Space News
Has Europe's Long-Lost Beagle 2 Mars Lander Been Found?
SPACE.com - 14 Jan 2015 00:44
The UK Space Agency is holding a news conference Friday (Jan. 16) to provide an update on Beagle 2, which was supposed to touch down on Dec. 25, 2003, but is thought to have crashed.
Hubble gazes at R Sculptoris and its hidden companion
Phys.org - 14 Jan 2015 13:34
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the region around a star known as R Sculptoris, a red giant located 1,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Sculptor. Recent observations have shown that the ...
Largest Digital Camera Ever Constructed will be Pointed at the Skies in 2022
Universe Today - 14 Jan 2015 00:29
The world's largest-ever digital camera has received the green light to move forward with development. The 3,200-megapixel camera for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will snap the widest, deepest and fastest v...
Monster Black Hole Caught Feeding in Galaxy Crash
SPACE.com - 14 Jan 2015 22:24
A NASA space telescope has spotted a colossal black hole chowing down on gas from a distant collision between two doomed galaxies.
Arctic Sea Ice Has Declined Steeply Since 1979 | Video
SPACE.com - 14 Jan 2015 21:58
NASA data shows that average sea ice totals have dropped significantly, with a precipitous fall between 2002 and 2008. Sea level rise is a direct result of sea ice loss.
Orion Test Flight "Tremendously Successful" But Schedule Challenges Remain
Space News - 14 Jan 2015 21:53
An initial analysis of data from Orion's first test flight last month indicates that the spacecraft performed better than expected in many respects, although NASA officials confirmed that this success won't accelerate it...
Experts explore the medical safety needs of civilian space travel
Phys.org - 14 Jan 2015 21:49
The commercial aviation industry has medical care standards, as does NASA for traditional space missions, and the emerging commercial space transportation industry will need to define medical care practices as well. The ...
What Huygens Saw On Titan - New Image Processing | Video
SPACE.com - 14 Jan 2015 20:52
For the probe landing's 10th anniversary, a new sequence has been rendered from Huygens' Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer (DISR) data. The craft landed on Saturn's largest moon on 14 Jan 2005.
Space Station Ammonia Leak Scare Likely a False Alarm, NASA Says
SPACE.com - 14 Jan 2015 20:32
A possible ammonia leak on the International Space Station triggered an evacuation of astronauts and cosmonauts to the Russian side of the orbiting outpost, but now, NASA flight controllers think it was likely a false al...
Space Station Ammonia Alarm - Quick Response Explained | Video
SPACE.com - 14 Jan 2015 20:10
International Space Station program manager Mike Suffredini talks about how the astronauts responded to the ammonia leak alarm in the early morning hours of Jan. 14th, 2015.
Meteorite material born in molten spray as embryo planets collided
Phys.org - 14 Jan 2015 20:00
Asteroids may be a byproduct of planet formation rather than planetary building blocks, according to a recent paper in Nature.
A twist on planetary origins
PTTU - 14 Jan 2015 19:59
MIT: New study finds meteorites were byproducts of planetary formation, not building blocks. Meteors that have crashed to Earth have long been regarded as relics of the early solar system. These craggy chunks of metal an...
Earth-Based Exoplanet Scope Sweeps The Skies | Video
SPACE.com - 14 Jan 2015 19:30
12 telescopes of the Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) at the European Southern Observatory at Paranal, Chile have begun to measure stellar brightness over time to spot of Neptune-sized and smaller planets in orbit a...
Ten Years on Titan
Bad Astronomy - 14 Jan 2015 18:30
Ten years ago today--Jan. 14, 2005--humanity reached out and touched another world. And it was a doozy. It was Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. The Cassini spacecraft, still on its way to entering orbit around the ring...
Challenge Yourself! See an Astronomical Event that Only Happens Once Every 26 Years
Universe Today - 14 Jan 2015 18:15
A truly fascinating event may be in the offing this month. Picture two distant burning embers (candles, light bulbs, LEDs, what have you) circling each other in the distance. From our far-flung vantage point, the two poi...
The Epic 10-Year Probe of Titan --A Mirror of Earth's Early Atmosphere?
The Daily Galaxy - 14 Jan 2015 18:13
Fortunately for scientists, there is a possible laboratory in our solar system to help us better understand the conditions on Earth before life arose -- a situation sometimes referred to as a "prebiotic" environment. Tha...
NASA, NOAA to Announce 2014 Global Temperature, Climate Conditions
NASA Breaking news - 14 Jan 2015 18:00
Climate experts from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will announce the release of new data on 2014 global temperatures during a media teleconference at 11 a.m. EST Friday, Jan. 16.
Astronaut Twins Available for Interviews about Yearlong Space Station Mission, Health Study
NASA Breaking news - 14 Jan 2015 18:00
NASA will host an opportunity for media to conduct in-person interviews with astronaut Scott Kelly and his twin brother, former astronaut Mark Kelly, Monday, Jan. 19.
Extrasolar Storms: How's the Weather Way Out There?
SpaceRef - 14 Jan 2015 17:52
Orbiting the Earth 353 miles above the ground, the Hubble Space Telescope silently pivots toward its new target. At the same time, flying 93 million miles away in interplanetary space, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope rece...
Asteroid Flying By Earth Could Be Half-Kilometer Wide | Orbit Animation
SPACE.com - 14 Jan 2015 17:41
On Jan. 26th, 2015, Asteroid 2004 BL86 will become the largest known space rock to fly this close to Earth (nearest approach = ~745,000 miles).
NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 13 January 2015
SpaceRef - 14 Jan 2015 17:27
Today: SpaceX-5 Dragon Ingress and Cargo Ops: The crew started their day by opening the Dragon hatch, obtaining an air sample, and installing Inter-module Ventilation (IMV) ducting. They then began cargo operations by re...
Space Station Crew Shelters in Russian Segment after Alarm
Space News - 14 Jan 2015 17:19
The crew of the International Space Station evacuated to the station's Russian segment early Jan. 14 after an alarm indicated a potential ammonia leak in the U.S. segment, although NASA officials said there was no immedi...