Scientists are keeping a close eye on a big asteroid that may pose an impact threat to Earth in a few decades. The space rock, which is called 2011 AG5, is about 140 meters wide. It may come close enough to Earth in 2040 that some researchers are calling for a discussion about how to deflect it. Continue reading
NASA’s solar-powered Juno spacecraft successfully refined its flight path Feb. 1 with the mission’s first trajectory correction maneuver. The maneuver is the first of a dozen planned rocket firings that, over the next five years, will keep Juno on course for its rendezvous with Jupiter. Continue reading
Astronomers using the partially completed ALMA observatory have found compelling evidence for how star-forming galaxies evolve into ‘red and dead’ elliptical galaxies, catching a large group of galaxies right in the middle of this change. Continue reading
The moon may look lonely, but it is far from alone. Small asteroids too dim to detect seem to stray into Earth’s orbit quite frequently and stay for short periods of time. We may even be able to bring one of these moonlets back to Earth for study. Continue reading
No matter how exciting your plans are for New Year’s, two NASA spacecraft have you beat – they’ve got a date with the moon. After more than three months of spaceflight, NASA’s twin Grail probes are set to start orbiting the moon this weekend, with Grail-A arriving Saturday (Dec. 31) and Grail-B following on Sunday (Jan. 1). Continue reading
NASA’s Kepler mission has confirmed its first planet in the “habitable zone,” the region around a star where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. Kepler also has discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously known count. Continue reading
Just as an expert chess player sacrifices a piece to protect the queen, the solar system may have given up a giant planet and spared Earth, according to an article recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Continue reading
Aerospace giant Boeing has inked a deal to use an old space shuttle hangar at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the headquarters to build and test the private company’s new spaceship designed to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Continue reading
The following infographic is a comparison of three alien star systems with our own solar system. It shows the distance at which all the known planets orbit around their stars. As of August 10, 2011, 573 extra-solar planets have been identified, but so far the three systems illustrated below are the record holders for having the most planets. Continue reading
Making your own spaceplane from scratch is obviously not an easy task, which is why we’re not all going to the moon on weekends. Reaction Engines is taking it seriously, though, and their Skylon spaceplane concept has just passed a technical review by the European Space Agency, moving it one step closer to reality. Continue reading