Space

Astronomy

Historical Astronomy and More

The NASA Astrophysics Data System offers access to a huge, searchable database of journal articles and abstracts in the fields of physics and astronomy. The collection includes many historical publications in astronomy, including observatory reports, bulletins, and annals. It also has more than 300,000 abstracts from the Physical Review series published by the American Physical […]

Planetary Science

Red Planet Roundup: Opportunity knocks; Spirit revives

The NASA rover Opportunity bounced onto an equatorial Martian plain early on Jan. 25 and found an intriguing outcropping of rocks on the other side of the planet from where its ailing but recovering twin, Spirit, had recently stalled.

Astronomy

Scoping out a stellar nursery

Penetrating a veil of dust, a space-based infrared observatory has recorded the most complete portrait ever taken of a star-forming region in a nearby galaxy.

Astronomy

Stellar finding may outshine all others

Astronomers have found what may be the heaviest, biggest, and brightest star ever observed.

Planetary Science

Spirit Gets Its Wheels Dirty: Mars rover begins scientific work

Spirit, the rover that landed on Mars on Jan. 3, last week began studying the rocks and soil at its landing site.

Astronomy

Gang of four: Debut of a big telescope

In the desert of northern Chile, a fourth 8.2-meter telescope opened for business, completing a quartet known as the Very Large Telescope.

Astronomy

Stellar motions provide hole-y data

Measuring for the first time the acceleration of stars near the dense core of our galaxy, astronomers have obtained more precise information on the location and density of the black hole that lurks there.

Astronomy

New Images: They Might Be Planets

Astronomers have for the first time obtained images of as many as 18 objects beyond our solar system that, based on their mass alone, could qualify as planets.

Astronomy

Astronomy: Man Bites Dog; Planet heats its star

Observing a sunlike star 90 light-years from Earth, astronomers have found evidence of a closely orbiting planet heating its star.

Planetary Science

A Tale of Two Landers: NASA’s Spirit phones home, but Europe’s Beagle 2 remains mum on Mars

NASA's Spirit rover sent its first signals home soon after it touched down on Mars Jan. 3, but European Space Agency scientists haven't yet heard from their Beagle 2 lander, which dropped to the surface of Mars on Dec. 24.

Astronomy

Taste of a Comet: Spacecraft samples and views Wild 2

Pummeled by debris, a NASA spacecraft last week snatched up dust samples while taking the sharpest images ever of a comet's icy core.

Astronomy

X-ray images highlight galaxy collisions

A new study provides graphic evidence that X-ray observations may be the best way to identify ancient collisions between galaxies.