Latest science news in Astronomy & Space

New Planet Discovered Orbiting Dangerously Close To Giant Star

16 years ago from Science Daily

Astronomers have discovered a new planet that is closely orbiting a red-giant star, HD 102272, which is much older than our own Sun. The planet has a mass that is...

The Lede: Tasting NASA's Recycled Water

16 years ago from NY Times Science

Hauling water into orbit is so expensive that a system to clean up and re-use astronauts’ sweat, urine and other waste moisture was a bargain even at $250 million.

Handyman to Return to His Space Workshop

16 years ago from NY Times Science

Donald R. Pettit calls the International Space Station his “home away from home” and will be returning on the space shuttle Endeavor’s latest trip.

MDA awarded contract to design satellite fleet

16 years ago from CBC: Technology & Science

The Canadian Space Agency on Friday awarded a $40-million contract to MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) to begin designing the successors to the Radarsat-2 satellite.

Moonwalker Stomps on New Space Plan

16 years ago from Space.com

Apollo 17 moonwalker and U.S. Senator Jack Schmitt does not like new master plan for space.

Czech flag raised over ESA

16 years ago from

A historic event took place at ESA sites across Europe today - the flag of the Czech Republic was hoisted alongside those of ESA's other Member States, officially symbolising the...

Physicists part of research team testing Nobel-winning theory

16 years ago from

Soeren Prell and a team of Iowa State University researchers are part of an international research team testing a theory that led to a share of the 2008 Nobel Prize...

Scientists launch vast observatory to solve cosmic mysteries

16 years ago from Physorg

Scientists in western Argentina were set to inaugurate on Friday the world's largest astronomical observatory, hoping to unlock the mysteries of high energy cosmic rays that bombard the Earth.

To widen path to outer space, UF engineers build small satellite

16 years ago from

It's not much bigger than a softball and weighs just 2 pounds. But the 'pico satellite' being designed and built in a University of Florida aerospace engineering laboratory may hold...

Improved measurements could mean safer, more reliable electroshock weapons

16 years ago from

Electroshock weapons - such as stun guns and other similar devices that temporarily incapacitate a person by delivering a high-voltage, low-current electric shock - have helped law enforcement officers safely...

Moon gets a fresh close-up in restored classic NASA photos

16 years ago from LA Times - Science

The first up-close images of the lunar landscape were long hidden away in storage. The space agency and private space buffs have started to refurbish and reissue the photos. ...

Gemini releases historic discovery image of planetary 'first family'

16 years ago from

Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope and W.M. Keck Observatory on Hawaii's Mauna Kea have obtained the first-ever direct images identifying a multi-planet system around a normal star. The Gemini...

SHIMMER successfully observes Earth's highest clouds

16 years ago from

The Naval Research Laboratory's Spatial Heterodyne Imager for Mesospheric Radicals (SHIMMER) has successfully observed a second northern season of Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs), which are the Earth's highest clouds. This...

SETI Astronomer Envisions Technology Capable of Receiving ET Signals by 2032

16 years ago from Physorg

(PhysOrg.com) -- SETI, (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Senior Astronomer Seth Shostak and host of the weekly radio show "Are We Alone," predicted during a recent conference in San Francisco...

Methane site ruled out on Mars

16 years ago from News @ Nature

Engineers say potential spacecraft landing spot is too risky.

NASA's New High-Performance Engine for Ares Rocket Passes Review

16 years ago from Physorg

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's newest high-performance rocket engine, the J-2X, successfully completed its critical design review Thursday at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Space software to control digital TV broadcasting

16 years ago from European Space Agency

Imagine how difficult it is to control a spacecraft thousands of miles away, ensure it arrives at the right location and then get the scientific and photographic equipment up and...

Confusing creation with creationism

16 years ago from The Guardian - Science

Intelligent design and young Earth creationism are both false, but that does not discount the notion of creation, writes Michael Poole

First Pictures of Alien Planet System Revealed

16 years ago from National Geographic

Astronomers today unvieled unprecedented glimpses of planets outside our solar system, including the first ever images of another multiplanet system and the first visible-light images of an extrasolar planet.

Brown cloud covering parts of India, China

16 years ago from UPI

BEIJING, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A thick layer of soot and manmade particles stretches across parts of India and China, clouding the sky in some areas, a U.N....

Video - Direct from the Moon: on National Geographic Channel

16 years ago from Live Science

Intimate portraits of Earth's natural satellite from Japan's Kaguya high definition spacecraft.

Astronomers See Exoplanets for First Time

16 years ago from Science NOW

Direct detection is the latest step toward discovering other, possibly inhabited, Earths

NASA Mars Lander Receives Award From Magazine

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has won recognition from Popular Science magazine as an innovation worthy of the publication's "Best of What's New" Grand Award in the aviation and space category.

Water heater choice and maintenance can reduce energy costs

16 years ago from Physorg

(PhysOrg.com) -- Between 16 and 18 percent of home energy is used to generate hot water, so hot water tank maintenance can pay big dividends on your energy bill.

Compact research freezers to debut in space

16 years ago from Physorg

When the space shuttle Endeavour lifts off this month, its flight crew will be taking new research equipment designed and built by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

NASA tests equipment designed for the moon

16 years ago from UPI

HILO, Hawaii, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it has concluded nearly two weeks of testing equipment and lunar rover concepts in Hawaii.

NCAR Installs Massive Digital Storage Library from Sun Microsystems for Climate and Weather Records

16 years ago from Newswise - Scinews

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) today announced the arrival of a massive new digital storage library that will preserve and protect valuable...

Focus on Putting Humans on Mars, Group Argues

16 years ago from Space.com

The Planetary Society calls for shifting NASA focus from moon to Mars.