Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: astronomy

astronomy stories: 68 news summaries

1 - 20 of 68 Stories | 1 2 3 4 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

 ET, Phone Rome: 
 Vatican Holds 
 Alien Conference 

Astrobiology experts ponder big picture

Nov 11, 09 2:35 AM CST
(Newser) - Does intelligent life exist elsewhere in the universe and if so, is it Christian? Those and other weighty questions are up for discussion this week at a Vatican conference on astrobiology. Religious leaders and a range of scientists—including some non-Catholics—have been called in to discuss the possibility of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • Catholic Church • Vatican • extraterrestrial life • aliens • Catholicism • outer space • theology

 Farthest-Ever Star Blast 
 From Ancient Cosmos 

Gamma ray burst took 13 billion years to reach Earth

Oct 29, 09 8:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - Astronomers have detected a cosmic object more distant than any ever seen: a gamma ray burst about 13 billion light-years from Earth. The massive, luminous burst occurred about 600 million years after the Big Bang—that is, when the universe was 4% of its current age—and only lasted for... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NASA • astronomy • star • Big Bang • universe • gamma rays

(Newser) - Scientists have at long last discovered a rocky world outside of our solar system, Wired reports. Dubbed COROT-7b (it circles the star COROT-7), the planet has a density similar to Earth’s, said researchers, who believe our greatest chance of finding extraterrestrial life is on a rocky planet with such... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • exoplanet • mass • outer space

 Scientists Spot 
 Galaxy 'Cannibalism' 

Andromeda is consuming other galaxies and the Milky Way's on the menu

Sep 3, 09 3:52 AM CDT
(Newser) - The vast Andromeda galaxy has been growing by gobbling up neighboring galaxies, reports the BBC. Astronomers mapping the galaxy—at 2.5 million light years away, the Milky Way's closest neighbor—discovered stars within that they believe to be the remnants of dwarf galaxies consumed by Andromeda. The galaxy is... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • Milky Way • galaxy • outer space • Andromeda Galaxy • astronomer

(Newser) - On August 25, 1609—400 years ago today—Galileo Galilei introduced Venice to the telescope, and the discoveries it enabled were every bit as revolutionary as Darwinism, writes Peter Walker of the Guardian. With his telescope, a brown stick weaker than today's store-bought models, Galileo detected moon-like phases of Venus,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • science • telescope • Philadelphia • Galileo • anniversary

(Newser) - Scientists are calling on amateur astronomers to help solve the centuries-old puzzle of a super-bright star that goes dim every 27 years. Epsilon Aurigae will fade out from this fall to spring 2011; this time around, scientists are looking to ordinary sky-watchers to provide extra data on the mysterious companion... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • telescope

 Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight 

Up to 80 shooting stars visible at height of Perseid shower

Aug 11, 09 4:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Stargazers will want to stay up for the peak of the Perseid meteor shower after midnight tonight, Wired reports. The Perseid shower—with up to 80 shooting stars an hour—happens every year when the Earth travels through debris left in the wake of the comet Swift-Tuttle. Best showings will... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • Perseus • meteor shower • shooting stars • constellations

 Mysterious Bright Spot 
 Appears on Venus 

Scientists suspect volcanic eruption

Aug 1, 09 10:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Astronomers are puzzling over a strange white spot that recently appeared in the clouds of Venus, the BBC reports. The European Space Agency’s Venus Express spacecraft confirmed the spot, originally noticed by an amateur stargazer on July 19. Data suggests it appeared 4 days before that and has been... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • European Space Agency • planet • Venus

(Newser) - NASA pulled the recently upgraded Hubble space telescope out of testing yesterday to take a photo of the Earth-sized impact scar on Jupiter, CNN reports. “Because we believe this magnitude of impact is rare, we are very fortunate to see it with Hubble,” a NASA scientist says. “... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NASA • astronomy • Jupiter • space travel • comet • Hubble Space Telescope

OPINION

Despite Its Faults (and Costs), Hubble Remains Crucial

Pricey telescope enhances our understanding of space

May 21, 09 1:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Hubble Space Telescope has expanded our knowledge of black holes, so it’s ironic that critics complain the $9.6 billion device is sucking up money and energy that could be shifted to other programs. But, on CNET, Don Reisinger defends the telescope as earthlings’ best shot at unlocking... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NASA • astronomy • space • telescope • space telescope • Hubble Space Telescope

Explore Galaxy With New Google App

Star Droid helps cellphone astronomers with GPS, maps, tags

May 11, 09 10:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Budding astronomers will soon have a new cell-phone tool that spots the stars they’re looking for, the Telegraph reports. Google’s Star Droid helps stargazers navigate the night sky using GPS technology that cross-references the user’s position with existing space maps, and adds identifying tags to the heavenly... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • Google • cell phones • constellations • night sky • light pollution • mobile phones • Star Droid • Jay-ZTV • Droid

 Space Blob Stumps Scientists

Cosmic blob from the dawn of time confounds theories on early universe

Apr 23, 09 7:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - A gigantic blob at the edge of the universe is forcing scientists to rethink their ideas on how galaxies form, reports the BBC. The radiation-emitting object 12.9 billion light years away is one of the most distant—and consequently oldest—things ever seen by astronomers, and is much bigger... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • space • Big Bang • black hole • universe • galaxy • Himiko

 Mystery East Coast Fireball 
 Was a Russian Rocket 

Naval Observatory 99% sure explosion was remains of Soyuz booster

Mar 31, 09 2:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - The fireball that lit up parts of the East Coast Sunday night was almost certainly the exploding remains of a Russian rocket, a US Naval Observatory official tells Space.com. The second stage of the Soyuz rocket was slated to enter the atmosphere at the time and place the fireball... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • rocket • space debris • East Coast • Soyuz • space junk

Mysterious Fireball Reported Along Atlantic Coast

Meteor suspected

Mar 30, 09 2:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Residents along the mid-Atlantic coast spotted a huge fireball last night—likely a meteor—followed by an explosion and a loud noise minutes later, the Virginian-Pilot reports. “This brilliant green meteor was probably two or three times brighter than the moon,” says one amateur astronomer who spotted... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • meteor

 Scientists Track Meteor 
 to Earth for First Time 

Discovery is like first clue to asteroid 'Rosetta Stone'

Mar 25, 09 5:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have accomplished a first by tracking an asteroid from space into Earth's atmosphere and down to a Sudanese desert, Wired reports. A team of searchers found about 280 small chunks of the meteor, all of a type never before collected. "This is like the first step toward a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • Sudan • asteroid • scientific discoveries • meteorites • scientific breakthroughs

ANALYSIS

 ET Seekers Win Big Boost 

Fringe movement attracts big donors and wide interest as its goes mainstream

Feb 13, 09 5:58 PM CST
(Newser) - The truth is out there, and now there’s funding to find it: Everyone from Bill Gates to Cameron Diaz is embracing the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), a movement transitioning from X-Files territory to the mainstream, the Wall Street Journal says. One astronomer left last week's prestigious TED conference... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • space exploration • space • extraterrestrial life • SETI • The X-Files

Eye Trouble May Have Affected Galileo's Observations

Scientists want to exhume astronomer

Jan 22, 09 1:24 PM CST
(Newser) - Galileo’s vision problems may have distorted some of his findings, Reuters reports. Scientists want to exhume the scientist’s body to determine, through DNA tests, the exact nature of his eye condition. “If we knew exactly what was wrong with his eyes we could use computer models to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • disease • DNA • Saturn • Galileo • pathology • eyes

 Big Moon Rising This Weekend 

Star-gazers who missed December's perigee get a second chance to look up Saturday

Jan 10, 09 1:03 PM CST
(Newser) - Star-gazers are hoping for clear skies this evening, when the full moon will make its biggest and brightest appearance of 2009. As it rises at sunset, the moon will appear 14% larger and 30% brighter than the year's subsequent moons, Space.com reports. The show—the result of the moon... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • space • full moon • stargazing • moon • night sky

 Where Did Venus' Water Go? 

Solar wind appears top culprit in missing hydrogen

Jan 5, 09 4:40 PM CST
(Newser) - Astronomers puzzling over why Venus, formed about the same time as Earth, has so little water may have found a culprit: solar wind, Space.com reports. Scientists think both originally had about the same amount; Venus’ warmer temperatures would have caused any oceans to evaporate. Australian scientists think solar... More »

MORE ABOUT:
astronomy • water • Venus

 Moon Will Appear 
 Extra Bright Tonight 

Tonight's sky will seem 30 percent brighter than usual, NASA says

Dec 12, 08 4:29 PM CST
(Newser) - If tonight’s full moon looks bigger and brighter than normal, that’s because it is, Space.com reports. The satellite reaches its perigree today, making its position the closest of the year to Earth—though still some 222,000 miles away. The moon's irregular orbit causes the distance to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NASA • astronomy • space • full moon • orbit • night sky

1 - 20 of 68 Stories | 1 2 3 4 Next >>


from our news partners