Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
100 Years Ago an Exoplanet was Unknowingly Discovered
Long before the first confirmed planetary finds in the 1990s, an observer in 1917 caught evidence of planetary debris around a new star, new research into an astronomical glass plate...
Mission to Alpha Centauri
The cosmologist Stephen Hawking and the entrepreneur Yuri Milner released a simulation that shows how a project called Breakthrough Starshot aims to send small robots to the nearest star system,...
Moon Mosaics: Groundbreaking Science Images of Stunning Lunar Science (Op-Ed)
From natural bridges to surface cracks, lunar orbiter images reveal a stunning lunar surface.
Ben Affleck confirmed to star in stand-alone Batman movie
Karen ButlerLOS ANGELES, April 12 (UPI) -- "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" star Ben Affleck is to headline and direct his own stand-alone Batman movie.
'Mars Matters' for the Future of Space Exploration, NASA Chief Says
NASA's current administrator, Charles Bolden, spoke at one of the largest spaceflight industry meetings in the world this week, and he emphasized the importance of NASA's plan to send humans...
New hypervelocity binary star challenges dark matter, stellar acceleration models
A team of astronomers at the Friedrich Alexander University led by Péter Németh has discovered a binary star moving nearly at the escape velocity of our galaxy. There are about...
Swiss group buys Airbus jet for zero-gravity flights
ZURICH (Reuters) - A Swiss aerospace group plans to offer zero-gravity flights this year in an airliner that will expose thrill-seekers with strong stomachs to repeated bouts of weightlessness.
Astronomically Far Away: How to Measure the Universe
Without an infinitely long ruler, how can you measure the distances to the universe's farthest galaxies?
Billy Ray Cyrus opposes Mississippi 'Religious Freedom' bill: 'Everyone should be treated equal'
Marilyn MalaraNASHVILLE, April 12 (UPI) -- Billy Ray Cyrus is the latest celebrity to speak out against the controversial "Religious Freedom" bill in Mississippi.
Rescued Japanese spacecraft delivers first results from Venus
Streaked acidic clouds and a bow shape in the atmosphere are among Akatsuki’s findings.Nature 532 157 doi: 10.1038/532157a
Cassini Visualizes the Invisible, Tracks Giant Storms
NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which made its closest approach to Jupiter early today, is providing ways to make invisible features visible, to track daily changes in some of the planet's most...
Solar System Ambassadors Chosen to Spread the Cosmic Word
From teachers to graduate students and homemakers to veterinarians, hundreds of space aficionados have been selected to share their love of space exploration with the public.
NASA Invests in Two-Dimensional Spacecraft, Reprogrammable Microorganisms
NASA has selected 13 proposals, including four from JPL, for a program that invests in transformative architectures through the development of pioneering technologies.
NASA eyes powerful storms in newborn Tropical Cyclone Fantala
Powerful thunderstorms circled the low-level center of newborn Tropical Cyclone Fantana in infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite.
Michigan's Gov. Snyder: 'Career bureaucrats' with no common sense misled me on Flint water
Ed AdamczykDETROIT, April 12 (UPI) -- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder again took the blame for the water crisis in the city of Flint but said he was misled by staff...
Road to the stars
Human spaceflight and robotic exploration image of the week: ESA astronaut Tim Peake reading Yuri Gagarin’s biography in space for Cosmonaut day
Cepheids: Using Stars to Measure Extra-Galactic Distances | Video
Cepheids are a certain kind of star that change in brightness with regular period. This period is related to its true brightness, which means we can use them to measure...
It's Yuri's Night! Here's How to Celebrate 55 Years of Human Spaceflight
Fifty-five years ago today (April 12), cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made history. Space fans mark Gagarin's feat each year with Yuri's Night, a series of cosmic shindigs and parties around the...
Bezos praises third Blue Origin launch-and-land rocket test as 'perfect'
SEATTLE (Reuters) - Jeff Bezos' space transportation company Blue Origin successfully launched and landed for the third time a suborbital rocket capable of carrying six passengers, taking another step on...
Orbital presses U.S. lawmakers to end ban on retired missiles
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Orbital ATK is pressing U.S. lawmakers to end a 20-year ban on using decommissioned intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) for launching commercial satellites and the effort...
U.S. needs up to 18 more Russian rocket engines: Pentagon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon will need to buy up to 18 more Russian-built RD-180 engines to power rockets carrying U.S. military satellites into space over the next six years...
Cyndi Lauper, Harvey Fierstein get stars on Walk of Fame
Marilyn MalaraHOLLYWOOD, April 12 (UPI) -- Singer Cyndi Lauper and actor Harvey Fierstein have received the 2,577th and 2,578th stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Astronomers discover two new stars in a distant open cluster
(Phys.org)—An international team of astronomers has recently detected two new so-called Be stars (non-supergiant stars with B spectral types and emission lines) residing in the open cluster NGC 6830, located...
Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows make WWE debut
Wade SheridanLOS ANGELES, April 12 (UPI) -- Fan-favorite New Japan Pro wrestling stars Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows made their WWE debut Monday on {i:Raw}.
NRL engineers to lead payload development for robotic servicing of geosynchronous satellites
With its newly announced Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to field an on-orbit satellite servicing vehicle that would transform U.S....
Video: Tracking ice with Sentinel-1B
On April 22, the European Space Agency ESA will launch the Sentinel-1B satellite on top of a Soyuz rocket from Kourou, French Guiana.
Invisible NASA network transports satellite secrets to earth
Around the world in 80 days? When Jules Verne wrote the novel, that seemed an impossible speed, but almost 150 years later, a NASA team has reduced the trip to...
500,000 Milky Way Stars Shine in Amazing New Video
The new Milky Way video, which is set to the hit song "Stars" by Grace Potter, shows more than 500,000 stars in the densest, most massive cluster in the galaxy.