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New lease of life for hobbled planet-hunter Kepler

2013-06-18T14:37:00Z

NASA might not be able to save its damaged space telescope Kepler, but it could begin a second career spotting new worlds with a gravitational lens

Cassini to Photograph Earth From Deep Space

2013-06-19T02:11:10Z

On July 19th, NASA's Cassini spacecraft will photograph Earth through the rings of Saturn.

Cassini Probe to Take Photo of Earth From Deep Space

2013-06-18T04:00:00Z

NASA's Cassini spacecraft, now exploring Saturn, will take a picture of our home planet from a distance of hundreds of millions of miles on July 19.

Venus Express:Super-hurricane-force winds on Venus are getting stronger

2013-06-18T16:30:00Z

As the closest planet to Earth, Venus is a relatively easy object to observe. However, many mysteries remain, not least the super-rotation of Venus' atmosphere, which enables high altitude winds to circle the planet in only four days. Now images of cloud features sent back by ESA's Venus Express orbiter have revealed that these remarkably rapid winds are becoming even faster.

Saturn probe to acquire Earth image

2013-06-19T04:08:23Z

The Cassini probe in orbit around Saturn is going to picture the ringed planet in a special photo that also includes a distant Earth.

Herschel telescope switched off

2013-06-17T13:58:21Z

Controllers sever all communications with Europe's billion-euro Herschel space telescope, formally bringing to a close the observation phase of the mission.

NASA's Webb Telescope's Last Backbone Component Completed

2013-06-14T04:00:00Z

Assembly of the backbone of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the primary mirror backplane support structure, is a step closer to completion with the recent addition of the backplane support frame, a fixture that will be used to connect all the pieces of the telescope together.

NASA's Hubble Uncovers Evidence of Farthest Planet Forming From Its Star

2013-06-13T04:00:00Z

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found compelling evidence of a planet forming 7.5 billion miles away from its star, a finding that may challenge current theories about planet formation.

Hubble Uncovers Evidence for Extrasolar Planet Under Construction

2013-06-13T17:00:00Z

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Nearly 900 extrasolar planets have been confirmed to date, but now for the first time astronomers think they are seeing compelling evidence for a planet under construction in an unlikely place, at a great distance from its diminutive red dwarf star.

Astrophile: The runt of the galactic litter

2013-06-12T21:20:00Z

The smallest galaxy known, Segue 2, is either an impossible runt or a battered companion of the Milky Way

Is Earth's orbit scarily close to Venus's sultry zone?

2013-06-13T07:00:00Z

If the latest models are to be believed, Earth isn't in the midst of the sun's Goldlilocks zone, but on the brink of becoming Venus

Astronomy: Trap holds protoplanet dust

2013-06-12T07:00:00Z

Astronomy: Trap holds protoplanet dust

Nature 498, 7453 (2013). doi:10.1038/498141a

Dust particles spotted around a young star support an idea about how planets are born.Planet formation is a paradox: according to standard theory, dust grains orbiting newborn stars should spiral into those stars rather than accrete to form planets. Astronomers have suggested that there

New Kind of Variable Star Discovered

2013-06-12T10:00:00Z

Astronomers using the Swiss 1.2-metre Euler telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile have found a new type of variable star. The discovery was based on the detection of very tiny changes in brightness of stars in a cluster. The observations revealed previously unknown properties of these stars that defy current theories and raise questions about the origin of the variations.

Black hole caught napping after meal

2013-06-12T12:30:06Z

Astronomers point X-ray telescopes at a galaxy's central black hole, last seen snacking on a cloud of gas - but it seems to have fallen dormant.

Euclid:Euclid to probe dark Universe with Astrium science module

2013-06-11T16:00:00Z

The module carrying the telescope and scientific instruments of ESA's Euclid 'dark Universe' mission is now being developed by Astrium in Toulouse, France.

'We will be amazed by the diversity of exoplanets'

2013-06-11T07:00:00Z

The Kepler space telescope's search may be at an end, but Didier Queloz, who found the first world around a sunlike star, says more planet hunts are afoot

Obese black holes outshone stars in earliest galaxies

2013-06-07T10:00:00Z

Collapsing gas clouds in the very young universe could have formed many "obese" black holes, pouring out energy that is still visible today

Astrophile: The supernova that blew up a galaxy

2013-06-07T16:14:00Z

Some juvenile galaxies in the early universe may have grown abnormally big, finally forming gigantic stars that exploded to create massive black holes

Tendrils of death reach into a star nursery

2013-06-07T16:30:00Z

Wisps of matter from an exploded star float through a nebula glowing with newborns in the latest view from a pair of NASA space telescopes

'Nuclear pasta' may stabilise pulsars' spins

2013-06-09T17:00:00Z

Lumps of atomic nuclei shaped like spaghetti could be what keep some fast-spinning neutron stars from slowing their pace