Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Scientists solve longstanding astronomy mystery
Scientists may have solved one of the most longstanding astrophysical mysteries of all times: How massive stars - up to 120 times the mass of our sun - form without...
Hubble Snaps Images of a Nebula Within a Cluster
The unique planetary nebula NGC 2818 is nested inside the open star cluster NGC 2818A. Both the cluster and the nebula reside over 10,000 light-years away, in the southern constellation...
Astronomers Detect Dust Around a Primitive Star, Shedding New Light on Universe's Origins
A Cornell-led team of astronomers has observed dust forming around a dying star in a nearby galaxy, giving a glimpse into the early universe and enlivening a debate about the...
Plumes of methane gas found on Mars
The gas could be coming from rudimentary life-forms -- apparently nothing capable of piloting a spaceship to Earth. ...
NASA Tests Engine Technology For Landing Astronauts On The Moon
A technology development engine that may help NASA safely return astronauts to the lunar surface has successfully completed its third round of testing. The goal of these tests is to...
Martian Methane Reveals the Red Planet is not a Dead Planet
Mars today is a world of cold and lonely deserts, apparently without life of any kind, at least on the surface. read more
Attractive Theory: Magnetized Moon Rock Offers Clue to Lunar Origin
The moon, our closest neighbor, remains in many ways a mystery to planetary scientists--a destination tantalizingly close, yet frustratingly difficult to reach. But even though an Earthling has not set...
Scientist: CO2 Report Didn't Name Google
A Harvard physicist says a newspaper that reported on his study of carbon footprints and the Internet "had an ax to grind" with the search giant.
Does water and methane together equal life on Mars?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New observations of the atmosphere on Mars show fairly large amounts of methane along with water vapor in the summertime -- the strongest suggestion yet that living...
Launch of the International Astronomy Year, at UNESCO in Paris
2009 has been declared the International Year of Astronomy by the UN General Assembly in collaboration with the International Astronomical Union. ESA is participating in the opening ceremony taking place...
Exoplanet atmospheres detected from earth
Two independent groups have simultaneously made the first-ever ground-based detection of extrasolar planets thermal emissions. Until now, virtually everything known about atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars in the Milky...
Five years of Mainz technology on Mars
On 4 January 2004, NASA's rover 'Spirit' landed safely on Mars after a seven-month voyage through space. Three weeks later, its twin 'Opportunity' also touched down unharmed on the red...
Orbiting Carbon Observatory Will Help Track Sources Of Rising Carbon Dioxide
Scientists still do not know precisely where all the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere comes from and where it goes. Now, they soon expect to get some answers to these...
Astronomers from Princeton and Japan unite to explore the universe, near and far
Scientists from Princeton University and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) have agreed to collaborate over the next 10 years, using new instrumentation on the Hawaii-based Subaru Telescope to...
A galaxy of helpful people
When Dr Chris Lintott, a researcher in the department of physics at the University of Oxford, first considered launching a website to ask the public to help classify photographs of...
Winter Wonder Rocket Movie
The last place you'd expect to find icicles is around the rim of a scalding hot and thundering rocket engine. Yet an engine being used by NASA to develop...
Europe expects busy year in space
Europe will launch two flagship space telescopes this year, and three satellites that will acquire key data about ice, gravity and soils on Earth.
Key U.S. Senator Cautions Obama on NASA Pick
President-Elect Obama has asked USAF Maj. Gen. Scott Gration to head NASA, insiders say.
Oddball 'Blue Stragglers' Are Stellar Cannibals
Relationships between globular cluster mass and number of binary star systems points to stellar cannibalism as source of 'blue stragglers'.
History Corrected by 400-year-old Moon Map
Englishman Thomas Harriot made the first drawing of the Moon through a telescope several months before Galileo.
SPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK: New Pulsars, Saturn Moons, More
Pulsar energy, Saturn storms, and an out-of-this-world balloon are among the week's best space images.
When the dust settles
UK scientists have devised a simple route to detecting illicit drugs and their metabolites in dusted fingerprints.
Science, law will rule at EPA, Obama pick says
President-elect Barack Obama's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency is pledging that decisions at the agency will be based on science and the law and not politics.
IBEX collecting science data, building first all-sky map of the edge of the solar system
Following two months of commissioning, during which the spacecraft and sensors were tuned for optimum mission performance, the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft began gathering data to build the first...
Kepler Spacecraft to Hunt Earth-Like Worlds
NASA's Kepler observatory is set for a March 5 launch to hunt Earth-like worlds.
Press briefing with ESA's Director General
Today ESA's Director General, Jean-Jacques Dordain, met with the press at ESA Headquarters in Paris for the annual press briefing. Listen to the audio of the conference.
Continental-scale Salt Tectonics On Mars And The Origin Of Valles Marineris And Associated Outflow Channels
A synthesis of deformation patterns within and around the Thaumasia Plateau, Mars, points to a new interpretation for regional deformation and the origin of Valles Marineris and associated outflow channels.
FOR KIDS: Hold on to your stars, ladies and gentlemen
Our galaxy is heavier and spinning much faster than scientists thought