Space Exploration News – Latest Headlines

Hubble hows link between stars' ages and their orbits

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have determined the orbital motion of two distinct populations of stars in an ancient globular star cluster, offering proof they formed at different times and providing a rare look back into the Milky Way galaxy's early days.

July 18, 2013 Read more

ESA test opens way to UK spaceplane engine investment

The UK government has announced plans to invest in the development of an air-breathing rocket engine - intended for a single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane - following the ESA-managed feasibility testing of essential technology.

July 18, 2013 Read more

New study predicts slow bow shock ahead of the Sun's heliosphere

A new study indicates that a bow shock (a dynamic boundary between sun's heliosphere and the interstellar medium) is highly likely. These findings challenge recent predictions that no such bow shock would be encountered.

July 18, 2013 Read more

Earth's gold came from colliding dead stars

Gold is rare on Earth in part because it's also rare in the universe. Unlike elements like carbon or iron, it cannot be created within a star. Instead, it must be born in a more cataclysmic event.

July 17, 2013 Read more

In the clutches of a black hole

Gas cloud swings around gravity monster at the heart of the Milky Way.

July 17, 2013 Read more

New findings on makeup of universe may spawn research

New areas of extragalactic study may emerge from research by astrophysicists using data from the Chandra Space Telescope to conclude that baryons making up all visible matter - once thought to be missing from clusters - are present in the expected ratios in large, luminous clusters.

July 16, 2013 Read more

The heart of space weather observed in action (w/video)

Two NASA spacecraft have provided the most comprehensive movie ever of a mysterious process at the heart of all explosions on the sun: magnetic reconnection. Magnetic reconnection happens when magnetic field lines come together, break apart and then exchange partners, snapping into new positions and releasing a jolt of magnetic energy. This process lies at the heart of giant explosions on the sun, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which can fling radiation and particles across the solar system.

July 15, 2013 Read more

Hubble finds new Neptune moon

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a new moon orbiting the distant blue-green planet Neptune. This brings the number of known satellites circling the giant planet to 14.

July 15, 2013 Read more

Study shows disks don't need planets to make patterns (w/video)

A new study by NASA scientists sounds a cautionary note in interpreting rings and spiral arms as signposts for new planets. Thanks to interactions between gas and dust, a debris disk may, under the right conditions, produce narrow rings on its own, no planets needed.

July 14, 2013 Read more

Solar tsunami used to measure Sun's magnetic field

A solar tsunami observed by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Japanese Hinode spacecraft has been used to provide the first accurate estimates of the Sun's magnetic field.

July 11, 2013 Read more

Hubble finds a true blue planet

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have deduced the actual visible-light color of a planet orbiting another star 63 light-years away.

July 11, 2013 Read more

IBEX spacecraft images the heliotail, revealing an unexpected structure

NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft recently provided the first complete pictures of the solar system's downwind region, revealing a unique and unexpected structure.

July 10, 2013 Read more

Astronomers witness birth of Milky Way's most massive star

Scientists have observed in unprecedented detail the birth of a massive star within a dark cloud core about 10,000 light years from Earth.

July 10, 2013 Read more

Sun's loops are displaying an optical illusion

To understand how the corona is heated, some astronomers study coronal loops. These structures are shaped like an upside-down U and show where magnetic field lines are funneling solar gases or plasma. Our best photos of the sun suggest that these loops are a constant width, like strands of rope. However, new work shows that this is an optical illusion; the loops are actually tapered, wider at the top and narrower at the ends. This finding has important implications for coronal heating.

July 9, 2013 Read more

Space-time is not the same for everyone

Before the Big Bang, space-time as we know it did not exist. So how was it born? The process of creating normal space-time from an earlier state dominated by quantum gravity has been studied for years by theorists at the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw. Recent analyses suggest a surprising conclusion: not all elementary particles are subject to the same space-time.

July 9, 2013 Read more

European Space Agency approves new rocket Ariane 6

The European Space Agency has approved the final design for a next-generation rocket, Ariane 6, aimed at maintaining Europe's grip on the fast-changing market for satellite launches.

July 9, 2013 Read more

Construction for ESA's Euclid mission kicks off

The construction of ESA's Euclid space mission to explore the 'dark Universe' will be led by Italy's Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor, beginning the full industrial phase of the project.

July 9, 2013 Read more

Detecting DNA in space

Researchers, in a step toward analyzing Mars for signs of life, find that gene-sequencing chip can survive space radiation.

July 9, 2013 Read more