Exoplanet With Atmosphere May Have Been Found
Sep 30, 2009 Space
So accustomed are we to the sunshine, rain, fog and snow of our home planet that we find it next to impossible to imagine a different atmosphere and other forms of precipitation.
Northern Lights Blaze Neon Bright Over Iceland (PIC)
Sep 30, 2009 Space
The combination of clear skies, snowy foreground and highly active Aurora is a rare thing in Iceland but it makes a great shot. Taken on Mosfellsheiði, between Reykjavík and Þingvellir. (Photo: “The Observer” by Orvar Atli Porgeirsson)
The Urge for Extra-Terrestrial Communication
Sep 30, 2009 Space
The search for extra-terrestrial life assumes two things: that there is some, and that it wants to talk. And while the first is obvious to anyone with even the remotest understanding of the size of the universe, the second still poses a lot of questions.
Space radiation hits record high
Sep 30, 2009 Space
Like a wounded Starship Enterprise, our solar system’s natural shields are faltering, letting in a flood of cosmic rays. The sun’s recent listlessness is resulting in record-high radiation levels that pose a hazard to both human and robotic space missions.
Will Pulsar Networks Guide Space Missions Through Milky Way?
Sep 30, 2009 Space
“Pulsar Power,” the Next Big Thing! The European Space Agency’s Ariadna initiative is studying a totally awesome navigation system that creams the one you’ll find in your new Porche: they are examining the feasibility of navigation relying on millisecond pulsars, rotating neutron stars that spin faster than 40 revolutions per second. The pulses of
Telescopes Enabled to Image Extrasolar Planets Directly
Sep 30, 2009 Space
The best way to observe objects in solar systems is simply to look — but distortions caused by Earth’s atmosphere drown out much of the spectacle of space. To address this problem, Berkeley astronomer James Graham and colleagues are designing an adaptive optics system that can spot new planets.
How the Spaceship Got Its Shape
Sep 30, 2009 Space
Designed by German rocket pioneer Wernher von Braun, the 1952 Collier’s spaceship was a sleek, needle-nosed beauty; its winged 3rd stage would be piloted to a runway landing. But it was all wrong. When the Soviets and the US flew the first real spaceships 9 years later, one was shaped like a bowling ball; the other resembled a Styrofoam coffee cup.
50 Years of SETI and the Hunt for ET
Sep 30, 2009 Space
Scientists have been searching for aliens for 50 years, scanning the skies with an ever-more sophisticated array of radio telescopes and computers. Known as Seti, the search marks its half-century this month. Jennifer Armstrong and Andrew Johnson examine its close – and not so close – encounters.
The Discovery of New Earths is Imminent, UD Astronomer Says
Sep 30, 2009 Space
Harry Shipman, Annie Jump Cannon Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Delaware, told the audience for his lecture, “Seeking New Planets,” on Saturday evening, Sept. 26, that one of his purposes was to “stretch your minds.”
Weird, Rare Clouds and the Physics Behind Them
Sep 30, 2009 Science
“Over the years we’ve developed a good understanding of them,” said Roger Smith of the University of Munich. “It’s no longer a mystery, but still very spectacular.”