Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Scientists discover an ancient odor-detecting mechanism in insects
In 1913 Theodore Roosevelt added cartographer to his resume when he and his crew ventured up an unspeakably dangerous and uncharted tributary named the River of Doubt. Now, on a...
New NASA Balloon Successfully Flight-Tested Over Antarctica
NASA and the National Science Foundation have successfully launched and demonstrated a newly designed super pressure balloon prototype that may enable a new era of high-altitude scientific research. The super-pressure...
Ancient explosion caught on tape
An Australian telescope recently recorded the light from an explosion 11 billion years ago – though the light was so faint that it took weeks to know for sure.
Feature: Of winds and waves
A shallow lake north of Canberra is the site of research investigating how extreme winds generate monster waves in the open ocean.
Astronauts Install Probe At Space Station
American and Russian crewmen installed a probe Tuesday aimed at tracking down problems with a Russian module during a six-hour spacewalk outside the international space station.
Vatican Gives Galileo An Image Makeover
Galileo Galilei is going from heretic to hero. The Vatican is recasting the most famous victim of its Inquisition as a man of faith, just in time for the 400th...
Your Home TV... On Your Blackberry
Sling Media has just introduced software that enables Slingbox owners to watch content from their home TV on a Blackberry connected to the AT&T or T-Mobile networks.
Our Galaxy Is Bigger Than Once Thought
For decades, astronomers thought when it came to the major galaxies in Earth's cosmic neighborhood, our Milky Way was a weak sister to the larger Andromeda. Not anymore.
CU-Boulder to build $6 million instrument for NASA lunar orbiter
The University of Colorado at Boulder has been awarded a $6 million grant from NASA to build a high-tech lunar dust detector for a 2011 mission to orbit the moon...
Report: NASA inspector general not catching enough
(AP) -- Congressional auditors say that NASA's in-house financial watchdog is doing little to unearth waste and abuse at the space agency.
Coupon woes are only part of digital TV concerns
(AP) -- In less than six weeks, the nation's television broadcasters are due to shut off their analog signals and begin transmitting in digital - potentially blacking out as...
11 billion year-old blast from the past captured by UWA Zadko Telescope
(PhysOrg.com) -- Galileo Galilei, who recorded the first astronomical observations with a telescope 400 years ago, would be impressed. Just in time for the International Year of Astronomy, astronomers...
Instant insight: Scratching at the surface of biosensors
Justin Gooding, Till Böcking and Kris Kilian of the University of New South Wales discuss how surface chemistry lets porous silicon biosensors fulfil their promise
Explorers say they set record in South Pole trek
(AP) -- A trio of Canadian adventurers said Friday they have set a new record for fastest trek across Antarctica to the South Pole, after suffering through whiteout conditions,...
NASA Balloon Mission Tunes in to Mystery Roar
Listening to the early universe just got harder. A team led by Alan Kogut of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., today announced the discovery of cosmic radio...
"Renegade" Stars Tearing Across Universe, Hubble Shows
Like the wakes of cosmic speedboats, oddly shaped bow shocks reveal single stars careening through the cosmos at more than 112,000 miles (180,250 kilometers) an hour.
How Martian winds make rocks walk
Rocks on Mars are on the move, rolling into the wind and forming organized patterns, according to new research.
Loud noise permeates cosmos, NASA says
GREENBELT, Md., Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A mysterious extra-loud radio noise permeates the universe, preventing astronomers from observing heat from the first stars, U.S. scientists at NASA said.
New Video - Five Years on Mars
NASA looks back at the long lives of rovers Spirit and Opportunity after five years exploring Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
"Warm Plasma Cloak" Discovered Enveloping Earth
A layer of Earth's magnetosphere—the shield that protects Earth from solar winds—has recently come into focus.
Space Laser Spots Cataracts
A compact fiber-optic probe developed for the space program has now proven valuable.
Conference to learn about sun's bubble in stuff between the stars
The first report on data from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) satellite, which is measuring the size and shape of the sun's 'bubble' in space, is scheduled to be presented...
Hubble finds stars that go 'ballistic'
Even some stars go ballistic, racing through interstellar space like bullets and tearing through clouds of gas. Images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveal 14 young, runaway stars plowing through...
Environmental group backs canal for Calif. delta
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A national environmental group recommended Wednesday that California overhaul its water-delivery system by building a canal around the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta....
Sixteen Tons of Moondust
Sledgehammer-toting scientists are "bustin' rocks" to make the finest possible simulated lunar regolith (a.k.a. fake moondust) in support of NASA's return to the Moon.
2009 Science Preview: Atom Smasher, Super Spaceflights
Among the surprises scientists have in store for the coming year: Sunken treasures, a new evolution debate, earlier Earths, and a host of revelations about the universe.
Explosion That Injured 7 Spurs NASA Probe
NASA is studying a tank explosion that injured 7 at its Florida spaceport.
Japanese Water Jetpack
Most years in my physics courses we construct water bottle rockets as a class project; but this stunt takes bottle rocketry to new levels. We never considered launching actual people!...