Topic: Astronomy

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

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.

All Content

US scientists seek to prevent another meteor explosion

NASA and the Air Force are working together to develop plans to prepare for future meteor strikes like the one in Russia earlier this month.
Scientists reconstruct Russia meteor trajectory (+video)

Relying on videos of the meteor as it streaked across the sky over the Ural mountains, a pair of Colombian astronomers say they have reconstructed the space rock's orbit.
'Vulcan' and 'Cerberus' are favorite names for Pluto's moons

The online poll for naming Pluto's moons – P4 and P5 – is now over and the winning names are 'Vulcan' and 'Cerberus.' This result, however, doesn't guarantee that P4 and P5 will actually get these names.
Little telescope to hunt big game: hard-to-see near-Earth asteroids

Canada's NEOSSat space telescope was launched Monday atop an Indian rocket. It will monitor two groups of asteroids whose proximity to the sun makes them hard to see from Earth.
Mars might still harbor life, say scientists

Liquid water might flow seasonally at some places on Mars, potentially supporting microbial life, say some researchers.
Looks like Pluto will have a moon named 'Vulcan'

The votes are in for the SETI Institute's Pluto Rocks Poll, and, thanks in part to William Shatner, Mr. Spock's home planet is a clear winner.
Unsuspecting target chosen for asteroid-smashing mission

A joint European/US mission to crash a spacecraft into an asteroid now has a target: the asteroid Didymos, which poses no threat to Earth and has no idea what's coming.
Small Canadian satellite to hunt big space rocks

A suitcase-sized Canadian spacecraft launched Monday aboard an Indian rocket is designed to spot large asteroids that cross paths with our planet.
Naming Pluto's moon 'Vulcan' only logical, says William Shatner

William Shatner proposed 'Vulcan' as the name of one of Pluto's recently discovered moons, and more than 100,000 'Star Trek' fans seem to concur.
India launches asteroid-hunting spacecraft, tiny telescopes

India launched seven satellites on Monday, including the first spacecraft designed to hunt large space rocks.
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.
Spectacular NASA video shows plasma 'rain' on sun

NASA released an amazing video of an enormous solar flare erupting on the sun in July 2012
In historic first, Mars Curiosity rover drills into Martian rock

NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has sent home photos of samples that it gathered from deep inside a rock on Mars. It is the first time a robot has ever drilled into a rock on any planet other than Earth.
NASA telescope spots smallest planet yet

Located some 210 light years from Earth, Kepler-37b is only slightly larger than our moon, making it the smallest planet ever discovered.
Sunspots: Huge and growing fast, says NASA

Sunspots of this size could produce major solar flares, which could disrupt communications on Earth. The latest sunspot is six Earth diameters across.
Discovery of smallest planet yet a 'milestone' in search for another Earth

The Kepler space telescope has found a planet smaller than Mercury orbiting a distant star. The discovery suggests Kepler has the precision to find a planet more like Earth.
Astronomers discover smallest planet ever

Orbiting a star some 215 light-years away, Kepler-37b is smaller than Mercury, the smallest planet in our solar system.
Giant space lobster? Telescope spots spectacular nebula.

A new image of the nebula NGC 6357 in the Scorpius constellation shows a star nursery that looks distinctly like a cosmic lobster.
How Nicolaus Copernicus moved the Earth

Nicolaus Copernicus, whose 540th birthday is celebrated on Google's homepage Tuesday, kicked off the Scientific Revolution.
Copernicus and the Church: What the history books don't say

Many believe the heliocentric theory was immediately rejected by the Catholic Church. However, the relationship between the Church and Copernicus is much more complex than popular historical narratives suggest.
Russian asteroid highlights astronomers' challenge: predicting such space objects

Astronomers have cataloged about 95 percent of the space objects wider than half a mile – those that could destroy civilization. But they have found less than 1 percent of the objects 100 feet across or larger, a class that includes the asteroid that flitted past Earth on Friday.
Russian meteor blast had force of 300-kiloton nuclear warhead (+video)

Using sensors designed to detect rogue nuclear tests, scientists have learned more about the meteor that exploded over Russia. It was much bigger than they first thought.
Asteroid flyby breaks records, raises warnings

Astronomers estimate that an asteroid the size of 2012 DA14, which came within a cosmic hair's breadth of our planet on Friday, strikes the Earth once every 1,200 years or so.
Huge asteroid won't strike Earth on Friday. But what about the next time?

There's no chance that the 150-foot-wide asteroid 2012 DA14 will strike our planet, but it's only a matter of time before a large space rock does, say scientists.
As asteroid zips past Earth, exploding meteor hints at what could have been (+video)

The meteor that exploded over Russia was much smaller than the asteroid that will buzz Earth Friday. But it shows how destructive Earth impacts can be – and how unexpected.