NASA’s Curiosity rover has completed the drilling of the second rock sample on Mars and should deliver portions of the sample in coming days to laboratory instruments inside the rover. Pasadena, California – NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has used the drill on its robotic arm to collect a powdered sample from the interior of a [...]

New data from Europe’s Planck satellite challenges our understanding of the Universe, suggesting that Universe may be different on scales larger than those we can directly observe. Planck refines our knowledge of the Universe’s composition and evolution New maps provide excellent evidence for our standard model of cosmology Planck dates Universe at 13.82 billion years [...]

In a new study, astronomers detail their observations of a neutron star system known as Circinus X-1. Using the Karoo Array Telescope, they view the compact neutron star as it gobbles up parts of its companion star and then fires much of this matter back out again. An international team of astronomers have reported the [...]

Using the Subaru Telescope, astronomers have discovered a star that has about the same mass and chemical composition as the Sun. This solar twin will help astronomers to unveil the near future of our solar system’s Sun. A team of astronomers led by Jose Dias do Nascimento (Department of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Universidade Federal [...]

NASA’s mission to bring a sample of an asteroid back to Earth is underway. OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to launch in 2016 and will rendezvous with the asteroid Bennu in 2018, returning with a sample of it to Earth in 2023. NASA’s first mission to sample an asteroid is moving ahead into development and testing in [...]

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope captured this new image of Messier 94, also known as NGC 4736, which is located about 17 million light-years away. How many rings do you see in this new image of the galaxy Messier 94, also known as NGC 4736? While at first glance one might see a number of them, [...]

In a newly published study, researchers detail the atmospheric circulation patterns of Uranus and Neptune, finding that the streams of gas observed in the atmosphere are limited to a “weather layer” of no more than about 1000 km in depth. What is the long-range weather forecast for the giant planets Uranus and Neptune? These planets [...]

Using data from the Cassini spacecraft, researchers have created the first global topographic map of Saturn’s moon Titan. Scientists have created the first global topographic map of Saturn’s moon Titan, giving researchers a valuable tool for learning more about one of the most Earth-like and interesting worlds in the solar system. The map was just [...]

Asteroid 1998 QE2, which is believed to be about 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) in size, is set to sail past Earth at a distance of roughly 3.6 million miles (5.8 million kilometers) away, its closest approach to Earth for at least the next two centuries. On May 31, 2013, asteroid 1998 QE2 will sail serenely [...]

By combining x-ray, optical, and radio data, astronomers get a full picture of the superheated gas swirling around the black hole at the center of 4C+29.30, a black hole that is thought to be about 100 million times more massive than our Sun. This composite image of a galaxy illustrates how the intense gravity of [...]

This new Hubble images shows galaxy cluster Abell S1077 and is based in part on data spotted by Nick Rose in the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures image processing competition. Bright arcs are smeared around the heart of galaxy cluster Abell S1077 in this image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble space telescope. The arcs are stretched images [...]

By using a collection of authentic PAH spectra, coupled with algorithm-driven, blind-computational analyses, astrophysicists are able to interpret previously unknown infrared emissions from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), finding that PAHs changed significantly in size, electrical charge and structure, to adjust to different environments. Scientists at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, now have the [...]