Space Exploration News – Latest Headlines

Planets in the habitable zone around most stars, calculate researchers

Astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets in our galaxy, the Milky Way, using the Kepler satellite and many of them have multiple planets orbiting the host star. By analysing these planetary systems, researchers have calculated the probability for the number of stars in the Milky Way that might have planets in the habitable zone. The calculations show that billions of the stars in the Milky Way will have one to three planets in the habitable zone, where there is the potential for liquid water and where life could exist.

March 18, 2015 Read more

Second natural quasicrystal found in ancient meteorite

Researchers have discovered a quasicrystal - so named because of its unorthodox arrangement of atoms - in a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite from a remote region of northeastern Russia, bringing to two the number of natural quasicrystals ever discovered.

March 16, 2015 Read more

Time lapse snapshots of a nova's fading light

Scientists have, for the first time, examined a detailed 'time lapse' X-ray image of the expansion of a classical nova explosion using the GK Persei nova - a binary star system which underwent a nova explosion in 1901.

March 16, 2015 Read more

A second minor planet may possess Saturn-like rings

Astronomers detect features around Chiron that may signal rings, jets, or a shell of dust.

March 16, 2015 Read more

Scientists fly kites on Earth to study Mars

An unconventional research method provides a new look at geologic features on Earth, revealing that some of the things we see on Mars and other planets may not be what they seem.

March 16, 2015 Read more

New clues from the dawn of the solar system

Sulfide chondrules, a new type of building blocks discovered in meteorites left over from the solar system's infancy, provide evidence for a previously unknown region in the protoplanetary disk that gave rise to the planets including Earth.

March 16, 2015 Read more

NASA spacecraft in Earth's orbit, preparing to study magnetic reconnection

Following a successful launch at 10:44 p.m. EDT Thursday, NASA's four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft are positioned in Earth's orbit to begin the first space mission dedicated to the study of a phenomenon called magnetic reconnection. This process is thought to be the catalyst for some of the most powerful explosions in our solar system.

March 13, 2015 Read more

Hubble observations suggest underground ocean on Jupiter's largest moon

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has the best evidence yet for an underground saltwater ocean on Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon. The subterranean ocean is thought to have more water than all the water on Earth's surface.

March 12, 2015 Read more

Electrospray thruster makes small satellites more capable

A MIT spinout has developed a commercial electrospray propulsion system - their first is about the size of a pack of gum - made of tiny chips that provide thrust for small satellites. Among other advantages, this module can be manufactured for significantly less than today's alternatives.

March 12, 2015 Read more

Saturn moon's ocean may have hydrothermal activity

A new study by a team of Cassini mission scientists has found that microscopic grains of rock detected near Saturn imply hydrothermal activity is taking place within the moon Enceladus.

March 11, 2015 Read more

The corrugated galaxy - Milky Way may be much larger than previously estimated

The Milky Way galaxy is at least 50 percent larger than is commonly estimated, according to new findings that reveal that the galactic disk is contoured into several concentric ripples.

March 11, 2015 Read more

Astronomers discover fastest ever unbound star in our galaxy

The unbound star, named US708, is travelling at 1,200 kilometres per second - the fastest speed ever recorded for such an object in our galaxy - meaning it is not held back by gravity and will eventually leave the Milky Way.

March 11, 2015 Read more

Solving the riddle of neutron stars

Simulations provide insight into their characteristics/gravitational waves as a unique fingerprint.

March 10, 2015 Read more

Welcome to the neighborhood: New dwarf galaxies discovered in orbit around the Milky Way

A team of astronomers have identified nine new dwarf satellites orbiting the Milky Way, the largest number ever discovered at once. The findings, from newly-released imaging data taken from the Dark Energy Survey, may help unravel the mysteries behind dark matter, the invisible substance holding galaxies together.

March 10, 2015 Read more

Mysterious phenomena in a gigantic galaxy-cluster collision

'True color' VLA radio image shows features related to collision of clusters containing hundreds of galaxies.

March 10, 2015 Read more

Cosmic dust discs withstand hellfire

A team of astronomers discovered an unusual phenomenon in the centre of the Milky Way: They detected about 20 rotating dust and gas discs in each cluster hosting exceptionally large and hot stars. The existence of these discs in the presence of the destructive UV radiation field of their massive neighbours came as a surprise.

March 10, 2015 Read more

Mars - the blue and red planet

At least 20 percent of Mars was once covered with water.

March 9, 2015 Read more

Carina Nebula survey reveals details of star formation

A new survey of one of the most active, star-forming regions in the galactic neighborhood is helping astronomers better understand the processes that may have contributed to the formation of the sun 4.5 billion years ago.

March 9, 2015 Read more