outer space

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We're About to Map the Milky Way

One of 'most ambitious space missions ever' begins

(Newser) - While you were sleeping, a truly massive undertaking got under way, one that the BBC terms "one of the most ambitious space missions in history." Europe's Gaia satellite—which has been two decades in the making—launched at 4:12am EST today, setting it on a course...

Brightest Space-Blast Ever Shocks Scientists

Gamma-ray burst defies current theories

(Newser) - Notice a little white spot in the sky earlier this year? That may have been the brightest gamma-ray explosion on record mixed with a powerful supernova, a combination scientists had never seen before, LiveScience reports. Because the blast was fairly close by—a mere 3.5 billion light-years—scientists were...

Scientists Find Deadline for Evacuating Earth

Relax, we have between 1.75B and 3.25B years until this place is too hot to live

(Newser) - If you think climate change is scary now, wait a couple billion years. In a new study, scientists estimate that the rising temperatures will make the Earth completely uninhabitable within 1.75 billion and 3.25 billion years, the Guardian reports. And it has nothing to do with carbon emissions....

Gold's Origins Discovered ... in Space

Star collision produces untold quantities of the shiny stuff

(Newser) - If you've got, say, a gold wedding ring, you are currently wearing a memento from the collision of two neutron stars. Or at least, that's what scientists hypothesize after witnessing one such collision in space, seemingly answering a longstanding scientific quandary, the LA Times reports. Neutron stars are...

Earth Once Had a 2nd Moon: Scientist

 Earth Once Had a 
 2nd Moon: Scientist 
in case you missed it
Jul 14, 2013 7:39 AM CDT

Earth Once Had a 2nd Moon: Scientist

Theory gets new life breathed into it

(Newser) - Earth may have once looked a little more like Mars: a planet with two moons. It's not the first time the theory has been trotted out by Erik Asphaug, but it's getting new life thanks to an upcoming conference about our natural satellite. The University of California at...

Solar System's Edge Mystifies Scientists

Voyager 1 reaches outer limits and smashes old theories

(Newser) - Voyager 1 may not have exited our solar system , but it's throwing scientists some unexpected curve balls from 11 billion miles away, reports the Los Angeles Times . The spacecraft is now in a strange zone known as the "magnetic highway," and nothing out there seems to be...

The Supermoon Is Coming
 The Supermoon Is Coming 
Jun 21, 2013 1:18 PM CDT

The Supermoon Is Coming

Largest full moon of 2013 arrives Sunday

(Newser) - This weekend will be a little more super than most. That's because the "supermoon" will grace the sky on Sunday. Space.com explains why it's so special: At 7am ET, the moon will hit the point in its orbit that's closest to us (ie, reaching "...

SpaceX Rocket Suffers Glitch After Launch

Flight controllers of private firm trying to correct

(Newser) - A commercial vessel carrying a ton of supplies for the International Space Station ran into trouble shortly after liftoff today. SpaceX's billionaire founder Elon Musk reported a problem with the thrusters on the unmanned spacecraft, named Dragon. Three of the four sets of thrusters did not kick in, he...

Meteor 'Doomsayers' Gain Cred After Russia Blast

Private groups plan to launch detection satellites

(Newser) - Advocates for early space-rock detection are speaking up and sounding a lot less looney since that meteor rocked Russia on Friday, the New York Times reports. At least two private groups are planning to launch satellites for early detection and one wants to mine asteroids for useful metals like platinum....

California Gets Apparent Meteor Show, Too

People around San Francisco report light streaking through sky

(Newser) - A big shooting star wouldn't generally make headlines, but this one in California is doing so because it comes on the heels of what happened in Russia and what didn't happen to Earth . Last night, lots of people in the San Francisco Bay area captured images of a...

UN Team Unveils Asteroid Defense Plan

On the same day massive rock buzzes the Earth

(Newser) - An asteroid about half the size of a football field will whiz past Earth today, closer than any object of its size ever has before (OK, almost any object ), and a much smaller meteor actually hit Russia this morning, injuring hundreds. But fear not, people of Earth: Soon, we...

2 Pluto Moons in Need of Devilish Names

P4 and P5 will soon be called something more underworld-y

(Newser) - Want to name Pluto's two tiniest moons? Then you'll need to dig deep into mythology. Astronomers announced a contest today to name the two itty-bitty moons of Pluto discovered over the past two years . Three Pluto moons already have names associated with Hades and the underworld: Charon, the...

US Getting Worried About China's Space Program

It's fearful of what China could do to our security satellites

(Newser) - What China has done recently in space remains classified. But what sources were willing to tell Reuters is that those moves have officials worried that the country is becoming increasingly able to mess with US satellites that are key to our security. The revelation follows a late 2012 classified intelligence...

Astronomers Find Biggest Thing in the Universe
Astronomers Find Biggest Thing in the Universe
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jan 13, 2013 7:53 AM CST

Astronomers Find Biggest Thing in the Universe

Quasar cluster is 4 billion light-years wide

(Newser) - Scientists have found a structure so large that it undermines their understanding of the universe. It's a collection of quasars that measures a difficult-to-imagine 4 billion light-years across, Space.com reports. To put that in perspective, the entire Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years wide. Known as a...

Prediction: We'll Discover 1st 'Earth Twin' in 2013

With 50B planets in Milky Way, astronomers think big discovery looms

(Newser) - With more than 800 exoplanets identified since 1995, many astronomers are predicting that 2013 will be the year that the first truly Earth-like planet is spotted, reports Space . Scientists have gotten ever closer to finding an alien Earth in recent years, identifying several in the right temperature range and others...

Air Force's Secret Robot Space Plane Blasts Off

For an unknown mission

(Newser) - Who says America doesn't have a space program anymore? Sure the shuttle's gone, but the military is keeping the dream alive—and classified. The Air Force today launched its top-secret unmanned space shuttle alternative into orbit on a mysterious mission, the AP reports. The vessel, dubbed the X-37B,...

1K People Willing to Take One-Way Trip to Mars

Mars One wants to send 4 people there in 2023

(Newser) - Earlier this year, Mars One announced plans to send four people to the Red Planet by 2023, where they will be stars of a reality show, of course. If you pooh-poohed the gambit as totally unfeasible, you'd be wrong in at least one way—the group has no shortage...

Voyager 1 Drifts Into Unknown Region of Space

NASA calls it the 'magnetic highway'

(Newser) - How to best learn about the edge of the solar system? Actually go there. NASA says its Voyager 1 spacecraft—which launched in 1977—has entered an area of the solar system that scientists didn't know about, the AP reports. "We do believe this may be the very...

Mercury Harbors Lots of Ice
 Mercury Harbors Lots of Ice 
Nov 29, 2012 6:59 PM CST

Mercury Harbors Lots of Ice

Frozen water confirmed at planet's north pole

(Newser) - Just in time for Christmas, scientists have confirmed a vast amount of ice at the north pole—on Mercury, the closest planet to the sun. The findings are from NASA's Mercury-orbiting probe, Messenger, and the subject of three scientific papers released today by the journal Science. The frozen water...

NASA Taps Astronaut for Longest US Space Mission

Scott Kelly to spend a year in space

(Newser) - His twin brother may be the bigger household name , but that could change come 2015. Capt. Scott Kelly, who claims Mark Kelly and wife Gabby Giffords among his family members, is scheduled to blast off on a one-year mission to the International Space Station in the spring of that year....

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