Astronomy, features and articles | Educational Science

Apr 30, 2012

Strange Arctic Landscape Similar to Jupiter’s Moon Europa

It’s not easy looking for life on Jupiter’s moon Europa. Just getting there can be a problem. So scientists would love to find a place on Earth that resembles the sulfur-laden surface of Europa. And now they have. In a fjord in Canada scientists found a frozen landscape with loads...

Mar 31, 2012

Search for Life Guides NASA's New Mars Mission Plan

NASA's new Mars exploration strategy will be shaped by an old goal: searching for signs of past or present life on the Red Planet. The space agency's Mars program suffered deep cuts in President Barack Obama's proposed 2013 budget, which was released in February. In response, NASA pulled out of...

Dec 31, 2011

Where Will Doomed Russian Mars Probe Fall?

A huge hunk of Russian space junk is set to crash to Earth in the next few days, but nobody knows exactly when or where it's going to come down. The 14.5-ton Mars probe Phobos-Grunt, which got stuck in Earth orbit shortly after its Nov. 8 launch, may re-enter the...

Dec 31, 2011

Russian Claim that US Radar Downed Mars Probe Is False

Russian space industry officials say the United States may have accidentally destroyed Russia's most expensive and ambitious space mission since the Soviet era. But the accusation doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Officials at Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, told newspapers that radar signals sent into space by the U.S. might...

Dec 31, 2011

'Crackpot' Theory of Everything Reveals Dark Side of Peer Review

A theory of everything from a scientist at Case Western Reserve University got a lot of attention for positing that inanimate objects, from planets and water to strands of DNA, are alive. Not only is the assertion bunk, but the scientific and media phenomena surrounding the study reveals how sometimes...

Nov 30, 2013

One Ring | Space Wallpaper

How many rings do you see in this cool space wallpaper of the galaxy Messier 94, also known as NGC 4736? While at first glance one might see a number of them, astronomers believe there is just one. Astronomers have recently discovered that the outer ring, seen here in the...

Nov 30, 2013

$19 Million Grant Could Lead to First-Ever Image of Black Hole

A team of European astrophysicists plans to capture the world's first image of a black hole, and a newly awarded grant may help that dream come true. The European Research Council has given 14 million euros (about $19.3 million at current exchange rates) to the team behind BlackHoleCam. This project...

Nov 30, 2013

Up in the Sky: It's a Nuclear Explosion!

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. If you live in the southern hemisphere, you now can safely view the aftermath of a nuclear explosion from the comfort of your own backyard. Just last week a new...

Oct 31, 2013

Bizarre Asteroid with Six Tails Spotted by Hubble Telescope (Photos)

Astronomers have spotted a never-before-seen phenomenon in our solar system's asteroid belt: a space rock with six tails, spewing dust from its nucleus like spouts of water radiating from a lawn sprinkler. Scientists using the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope at the summit of Maui's Haleakala volcano in Hawaii first detected the...

Oct 31, 2013

Sun Fires Off Powerful Solar Flare (Video)

The sun unleashed a powerful solar flare early Tuesday (Nov. 19), the latest in a series of intense storms this month from Earth's closest star. While the powerful solar flare was not aimed directly at Earth when it erupted, it did trigger a radio blackout at 5:26 a.m. EST (1026...

Jun 30, 2013

Last Manhattanhenge Sunset of 2013 in NYC Tonight

The phenomenon, nicknamed Manhattanhenge, happens four times a year — twice with a full sunset and twice with a half sunset. (Last night's sunset show was rained out.) Tonight's event will be the fourth and last of the year; the city previously experienced Manhattanhenge on May 28, May 29, and...

Apr 30, 2013

Meteor Shower Spawned by Halley's Comet Is Peaking Now

A meteor shower created by bits of Halley's Comet is at its peak now, and NASA has a few handy tips for stargazers eager to see the display of shooting stars. The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower is peaking today (May 5) as the Earth passes through a dusty debris...

Apr 30, 2013

Long Ago and Far Away | Space Wallpaper

This space wallpaper is a NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope view looking long ago and far away at a supernova that exploded more than 10 billion years ago — the most distant Type Ia supernova ever detected. The supernova’s light is just arriving at Earth, having travelled more than 10 billion...

Mar 31, 2013

NASA to Get $100 Million for Asteroid-Capture Mission, Senator Says

NASA will likely get $100 million next year to jump-start an audacious program to drag an asteroid into orbit around the moon for research and exploration purposes, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson says. The $100 million will probably be part of President Barack Obama's federal budget request for 2014, which is...

Mar 31, 2013

Lyrid Meteor Shower Is Peaking Now

The annual Lyrid meteor shower will peak tonight (April 21) and early Monday, but the moon's bright light may spoil the celestial fireworks display. The Lyrid meteor shower occurs each year in mid-April when the Earth passes through a trail of dusty debris from the Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1), which...