Traces of recent water on Mars
New research has shown that there was liquid water on Mars as recently as 200,000 years ago.
Apr 25th, 2014
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Astronomical forensics uncover planetary disks in hubble archive
This is an astronomical forensics story of revisiting earlier data with new image processing techniques - and of some tenacious astronomers.
Apr 24th, 2014
Read moreCosmic illusion revealed
A team of researchers has announced the discovery of a galaxy that magnified a background, Type Ia supernova thirty-fold through gravitational lensing. This first example of strong gravitational lensing of a supernova confirms the team's previous explanation for the unusual properties of this supernova.
Apr 24th, 2014
Read moreCracker-sized satellites launch into orbit
After years of planning and several last-minute delays, about 100 Cornell-developed mini satellites demonstrating space flight at its simplest have launched into orbit and are now circling Earth.
Apr 24th, 2014
Read moreA dance of black holes
Unique pair of supermassive black holes in an ordinary galaxy discovered by XMM-Newton.
Apr 24th, 2014
Read moreAsteroids made easy
A team at Arizona State University is building its own 'patch of asteroid' inside of a small spinning satellite that will allow researchers to conduct experiments with the rocks in space.
Apr 23rd, 2014
Read morePhysicists consider implications of recent revelations about the universe's first light
Recent evidence that the universe expanded from microscopic to cosmic size in a mere instant brings with it important implications. During a live Google Hangout, leading astrophysicists from the University of Chicago and Stanford University discussed what this potential 'crack in the cosmic egg' means for our understanding of the universe.
Apr 23rd, 2014
Read moreLiquid spacetime
What if spacetime were a kind of fluid? This is the question tackled by theoretical physicists working on quantum gravity by creating models attempting to reconcile gravity and quantum mechanics.
Apr 23rd, 2014
Read more'Upside-down planet' reveals new method for studying binary star systems
What looked at first like a sort of upside-down planet has instead revealed a new method for studying binary star systems, discovered by a University of Washington student astronomer.
Apr 22nd, 2014
Read moreMysteries of a nearby planetary system's dynamics now are solved
Mysteries of one of the most fascinating nearby planetary systems now have been solved. The study presents the first viable model for the planetary system orbiting one the first stars discovered to have planets.
Apr 22nd, 2014
Read moreVitamin B3 might have been made in space, delivered to Earth by meteorites
Ancient Earth might have had an extraterrestrial supply of vitamin B3 delivered by carbon-rich meteorites, according to a new analysis by researchers. The result supports a theory that the origin of life may have been assisted by a supply of key molecules created in space and brought to Earth by comet and meteor impacts.
Apr 17th, 2014
Read moreBright points in sun's atmosphere mark patterns deep in its interior
Like a balloon bobbing along in the air while tied to a child's hand, a tracer has been found in the sun's atmosphere to help track the flow of material coursing underneath the sun's surface.
Apr 17th, 2014
Read moreKepler telescope discovers first Earth-size planet in 'habitable zone'
Using NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered the first Earth-size planet orbiting a star in the 'habitable zone' - the range of distance from a star where liquid water might pool on the surface of an orbiting planet. The discovery of Kepler-186f confirms that planets the size of Earth exist in the habitable zone of stars other than our sun.
Apr 17th, 2014
Read moreMeteorites yield clues to red planet's early atmosphere
Geologists analyzed 40 meteorites that fell to Earth from Mars to understand the history of the Martian atmosphere. They show the atmospheres of Mars and Earth diverged in important ways early in the solar system's 4.6 billion year evolution.
Apr 17th, 2014
Read moreA study in scarlet
This new image from ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile reveals a cloud of hydrogen called Gum 41. In the middle of this little-known nebula, brilliant hot young stars are giving off energetic radiation that causes the surrounding hydrogen to glow with a characteristic red hue.
Apr 16th, 2014
Read moreAstronomers: 'Tilt-a-worlds' could harbor life
A fluctuating tilt in a planet's orbit does not preclude the possibility of life, according to new research. In fact, sometimes it helps.
Apr 15th, 2014
Read moreTelescope apps help amateurs hunt for exoplanets
People around the world are being invited to learn how to hunt for planets, using two new online apps devised by scientists at the University of Texas at Austin and UC Santa Cruz.
Apr 15th, 2014
Read morePushy neighbors force stellar twins to diverge
Much like an environment influences people, so too do cosmic communities affect even giant dazzling stars: Peering deep into the Milky Way galaxy's center from a high-flying observatory, astronomers have discovered identical, rare stars whose diverging dusty and gaseous garb are strictly influenced by an intrusive cluster of neighbors.
Apr 14th, 2014
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