Science

All Science

Comet ISON: Will the 'Comet of the Century' live up to the hype?

Comet ISON will fly perilously close to the sun on Thanksgiving Day. If it survives, it will make a gorgeous display in late November and December, coming closest to Earth on December 26.
Great white shark packs its lunch in its liver before a big trip

A new study has looked at a shark's changing buoyancy over time to track the depletion of its fat reserves during its long migration.
Giant gas cloud 'resembles spaghetti' as it plunges toward a black hole

A giant gas cloud is on a suicide mission to the black hole at the center of our galaxy. As the cloud spirals into oblivion, the black hole's extreme gravity is stretching it thinner and thinner.
King Midas in space? Rare star collision produces gold.

Scientists from Harvard University have for the first time found concrete evidence that gold is produced in the collision of two extremely rare stars.
Strange new dinosaur discovered in Utah

A new, unusual-looking dinosaur, Nasutoceratops, offers evidence of how horned dinosaurs might have evolved in North America.
Scientists use sound waves to levitate, manipulate matter (+video)

A team of scientists in Zurich, Switzerland, have developed a method of acoustic levitation that allows them to float objects next to each other and bring them into contact.
NASA terminates spacewalk following leak into astronaut's helmet

NASA aborted the walk about an hour into what was supposed to be a six-hour mission outside the International Space Station.
Neptune moon: Tiny, dark, whizzing space ball captured on film (barely)

Neptune moon: Astronomer Mark Showalter used over 150 pictures of Neptune to find an almost-invisible moon of Neptune, bringing the total number of Neptune moons to 14.
T. rex could be the 'tyrant lizard' after all

A T. rex tooth found lodged in an herbivore thought to have been alive when it was attacked provides new evidence that the T. rex was a predator, not just a scavenger.
Neptune moon: Astronomer spots tiny moon orbiting eighth planet

Neptune moon: Archival images from the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a tiny, faint moon orbiting Neptune, bringing the distant gas giant's known moons to 14.
Unexpected ally against future hurricanes: nature?

Natural defenses – coral reefs, mangrove and cypress forests, oyster beds, even sand dunes – can save lives and protect valuable oceanfront property by limiting the impact of storms like Sandy and Katrina.
Why volcanoes scream before they blow up

Researchers have recorded an Alaskan volcano's 'scream' before it erupted, and are now closer to understanding what made it do so.
Exoplanet's deep blue color a surprise to scientists

For the first time, scientists have determined the color of a planet outside our solar system.
American dog breeds came from Asia, finds genetic study

A study of dog breeds in the Americas indicates that they migrated along with humans from East Asia, and that their genetic legacy has persisted to the present.
Predatory lionfish now a confirmed invader in the deep Atlantic

Scientists have confirmed that the hardy, Indo-Pacific fish that has invaded waters off the US East Coast and the Caribbean is now living deep in the Atlantic, possibly imperiling smaller fish there.
Iceberg: Antarctica loses Chicago-sized chunk of ice

Iceberg: Antarctica is somewhat smaller this week, as the frozen continent's Pine Island Glacier calved off a massive iceberg on Monday.
Alien planet's mysterious blue color leaves scientists wondering

The Hubble Space Telescope helped scientists to identify the blue color of an exoplanet, giving researchers another piece in their understanding of the distant world. The alien planet has fierce winds and high temperatures, which turn rain into glass.
NASA's IBEX maps solar system's tail for the first time

NASA has provided the first ever map of our solar system's tail, called the heliotail.
NASA findings reveal solar system's tail

The bubble created by the solar wind and magnetism that surrounds the solar system is larger and more interesting that previously thought, NASA scientists said Wednesday. The researchers used data collected by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer to make their discovery.
Mars 2020: NASA's going bold – on a budget

Mars 2020: NASA's next rover will search for signs of ancient life on Mars and stockpile the evidence for an eventual return to Earth. To save money, NASA will borrow hardware and designs from the successful Mars Curiosity rover.