outer space

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Scientists Spot Galaxy 'Cannibalism'

Andromeda is consuming other galaxies and the Milky Way's on the menu

(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...

South Korea Launches Space Rocket
South Korea Launches
Space Rocket

South Korea Launches Space Rocket

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

(Newser) - 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. ...

Aussies to Zap Text Messages at Mystery Planet

(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...

NASA Can't Afford to Visit Moon by 2020

(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...

Plan to Crash $100B Space Station Draws Fire

(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,...

New Images May Show Ancient Martian Lake

(Newser) - 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...

Colonize the Moon? NASA to Scope It Out

(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 with...

Armstrong Flubbed Moon Line, Made It Stellar

Astro put tiny poetic spin on script

(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...

Atlantis Crew Finds Minor Damage to Shield

(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...

Atlantis Lifts Off on Mission to Hubble

(Newser) - 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...

Rare Rocket Launch in Va. May Wow East Coast

(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...

UFO Watchers Abuzz Over Mars 'Skull'

(Newser) - UFO watchers are speculating online that a NASA image of a Martian landscape may show an alien skull, reports the Telegraph. "There appears to be a narrow pointed small mouth, so this creature most likely is a carnivore," noted one. An image that looked surprisingly like a skull...

Search for 'Earth's Twin' Finds Similar-Sized Planet

(Newser) - Astronomers in Chile looking for an Earth-like planet have discovered the closest one in size yet, the BBC reports. Don’t get your hopes up: Though Gliese 581 e, which lies outside our solar system, is just twice as large as Earth, it travels far too close to its sun...

Scientists Spot End of World
 Scientists Spot End of World 

Scientists Spot End of World

Remains of solar systems discovered around dead stars

(Newser) - Astronomers looking at dead stars trillions of miles away believe they have glimpsed Earth's eventual fate, the Times of London reports. The scientists found that many white dwarfs—stars that swelled, burned out, and collapsed—are surrounded by a dust they think is the remnants of planets like ours destroyed...

Under Antarctic Glacier, Life Exists Without Light, Oxygen

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered an Antarctic ecosystem of microorganisms cut off from light and oxygen for as many as 2 million years, the Guardian reports. The microbes, living under one-third of a mile of ice, in a 14-degree lake four times as salty as seawater, give researchers clues to how life...

First Repeat Space Tourist Arrives at ISS

(Newser) - A Russian spacecraft carrying a cosmonaut, an astronaut, and the first two-time space tourist has docked with the International Space Station, the CBC reports. The Soyuz capsule will soon offload the two crew members and US billionaire Charles Simonyi. Simonyi will return to Earth in the same capsule on April...

2 Teachers Make Mission's Final Walk

(Newser) - Two astronauts who were teaching math and science to middle school students just 5 years ago went on a spacewalk together today, their path cleared of dangerous orbiting junk that had threatened the space station and shuttle. It's the first time two former schoolteachers have been on a spacewalk together,...

Brit Dog Walker Reported Close Encounter of the Alien Kind

1989 tale in recently released in UFO files

(Newser) - Another tale from the UK's recently released military files on UFOs comes from a dog-walker, who reports encountering an extraterrestrial who spoke in a Scandinavian accent. It was classified as a "genuine call" by a Royal Air Force phone operator, reports the Telegraph. The alien, appearing in human form...

Space Station Panels Unfurled, Despite Threat of 'Stiction'

(Newser) - Astronauts on the International Space Station successfully unfurled the last of the craft’s solar panels today, despite the chronic problem of “stiction,” ABC reports. Stiction is, predictably, the engineering term for things sticking together. When panels have had trouble opening in the past, spacemen have resorted to...

Spanish Teens + $82 Balloon = Stunning Space Pics

(Newser) - A group of Spanish high-school students has successfully sent a balloon and camera package 20 miles above the surface of the Earth, scoring stunning pictures of space, the Telegraph reports—and on a budget of about $82. “We were overwhelmed at our results, especially the photographs,” the team’...

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