Man's Next Migration

Tilting solar sails will ease geostationary congestion

Satellites can be made to hover above a fixed point on the ground without having to orbit exactly on the equator

Chlorine study suggests moon is dry after all

A new analysis of Apollo samples throws cold water on the notion of a damp moon

Deep impact market: the race to acquire meteorites

In a trade that extends from Moroccan souks to eBay, scientists are in a controversial race with dealers to acquire precious specimens

Giant balloons could clear out space junk

Satellites in low-Earth orbit could blow helium bubbles at the end of their lives, increasing their drag through the atmosphere

The sun sends a charged cloud hurtling our way

Any time now, when the energetic particles hit, they could spark aurorae in the polar skies and even pose a threat to satellites

Is a cosmic chameleon driving galaxies apart?

A shape-shifting fifth fundamental force could neatly explain the mystery of dark energy – and some other puzzling astronomical observations

Solar cycle may drive Venice's floods

If you want to see Venice with dry feet, don't go when the sun has lots of spots. Peaks in solar activity cause the city to flood more often

What's the best way to eject astronauts during lift-off?

For half a century, engineers have placed escape rockets on top of crew capsules – future craft may stow them below

Cosmic Trojans may sneak comets towards Earth

A collection of asteroids that orbit the sun along roughly the same path as Neptune may be a source of comets that could hit Earth

Satellite quantum communication circles closer

A trick used in 3D-movie theatres could enable totally secure quantum communication with satellites

Spinning black holes could expose exotic particles

If a potential dark matter particle – the axion – exists, it could reveal itself in explosions around black holes

Shields up! Force fields could protect Mars missions

Interplanetary adventurers must contend with deadly solar radiation – but the moon's magnetic memories may hold the key to safe space flight

Time to go atomic on space station

The most accurate clock ever sent to space will soon be hosted by the International Space Station – it could help to reveal changes in nature's fundamental constants

Smart glass helps pioneering solar sail to steer

Japan's IKAROS spacecraft has used liquid-crystal layers to steer using only the pressure of sunlight – a first for solar sails

Every black hole may hold a hidden universe

Our own universe could be inside a black hole – if an analysis based on a modified version of Einstein's general relativity proves to be correct

Speeding star traced back to Milky Way's heart

The newly mapped path taken by a hypervelocity star suggests supermassive black holes can kick-start the movement of these objects

Astronaut for hire: Space tourism will help science

Brian Shiro, president of Astronauts4Hire, explains how the commercial space race is changing what it means to be an astronaut

Stingy aliens may call us on cheap rates only

We could be missing alien communications because we are not taking into account the fiscal constraints on sending out intergalactic messages

Biggest star ever found may be ticking antimatter bomb

The most massive star known to humans has been identified – and one day it may die in an exotic antimatter explosion

Senate to NASA: Build massive rocket now!

A key Senate committee has approved a bill that would require NASA to start building a hefty new rocket earlier than President Barack Obama wanted

Single star count ups odds of ET

Solitary suns like ours are not as rare as we once thought, boosting the likelihood that there are other life-friendly solar systems in the universe

Deep space X-ray flash is most powerful ever recorded

An unknown event in a distant galaxy has blasted our solar system with an intense burst of X-rays, temporarily blinding an astronomical satellite

Comet tail confirmed on alien planet

The first known planet with comet-like tail has been discovered as it is frazzled alive by its host star

NASA seeks rover that goes all night

$1.5 million awaits the winners of a new NASA competition for a solar-powered rover that can drive through an alien night

Heart of darkness could explain sun mysteries

The centre of our star may be made of dark matter, which could be cooling down the core

Rocky hint of a waterless Moon

Isotope analysis of lunar samples contradicts recent research.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/news/rss/news_s15/~4/HQ0JdZGvBDQ" height="1" width="1"/>
read full article

Sunday, 8 August 2010 | Hits: 25

Citizen science: People power

Networks of human minds are taking citizen science to a new level, reports Eric Hand.
read full article

Sunday, 8 August 2010 | Hits: 34

A closer look at cosmic impacts

Moon-crater survey could improve Solar System surface-dating methods.
read full article

Sunday, 8 August 2010 | Hits: 0

First light for Solar Dynamics Observatory

'Treasure trove' of data reveals the anatomy and evolution of solar flares.
read full article

Sunday, 8 August 2010 | Hits: 0

Astronomy: Ready for boarding — finally

NASA and Germany have spent 15 years and billions of dollars on SOFIA, an airborne telescope that is about to produce its first results. Eric Hand asks whether the science will justify the cost.
read full article

Sunday, 8 August 2010 | Hits: 0

Collider gets yet more exotic 'to-do' list

The Large Hadron Collider could throw up evidence of new physics earlier than expected.
read full article

Sunday, 8 August 2010 | Hits: 0

'Super-Earths': Could They Harbor Life? (preview)

Imagine yourself gazing at the sky on a summer night. You look in the direction of a particular star that, you have heard, has a special planet orbiting around it. Although you cannot actually see the planet--you can barely see the star itself--you know it is several times larger than Earth and, like Earth, is made mostly of rock. Quakes sometimes shake its surface, much of which is covered by oceans. Its atmosphere is not too different from the one we breathe, and its sky is swept by frequent storms and often darkened by the ash of volcanoes. But most of all, you know that scientists think it could harbor life--and that they plan to seek evidence for it.

This scenario could become reality within the next decade. Although most of the 450-odd extrasolar planets found so far are giants more similar to Jupiter, astronomers are beginning to discover some that may not be too different from Earth. And NASA’s Kepler probe, a planet hunter sent aloft last year, will discover many more.

In search of dark nights

Astronomers and conservationists team up against bright lights.
read full article

Sunday, 8 August 2010 | Hits: 0

Celebrating Science

In 1845 James K. Polk succeeded John Tyler, Jr., as the 11th president. The U.S. an­nexed Texas as the 28th state, and the young nation’s “manifest destiny” to occupy all of North America became a popular ideal. The industrial revolution was burgeoning, easing people’s lives with mechanical marvels. By this time, for instance, Cyrus McCormick had created a labor-saving reaper for crops. And with a promise to explain “New Inventions, Scientific Principles, and Curious Works,” the painter and inventor Rufus Porter introduced the first issue of a broadsheet called The Scientific American on August 28, 1845.

Porter was “a mechanical Johnny Appleseed sowing seed of new and ingenious ideas as he traveled through New England and abroad through his journals,” wrote Jean Lipman in Rufus Porter, Yankee Pioneer (Clarkson N. Potter, 1968); you can learn more about him at the Rufus Porter Museum in Bridgton, Me. Porter took out more than 100 patents, but his best-known innovation is his revolver mechanism, which he sold in 1844 to Samuel Colt for $100. Scientific American reflected his broad interests. The inaugural edition lists patents, describes developments such as Samuel Morse’s telegraph and a filter for locomotive smoke, comments on painting portraits and even includes poetry. Find excerpts in a special 50, 100 and 150 Years Ago, starting on page 12; other excerpts from the 1845 issue and a slide show appear at www.ScientificAmerican.com.

Solar System showdown

Competition is fierce as committee weighs NASA's planetary priorities.
read full article

Sunday, 8 August 2010 | Hits: 0

Satellite spots soggy soil

European Space Agency mission provides the first global map of a key climate variable.
read full article

Sunday, 8 August 2010 | Hits: 0

Perturbing Discovery: Does an Exoplanet's Orbital Oddity Reveal a Neighboring World?

Astronomers are uncovering newfound planets in orbit around other stars at a meteoric rate these days. The tally of known planets outside the solar system now stands at more than 450, of which about 50 have been discovered just this year. That pace promises to increase as NASA's Kepler mission carries out its multiyear survey of a large patch of stars; the campaign has already located several hundred planetary candidates for follow-up study and confirmation. [More]



Solar System - Extrasolar planet - NASA - Kepler Mission - Astronomy
read full article ...

Sunday, 8 August 2010 | Hits: 0

Space capsule probed for asteroid dust

Hayabusa holds lessons for future sample-return missions.
read full article

Sunday, 8 August 2010 | Hits: 0

Hotspots leave magnetic scars on Mars

Puzzling 'stripes' generate another controversial origin theory.
read full article

Sunday, 8 August 2010 | Hits: 0

Modelling Mars in a Texan torrent

Huge canyon carved out in a week may aid understanding of prehistoric megafloods.
read full article

Sunday, 8 August 2010 | Hits: 0