Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
2 Years On, Japan Tsunami Debris Still Washing Ashore
The Japan tsunami dragged 5 million tons of debris into the ocean.
NASA supports Extreme Universe Space Observatory
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has awarded $4.4 million to a collaboration of scientists at five U.S. universities and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center to help build a telescope...
Space station to watch for Earth disasters
MOSCOW, March 8 (UPI) -- A new crew for the International Space Station will install equipment to monitor Earth's atmosphere and forecast natural disasters, a Russian cosmonaut says.
Key galaxy distance re-measured
Astronomers update one of their most important numbers - the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud, a close-by galaxy to our own Milky Way.
Soon To Launch Astronaut Answers Reader Questions | Video
Astronaut Chris Cassidy, who is making final preparations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, for a March launch to the International Space Station talks with Space.com...
Spacecraft Sees Solar Eclipse | Frenetic Video Mania
On March 7th, 2013, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory was in a position to observe the Earth passing in front of the Sun.
Comet Impacts May Have Jump-Started Life on Earth
Impacts may have delivered the complex molecules needed for life to get started.
Balloon Flights Bring Near-Space Exploration to Masses
You can launch a balloon mission to the stratosphere for about the cost of an iPad.
Lights out for black hole firewall paradox; Gravity rejoices
Research by scientists at the University of York has revealed new insights into the life and death of black holes. Their findings dispel the so-called firewall paradox which shocked the...
Revealed: The Earth's 'electrical heartbeat' seen in clouds
(Phys.org) —The height of clouds changes by up to 200m during a day under the influence of a global 'electrical heartbeat' in the atmosphere, scientists at the University of Reading...
Final magnet girders installed at NSLS-II
(Phys.org) —In January, the last of 150 magnet girders was installed in the storage ring of the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), capping off a tremendous yearlong effort in...
Searching for a twist in neutron spin axis, physicists find nothing—and that's something
(Phys.org) —Besides understanding how much dark matter and dark energy there is—about 95 percent of the universe—scientists also want to know more about what dark matter and dark energy are...
Facebook adds University of Calif chief to board
Facebook says the chancellor of the University of California at San Francisco, Susan Desmond-Hellmann, will join its board of directors.
Water-Mapping Mission Takes Flight
California's Sacramento River is test bed for new SWOT satellite radar.
Iowa State engineers developing ideas, technologies to save the Earth from asteroids
Iowa State's Bong Wie is leading a team that's developing a system to protect the planet from asteroids. The work has attracted $600,000 in NASA support. NASA has also asked...
Evidence of Milky Way 'fireworks' seen
NASHVILLE, March 6 (UPI) -- While the core of the Milky Way galaxy is a pretty tame place, cosmically speaking, evidence suggests it wasn't always that calm, U.S. astrophysicists...
Probing extreme matter through observations of neutron stars
Neutron stars, the ultra-dense cores left behind after massive stars collapse, contain the densest matter known in the Universe outside of a black hole. New results have provided one of...
Formation of Jupiter, Saturn studied
WASHINGTON, March 6 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher says a theoretical model is yielding clues as to how giant gaseous planets such as Jupiter and Saturn might have formed...
Comet to make close flyby of Red Planet in October 2014
Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) will make a very close approach to Mars in October 2014.
Russia to send woman to space in 2014
Russia will send a female cosmonaut into space for the first time in two decades next year, an official at the space training centre said Wednesday.
NASA Creates Space Technology Office to Aid Future Missions
The Space Technology Mission Directorate aims to meet the needs of NASA's future missions.
Satellite SAR capabilities being enhanced
CAMBRIDGE, Ontario, March 6 (UPI) -- An advanced satellite payload for Cospas-Sersat, the global search-and-rescue system, is to be developed by Canada's COM DEV International Ltd.
NASA Spacecraft Makes 1st Complete Map of Planet Mercury
NASA's Messenger probe snapped photos of 100 percent of the planet's surface.
Quotable Chris Hadfield inspires stellar cartoon
Chris Hadfield may be living in space, far away from his fellow earthlings, but the Ontario-born astronaut has not forgotten to write home -- in a very quotable way. Hadfield's...
Russian Jupiter mission to get first funds
MOSCOW, March 5 (UPI) -- Russia's Jupiter research project, which includes putting a lander on the moon Ganymede, will receive its first funding next year, officials said.
Space mission glitch may stay secret
HAWTHORNE, Calif., March 5 (UPI) -- The reasons why a technical glitch delayed a SpaceX capsule's docking with the International Space Station may remain secret because of U.S. laws,...
Statistical physics offers a new way to look at climate
New research suggests that statistical simulations rooted in basic physics could make for new climate models that are more useful and require less brute-force computing power. A new article shows...
NASA launches interactive website to design interplanetary missions
A small group of engineers at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., have launched a new web-based tool for scientists and engineers to use when designing spacecraft trajectories to...