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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: outer space

outer space stories: 39 news summaries

1 - 20 of 39 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 NASA Will 
 Try to Free 
 Rover Stuck 
 on Mars 

Spirit has been in a sand trap since April

Nov 12, 09 5:37 PM CST
(Newser) - Help is on the way, rover. NASA will attempt to free the Mars rover Spirit from its sand-trap prison on Monday. The plucky machine got stuck in April—“the equivalent of falling through the ice over a frozen pond," says a NASA official. Spirit has been exploring Mars... More »

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NASA • space exploration • Mars • planet • Mars rover • outer space

 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 »

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

 Ares Test 
 Rocket 
 Blasts Off 

Possible space shuttle replacement launches after long delay

Oct 28, 09 10:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - NASA’s Ares I-X test rocket finally blasted off this morning, after several delays and a storm-foiled first attempt. The $445 million rocket is the first of its kind, and NASA hopes it’ll eventually replace the space shuttle and take astronauts to the moon. Originally it was supposed to... More »

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Iraq • NASA • aerospace • rocket • space program • outer space • Ares I • Ares launch video

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a colossal ring around Saturn, the biggest planetary ring yet found. It's enormous even by solar system standards: Among the analogies being used to make it clear to our little earthly minds is that it would take 1 billion Earths to fill it. "This thing is... More »

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NASA • planet • Saturn • solar system • outer space

 Orbiting Telescope 
 Snaps Delicious 
 Pics of Milky Way 

Herschel captures whirling gas, dust, star in chaotic galaxy

Oct 2, 09 4:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Stunningly detailed images of our Milky Way galaxy showing whirling clouds of gas peppered with stars have been captured by Europe's $1.4 billion orbiting Herschel Space Observatory. Herschel has the largest mirror ever placed on an orbiting telescope and is able to capture images beyond the reach of other... More »

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Europe • space • Milky Way • shooting stars • outer space • Herschel • Herschel Space Observatory

 MIT Students 
 Snap Space Pics 
 on the Cheap 

'Project Icarus' sends camera to the stratosphere for under $150

Sep 22, 09 4:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - A trio of MIT students managed to take photographs from the edge of space for less than $150, the Guardian reports. The students sent a digital camera and a GPS-equipped mobile phone in a coolbox into the stratosphere by attaching the kit to a helium balloon. They retrieved the photos... More »

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MIT • camera • photography • atmosphere • outer space

(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 »

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astronomy • exoplanet • mass • outer space

 Google's New 
 UFO Mystery Solved 

Somebody's obsessed with HG Wells

Sep 16, 09 4:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Google has apparently been abducted by aliens. The search engine sent Twitterers on an extraterrestrial mystery hunt this week after Tweeting map coordinates and posting "Google" written in crop circles as its ever-changing Internet logo. The coordinates led to the English town of Woking, which was the landing site... More »

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Google • UFO • extraterrestrial life • aliens • ET • Twitter • outer space • tweet • HG Wells • War of the Worlds

Slideshow

 New Hubble Images Dazzle 

Refurbished telescope can see further, with more color

Sep 9, 09 1:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - NASA released the first shots from the recently upgraded Hubble Space Telescope today, and the results are spectacular. Thanks to the new imagers installed in May, Hubble can now see farther, with greater clarity and a wider color spectrum, reports NPR. Officially, NASA calls it a new beginning for the... More »

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NASA • Hubble • deep space • galaxy • outer space • Hubble Space Telescope

 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 »

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astronomy • Milky Way • galaxy • outer space • Andromeda Galaxy • astronomer

South Korea Launches
Space Rocket

First attempt from own soil; satellite aboard fails to reach orbit

Aug 25, 09 6:44 AM CDT
(AP) - South Korea's first rocket blasted off into space today following an aborted attempt last week and just months after its rival North Korea drew international ire for its own launch. A problem quickly surfaced, however, when the satellite the rocket was carrying apparently failed to enter its intended orbit. ... More »

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Russia • South Korea • aerospace • space • satellite • rocket • outer space

(Newser) - An Australian science magazine is soliciting text messages to send to a mysterious planet more than 20 light-years away, Space.com reports. Called "Hello from Earth," the project aims to transmit 160-character missives to Gliese 581d, a so-called "Super Earth" discovered 2 years ago. "Will... More »

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planet • extraterrestrial life • exoplanet • outer space

(Newser) - With all the hoopla of the Apollo anniversary safely behind us, a White House panel is ready to deliver a sobering assessment of the nation's current moon plans: They're too expensive. The panel, set up by President Obama to review NASA's human space flight program, says the agency's budget is... More »

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NASA • space exploration • astronauts • moon • rockets • outer space

(Newser) - It’s the largest spacecraft mankind has ever built, it’s cost the taxpayers and US allies $100 billion, and in a few years, NASA intends to crash the International Space Station into the Pacific Ocean, letting it burn up in the atmosphere en route. The station is nearly complete,... More »

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NASA • space exploration • space shuttle • International Space Station • orbit • outer space

(AP) - New images suggest Mars had a sizable lake on its surface billions of years ago, further evidence that the planet had a watery past. Images snapped by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal a 30-mile-long canyon where water once flowed and beach remnants surrounding a basin. Dubbed the Shalbatana lake for... More »

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space exploration • water • Mars • lake • satellite images • outer space • Lake Champlain • Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter • satellite photograph • Gaetano Di Achille • Jim Bell • Shalbatana lake

(Newser) - NASA will launch a mission Wednesday to gather information about how humans might someday colonize the moon, the Los Angeles Times reports. A robotic orbiter will provide detailed maps of the topography and first-of-their kind peeks inside craters where ice might be hiding. “We're going to provide NASA... More »

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NASA • space travel • moon colonization • Lunar Crater and Observation Sensing Satellite • Obama administration • outer space

 Armstrong 
 Flubbed 
 Moon Line, 
 Made It Stellar 

Astro put tiny poetic spin on script

Jun 4, 09 2:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Stressed out Neil Armstrong flubbed his line as he became the first human to step on the moon—and turned it into out-of-this-world poetry, reports the BBC. The astronaut was supposed to say: "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind," as he walked onto... More »

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NASA • astronauts • moon • Buzz Aldrin • moon landings • outer space • Neil Armstrong

(Newser) - Atlantis astronauts found some minor damage to the shuttle’s heat shield during an arduous, nine-hour inspection today, Space.com reports, with NASA officials saying nicks sustained during liftoff weren’t a serious concern, but that more analysis was needed. Astronauts will inspect the shield—vital to the shuttle’s... More »

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astronauts • damage • space travel • heat shield • inspection • Atlantis Space Shuttle • outer space • Hubble Space Telescope • reentry

(AP) - The space shuttle Atlantis and seven astronauts blasted off today en route to the Hubble Space Telescope. It is NASA's final trip to Hubble and comes after a seven-month delay. Atlantis and its crew were supposed to fly to Hubble last fall, but the telescope broke down. The telescope is... More »

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NASA • astronauts • repair • Atlantis Space Shuttle • outer space • Hubble Space Telescope • rescue mission • Jay-ZTV

(Newser) - A rare mid-Atlantic rocket launch could give Americans up and down the East Coast a special night sight next week, Space.com reports. NASA's launch of a spy satellite from Wallops Island in Virginia is scheduled after sunset Tuesday, with a window of 8 to 11pm. Similar events, mostly on... More »

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NASA • Virginia • rocket • spy satellite • East Coast • outer space • launch window

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