Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Two dwarf planets identified
Pluto's family just got bigger - astronomers have identified two new dwarf planets: bright red Makemake and football-shaped Haumea.
'Big bang machine' study halted for 2 months
The $10 billion "big bang" particle collider has been damaged worse than previously thought and will be out of commission for at least two months, its operators said on Saturday.
The mystery of multiple sclerosis
Canada has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world, according to an international survey.
Shake, Rattle And Roll: James Webb Telescope Components Pass Tests
You might think that shaking and freezing a state-of-the-art, meticulously crafted machine is a bad idea. But when it comes to firing telescopes and their instruments into the frigid cold...
Polar Crown Prominences
Warning: Material contained in this story may make you wish to become a solar physicist. Japan's Hinode spacecraft, launched in 2006 on a mission to study the sun, is beaming...
More than 2,000 expected at space meeting
GLASGOW, Scotland, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Officials from seven national space agencies will detail their future missions later this month during the 59th International Astronautical Congress.
NASA eClips: A New Approach to Learning
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA is making available a free Web-based educational product to learners of all ages across the country. NASA eClips consists of more than 55 short, 5-10 minute video...
Pentagon Approves Spy Satellite Program
The Pentagon will buy two commercial-class imagery satellites for recon misions.
Johnson Space Center to reopen Monday
HOUSTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency said its Johnson Space Center in Houston will reopen Monday after being closed Sept. 11 because of Hurricane Ike.
Physicists Take Part in Discovery of New Subatomic Particle
It's not every day that scientists discover a new particle of matter. Florida State University physicists were part of just such a historic event recently while collaborating with researchers from...
Doppler on Wheels Deployed at Hurricane Ike
(PhysOrg.com) -- The only scientific team to successfully brave Hurricane Ike's knock-down winds and swells in Galveston was the DOW, the Doppler on Wheels mobile weather radar operated by the...
University of Leicester scientists funded to design concepts for NASA microgravity
Two University of Leicester scientists have recently been awarded 10,000 to design concepts for scientific experiments which would fly on the upcoming new generation of manned suborbital spacecraft, such as...
Moderate Quantities Of Dirt Make More Rain
Drought or deluge? Scientists have now discovered how aerosols affect the when, where and how much of rainfall.
NASA's Most Memorable Missions
NASA's first 50 years have seen both triumph and tragedy as the U.S. space agency sent unmanned probes to other planets and the fringe of our solar system, landed the...
John Waller on the mystery of mass hysteria
The recent outbreak of fainting in a Tanzania school bears the hallmarks of mass hysteria, says John Waller. But what causes it and why is it still happening around the...
NASA Eyes Loose Insulation for Hubble Mission
Insulation issues have delayed the move of Hubble cargo to the launch pad.
Robotic Prius Takes Itself For A Spin
An unusual motorcade made its way across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge early one morning last week: a silver Toyota Prius, complete with police escort and camera crew, but with...
New Cargo Ship Arrives at Space Station
A Russian cargo ship arrived late, but safely, at the space station Wednesday.
Water Flowed on Mars Longer than Thought
Features of plains around Valles Marineris indicated flowing water on Mars longer than though.
Building a New Rocket for the Nation
The Ares I rocket, America's next flagship in space, is now in development by NASA and its industry partners, and soon will carry human explorers and new missions of discovery...
Climate change may explain craters on Mars
PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sept. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have determined so-called pedestal craters, a subclass of impact craters unique to Mars, might have resulted from climate...
Carleton student helps pin down largest known prime number
A Carleton University doctoral student has helped an international team of mathematicians discover the largest known prime number, a number so long it would fill 3,200 pages if written down.
ESA holds children's design competition
PARIS, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency is inviting primary school children to take part in a competition to design a T-shirt an ESA astronaut will...
New outing for Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
An Irish author has been commissioned to write a new instalment of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", the cult science fiction comedy which became a worldwide hit, publishers said...
Russia to help Cuba build space center
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow is ready to help Cuba develop its own space center, Russia's space agency chief said on Wednesday after talks in Caracas with Venezuelan and Cuban officials,...
Caspar Melville: The intellectual fireworks over at the New Humanist prove that there's life in the intelligent design debate yet
Caspar Melville: Intellectual fireworks over at the New Humanist site prove that there's life in the intelligent design debate yet
Was the inventor of the telescope Dutch, Italian or Spanish?
Was the telescope invented in Spain, not in the Netherlands as popularly assumed?
Sun might be a long-distance traveler
SEATTLE, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- U.S-led scientists say the sun might have traveled far from where it formed, contradicting a belief that stars generally remain static.