Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Stuck Mars rover makes first move in months
For the first time in seven months, the Mars rover moved.
NASA Supercomputer Ranks Among World's Fastest
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's premiere supercomputer located at Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., has garnered the sixth spot on the Top500 list of the world's most powerful computers.
Nasa data point to icy moon
Mission scientists say spectroscopic data show tell-tale signs of water in shadowy impact crater
Swirling clouds over the South Pacific
(PhysOrg.com) -- Rosetta's OSIRIS imaging system spotted an anticyclone over the South Pacific on the morning of 13 November. The images show the scene roughly as a human eye would...
Ghostly 'Spokes' Puff Out From Saturn's Ring's (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Massive, bright clouds of tiny ice particles hover above the darkened rings of Saturn in an image captured by the Cassini spacecraft on Sept. 22, 2009, around the...
Close-up movie shows hidden details in the birth of super-suns
The constellation of Orion is a hotbed of massive star formation, most prominently in the Great Nebula that sits in Orion's sword. The glowing gas of the Nebula is powered...
Why Huge Bands of Iron Formed Billions of Years Ago on Earth's Surface
No one knows why massive formations of banded iron -- some ultimately hundreds of kilometers long, like a sleeping giant's suspenders -- mysteriously began precipitating on Earth's surface about 3.5...
More On The Omega B Baryon Significance
Last May the CDF collaboration published their observation of the baryon, a particle made by a very exotic "bss" quark triplet. The CDF result came almost one year after a...
Atlantis’ team carries the ball for NASA
The six astronauts on Atlantis' flight to the International Space Station include two former football players as well as several Gulf War veterans.
Listen, watch, read: Computers search for meaning
Researchers have created the first integrated semantic search platform that integrates text, video and audio. The system can 'watch' films, 'listen' to audio and 'read' text to find relevant responses...
Mapping The Large And Small
We are aware of the large and small. We can, for example, taste and smell the earthy but invisible Streptomyces coelicolor. This soil-dwelling bacterium might have been in the first rock on Earth. Some estimates mention...
Space clown drew more news coverage than Afghan mission
Canada's first space clown can brag that his recent trip into the cosmos generated at least 23 times more international news coverage this year than the Canadian mission in Afghanistan.
Scientists discover a new type of star
The oxygen-rich white dwarf star had been predicted, but never found. Researchers have pinpointed two of the kind of 'missing link' between normal white dwarf stars and more-collapsed neutron stars. ...
Cosmic Log: The bird vs. the Big Bang Machine
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: The world's most powerful particle collider is ready for a fresh start after a few snags, including an unfortunate incident involving a bird and a...
Goddard team develops new carriers for space station
GREENBELT, Md. -- In a partnership that exemplifies One NASA, engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. teamed up with engineers at NASA's Johnson and Kennedy Space...
Moon crash reveals crater held water
Plume of material contained roughly 25 gallons of vapor and ice
Friday the 13th Superstitions Get Rare Workout in 2009
2009 is nearly over, and if you believe in Friday the 13th superstitions, that's a good thing—this year packs the most Friday the 13ths possible. Find out why 2009 is...
Rosetta sees a living planet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Images and data taken just before closest approach were downloaded this morning, and they show the lights of North America in the night and a glowing Southern Hemisphere.
Mysterious X-rays from a Nearby Galaxy
(PhysOrg.com) -- The nucleus of an active galaxy, an AGN, contains a massive black hole that is vigorously accreting material. In the process it typically ejects jets of particles and...
Romanian space launch postponed
BUCHAREST, Romania, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Inclement weather postponed Friday's launch of the Helen Rocket -- Romania's first attempt to reach space, authorities said.
Professor To Predict Weather On Mars
Is there such a thing as "weather" on Mars? There are some doubts, considering the planet's atmosphere is only 1 percent as dense as that of the Earth. Mars, however,...
Broken Urine Recycler May Affect Space Mission
A broken space station urine urine recycler may impact life onboard when the shuttle Atlantis arrives next week.
Greenland ice loss 'accelerating'
Satellites, models and ground stations give scientists a better view than ever before of how the Greenland icecap is melting.
Astronomers discover 22 more galaxies
PASADENA, Calif., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. and Japanese astronomers say they've discovered 22 galaxies, and confirmed one galaxy formed as early as 787 million years after the Big...
First Director of ARPA-E to Keynote at New York's Premiere Energy Conference
Energy Secretary Steven Chu's recently appointed advisor, Arun Majumdar, will make his first major appearance as the keynote speaker at the 2009 New York Advanced Energy Conference. Majumdar will deliver...
NASA to Subject Monkeys to Radiation
NASA plans to subject a group of monkeys to radiation to study what might happen to humans on long-term space missions, such as trips to the moon and Mars.
Origin of Household Dust Pinned Down
A new computer model that simulates how dust comes into and out of homes may help communities dealing with contaminated waste sites
Northwestern Univ. doctor to make history
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A Northwestern University physician is to become the first orthopedic surgeon to orbit the Earth when he lifts off on space shuttle...