Astronomy, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 31, 2011

R.I.P. Possibly Habitable Planet Gliese 581g? Not So Fast, Co-Discoverer Says

Even as some astronomers start shoveling dirt on the much-heralded first potentially habitable alien world – a planet called Gliese 581g – its co-discoverer is vigorously defending the find. Since a team of astronomers — led by Steven Vogt and Paul Butler— announced the discovery of Gliese 581g last fall,...

Nov 30, 2012

Newfound Asteroid Buzzes Earth Inside Moon's Orbit

A newfound asteroid gave Earth a close shave early today, zipping between our planet and the moon just two days after astronomers first spotted it. The near-Earth asteroid 2012 XE54, which was discovered Sunday (Dec. 9), came within 140,000 miles (230,000 kilometers) of our planet at about 5 a.m. EST...

Nov 30, 2012

Videos Capture Amazing Geminid Meteor Shower

Last week, skywatchers all over the world were treated to one of the best Geminid meteor showers in recent memory. Because this year's shower peaked during a new moon, leaving the sky as dark as possible, it brought some viewers in rural areas between 50 and 100 meteors per hour....

Nov 30, 2012

Planck Spots Hot Gas Bridging Galaxy Cluster Pair

Planck has discovered a bridge of hot gas that connects galaxy clusters Abell 399 (lower centre) and Abell 401 (top left). The galaxy pair is located about a billion light-years from Earth, and the gas bridge extends approximately 10 million light-years between them.The image shows the two galaxy clusters as...

Oct 31, 2012

Obscured by Rings

Saturn's rings obscure part of Titan's colorful visage in this image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The image was obtained with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 16, 2012, at a distance of approximately 1.9 million miles (3 million kilometers) from Titan.Parts of the rings appear dark near the center...

Oct 31, 2012

Dwarf Galaxy Churns out New Stars in Hubble Photo

A stunning new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows countless stars being born in a nearby dwarf galaxy. The Hubble photo depicts the faint irregular galaxy NGC 3738, which is located about 12 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major (The Great Bear). NGC 3738 is undergoing...

Oct 31, 2012

Reflection Nebula NGC 1999 in the Constellation Orion

Reflection nebulae do not emit light on their own. They shine because of a light source embedded within, like a street lamp illuminates fog. The bright, young star left of center gives NGC 1999 its brightness. The gas and dust of the nebula is left over from the star's formation....

Oct 31, 2012

Spinning Black Holes Shaped by Magnetic Fields

The environment around a black hole is, literally, a hot mess. That mess makes a little more sense to scientists now, thanks to a new computer simulation that shows how the spin of a black hole can align with the doughnut of material orbiting it, as well as with the...

Oct 31, 2012

2012 Mayan Apocalypse Rumors Have Dark Side, NASA Warns

NASA scientists took time on Wednesday (Nov. 28) to soothe 2012 doomsday fears, warning against the dark side of Mayan apocalypse rumors — frightened children and suicidal teens who truly fear the world may come to an end Dec. 21. These fears are based on misinterpretations of the Mayan calendar....

Oct 31, 2012

North Star Closer to Earth Than Thought

The famed North Star has been a beacon in the night sky throughout human history, but a new study reveals the star is actually closer to our solar system than previously thought. Scientists studying the North Star Polaris found that it is about 323 light-years from the sun and Earth,...

Sep 30, 2012

Thackeray's Globules in the Star-Forming Region IC 2944

Dark clouds of dust, called globules, are silhouetted against nearby, bright stars. Little is known about the globules, except that they are generally associated with areas of star formation. Wallpapers Standard 800x600 1024x768 1280x1024 1600x1200 Wide 1280x800 1440x900 1680x1050 1920x1200 ...

Sep 30, 2012

House-Size Asteroid Comes Closer to Earth Than the Moon Friday

A newfound asteroid the size of a house will fly closer to Earth than the moon on Friday (Oct. 12), but poses no danger of impacting our planet, NASA says. The space rock, called asteroid 2012 TC4, is about 56 feet wide (17 meters) and will come within 59,000 miles...

Sep 30, 2012

Proof of Moon's Birth in Giant Impact Found in Zinc: Study

Water on the moon boiled away in massive quantities in a cataclysmic evaporation event during the moon's birth, bolstering the theory that a Mars-sized body collided with the Earth to form its only natural satellite, scientists say. Researchers examined rocks collected by astronauts during NASA's Apollo lunar landing missions, as...

Sep 30, 2012

Meteorite Found! Fragment of California Fireball Hit House

A meteorite from a fireball that lit up the night sky over Northern California last week hit the roof of a Novato house and landed in the backyard, scientists say. Homeowner Lisa Webber, a nurse at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, found the space rock Saturday (Oct....

Sep 30, 2012

Major Solar Flare Erupts From the Sun

The sun unleased a powerful solar flare late Monday (Oct. 22), releasing waves of radiation into space that have already caused a short radio blackout on Earth. The flare erupted from the sunspot AR 11598 (short for Active Region 11598), and reached peak brightness at 11:22 p.m. EDT (0322 GMT...