/Hartley after long shut down of the telescope.
As the Asteroid Turns: Hubble Records New Video of 2nd Biggest Space Rock
A new video of the second biggest asteroid in the solar system are giving astronomers a better sense of how the object spins.
The physics of how wet animals dry themselves (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists using slow-motion movie cameras have been trying to discover the physics behind the "wet dog shake."
Sex On Mars
I enjoy a good romp in the hay as much as the next space scientist, and I'd love to go to Mars, so it's nice to see that researchers are...
Lunar Impact May Impact Lunar Science For Years To Come
The JPL-built Diviner instrument had a front-row seat to the lunar impact of NASA's LCROSS spacecraft
Moon Crater's Icy Character
Astrochemistry: Lunar impactor may have struck a site of previous comet impacts..
Watch construction of Nasa's new Mars rover live on the web
(PhysOrg.com) -- A newly installed webcam is giving the public an opportunity to watch technicians assemble and test the next NASA Mars rover, one of the most technologically challenging interplanetary...
Researcher prompted by summer swims probes unusual intelligence
If you were an octopus, would you view the world from eight different points of view? Nine?
Life on earth could be transformed by NASA space technology
For years, NASA has been developing technology to establish long-duration human presence in space. As part of this ongoing effort, NASA developed a closed-loop system that recycles urine and gray...
Mars or Bust! One-Way Trip to the Red Planet Could Kick-start Colonization
Mars may be the most promising place beyond Earth for human colonization, but is it enough for a one-way trip to the red planet?