Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
NASA's Mars Odyssey Shifting Orbit For Extended Mission
The longest-serving of six spacecraft now studying Mars is up to new tricks for a third two-year extension of its mission to examine the most Earthlike of known foreign planets....
Tourist arrives at space station
A spacecraft carrying a new crew for the International Space Station (ISS) docks with the orbiting outpost.
Phoenix Lander Digs And Analyzes Soil As Darkness Gathers
As fall approaches Mars' northern plains, NASA's Phoenix Lander is busy digging into the Red Planet's soil and scooping it into its onboard science laboratories for analysis.
New Google Earth satellite image released
DULLES, Va., Oct. 10 (UPI) -- GeoEye Inc. has released a high-resolution color image of a U.S. university to show what its new, highly accurate mapping satellite can...
Gravity lens used to study distant galaxy
PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. and British scientists say they have completed the most detailed study yet of a galaxy in its first stages of development.
Gecko-like glue is said to be stickiest yet
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A new type of dry glue designed to mimic gecko feet is 10 times stickier than the gravity-defying lizards, and three times stickier than other gecko-inspired glues,...
Liquid Mirror Telescopes on the Moon
A team of internationally renowned astronomers and opticians may have found a way to make "unbelievably large" telescopes on the Moon.
Google-sponsored satellite sends first image
A Google-sponsored satellite has beamed its first picture back to Earth in a successful test of a camera that will supply images for the Internet giant's free online map and...
Cosmic strings might emit cosmic sparks, answer cosmological questions
(PhysOrg.com) -- For astronomers, understanding what happened in the early moments of the universe could answer many questions in physics and astronomy. One possible player in the early universe is...
Adopt a Scientist: Geology of Other Worlds
Cynthia Phillips strolls the surfaces of distant planets each day.
Is anybody listening out there? Earth sends messages into space?
Messages are beamed to a planet 20 light years from Earth in the hope they will reach intelligent alien life.
Sharpest Whole-Planet Picture Of Jupiter Taken From The Ground
A record two-hour observation of Jupiter using a superior technique to remove atmospheric blur has produced the sharpest whole-planet picture ever taken from the ground. The new image reveals changes...
Splashy Portrait Helps Explain How Stars Form
Different wavelengths of light swirl together like watercolors in a new, ethereal portrait of a bright, star-forming region.
SPACE PHOTOS THIS WEEK: Mercury Close-up, More
NASA gets a close look at Mercury, massive young stars drive stellar birth, and more in our weekly roundup of space photos.
NY Times, IHT websites to merge
The New York Times is to merge the website of its Paris-based sister paper, the International Herald Tribune, with its own flagship site, NYTimes.com, the newspapers announced on Wednesday.
Students win a contest to design an experiment for a UK satellite
A team of students from Shrewsbury school has won a contest to design an experiment that will fly on a British-built satellite in 2010.
Rotation of Milky Way found to be simple
BONN, Germany, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A German-led team of astrophysicists says observations of a special class of variable stars resolves a dispute about the rotation of the...
Webb telescope model to head to Germany
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it plans to display a full-sized model of the James Webb Space Telescope at the Deutsches Museum in...
New, smaller satellites are developed
ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they are developing a satellite about the size of a loaf of bread that will be deployed to...
New Research Center Will Free Chemistry from Earth's Bonds
A new research center combining the tools of chemistry and astronomy will use the unique laboratory of interstellar space to free the study of basic chemistry from the restrictive bonds...
NASA-derived technology is highlighted
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- The 2008 edition of the U.S. space agency's Spinoff publication celebrates NASA's 50th anniversary by highlighting space technology now being used on Earth.
Nascent galaxy's magnetic field measured
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. astronomers using the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope have obtained the first direct measurement of a nascent galaxy's magnetic field.
Satellite data reveals extreme summer snowmelt in northern Greenland
The northern part of the Greenland ice sheet experienced extreme snowmelt during the summer of 2008, with large portions of the area subject to record melting days, according to Dr....
Profile: What is that smell?
Jacek Koziel is a master of odours. On a pig farm in Iowa, he shows Erik Vance some of the peaks and troughs of life as a human detector.
NASA Chief Thanks Obama for Helping With Soyuz Waiver
Griffin credited Obama for allowing the space agency to buy Soyuz flights.
NASA studies 35-year-old Apollo equipment
GREENBELT, Md., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. space agency scientists say they are studying a heat shield used 42 years ago on an Apollo space mission to develop...
EU scientists launch new, 'unbreakable' encryption system
A new encryption system, which its creators say is unbreakable, got its first test run Wednesday in Vienna, scientists from the European Union project SECOQC announced.
Scientists meet for alien summit
The search for alien life outside our solar system will be at the forefront of discussions by scientists.