Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Scientists say Mars soil similar to Chile desert
(AP) -- Scientists operating the Phoenix spacecraft say the Martian soil near the north pole landing site is similar to what can be found in the Chile desert on...
Satellite Radio Merger Finally Complete
XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio said they have completed their long-pending merger.
Investigators: No bomb link to hole in jetliner
Australian investigators have found no sign a bomb caused the giant hole in a Qantas jumbo jet's fuselage that forced a harrowing emergency landing in the Philippines, officials said Sunday.
Satellites Discover What Triggers Eruptions of the Northern Lights
What causes the shimmering, ethereal Northern Lights to suddenly brighten and dance in a spectacular burst of colorful light and rapid movement? To find out, NASA launched a fleet of...
Watching a 'New Star' Make the Universe Dusty
Using ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer, and its remarkable acuity, astronomers were able for the first time to witness the appearance of a shell of dusty gas around a star...
Polar lights give up some secrets
The sudden flare-ups and rapid movement sometimes seen in the Northern and Southern Lights can now be explained in fine detail, say scientists.
Aurora "Power Surges" Triggered by Magnetic Explosions
A newfound link between bursts of energy in magnetic field lines and brighter auroras may solve a 30-year mystery about the polar lights, researchers say. With video.
WEEK IN PHOTOS: Giant Eye, Hurricane Dolly, More
A guinea pig clotheshorse, an eye-opening eye, and a glittering galaxy are among the week's best news photos.
Earth from Space: Southeastern Brazil
This Envisat image highlights the southeastern coast of Brazil, South America’s largest and most populous country.
Proposed Particle Help Explains Odd Galactic Photons
In 2002, a satellite called INTEGRAL was launched by the European Space Agency with an instrument on board to detect and measure gamma rays from space. Four years later, it...
Climate Change: Secret Life Cycles Of Atmospheric Aerosols Can Be Illuminated With New Technology
For scientists looking at climate change, a large area of uncertainty has to do with the effects of airborne particles -- such as carbon-laden soot -- but new technology is...
Exoplanet Orbiting Sun-like Star Discovered
Astronomers have discovered an exoplanet orbiting a star slightly more massive than the Sun. After just 555 days in orbit, the COROT mission has now observed more than 50 000...
HP's plan to fix ailing planet
Hewlett Packard's nanotech lab plans to build a central nervous system for the earth and help businesses at the same time.
Zoo will reopen exhibit where 16 stingrays died
(AP) -- A zoo in suburban Chicago plans to reopen an exhibit where 16 stingrays died last week when a malfunction let the tank's water get too warm.
Escaped spammer in murder-suicide
Colorado authorities on Thursday identified "Spam King" Edward Davidson, who escaped from a minimum-security facility, among three dead in a murder-suicide.
Next generation 911 needed, speakers say
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, July 24 (UPI) -- Ever-changing communications technology is reason enough to upgrade many 911 emergency systems, Texas A&M University officials in College Station said.
Quiet Explosion: Object Intermediate Between Normal Supernovae And Gamma-ray Bursts Found
Astronomers are providing hints that a recent supernova may not be as normal as initially thought. Instead, the star that exploded is now understood to have collapsed into a black...
Supernova Caught Red-Handed Seen as Missing Link [News]
Researchers have offered a new explanation for an unprecedented stellar explosion caught in the act earlier this year. [More]
Plasma Bullets Trigger Northern Lights
Researchers have discovered what powers brilliant outbursts of Northern Lights: gigantic plasma bullets launched toward Earth by explosions 1/3rd of the way to the Moon.
Scientists break record by finding northernmost hydrothermal vent field
Well inside the Arctic Circle, scientists have found black smoker vents farther north than anyone has ever seen before. The cluster of five vents - one towering nearly four...
Hubble Instruments Slated for On-Orbit 'Surgery'
When astronauts visit the Hubble Space Telescope in October 2008 for its final servicing mission, they will be facing a task that has no precedence - performing on-orbit ‘surgery`...
Lenses galore -- Hubble finds large sample of very distant galaxies
By using the gravitational magnification from six massive lensing galaxy clusters, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided scientists with the largest sample of very distant galaxies seen to date....
GOCE prepares for shipment to Russia
Launching in just two months' time, GOCE - now fully reconfigured for launch in September, is currently being prepared for shipment on 29 July 2008 from ESA's test facilities...
Motion of exploding stars could shed light on dark energy
Cosmologists call for decades-long survey of type-Ia supernovae
Intense preparations for Rosetta's asteroid visit
Engineers at ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Germany are working to a tight deadline as ESA's comet-chasing spacecraft Rosetta swings steadily closer to a spectacular asteroid fly-by on 5...
Shielding for ambitious neutron experiment
In science fiction stories it is either the inexhaustible energy source of the future or a superweapon of galactic magnitude: antimaterial. In fact, antimaterial can neither be found on Earth...
NYT: McCain focuses on Arizona
Presidential candidates are usually able to count on their home state, but Senator John McCain’s chances in Arizona are somewhat less assured.
New Dwarf Planet Makemake Marks Shift in Naming Trend
With most Greek and Roman god monikers already taken, astronomers are tapping into other cultures' mythologies to christen new cosmic bodies.