Topic: SPACE.com Inc.

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

Five reasons the world won't end in 2012

Pointing to the end of the Mayan Long Count calendar on Dec. 21, 2012, many doomsday believers think that life as we know it on Earth has entered it's final year. NASA begs to differ.
Quadrantid meteors and 11 other big skywatching events of 2012

What lies ahead sky-wise for 2012? Joe Rao, SPACE.com Skywatching Columnist, selected what he considers to be the top 12 "skylights" for this coming year,
The 9 weirdest things ever flown on the Space Shuttle

When NASA's space shuttles launch into orbit, they don't just carry astronauts and supplies into the final frontier. There's a lot of other weird stuff that makes the out-of-this-world journey, too. Here nine recent space oddities carried into orbit on NASA shuttles.

All Content

Horizons
SpaceX Dragon capsule will soon be earthbound again

The SpaceX Dragon capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station. Now, it heads back to earth. 
Venus to have its final day in the sun for the 21st century

The planet Venus is due to pass in front of the sun on June 5th and 6th. It won't do so again until 2117.
Forget 'Men in Black 3': Why aliens won't attack Earth

SETI hunter Jill Tarter says Sir Stephen Hawking is wrong about aliens coming to attack or colonize Earth. If aliens can get here, Tarter reasons, they'll be advanced enough not to need slaves, food or other planets,
SpaceX flyby of space station an historic first

The SpaceX Dragon capsule successfully made its first burn to approach the space station at 3:58 a.m Thursday. It was the final test before the SpaceX capsule docks at the ISS.
Mars Opportunity rover sees its own shadow in crater

Opportunity just started moving again two weeks ago, after spending more than four months at a site along Endeavour's rim called Greeley Haven. The rover sat out the harsh Martian winter at the site, whose tilt allowed Opportunity to angle its solar panels toward the low-hanging sun.
SpaceX takes Star Trek's 'Scotty' to the Final Frontier

SpaceX: The ashes of the actor James Doohan, who played Scotty on 'Star Trek' were launched to space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The price? $2,995 to launch 1 gram of ashes into Earth orbit.
Thousands gather for world's largest solar eclipse party (+video)

Solar eclipse party: Even a partial eclipse was enough to draw thousands to Folsom Field in Colorado to see the moon take a bite from the sun.
SpaceX private rocket to make history on Saturday (+video)

The unmanned Dragon space capsule, built by commercial firm SpaceX, is slated to lift off atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket early Saturday from here at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
4,700 asteroids capable of catastrophic damage lurk near Earth

The survey found there are likely 4,700 potentially hazardous asteroids in orbits that occasionally bring them close enough to Earth to pose a concern.
Football stadium to host world's largest solar eclipse party

The eclipse will occur in the afternoon and early evening on Sunday, during which time the moon will pass between Earth and the sun, casting a shadow on the planet.
SpaceX launch: A step-by-step guide (+video)

If all goes well on Saturday, SpaceX will launch the very first commercial visit to the International Space Station. Here is how the trip is expected to go.
Russian Soyuz (finally) lifts off for space station (+video)

A Russian Soyuz rocket, with three astronauts aboard, is due at the International Space Station Thursday. On Saturday, the SpaceX 'Dragon' will follow.
Asteroid Vesta: Is it really an asteroid?

The humongous asteroid Vesta is actually a protoplanet left over from the early days of our solar system, new observations from a NASA space probe suggest.
Surprise: Martian sand dunes are speedy

Rare winds jump-start sand movement on Mars, according to scientists.
Amazing photo shows 'swarm' of stars (+video)

Tens of thousands of stars can be seen clustered together in a new image.
Light from alien 'super-earth' seen for first time

NASA's Spitzer space telescope has detected a light source coming from a large earth-like planet.
'Monster sunspot' may foretell powerful solar flares, says NASA

A huge sunspot spanning more than 60,000 miles could erupt, sending high energy radiation into space.
Black hole emits humongous energy burst (+video)

An unusual brightness, documented by NASA's Chandra telescope appears to be coming from a black hole.
Supermoon Saturday: Biggest moon of the year (+video)

Supermoon 2012 comes on May 5. The 'supermoon' is when a full moon coincides with the moon's closest approach to Earth. The supermoon will be 16 percent brighter than a normal full moon.
SpaceX test fires rocket bound for space station

A week ahead of what is touted as being the first attempt by a private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station, SpaceX test fired their Falcon 9 rocket.
Death Valley used as stand-in for Martian landscape (+video)

A project scientist for NASA's huge Curiosity rover is leading a handful of journalists on a trip to Death Valley, whose geology and vistas resemble Mars in some places. The goal is to help reporters get a better idea of the science Curiosity will be doing when it touches down on the Red Planet on the night of Aug. 5.
Space Shuttle Enterprise flyover wows New Yorkers (+video)

Perched atop a modified 747 jumbo jet, the Space Shuttle Enterprise greeted the Big Apple by zooming past the Statue of Liberty and flying along the Hudson River.
Mars lava unlocks the red planet's secrets (+video)

The first lava ever seen in an extraterrestrial environment was spotted recently by scientists. It indicates that Mars was shaped by volcanic activity.
Spacecraft probes bizarre mystery of Saturn's 'weirdest ring' (+video)

NASA's Cassini orbiter has spotted strange objects punching holes in Saturn's outermost ring.
How the ultra-rich plan to conquer space (+video)

From asteroid mining to space station taxis, a handful of billionaires have big plans for the final frontier.