Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Cosmic Log: The year in science
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: The scientific stars of 2008 include cellular magicians, genetic decoders and the international team behind the world's biggest atom-smasher.
Environmental groups, scientists cheer Obama appointments
With a Nobel physicist and a former EPA chief on board, some expect Obama's White House to break from what they see as the Bush administration's record of overlooking science...
Mars Orbiter Completes First Phase Of Science Mission
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has completed its primary, two-year science phase. The spacecraft has found signs of a complex Martian history of climate change that produced a diversity of past...
Robotic Aircraft Designed For Weather Forecasting
At MIT, planning for bad weather involves far more than remembering an umbrella. Researchers in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics are trying to improve weather forecasting using robotic aircraft...
Looking for Extraterrestrial Life in All the Right Places
Scientists are expanding the search for extraterrestrial life -- and they've set their sights on some very unearthly planets. Cold "Super-Earths" -- giant, "snowball" planets that astronomers have spied on...
Jupiter's Moon Europa Does The Wave To Generate Heat
One of the moons in our solar system that scientists think has the potential to harbor life may have a far more dynamic ocean than previously thought. If the moon...
On the trail of polar lows
This has made it possible to determine, for the first time, the frequency of such polar lows in the past. Subsequent statistical analysis of data generated for the last 60...
The hottest white dwarf in its class
Astronomy & Astrophysics is publishing spectroscopic observations with NASA's space-based Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) of the white dwarf KPD 0005+5106. The team of German and American astronomers who present these...
Groundwater Springs Played Important Role In Shaping Mars, Perhaps Sheltering Primitive Life
Data and images from Mars Express suggest that several Light Toned Deposits, some of the least understood features on Mars, were formed when large amounts of groundwater burst on to...
Drama in the heart of the Tarantula
Found in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud, 30 Doradus is one of the largest massive star forming regions close to the Milky Way. Enormous stars in 30 Doradus, also known...
One Alien to Another: A Broadcast to the Stars
The makers of the new movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still” have arranged for it to be beamed into space on Friday.
NASA Chief 'Appalled' By Accusations He's Not Cooperating with Obama's Team
Griffin was charged with be less than cooperative with Obama's transition team. The NASA administrator denies the accusation.
Earth has warmed 0.4 C in 30 years
(PhysOrg.com) -- Half of the globe has warmed at least one half of one degree Fahrenheit (0.3 C) in the past 30 years, while half of that -- a full...
The Incredible Journey of the James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope, targeted for launch in 2013, is already taking an incredible journey right here on Earth. It's zigzagging up, down, and across the US to be...
Universe's dimmest known objects are found
PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. space agency officials say the Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered the dimmest known star-like objects in the universe.
European Mars500 participants announced
The final four Europeans who are set to take part in a 105-day simulated Mars mission were presented to the media in Paris today. From March next year, two of...
Astronomers use ultra-sensitive camera to measure size of planet orbiting star
A team of astronomers led by John Johnson of the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy has used a new technique to measure the precise size of a planet around...
Spinning drops could model black holes
Water droplets take on strange shapes when levitated and spun
Comet Threat More Constant Than Thought
New research says nearby stars and the galaxy influence Earth-bound comets.
Robots designed to save lives of construction workers
The Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech won the grand prize at the 2008 International Capstone Design Fair with a trio of pole-climbing...
Voiding the Cosmic Void: We're not at Center of the Universe After All
Models of the universe that place us near the center of a large, sparse region don't jibe with astronomical observations. Cosmologists at the University of British Columbia reached the conclusion...
Orchards of the Sun: Solar Power Springs Up
How much of the Sun's energy can be harvested? Is solar truly the most sustainable power source? Visit the Googleplex, home of Google.com, to find out.
Catch up on TV watching anywhere in world with SlingCatcher
When the Slingbox debuted in 2005, it was a godsend for sports fans and TV junkies. The device meant businessmen traveling to Europe could watch their favorite shows from their...
The Incredible Journey of the JWST
From humble beginnings in a Utah beryllium mine to the most advanced laboratories in the world, the mirrors of NASA's next great observatory are taking an incredible journey to space.
Sun's Cycles Can Forecast Floods, Drought?
The sun's ebb and flow of activity may help predict scientists' predictions of weather patterns on Earth decades ahead of time, a new study says.
Water found in hot planet's orbit
Water vapour and carbon dioxide have been detected in the atmosphere of a 'hot Jupiter' exoplanet say scientists
SPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK: Snow Globe, Swan Nebula, More
A snowglobe of stars, a brand-new planet, the spectacular Swan nebula, and more in this week's best space images.
Mars exploration: Phoenix: a race against time
Eric Hand reports on the short life and hard times of the little Mars lander that sort-of-could.