Topic: Mauna Kea

NASA: Object that hurtled past Earth was space junk, not asteroid

A small object that buzzed our planet this month is likely a spent rocket stage, and not an asteroid, NASA officials said Thursday.

New telescopes could revolutionize astronomy, but at what price?

The case for adding new ground-based telescopes is compelling, astronomy experts say. But they cost $700 million to $1 billion apiece just to build.

Dark matter update: scientists say dark matter looks like cigars

Scientists say dark matter around many galaxy clusters is a flattened, cigar-like shape, rather than a rounded sphere.

Did asteroids bring water to Earth?

Water ice discovered on the surface of an asteroid orbiting the sun between Jupiter and Mars lends credibility to the theory that asteroids, not comets, brought water to Earth.

In distant planet's fluorescent glow, a new way to look for life

For the first time, astronomers detected the fluorescent signature of an exoplanet's atmosphere. Fluorescence can give scientists clues about processes that might make a planet habitable for life.

Scientists spot massive methane rainstorm over Titan

A rare storm system over Titan's tropics help explain the region's unique liquid-carved landscape.

Jupiter collision packed a huge wallop

The object that hit Jupiter last weekend released thousands of times more energy than the massive Tunguska blast in Siberia in 1908, say astronomers.

Volcano says aloha to world's largest telescope

Amateur astronomer finds a hole punched in Jupiter

Comet Lulin arrives tonight - break out your telescopes

Methane on Mars. Does that mean... life?

Mars looks like it's reading from a Monty Python script: "Oi'm not dead yet; Oi'm getting bettah."

Mars methane: from microbes or minerals?

Mars could be biologically alive, geologically alive, or some combination.

Name that bat for the holidays

USA

Inside the planet hunter's lair

Geoff Marcy, astronomy’s Indiana Jones, had 10 days, one telescope, and a universe of planets to discover.