Space & Physics
Robot Space Plane Settles into Mystery Mission
The X-37B, a prototype space drone operated by the U.S. Air Force, is entering the third month of a classified space mission
Stories by SPACE.com
Space & Physics
Superhot Plasma Rain Falls on Sun in Amazing Video
NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory captures video of superheated plasma loops far larger than Earth as they rain down on solar surface
Space & Physics
Ultrafast Stars Discovered Racing through the Galaxy
Rocketing through space at more than three million kilometers per hour, six speedy stars were likely ejected from the giant black hole in the center of the Milky Way
Space & Physics
Apollo Moon Rocks Challenge Lunar Water Theory
Water on the moon was there as the moon formed, not delivered later by solar wind and comets
Chemistry
Violent Asteroid Impacts Shaped Protoplanet Vesta’s Odd Interior
Computer models reveal a pair of 32-kilometer-long asteroids caused Vesta's crust to melt and then re-form, making it thicker than can be explained by typical rock layering
Environment
NASA Launches Advanced Landsat Earth-Watching Satellite into Orbit
Landsat 8 will help scientists and policy makers better understand how the growing human population is affecting the planet
Space & Physics
Space Race in Asia Heats Up
Recent launches by North Korea, South Korea and Iran highlight a growing trend
Space & Physics
Hungry Black Hole Spawns Bizarre 4-Armed Galaxy
Beneath its pretty pink exterior, Messier 106 harbors a monster black hole that gobbles up matter at the galaxy’s center
Space & Physics
Closest "Alien Earth" May Be 13 Light-Years Away
Astronomers estimate 4.5 billion Earth-like planets are spread throughout the Galaxy
Space & Physics
Solar Wind Transforms Venus into Shape of Comet
Earth's ionosphere never becomes cometlike largely because the planet has its own magnetic field that balances out the sun's influence, but Venus lacks its own magnetic field and is therefore subject to the whims of the sun's solar wind...
Space & Physics
"Habitable Zone" for Alien Planets Redefined
Scientists have altered the criteria for the habitable zone—an area not too close or far away from a star—taking into account whether planets can host liquid water. This redefines where researchers believe life-forms could exist...
Space & Physics
Monkeys in Space: A Brief Spaceflight History
A look at simian astronauts over the years
Space & Physics
Dry Ice "Smoke" Carves Up Sand Dunes on Mars
Springtime thawing of frozen carbon dioxide creates wandering patterns of grooves in the region's sand dunes, showing that Mars's topography is still changing despite its apparent lack of surface water and volcanoes...
Space & Physics
NASA Joins European Dark Energy Mission
NASA will provide 16 infrared detectors and four spares for one of the Euclid space telescope's planned science instruments. The mission is set to launch in 2020
Environment
Cosmic Ray Hunting Balloon Sets Record for Longest Flight
Balloon-borne instruments in Antarctica often fall in the first few weeks, but the Super-TIGER balloon has been airborne for 46 days, shattering a previous record of just 42 days
Space & Physics
Astronauts Reveal the Secret of Zero-G Fingernail Clipping
Personal hygiene is difficult in space, where simple tasks like cutting hair and clipping fingernails become cosmic challenges for astronauts living in zero gravity
Space & Physics
Alien Auroras May Light Up Exoplanet Night Skies
Scientists have found evidence of polar lights on exoplanets and hope the discovery will add insight as to the strength of a planet's magnetic field
Space & Physics
NASA Beams Mona Lisa to Moon with Laser
Scientists beamed a picture of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece to a spacecraft orbiting the moon—the first laser communication of its kind
Space & Physics
Right Again, Einstein! New Study Supports "Cosmological Constant"
Recent findings back up Einstein's thinking and cast doubt on "rolling scalar fields," an alternative theory of dark energy that suggests the accelerated expansion of the universe will change over time...
Policy
Iran to Try Launching Monkey into Space Again: Report
The Iranian space program plans to launch a live monkey into space, despite previous failed attempts
