Space Exploration News – Latest Headlines

Protosuns teeming with prebiotic molecules

Complex organic molecules such as formamide, from which sugars, amino acids and even nucleic acids essential for life can be made, already appear in the regions where stars similar to our Sun are born. Astrophysicists have detected this biomolecule in five protostellar clouds and propose that it forms on tiny dust grains.

April 16, 2015 Read more

Potential signs of 'interacting' dark matter suggest it is not completely dark after all

Astronomers believe they might have observed the first potential signs of dark matter interacting with a force other than gravity.

April 15, 2015 Read more

Spitzer, OGLE spot planet deep within our galaxy

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has teamed up with a telescope on the ground to find a remote gas planet about 13,000 light-years away, making it one of the most distant planets known.

April 15, 2015 Read more

Search for advanced civilizations beyond Earth finds nothing obvious in 100,000 galaxies

After searching 100,000 galaxies for signs of highly advanced life, a team of scientists using observations from NASA's WISE satellite has found no evidence of advanced civilizations there. The idea behind the research is that, if an entire galaxy had been colonized by an advanced spacefaring civilization, the energy produced by that civilization's technologies would be detectable in mid-infrared wavelengths.

April 14, 2015 Read more

Dark Energy Survey creates detailed guide to spotting dark matter

Analysis will help scientists understand the role that dark matter plays in galaxy formation.

April 14, 2015 Read more

Mars might have liquid water

Researchers have long known that there is water in the form of ice on Mars. Now, new research from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows that it is possible that there is liquid water close to the surface of Mars. The explanation is that the substance perchlorate has been found in the soil, which lowers the freezing point so the water does not freeze into ice, but is liquid and present in very salty salt water - a brine.

April 13, 2015 Read more

Accelerating universe? Not so fast

A team of astronomers found that the type of supernovae commonly used to measure distances in the universe fall into distinct populations not recognized before; the findings have implications for our understanding of how fast the universe has been.

April 12, 2015 Read more

An exoplanet with an infernal atmosphere

As part of the PlanetS National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR), astronomers have come to measure the temperature of the atmosphere of an exoplanet with unequalled precision, by crossing two approaches.

April 10, 2015 Read more

Cosmic debris: Study looks inside the universe's most powerful explosions

Finding sets the stage for discoveries from the next generation of neutrino telescopes.

April 10, 2015 Read more

Small solar eruptions can have profound effects on unprotected planets

While no one yet knows what's needed to build a habitable planet, it's clear that the interplay between the sun and Earth is crucial for making our planet livable - a balance between a sun that provides energy and a planet that can protect itself from the harshest solar emissions.

April 10, 2015 Read more

Our Sun came late to the Milky Way's star-birth party

In one of the most comprehensive multi-observatory galaxy surveys yet, astronomers find that galaxies like our Milky Way underwent a stellar 'baby boom', churning out stars at a prodigious rate, about 30 times faster than today.

April 10, 2015 Read more

Flip-flopping black holes spin to the end of the dance

When black holes tango, one massive partner spins head over heels (or in this case heels over head) until the merger is complete, said researchers.

April 9, 2015 Read more

Astronomers watch unfolding saga of massive star formation

Astronomers are getting a unique, real-time look as a massive young star develops, with the promise of greatly improved understanding of the process.

April 2, 2015 Read more

Hubble finds ghosts of quasars past

The Hubble Space Telescope has imaged a set of enigmatic quasar ghosts - ethereal green objects which mark the graves of these objects that flickered to life and then faded. The eight unusual looped structures orbit their host galaxies and glow in a bright and eerie goblin-green hue. They offer new insights into the turbulent pasts of these galaxies.

April 2, 2015 Read more

Black holes don't erase information, scientists say

Some physicists have argued that black holes are the ultimate vault, sucking in information and then evaporating without leaving behind any clue as to what they once contained. A new study shows this perspective may be wrong. The research finds that information is not lost once it has entered a black hole, and presents explicit calculations showing how information is, in fact, preserved.

April 2, 2015 Read more

Astronomers discover likely precursors of galaxy clusters we see today

Observations made with two space observatories, Herschel and Planck, reveal glimpses into how today's galaxies came to be.

March 31, 2015 Read more

Comet dust: Planet Mercury's 'invisible paint'

A team of scientists has a new explanation for the planet Mercury's dark, barely reflective surface. They suggest that a steady dusting of carbon from passing comets has slowly painted Mercury black over billions of years.

March 30, 2015 Read more

As stars form, magnetic fields influence regions big and small

Stars form when gravity pulls together material within giant clouds of gas and dust. But gravity isn't the only force at work. Both turbulence and magnetic fields battle gravity, either by stirring things up or by channeling and restricting gas flows, respectively. New research focusing on magnetic fields shows that they influence star formation on a variety of scales, from hundreds of light-years down to a fraction of a light-year.

March 30, 2015 Read more