Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Astronauts Send Christmas Wishes from Space
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station send Christmas wishes to Earth.
Christmas Star Mystery Continues
Astronomers have long argued over what the Star of Bethlehem was—if it existed at all. Today, two theories fight it out: a single planetary conjunction vs. a series of meaningful...
Orbital, SpaceX to resupply space station
HOUSTON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Orbital Sciences of Dulles, Va., and SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., have been tapped to resupply the International Space Station when the space shuttle...
China Launches for Record 11th Time in 2008
China launched a new satellite Tuesday for its record 11th launch of the year.
Four Out of Six Apollos
(PhysOrg.com) -- Their names are now part of exploration history - Sea of Tranquility, Ocean of Storms, Frau Mauro, Hadley Rille, Descartes and Taurus-Littrow. They are the sites on the...
THE ROUNDUP: Science and Nature News Around the Web
How spiders evolved; a stinking blossom's secret; a Jupiter moon turns to the dark side.
Does Santa Have a New Sled? Is Rudy Juicing?
Santa’s leaving his workshop at the North Pole a little later this year, two hours later to be exact, according to reports out of NORAD. Have that many kids landed...
South Asia News in brief: 11–24 December
Satellite rainfall estimation in the Himalayas, India builds its first foreign satellite, arsenic contamination in Pakistan, and more.
Cosmic Log: Vote for the weirdest science
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: This year's finalists for the Weird Science Awards include real-life Furbys and the world's oldest pot stash. But which is weirdest? We report, you decide.
Happy Birthday Earthrise
Forty years ago today, the crew of Apollo 8 reached lunar orbit - mankind's first close encounter with another world.
Lopsided universe demands different explanation
Analysis of radiation left over from the Big Bang point to a possible new type of field in early universe
U.S. and Russian Crew Do Spacewalk
U.S. and Russian crewmen installed a probe aimed at tracking down problems with a module attached to the international space station during a six-hour spacewalk.
Young active star resembles the young Sun
(PhysOrg.com) -- The CoRoT satellite, a space mission led by the French Space Agency CNES with the participation of Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Spain and the European Space Agency, ESA...
Astronomers gaze back in time and map the history of the Universe
(PhysOrg.com) -- UK astronomers are set to expand our knowledge of the history of our Universe with a new project to map the inception and formation of galaxies.
Botox still hot despite cool economy
OMAHA, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Keeping up one's looks appears to be trumping a weak economy, as U.S. doctors report the demand for Botox injections hasn't been pinched.
Top 5 Amazing Astronomy Discoveries in 2008
This year was packed with discoveries, from fast-spinning black holes to loads of extrasolar planets.
Scientists to throw light on how galaxies formed in the early Universe
UK scientists, led by Dr Mark Lacy who is soon to join the University of Southampton, have been successful in obtaining one of the largest-ever awards of observing time on...
Could Deep-Sea Microbes Teach Us About Alien Life?
James Holden, chief scientist of the latest voyage of the deep-sea research sub, Alvin, and colleagues describe microbes that thrive in 200-degree water and give off methane and hydrogen, in...
Scientist at Work: Robert W. Gaskell: Mapping Celestial Terrains, in All Their 3-D Glory
Dr. Robert W. Gaskell has developed the software to make mapping distant planets possible.
What Can Swiss Cheese Teach us About Dark Energy?
(PhysOrg.com) -- About 10 years ago, scientists reached the astonishing conclusion that our universe is accelerating apart at ever-increasing speeds, stretching space and time itself like melted cheese. The force...
Death of a Star Scientist Inflicts Long-Term Damage on Field
Collaborators experience dramatic drop in output that can last decades
Meteorite fall near Alberta-Sask. border could set record: scientist
The fireball that lit up prairie skies this fall might have resulted in Canada's largest recorded meteorite fall, a scientist who led a team that collected more than 100 fragments...
Next NASA Moon Mission Completes Major Milestone
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully completed thermal vacuum testing, which simulates the extreme hot, cold and airless conditions of space LRO will experience after launch....
Saturn's Crazy Christmas Tilt
You look through the telescope. Blink. Shake your head and look again. The planet you expected to see in the eyepiece is not the one that's actually there. Too much...
Galactic Halfway House Discovered
Scientists have spotted a rare class of galaxy that could represent a cosmic halfway-house between two stages of galaxy development.
Mine life may show how Martian life exists
TOWER, Minn., Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Scientists could learn about Martian water life by plumbing a spring in an iron ore mine in Minnesota's Iron Range, University of...
Tiny clues to collision in space
University researchers find evidence of a massive meteorite shower in the far north of Scotland.