Space News
Mass of Alien Planet Key Clue to Probability of Life
The Daily Galaxy - 20 Dec 2013 17:50
To date, scientists have confirmed the existence of more than 900 exoplanets circulating outside our solar system. To determine if any of these far-off worlds are habitable requires knowing an exoplanet's mass -- which c...
Bolivia's first telecoms satellite launched from China
Phys.org - 20 Dec 2013 23:50
A Chinese rocket launched Bolivia's first telecommunications satellite early Saturday with the president of the South American country declaring it a success.
Starless cloud cores reveal why some stars are bigger than others
Phys.org - 20 Dec 2013 23:46
Massive stars - those at least 8 times the mass of our Sun - present an intriguing mystery: how do they grow so large when the vast majority of stars in the Milky Way are considerably smaller?
Rare White Dwarf Systems Do A Doubletake
Universe Today - 20 Dec 2013 23:16
For those of us who remain forever fascinated by astronomy, nothing could spark our imaginations more than a cosmic curiosity. In this case, the unusual object is a star cataloged as AM Canum Venaticorum (AM CVn) located...
The 2013 Super and Mini Moon Together in One Photo
Universe Today - 20 Dec 2013 22:49
Astrophotographer Giuseppe Petricca from Pisa, Tuscany, Italy managed to capture two of the very ‘special’ full Moons from 2013 and created a comparative mosaic. Here is both the 2013 "SuperMoon" in June - when the M...
Firm Backlog Gave SpaceX Edge in Competition to Lease NASA Pad
Space News - 20 Dec 2013 22:49
A NASA official said that "Blue Origin's multi-use approach involved uncertainty regarding the extent other users would use the pad."
NASA re-creates the Apollo 8 Earthrise using Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data
Planetary Society - 20 Dec 2013 22:20
If there's one thing I've learned after decades of studying the first human voyages to another world, it's that there is always more to discover about Apollo. Case in point: The Apollo 8 Earthrise photo that became one o...
Rugged Martian Terrain Chewing Up Curiosity Rover's Wheels
SPACE.com - 20 Dec 2013 22:07
Engineers are gearing up to perform a check of the Mars rover Curiosity's six wheels, which have accumulated a lot of wear and tear during the robot's 16 months on the Red Planet. Future routes may seek out relatively sm...
Weekly Space Hangout - December 20, 2013: Gaia Launch, Apollo 8 & Emergency Spacewalks
Universe Today - 20 Dec 2013 21:44
Host: Fraser Cain Guests: Nicole Gugliucci, Jason Major, Amy Shira Teitel, David Dickinson, Elizabeth Howell (...)Read the rest of Weekly Space Hangout – December 20, 2013: Gaia Launch, Apollo 8 & Emergency Spacewalks ...
Something's Cooking on Mars
Scientific American - 20 Dec 2013 21:38
Drilling sites at Yellowknife bay - in the foreground is the 'Sheepbed' mudstone formation (Credit:NASA/JP-Caltech/MSSS) What do you get when you cook buried martian mudstone in your oven?... --
Revealing Wavelengths of Light | Space Wallpaper
SPACE.com - 20 Dec 2013 21:18
Scientists created this stunning space wallpaper, which is a composite image of Vesta's crater Aelia. The image reveals the flow material on the inside and outside of the crater.
Curiosity Team Upgrades Software, Checks Wheel Wear
PTTU - 20 Dec 2013 21:10
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory News and Features: The team operating NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Curiosity has completed a software upgrade on the vehicle and is next planning a check of wear and tear on the rover's ...
Electric-Blue Clouds Glow Over Antarctica | Video
SPACE.com - 20 Dec 2013 21:08
Noctilucent clouds, Earth's highest clouds, appeared over the South Pole earlier than usual this year. Water molecules mixed with meteor smoke at the edge of space, creates this phenomenon.
NASA Releases New Apollo 8 Earthrise Simulation Video
SpaceRef - 20 Dec 2013 21:02
NASA has issued a new visualization of the events leading to one of the iconic photographs of the 20th Century - Earth rising over the moon captured by the crew of the Apollo 8 mission....
Aireon Air Traffic Navigation Venture Nets $120 Million in New Investment
Space News - 20 Dec 2013 20:02
Enav of Italy, the Irish Aviation Authority and Denmark's Naviair join Nav Canada and Iridium Communications as investors in Aireon of McLean, Va.
See the Apollo 8 "Earthrise" in a Whole New Way
Universe Today - 20 Dec 2013 20:00
One of the most famous images from the history of spaceflight is the picture taken by the crew of Apollo 8 of the “Earthrise” — the first color picture of taken of Earth as it became visible as the spacecraft came ...
Mercury Crater Named After John Lennon
SPACE.com - 20 Dec 2013 19:48
Beatles legend John Lennon, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" author Truman Capote and sculptor Alexander Calder are among the 10 artists and writers now immortalized on Mercury with impact craters bearing their names.
Japan's Kirobo Talking Robot Chats With Astronaut in Space for 1st Time (Video)
SPACE.com - 20 Dec 2013 19:30
In a milestone for robot-human relations, the talking Japanese robot Kirobo had its first conversation with an astronaut in space.
Earthrise: Recreating an Iconic Moment in Space History
Bad Astronomy - 20 Dec 2013 19:24
On Dec. 24, 1968--45 years ago this week--by what is essentially coincidence and fast thinking, one of the most iconic photographs in human history was taken: Earthrise over the Moon. It occurred during Apollo 8 as astro...
Asteroid Hunter Spacecraft Returns First Images after Reactivation
SpaceRef - 20 Dec 2013 19:07
NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE), a spacecraft that made the most comprehensive survey to date of asteroids and comets, has returned its first set of test images in preparation for a...
Slosh experiment designed to improve rocket safety, efficiency
Phys.org - 20 Dec 2013 19:06
Since Robert Goddard's first launch of a liquid propellant rocket in 1926, experts have worked to perfect engine propulsion systems. As launch vehicles have grown in size, fuel and oxidizer tanks have become more complex...
Birth of black hole kills the radio star
Phys.org - 20 Dec 2013 19:03
Astronomers led by a Curtin University researcher have discovered a new population of exploding stars that "switch off" their radio transmissions before collapsing into a Black Hole.