In a continuing hunt for Earth-like planets, NASA’s Kepler space telescope recently announced the discovery of four potential new planets in their Sun’s “habitable zone” among 461 planet candidates discovered by the telescope. These four potential new planets are
Amateur astro-photographer Alan Friedman captures the sun and other stars with humble equipment, in an unlikely place, in a highly developed field. He discusses why he does it, and why it’s important for everyone to be a bit of a DIY upstart. In the spirit of ideas
Mark Behrendt, Cory Schmitz and Mike Rector created series of time lapses showing the Comet C/2012 K5 (LINEAR) on January 4/5. The three timelapses were stitched together by Cory Schmitz into the composite video.Comet LINEAR is visible in the sky for the
In an attempt to become self-reliant, ESA designed LEON series microprocessor chips for their future space missions. Engineered to operate within spacecraft computers, withstand extreme conditions during launch and in space, manufacturing was done Atmel in France
Astronomers first discovered evidence of a new planet outside of our solar system in 1995. Since then astronomers have discovered 529 other planets. These planets outside our solar system, referred to as extra-solar planets or in short exoplanets, have been detected
A new report issued by the National Research Council (NRC), “The Effects of Solar Variability on Earth’s Climate,” lays out some of the surprisingly complex ways that solar activity can make itself felt on our planet.The luminosity of our own sun varies a 0.1% over
ESA officials announced that its infrared Herschel Space Observatory has discovered that Apophis is about 325 meters (1,066 feet) wide, nearly 20 percent larger than a previous estimate of 270 m (885 feet). A 2004 study that predicted a 2.7 percent chance of
We have seen wonders of NASA in past; Curiosity rover’s rendezvous for instance, was really a thrilling experience not only for NASA; but for science enthusiasts all over the world. Sources say NASA is now considering a plan for an “Asteroid return mission” to drag a
The annual Quadrantids are the first meteor shower in 2013 and it will peak overnight, or more precisely, the first six hours of the morning of January 3rd. Unfortunately, the northern-hemisphere’s Quadrantid maximum, due around 13:30 UTC on January 3, has a
See how the phases of Earth’s moon work, from the full moon to the new moon and everything in between in this SPACE.com infographic. The moon is illuminated by light from the sun, which observers on Earth see reflected off the lunar surface. As the moon moves around
