Subscribe to our Space Exploration News feed
Three astrophysicists, including the discoverers of exoplanet GJ 1132b, discuss why this new exoplanet could be crucial to understanding the habitability of worlds in other solar systems.
Nov 12th, 2015
Read more
A new machine-learning simulation system promises cosmologists an expanded suite of galaxy models - a necessary first step to developing more accurate and relevant insights into the formation of the universe.
Nov 11th, 2015
Read more
The long, shallow grooves lining the surface of Phobos are likely early signs of the structural failure that will ultimately destroy this moon of Mars.
Nov 11th, 2015
Read more
The sight of an asteroid being ripped apart by a dead star and forming a glowing debris ring has been captured in an image for the first time.
Nov 11th, 2015
Read moreAstronomers have identified for the first time one of the key components of many stars, a study suggests. A type of gas found in the voids between galaxies - known as atomic gas - appears to be part of the star formation process under certain conditions, researchers say.
Nov 10th, 2015
Read more
An enduring astronomical mystery is how stars and galaxies acquire their magnetic fields. Physicists now have found a clue to the answer in the collective behavior of small magnetic disturbances. They report that small magnetic perturbations can combine to form large-scale magnetic fields just like those found throughout the universe.
Nov 9th, 2015
Read moreFor the first time a powerful laser has been used to further our understanding of some of the most mysterious celestial objects just beyond the solar system - brown dwarfs.
Nov 6th, 2015
Read more
NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission has identified the process that appears to have played a key role in the transition of the Martian climate from an early, warm and wet environment that might have supported surface life to the cold, arid planet Mars is today.
Nov 5th, 2015
Read more
Using the Hubble Space Telescope to conduct a 'cosmic archaeological dig' at the very heart of our Milky Way galaxy, astronomers have uncovered the blueprints of our galaxy's early construction phase.
Nov 5th, 2015
Read more
Plant geneticists discovered the gene in the ancient Australian native tobacco plant Nicotiana benthamiana, known as Pitjuri to indigenous Aboriginals tribes.
Nov 3rd, 2015
Read more
When astronomers study protoplanetary disks of gas and dust that surround young stars, they sometimes spot a dark gap like the Cassini division in Saturn's rings. It has been suggested that any gap must be caused by an unseen planet that formed in the disk and carved out material from its surroundings. However, new research shows that a gap could be a sort of cosmic illusion and not the sign of a hidden planet after all.
Nov 2nd, 2015
Read more
Astronomers find a stable disk around a young, massive sun.
Nov 2nd, 2015
Read more
The simulation, run on the Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, modeled the evolution of the universe from just 50 million years after the Big Bang to the present day - from its earliest infancy to its current adulthood.
Oct 30th, 2015
Read more
A team of astronomers is proposing that huge spiral patterns seen around some newborn stars, merely a few million years old, may be evidence for the presence of giant unseen planets. This idea not only opens the door to a new method of planet detection, but also could offer a look into the early formative years of planet birth.
Oct 30th, 2015
Read more
A newly published National Space Weather Strategy identifies high-level priorities and goals for the nation, while an accompanying Action Plan outlines how federal agencies will implement the strategy.
Oct 29th, 2015
Read more
The Vista Variables in the Via Lactea Survey (VVV) ESO public survey is using the VISTA telescope at the Paranal Observatory to take multiple images at different times of the central parts of the galaxy at infrared wavelengths. It is discovering huge numbers of new objects, including variable stars, clusters and exploding stars.
Oct 28th, 2015
Read more
Scientists have experimentally optimized the operation of the first wall-less Hall thruster prototype, a novel electric rocket engine design suitable for long-duration, deep space missions.
Oct 27th, 2015
Read more
An astrophysics student has turned to artificial intelligence to help her to see into the hearts of galaxies.
Oct 27th, 2015
Read more