China launches probe and rover to Moon
China launched the Chang'e-3 lunar probe with the country's first moon rover aboard early on Monday, marking a significant step toward deep space exploration.
Dec 2nd, 2013
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The mystery of neutron stars heats up
Until now, scientists were pretty sure they knew how the surface of a neutron star - a super dense star that forms when a large star explodes and its core collapses into itself - can heat itself up. However, research by a team of scientists led by a Michigan State University physicist has researchers rethinking that.
Dec 1st, 2013
Read moreLaunch of astroEDU: Peer-reviewed open-access astronomy education activities platform
astroEDU is a platform that allows educators to discover, review, distribute, improve and remix astronomy education activities, and offers a free peer-review service by professionals in education and science.
Nov 29th, 2013
Read moreESA project to map a billion stars in the Milky Way
The Milky Way Galaxy comprises hundreds of billions stars. An ambitious ESA project will map around a billion of these. The European funded GREAT network will train young researchers across Europe to help make sense of this wealth of data.
Nov 29th, 2013
Read moreNew space mission will switch on the sound to study the universe in a new way
A new space mission that will study the universe in a completely new way will be launched by the European Space Agency in 2034.
Nov 29th, 2013
Read moreBringing Martian technology down to Earth
An EU-backed project is adapting inflatable technology developed for Mars missions to bring objects in space back down to Earth.
Nov 29th, 2013
Read more44 million stars and counting: astronomers play Snap and remap the sky
Tens of millions of stars and galaxies, among them hundreds of thousands that are unexpectedly fading or brightening, have been catalogued properly for the first time.
Nov 29th, 2013
Read moreTelescope to track space junk using youth radio station
A combination of pop songs, talkback radio and cutting-edge science has enabled Australian astronomers to identify a way to prevent catastrophic, multi-billion dollar space junk collisions, a new study has revealed.
Nov 29th, 2013
Read moreA New View into the Hot and Energetic Universe - ESA selects science theme for its next large mission
At its meeting in Paris today, the Science Programme Committee of the European Space Agency (ESA) selected the 'The Hot and Energetic Universe' as the theme for its next Large mission, which is expected to be launched in 2028.
Nov 28th, 2013
Read moreFast, furious, refined: Smaller black holes can eat plenty
Gemini observations support an unexpected discovery in the galaxy Messier 101. A relatively small black hole (20-30 times the mass of our sun) can sustain a hugely voracious appetite while consuming material in an efficient and tidy manner - something previously thought impossible. The research also affects the long quest for elusive intermediate-mass black holes.
Nov 27th, 2013
Read moreChina readies Moon rover mission
China is counting down to the launch of its first lunar rover mission, which will blast off early next month.
Nov 27th, 2013
Read moreA fiery drama of star birth and death
The Large Magellanic Cloud is one of the closest galaxies to our own. Astronomers have now used the power of ESO's Very Large Telescope to explore one of its lesser known regions. This new image shows clouds of gas and dust where hot new stars are being born and are sculpting their surroundings into odd shapes. But the image also shows the effects of stellar death - filaments created by a supernova explosion.
Nov 27th, 2013
Read moreGrant for the search for quantum space-time
The Dutch Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM) has awarded a 1.2 million Euro grant to the research program 'Quantum gravity and the search for quantum spacetime', led by professor Renate Loll of Radboud University Nijmegen.
Nov 27th, 2013
Read moreFigures of Eight and Peanut Shells: How stars move at the centre of the Galaxy
Two months ago astronomers created a new 3D map of stars at the centre of our Galaxy, showing more clearly than ever the bulge at its core. Previous explanations suggested that the stars that form the bulge are in banana-like orbits, but a paper published this week suggests that the stars probably move in peanut-shell or figure of eight-shaped orbits instead.
Nov 27th, 2013
Read moreSearch for habitable planets should be more conservative
Scientists should take the conservative approach when searching for habitable zones where life-sustaining planets might exist, according to James Kasting, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences at Penn State, including when building terrestrial planet finders.
Nov 26th, 2013
Read moreHome computers discover gamma-ray pulsars
Einstein@Home volunteers find four cosmic lighthouses in data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.
Nov 26th, 2013
Read moreGalaxy groups running out of fuel
Astronomers at Swinburne University of Technology and their international collaborators have found evidence that galaxies that are located in groups might be running out of gas.
Nov 26th, 2013
Read moreMach 1000 shock wave lights supernova remnant
When a star explodes as a supernova, the material blasted outward from the explosion still glows hundreds or thousands of years later, forming a picturesque supernova remnant. What powers such long-lived brilliance? In the case of Tycho's supernova remnant, astronomers have discovered that a reverse shock wave racing inward at Mach 1000 (1,000 times the speed of sound) is heating the remnant and causing it to emit X-ray light.
Nov 25th, 2013
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