Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
Ariane 5 liftoff
Image: On 16 January 2020, Ariane 5 flight VA251 lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana and delivered two telecom satellites, Konnect and GSAT-30, into their planned orbits.
First Spacebus Neo satellite launched
Ariane 5’s first launch of 2020 has delivered two telecom satellites, Konnect and GSAT-30, into their planned transfer orbits. Arianespace announced liftoff at 21:05 GMT (22:05 CET, 18:05 local time)...
Venus: The hot, hellish & volcanic planet
Venus is the brightest planet in our solar system, has a hellish atmosphere, and is covered in volcanoes. Learn more about planet Venus here.
MITRE Uses Earth Shadow to Determine Satellite Range
Until now, determining the orbit of satellites has required many measurements or multiple telescopes. A team of MITRE scientists took their equipment to Chile to view an eclipse--and proved an...
Stormy water on Mars: The distribution and saturation of atmospheric water during the dusty season
The loss of water from Mars to space is thought to result from the transport of water to the upper atmosphere, where it is dissociated to hydrogen and escapes the...
Decay of the coronal magnetic field can release sufficient energy to power a solar flare
Solar flares are powered by a rapid release of energy in the solar corona, thought to be produced by the decay of the coronal magnetic field strength. Direct quantitative measurements...
NASA catches the dissipation of Tropical Cyclone Claudia
Tropical Cyclone Claudia was dissipating in the Southern Indian Ocean when NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of storm as it flew overhead in its orbit around the Earth.
Israel arrests Finnish lawmaker for trying to breach Gaza border fence
Anna Kontula, a member of Finland's Parliament, was held for 10 hours in Israel Monday after she was arrested for trying to cut through a border fence that separates the...
This super-sharp image could help explain the Milky Way's strange creamy center
What's going on in the middle of our galaxy?
Fugitive Carlos Ghosn loses defense team after escape from Japan
Multiple attorneys representing former Nissan Chairman and fugitive Carlos Ghosn have walked away from the case due to his elaborate escape from Japan last month.
NRL researching rivers in the sky
Meteorologists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory plan to take a harder look in 2020 at a prime, yet difficult to model, component of the global water cycle known as...
The sterile moon may still hold hints of how life began on Earth
No life and not much potential, Science News, January 17, 1970 — The lack of life on the moon, or even of biological compounds that might under some circumstance lead to it,...
China lofts 4 satellites into orbit with its second launch of 2020
China successfully sent four satellites into orbit early on Wednesday (Jan. 15) with the country's second launch of 2020.
An Ariane 5 rocket will launch 2 communications satellites today. How to watch live
The European launch provider Arianespace will use an Ariane 5 rocket to launch two new communications satellites into orbit today (Jan. 15), and you can watch it live online.
Watch: 'The Stranger' exposes dark secrets trailer for Netflix series
Richard Armitage, Jennifer Saunders, Siobhan Finneran and Hannah John-Kamen star in a Netflix adaptation of the Harlan Coben novel "The Stranger."
Watch: Bakers create world's longest cake in India
A team of bakers in India broke a Guinness World Record with a cake measuring 17,388 feet long -- more than 3 miles.
Watch: Sabrina is queen of hell in 'Chilling Adventures' Part 3
Kiernan Shipka, Ross Lynch, Jaz Sinclair and Gavin Leatherwood star in the Netflix series "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina."
Southwest Airlines scrubs Boeing 737 Max flights through early June
Southwest Airlines said Thursday it has pulled the grounded Boeing 737 Max aircraft from its flight schedule until early June in a proactive effort to avoid last-minute flight cancellations.
'Rosalind Franklin' Mars rover edges closer to launch
Europe's six-wheeled robot completes more key tests ahead of its planned summer launch.
ExoMars Rover completes environmental tests
The Rosalind Franklin rover of the joint ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars mission completed a series of environmental tests at the end of 2019 at Airbus, Toulouse, France. This included final thermal and...
Nearly barren Icelandic landscapes guide search for extraterrestrial life
New research on microbial lifeforms living in nearly barren volcanic landscapes in Iceland may help scientists understand how best to search for life on other planets.
Behind howls of solar wind, quiet chirps reveal its origin
here’s a wind that emanates from the sun, and it blows not like a soft whistle but like a hurricane’s scream. Made of electrons, protons, and heavier ions, the solar...
Behind howls of solar wind, quiet chirps reveal its origins
There's a wind that emanates from the sun, and it blows not like a soft whistle but like a hurricane's scream.
Possible discovery of a new super-Earth orbiting Proxima Centauri
Astronomers have discovered another candidate exoplanet orbiting our neighbor Proxima Centauri. A paper announcing these results was just published in the journal Science Advances. If confirmed, it will be the...
Moon 'shrooms? Fungi eyed to help build lunar bases and Mars outposts
NASA researchers are investigating the potential of mycelia — the mass of nutrient-absorbing, widely branching underground threads that make up much of a fungus's bulk — to help construct outposts...
Controversy over giant telescope roils astronomy conference in Hawaii
Heated conversations at the American Astronomical Society's January meeting are usually about stars and galaxies, distant worlds and elaborate calculations.
Why are black holes just 'wandering' on the outskirts of their dwarf galaxies?
Several supermassive black holes have been found wandering through their dwarf host galaxies, offering new clues about how similar black holes evolved in the early universe.
ExoMars Rover completes environmental tests
Image: The Rosalind Franklin rover of the joint ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars mission completed a series of environmental tests at the end of 2019 at Airbus, Toulouse, France. This included final thermal and vacuum tests...