13-14 Mar 2010 Mars is losing its airScientists have confirmed that pulses in the solar wind are slowly stripping Mars of its atmosphere. Einstein wins againA study of more than 70,000 galaxies shows that the Universe plays by the rules of Einstein's General Relativity. Smallest known star duo confirmedAstronomers have confirmed that two dead stars that revolve around each other in just 5.4 minutes. |
6 Mar 2010 VIDEO: The ASKAP telescopeWatch this amazing computer animation of the new ASKAP telescope in operation in remote Western Australia. Final shuttle fuel tank spliced togetherManufacture of the huge fuel tank for the final space shuttle flight is almost complete.
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4 Mar 2010 An "Out of this world" view of EarthSpace station astronauts have huge new windows to view the Earth and keep an eye on the Station. New "Dish" receives its first signalsAustralia's bid to host the Square Kilometre Array telescope has been boosted with the first radio test of an ASKAP antenna.
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27-28 Feb 2010 A distant planet's "death march"Scientists have determined that a massive planet is being torn apart by its own tides. New NASA tracking dish for AustraliaNASA will build a new state-of-the-art antenna at the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex. 50 years of NASA in AustraliaAustralia and the US have agreed to continue their successful space relationship. Rock layers are clues to how Mars dried outLayers of rock in a martian crater record major environmental changes on the planet billions of years ago. |
25 Feb 2010 New way of finding big stellar explosionsAstronomers think they've discovered a new way to spot a special kind of exploding star. New Mars probe will look for life signsA spacecraft for launch in 2016 will study the mysterious methane that could signal life on Mars.
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24 Feb 2010 Alien invaders pack the Milky WayAround a quarter of the star clusters in our Milky Way are invaders from other galaxies, Australian research shows. NASA's Stardust mission aims for cometA "recycled" space mission is on target to make its second rendezvous with a comet, on Valentine's day 2011.
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18 Feb 2010 Atom experiment tests Einstein's redshiftEinstein said gravity slows down time. This has now been shown with greater precision than ever before. Why are fewer stars born today?Why did galaxies in the early universe produce stars are 10 times the rate of current-day galaxies? Astronomers think they now know why.
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17 Feb 2010 The violent but beautiful process of starbirthA dramatic new image illustrates the dynamic and sometimes violent process of starbirth. WISE eye spots a cometNASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer satellite, or WISE, has discovered its first comet.
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16 Feb 2010 Anniversary of Voyager's "pale blue dot" image of EarthIt's 20 years since the most distant picture of planet was taken. How are heavy stars born?Stellar heavyweights may be born in much the same manner as lightweights like our Sun.
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15 Feb 2010 Big stars have planet formation on fast forwardFor stars much bigger than our Sun, planets must form quickly or not at all. Australia's new "Dish" takes shapeThe first of 36 antennae for the ASKAP telescope is being assembled in Western Australia.
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13-14 Feb 2010 New Saturn images 'unique to science'Scientists have used the power of the Hubble Space Telescope to capture images never-before-scene images of Saturn. Amazing new view of the Orion NebulaInfrared vision helps astronomers peer into the heart of the Orion Nebula to witness the early life of stars. EARTH FROM SPACE: Fiji's forestsA satellite image shows the interrelationship between land and sea on Fiji's main island, Viti Levu. |
12 Feb 2010 Alien planet's atmosphere studiedScientists have used a relatively small ground-based telescope to identify an organic molecule in the atmosphere of a planet nearly 63 light-years away. Saturn mission gets 7-year extensionNASA will extend the international Cassini-Huygens mission to explore Saturn and its moons to 2017. Huge space sunshield ready for actionA sunshield as big as a tennis court will shield the James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble's replacement. |
11 Feb 2010 Lander mission proposed for VenusNASA has asked scientists to come up with a mission to the planet Venus, also known as "Earth's evil twin". Seeds in space will help understand plant growthNASA scientists hope to better understand exactly how and why plants grow differently in space. EARTH FROM SPACE: Dubai's artificial islandsManmade archipelagos are easily visible in this amazing image taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. |
8 Feb 2010 Station to bring new era for scienceWith assembly nearing completion, the International Space Station is about to start working at its full capacity. Super-scope to study the SunThe largest and most capable solar telescope will be built in Hawaii. EARTH FROM SPACE: North Sentinel IslandHome to isolated tribes of hunter-gatherers, North Sentinel Island bears the scars of the 2004 tsunami. |
6-7 Feb 2010 Black hole sets new distance recordAstronomers have discovered a black hle in a spiral galaxy six million light-years from Earth. Bugs can beat the vacuum of spaceExperiments mounted on the outside of the Space station show that some kinds of life can exist in space. New idea on the origin of lifeThe "soup" concept of the origin of life is being challenged by new research that says ocean floor hydrothermal vents are where it all began. |
5 Feb 2010 Hubble's snaps most-detailed images of PlutoNASA has released the most detailed and dramatic images ever taken of the distant dwarf planet Pluto. Pluto mission—four years and countingNASA's Pluto-bound space probe is almost halfway there. Protecting Earth from cosmic collisionsA new report lays out options to detect extra asteroids and comets that could pose a threat to Earth. The Stars behind the CurtainA new image has been released of a giant "stellar nursery" in which stars are continuously being born. |
2 Feb 2010 NASA's Moon vision is deadThe Obama administration sets a new course for US manned spaceflight. Buzz Aldrin supports new space visionApollo 11 astronaut and tireless campaigner for a US space vision, applauds NASA's new direction. Astronomers discover cool stars in nearby spaceAstronomers have discovered what may be the coolest "failed star" ever found outside our Solar System. |
25 Jan 2010 Jupiter's melted choc-chip ice-cream moonScientists now think they know why Jupiter's moons Ganymede and Callisto so different. GALLERY: The Cat's Paw NebulaA stunning new image has been released showing the vast interstellar cloud known as the Cat's Paw Nebula or NGC 6334. Huge gas tail in space has astronomers puzzledA 200,000-light-year-long tail of gas extends outside its galaxy, and could be home to orphan stars. Cyclone Magda's Australian landfall seen from orbitAlthough, fortunately, it didn't do much damage, Cyclone Magda looked an impressive sight from space. |
23-24 Jan 2010 Become a Mars photographer!A powerful camera aboard a NASA probe orbiting Mars will soon take photo requests from the public. Antimatter caused titanic stellar explosionA distant star exploded when its centre became so hot that matter and anti-matter particle pairs were created.
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22 Jan 2010 Only 15 percent of planetary systems are like oursIn their quest to find planetary systems like ours, astronomers have determined how common our Solar System might be. Did an Earth-like planet start off like Saturn?The most Earth-like planet yet found around another star may be the rocky remains of a Saturn-size gas giant. NASA considers three new planetary missionsNASA has selected three proposals as candidates for the agency's next mission into the Solar System. |
21 Jan 2010 Alien dust suggests planets in collisionObservations of dust clouds surrounding a star lead scientists to think they came from the shattering collision of two or more planets. Mirror testing for the James Webb Space TelescopeHubble's successor is having its mirrors tested to see if they'll stand up to the cold of deep space. Black hole loses its appetiteThe huge black hole that lives at the centre of our galaxy seems to be on a hunger strike. |
16-17 Jan 2010 Why do galaxies come in so many different shapes?Astronomers think they've explained an important part of the evolution of galaxies. Space telescope spies treasure trove of cosmic metalAstronomers have discovered the largest known reservoir of rare metals in the universe. EARTH FROM SPACE: Plankton blooms off Western Australia coastAn amazing satellite image shows a huge blue bloom of tiny marine organisms off the west coast of Australia. |
15 Jan 2010 First direct "chemical fingerprint" of an exoplanetAstronomers have made the first direct "chemical analysis" of a planet orbiting a distant star. Will Phoenix rise again on Mars?NASA is about to check to see if it's Mars lander, Phoenix, will show any signs of life after emerging from deep freeze. EARTH FROM SPACE: The Sahara's "land of terror"The amazing desert area known as the "land of terror" stands out in this amazing satellite image. |
13 Jan 2010 Space rock to buzz Earth tonightAmateur astronomers will be watching closely as a 10- to 15-metre-wide mini-asteroid zips past Earth. When a "superstar" blows its topWhat happens when a star hundreds of times bigger than our Sun blows up? Deep heat powers volcanoes on icy moonSaturn's icy moon Enceladus was thought to be a cold, dead place. So why does it have active volcanoes? EARTH FROM SPACE: Mining lithium in one of the driest places on EarthDespite being incredibly dry, the Salar de Atacama sports evaporation ponds from which lithium is extracted. |
12 Jan 2010 Second smallest exoplanet foundPlanet hunters have detected a distant planet that is only four times the mass of Earth. Ultra-dense star has a veil of carbonAstronomers have solved a 10-year mystery by determining that a strange star is actually a neutron star with a thin coating of pure carbon. Helping astronauts come back to EarthA new system could help space travellers, and the elderly and those with balance disorders, to deal with balance problems. |
9-10 Jan 2010 First Earth-like planet a volcanic wasteland?With a temperature of 2,200 degrees C, the rocky planet CoRoT-7 b is a forbidding place that is unlikely to harbour life. EARTH FROM SPACE: The Whitsunday IslandsA stunning satellite image shows the Whitsunday Islands, part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. |
8 Jan 2010 Hubble finds most distant primeval galaxiesThe Hubble Telescope has broken the cosmic distance limit by finding a bunch of galaxies that have never been seen before. Sydney scientists spot "star quakes"In some of the first results from NASA's Kepler space telescope mission, astronomers have been studying the thunderous rumblings of distant stars.
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5 Jan 2010 Space telescope finds five new planetsNASA's Kepler space telescope has found five new planets beyond our Solar System. Astronomers watch as black holes waltzAstronomers have announced the discovery of 33 pairs of "waltzing" black holes in distant galaxies. Moon rock to return to spaceA rock from the Moon, plus a piece of Mt Everest, are heading for a new home aboard the International Space Station. |
Spaceinfo.com.au news stories are updated mid-evening the day prior to the listed publication date.
