Topic: Astronomy

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Kepler epitaph? Eight most intriguing finds of troubled telescope.

Kepler, the space telescope designed to help us find other Earth-like planets, is on the fritz. Scientists hope they will be able to fix it remotely, but if they can't, its brief, brilliant career could be over. Here are eight of its most important discoveries.
Mother's Day 2013: 10 best books

Mother's Day 2013: 10 best new books for all kinds of moms
3 novels with unforgettable main characters

These protagonists will still be on your mind long after you've reached the last page.
12 promising novels for spring 2013

Here are 12 spring 2013 fiction titles that we're looking forward to picking up.
Briefing
How dangerous are near-Earth asteroids? 5 key questions answered.

On Feb. 15, asteroid 2012 DA14, discovered a year ago, cleared Earth by a scant 17,200 miles. The same day, a smaller, unrelated asteroid that no one saw coming exploded 12 to 15 miles above Russia’s Chelyabinsk region. Events that day highlight the risk that near-Earth objects (NEOs) can pose – although to some extent, humans can counter them.

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Moon explosion as humongous rock strikes lunar surface

Moon explosion: An explosion on the moon could be seen on Earth in March as a boulder-sized object smashed into the lunar surface at 56,000 miles per hour.
Kepler epitaph? Eight most intriguing finds of troubled telescope.

Kepler, the space telescope designed to help us find other Earth-like planets, is on the fritz. Scientists hope they will be able to fix it remotely, but if they can't, its brief, brilliant career could be over. Here are eight of its most important discoveries.
Why do planets farthest from sun have highest winds? Team closes in on answer

The planets beyond Mars exhibit the highest winds speeds of any other planets in the solar system. It's a puzzle, because less energy from the sun is available there to drive higher winds.
Kepler, a prolific hunter for other Earths, is suddenly in trouble

Kepler's quest for an Earth-like planet orbiting a sun-like star has been put on hold, NASA said, after the spacecraft sensed it was facing in the wrong direction and put itself in 'safe mode.'
How Einstein's theory of special relativity helped find a new planet (+video)

To find the planet, astronomers used Einstein's theory as it pertains to the intensity of a beam of light. The method could add more exoplanets to a growing list, no 'wobble' or 'transit' required.
'Gravity' movie trailer stars George Clooney, Sandra Bullock (+video)

'Gravity' movie trailer: A first look at director Alfonso Cuarón's 'Gravity,' starring actors George Clooney and Sandra Bullock as astronauts.
78,000 to live on Mars: Have you signed up?

78,000 people have applied to live on Mars. Up to 3,000 will make the first cut, and the 28-40 finalists will spend seven years training before 4 finally get selected for a one-way trip to live on Mars.
Why hasn't everything been annihilated yet? Pear-shaped atomic nuclei could hold answer.

Why are you currently reading this on your screen, instead of having had all your atoms completely obliterated at the dawn of time? A pear-shaped nucleus might explain.
Colossal hydrogen bridge between galaxies could be fuel line for new stars

Researchers studying a filament of hydrogen between the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies found rotating clumps of gas the size of dwarf galaxies. But questions remain.
Record-breaking star explosion is most powerful ever seen

Two NASA space telescopes have captured what appears to be the most powerful star explosion ever detected, a cosmic event so luminous that scientists dubbed it 'eye-wateringly bright' despite being 3.6 billion light-years from Earth.
How greenhouse gases might make humongous super-Earths habitable (+video)

On Earth, greenhouse gases are blamed for climate change, but elsewhere in the cosmos, they could help a planet not at all like Earth be habitable, one scientist suggests.
Mother's Day 2013: 10 best books

Mother's Day 2013: 10 best new books for all kinds of moms
Spring break over, Curiosity rover goes back to work

Curiosity's one-month spring vacation, caused by Mars slipping behind the sun, is now over. "Can you hear me now? Conjunction is over," tweeted Curiosity's handlers today.
Sun erupts with superheated plasma

The sun fired off super-hot plasma in a dazzling eruption, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
How astronomy solved a Civil War mystery

Why did Confederate troops shoot their own general, 'Stonewall' Jackson? The position of the moon played a big role, an astronomer discovers.
How NASA dodged a derelict Soviet spy satellite

In March 2012, NASA's Fermi space telescope could have collided with a Russian naval signals satellite, were it not for an untested maneuver.
Antimatter might fall up, say physicists

A paper published this week suggests that antimatter could exhibit antigravity, potentially resolving some of physics' biggest mysteries.
What's a monster hurricane doing on top of Saturn? (+video)

A monster hurricane at Saturn's north pole, spotted by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, has an eye 1,250 miles wide and inner eye wall winds of 330 miles an hour. Its energy source is a mystery.
Mars One will look for — and hide from — life on Mars

Mars One plans to put four astronaut-explorers on Mars by 2023, but they will take steps to avoid contaminating any lifeforms already on Mars.
Comet of the century? ISON has 'potential' to be visible all day.

As sun-grazing comet ISON approaches the sun, it's getting progressively brighter – and might even flare into a dazzling object bright enough to be visible in broad daylight.
Einstein's theory of general relativity gets most extreme test yet

In their efforts to crack the mysteries of gravity, scientists continue to probe Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. The latest test involved a curious binary star system.
Astronomers discover the Ed Begley Jr. of galaxies

An international team of researchers have spotted the most fuel-efficient galaxy yet, which converts nearly 100 percent of its hydrogen gas into stars.
Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

NASA is exploring ways to send a flotilla of small satellites to a destination, rather than one large orbiter. In a first test, three tiny satellites are now on orbit and beeping back at Earth. Why the idea could be an aid to scientific research.
Fireballs! 'Tis the season for massive meteors.

Tonight (April 23) through Friday at dawn may be your best chance of the year to spot a fireball, a meteor that shines brighter than Venus, the brightest planet in the sky.
Meteor shower webcast: Watch outside or onscreen

Tonight's meteor shower can be viewed outside, if you have little light pollution and clear skies. City folk and those with cloudy skies can watch NASA's livestream of the meteor shower.