Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Space Pictures This Week: Shuttle Swap, Hubble's Jewels
Space shuttles trade places, Hubble shows a cosmic gem, a crater gets its day in the sun, and more in the week's best space pictures.
Colliding Galaxies Form Exclamation Point in Space
Two colliding galaxies, in the early stages of their interaction, form a bright exclamation point in space.
NASA plans to visit a near-Earth asteroid
In a few years a NASA spacecraft will seek the building blocks of life in a shovelful of asteroid dirt. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, targeted for launch in September 2016, will...
PN G054.2-03.4: Necklace Nebula Gets A Close Up
A giant cosmic necklace glows brightly in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of an object named (surprise) the Necklace Nebula, a recently discovered planetary nebula which is the glowing...
Astronomers find darkest planet
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. astronomers say they've discovered the darkest known exoplanet, a distant gas giant blacker than coal or any planet or moon in our...
NASA Primes Twin Moon Gravity Probes for September Launch
NASA's GRAIL mission could revolutionize our understanding of terrestrial planets.
New Look at Exploding Stars Provides Cosmic Yardstick
Astronomers studying supernovas narrowed down the likelihood of the pairings that produced them.
Massive Japan Quake Even Rattled Upper Atmosphere
Link could provide early warning for tsunamis.
Ocean giants
Film crew captures stunning images of the giants breaking records under the waves
New NASA moon rocket could cost $38 billion
At that price tag, it would fly just twice in the next 10 years, according to internal NASA documents. That could pose big problems for NASA supporters in Congress.The rocket...
Lava, not water, said cause of Mars beds
LUBBOCK, Texas, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher says large, river-like channels seen on Mars were created not by water but by massive, fast-moving lava flows of a...
Space Pictures This Week: Mars Rover, Galaxy Smashup, More
Galaxies "punctuate" the cosmos, the sun shoots a huge flare, a Mars rover reaches its target, and more in the week's best space pictures.
Supernovae parents found
Observations of Type Ia supernovae has led to the discovery that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate and the notion of dark energy. However, astronomers do not know...
The hidden galaxy in the zone of avoidance
There are some places astronomers dare not tread. One of the prime places is beyond the disk of our own galaxy where the numerous stars and clouds of dust along...
Three New "Plutos"? Possible Dwarf Planets Found
Relatively bright space rocks found in Pluto's neighborhood may be new members of the dwarf planet family, astronomers say.
NASA Sun-Watching Satellite Spots Comet Elenin in Deep Space
Comet Elenin passed within the field of view of one of NASA's twin STEREO spacecraft.
Comet collision to come?
New research shows that the Earth was impacted for a few hours by a stream of dust from a potentially dangerous comet on February 4, 2011.
Dark matter may be an illusion caused by the quantum vacuum
(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the biggest unsolved problems in astrophysics is that galaxies and galaxy clusters rotate faster than expected, given the amount of existing baryonic (normal) matter. The fast...
Astronomy proves no joke for well-known comic
Innocent Twitter banter between a Cardiff University astronomer and well-known Irish TV presenter and comic Dara O Briain has sparked a major on-line search for stars.
Space Junk Cleanup Poses Grand Challenge for 21st Century
Aggressive action is needed to curb the growing threat of space debris to other spacecraft.
Has graphene been detected in space?
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of astronomers, using the Spitzer Space Telescope, have reported the first extragalactic detection of the C70 fullerene molecule, and the possible detection of planar C24 ("a...
Einstein Could Have Solved The EPR Paradox Why He Did Not
Usually, the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox is presented as if it potentially conflicts with the theory of relativity. This is because the correlation between Alice’s and Bob’s measurements seems to travel with...
Largest solar plant approved for Calif.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has approved a 550-megawatt solar power project to be built in the California desert, the largest U.S. facility...
Photos: Multicolored Auroras Sparked by Double Sun Blast
Sparked by two blasts of charged particles from the sun, last weekend's northern lights amounted to "the most brilliant display in years."
AFER Announces Two New Research Fellowships in AMD And Dry Eye For Young Researchers
For the first time, the ARVO Foundation for Eye Research (AFER) will support AMD and dry eye research projects with two new fellowships for investigators under age 45. The AFER/Genentech...
Review: Can a smartphone camera do it all?
If you're anything like me, your cellphone and its built-in camera is always on you, while your digital camera gathers dust at home.
Astronauts Spy Beautiful Summer Day in NYC
All five boroughs of New York City — Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island — and the clear skies above them can be seen in this image taken...
Atmosphere May Help Power Huge Freak Waves
Rogue waves have plagued sailors for centuries, but their cause remains mysterious.