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Chameleon star baffles astronomers

Pulsars - tiny spinning stars, heavier than the sun and smaller than a city - have puzzled scientists since they were discovered in 1967. Now, new observations by an international team make these bizarre stars even more puzzling.

Jan 25th, 2013

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Asteroid with active past

While studying a meteorite from Vesta, geoscientists found evidence that planet-like dynamic processes also occurred in the asteroid. Simulations by scientist Gregor Golabek from ETH Zurich confirmed this assumption.

Jan 24th, 2013

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Revolutionary theory of dark matter

The universe abounds with dark matter. Nobody knows what it consists of. Physicists have now launched a very hard mathematical explanation that could solve the mystery once and for all.

Jan 24th, 2013

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The 3D fireworks of a star

In 1901 the star GK Persei gave off a powerful explosion that has not stopped growing and astonishing ever since. Now a team of Spanish and Estonian astronomers has reconstructed the journey of the emitted gas in 3D which, contrary to predictions, has hardly slowed down its speed of up to 1,000 km/s after all this time.

Jan 24th, 2013

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Setting the dark on fire

A new image from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope in Chile shows a beautiful view of clouds of cosmic dust in the region of Orion. While these dense interstellar clouds seem dark and obscured in visible-light observations, APEX's LABOCA camera can detect the heat glow of the dust and reveal the hiding places where new stars are being formed. But one of these dark clouds is not what it seems.

Jan 23rd, 2013

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U.S. company aims to 'harvest' asteroids

A U.S. company said Tuesday it plans to send a fleet of spacecraft into the solar system to mine asteroids for metals and other materials in the hopes of furthering exploration of the final frontier.

Jan 22nd, 2013

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Phoenix program hopes to repurpose retired satellites (w/video)

Inserting new capabilities into a satellite is no simple task. Doing so as that satellite hurdles through space 22,000 miles above the Earth is a bit more challenging. DARPA's Phoenix program, which hopes to repurpose retired satellites while they remain in orbit, seeks to fundamentally change how space systems could be designed here on earth and then sustained once in space.

Jan 22nd, 2013

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Betelgeuse braces for a collision

Multiple arcs are revealed around Betelgeuse, the nearest red supergiant star to Earth, in this new image from ESA's Herschel space observatory. The star and its arc-shaped shields could collide with an intriguing dusty 'wall' in 5000 years.

Jan 22nd, 2013

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NASA to test Bigelow expandable module on Space Station

NASA announced a newly planned addition to the International Space Station that will use the orbiting laboratory to test expandable space habitat technology. NASA has awarded a $17.8 million contract to Bigelow Aerospace to provide a Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which is scheduled to arrive at the space station in 2015 for a two-year technology demonstration.

Jan 22nd, 2013

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