The Hunt is On for Exomoons That May Harbor Life

Medicine & Technology Apr 02, 2015

The search for life doesn't end at our solar system and it is not limited to just planets. Scientists are now searching for moons orbiting alien planets in other systems that could harbor extraterrestrial life.

Astronomers Adopt a Forming Star, Watching it Grow for 18 Years 4200 Light-Years Away

Apr 02, 2015

While researchers may have missed the formation of our very own Sun by a few billion years, in essence they have become surrogate parents to many other stars formed since the dawn of the telescope. Watching one such infant star well into its adulthood, researchers with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory this week released a time lapse of one such star, affectionately named “W75N(B)-VLA 2”, which reveals the earliest formations of a massive young star over the course of 18 years. The beginning and ending images released this week reveal a dramatic difference in the star’s developmental stages and highlights theories that astronomers have posited for decades, as they wondered if they would ever catch a glimpse of stars forming in such a way as researchers today have been able to do.

More Memory Problems for NASA's Opportunity Rover

Mar 31, 2015

NASA's Opportunity Rover has been setting records for its time in space and distance traveled, but unfortunately it probably won't remember them. Less than a week after engineers upgraded the software to resolve its memory issues, the rover has experienced yet another bout of amnesia.

Star Wars Tatooine Planet May Be Common

Mar 31, 2015

One of the most iconic scenes ever filmed for Star Wars occurred when Luke walked outside his boyhood home on the rocky, desert planet of Tatooine and looked up at the two suns setting. Now, scientists believe that these Earth-like worlds with two suns in their sky may actually be more common than originally thought, throughout the Milky Way Galaxy.

US and Russia Begin Planning the Next Space Station

Mar 29, 2015

While the United States and Russia relations may be at their lowest point in decades, the space agencies are working together better than they ever have before. NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos today announced plans to build a new space station for when the International Space Station is retired in 2024.

Can People Really Live Forever in Space? New NASA Study Looks to Answer that Question

Mar 27, 2015

While you might think that NASA and other space agencies have made great strides in investigating the final frontiers of space, it turns out that there are far too many limitations for what humans are able to do. Astronauts and cosmonauts train for the better part of the lives, learning technical information and perfecting the physical attributes needed to live in space. But when it comes down to mission time, they only have a few months in space—at best. Considering that new missions to Mars will look towards taking human journeys far deeper into space than anyone has been before, NASA’s new experiment is looking into how long exposure to zero-gravity will affect humans. And they’re using a familiar method of testing their hypotheses—twins.

Opportunity Sets Marathon Record on Mars

Mar 26, 2015

It seems NASA's Opportunity Rover isn't just content with exceeding its originally designated lifespan by over a decade, it has not set another new record that the space agency's other rovers will have a tough time beating.

Curiosity Finds Live-Supporting Nitrogen on Mars

Mar 25, 2015

Curiosity Finds Live-Supporting Nitrogen on Mars

To Corned Beef and Beyond, A Sandwiches Trip into Space

Mar 25, 2015

Fifty years ago, on March 23, 1965, an astronaut onboard the Gemini 3 probe took with him something that nobody at NASA ever would have expected - a corned beef sandwich.

Space Twin Experiment Set to Answer NASA's Biggest Question

Mar 23, 2015

While NASA already knows many of the affects on the human body while in space, when astronaut Scott Kelly launches for the beginning of his year long mission at the International Space Station, he has one long-range goal on his mind.

Frozen In Space—How Comet 67P Is Slowing Down

Mar 22, 2015

Researchers this week with the European Space Agency (ESA) may have discovered how comets can remain so cold with the revelation of molecular nitrogen being found on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, but now they need to figure out their movements.

Supernovae Dust ‘Goldmine’ Found at the Center of the Milky Way

Mar 22, 2015

One of the largest questions to date has been what building materials were present at the formation of our Milky Way galaxy? Astronomers have long theorized that the building material may have come from the death of supermassive stars, however, the galaxy-building dust is thought to burn up in a supernova like that. But now researchers are saying that may not be the case at all. In a new study published this week in the journal Science Express, researchers with Cornell University have made the first direct discovery of dust used to build the cosmos at the center of the Milky Way, and they believe it may have resulted from an ancient supernova.

Rosetta Spots Clues About the Formation of the Solar System

Mar 21, 2015

he Rosetta Orbiter orbiting Comet 67P detected molecular nitrogen from October 17 to 23, 2014 when the orbiter was just 10 kilometers from the comet's center using the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis.

Molecular Nitrogen on Comet 67P Reveals a Frigid Start to Our Solar System

Mar 20, 2015

For the past several months the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft mission has been tailing the famous Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with many answers at the core of its research. While in orbit the mission has been able to gather an immense amount of data, creating a never-before-seen view of comets as the first spacecraft to ever successfully orbit one in our history. Yet, many molecular ingredients that are thought to have given rise to comets have not been found.

Total Solar Eclipse 2015—Were You Underwhelmed?

Mar 20, 2015

It’s the start to the spring today, and with the vernal equinox came a celestial event unlike those in common occurrence. But while flocks of sky-watchers and astronomers ventured north into the Arctic, where a total solar eclipse would be visible for the last time until 2026 in continental Europe, many were left disappointed at the less than “thrilling” display.