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07/30/2010 08:00 AM
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Brown dwarf found orbiting a young sun-like star
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Astronomers have imaged a very young brown dwarf, or failed star, in a tight orbit around a young nearby sun-like star. The discovery is expected to shed light on the early stages of solar system formation.
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07/29/2010 02:00 PM
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Brilliant star in a colorful neighborhood
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A spectacular new image shows the brilliant and unusual star WR 22 and its colorful surroundings. WR 22 is a very hot and bright star that is shedding its atmosphere into space at a rate many millions of times faster than the Sun. It lies in the outer part of the dramatic Carina Nebula from which it formed.
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07/29/2010 11:00 AM
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Planets found in unusually intimate dance around dying star
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Astronomers have found two extrasolar planetary systems with gas giant planets locked in an orbital embrace. In one system -- a planetary pair orbiting the massive, dying star HD 200964, located roughly 223 light-years from Earth -- the intimate dance is closer and tighter than any previously seen.
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07/29/2010 11:00 AM
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NASA simulates space exploration at remote Arctic crater site
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NASA personnel are among a group of international researchers who are in the Canadian Arctic assessing concepts for future planetary exploration as part of the Haughton-Mars Project, or HMP-2010. Scientists are using the arid, rocky environment of the Haughton Crater on Devon Island, Canada to simulate conditions that might be encountered by explorers on other planetary bodies. The latest edition of the HMP-2010 began July 19 and includes three weeks of crew and mission control activities and robotic testing.
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07/29/2010 12:00 AM
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Blowing in the wind: Cassini helps with dune whodunit on Saturn's moon Titan
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The answer to the mystery of dune patterns on Saturn's moon Titan did turn out to be blowing in the wind. It just wasn't from the direction many scientists expected.
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07/29/2010 12:00 AM
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Martian dust devil whirls into Opportunity's view
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In its six-and-a-half years on Mars, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity had never seen a dust devil before this month, despite some systematic searches in past years and the fact that its twin rover, Spirit, has seen dozens of dust devils at its location halfway around the planet.
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07/28/2010 08:00 PM
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Clean technology in 'hot water'
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What if work performed in space could improve the treatment of household and nuclear waste on Earth? That's what investigators are hoping to do with the results of a fluid physics study in progress on the International Space Station. The experiment, called DECLIC-HTI, is studying supercritical water that could lead to spin-offs in the field of clean technologies for treating waste here on Earth.
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07/28/2010 02:00 PM
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Unexplained pattern of cosmic rays discovered
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Researchers saw an unusual pattern when they looked at a "skymap" of the relative intensity of cosmic rays directed toward the Earth's Southern Hemisphere, with an excess of cosmic rays detected in one part of the sky and a deficit in another. A similar lopsidedness, called "anisotropy," has been seen from the Northern Hemisphere by previous experiments, but its source is still a mystery.
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07/28/2010 11:00 AM
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Engineers prove space pioneer's 25-year-old theory
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When American space pioneer, Dr. Robert L. Forward, proposed in 1984 a way of greatly improving satellite telecommunications using a new family of orbits, some claimed it was impossible. But now engineers in Scotland have proved that Forward was right.
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07/27/2010 02:00 PM
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NASA tests launch abort system at supersonic speeds
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Aerospace engineers at NASA's Ames Research Center are conducting a series of wind tunnel tests to develop technology for future human space exploration. Using a six percent scale Orion model, featuring complex moving parts, engineers are simulating various launch abort conditions the spacecraft might encounter during ascent to characterize the effects of launch abort and control motor plumes on the aerodynamics of the Orion spacecraft.
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