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Transparent universe reveals hidden galaxies
Detection of high-energy gamma rays from distant "blazars" are forcing a rethink of our ideas about the formation and evolution of galaxies > >
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Physical Science
Death of rare giant star sheds light on cosmic past
One of the most massive stars known exploded in 2007, creating an unusual type of supernova that was likely common in the early universe > >
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Physical Science
Both of NASA's Mars orbiters are down for the count
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been offline since August – now, the Odyssey probe is down as well, spelling delays for the twin rovers, which use the orbiters to communicate with Earth > >
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Physical Science
Mars
Earth
Long-lived Titan lakes are boon to life
A new study suggests that lakes on the Saturn moon may not be just a 'flash in the pan', giving potential life longer to develop > >
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Physical Science
Saturn
LHC becomes most powerful accelerator of all time
Last night the rebooted Large Hadron Collider gave a beam of protons the most energy of any particle accelerator ever > >
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Physical Science
Large Hadron Collider
Shrink-to-fit spacesuit eases astronauts' workload
Astronauts will one day get suited and booted in seconds by stepping into an overlarge, part-robotic spacesuit that contracts to fit them > >
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Physical Science
Rare star smash may explain mystery outburst
A star that brightened dramatically in 2002 may have been sent into a spin by another star, X-ray observations suggest > >
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Physical Science
Energetic gamma rays spotted from 'microquasar'
After decades of searching, astronomers using two different telescopes have found high-energy gamma rays emanating from a disc around a dense stellar remnant > >
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Physical Science
New space telescope to hunt for stealth asteroids
NASA's WISE infrared telescope will be able to find hundreds of near-Earth objects and maybe even a faint Jupiter-sized object lurking in deep space > >
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Physical Science
NASA
Earth
Jupiter
Milky Way's building blocks still sparkle in the sky
Globular clusters may be the leftovers of small galaxies that merged to form the Milky Way > >
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Physical Science
Milky Way
Dark power: Grand designs for interstellar travel
We could reach the stars if we built a black hole starship or a dark matter rocket – we've got the physics to do it > >
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Physical Science
Birthplace of cosmic guitar pinpointed
A pulsar that is forming a massive guitar-shaped wake in interstellar gas has been tracked back to its origin > >
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Physical Science
LHC smashes protons together for first time
The particle accelerator is now officially a collider – it will attempt to break the world record for collision energies before the end of the year > >
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Physical Science
Orion's dark secret: Violence shaped the night sky
A ring of bright stars surrounds us, giving us some of our most familiar constellations. But where did it come from? > >
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Physical Science
Icy moon's lakes brim with hearty soup for life
Lakes on Saturn's moon Titan are loaded with acetylene, a chemical some scientists say could serve as food for cold-resistant organisms, a new study suggests > >
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Physical Science
Saturn
Dark galaxy crashing into the Milky Way
A cloud of hydrogen crashing into our galaxy now appears be a galaxy itself, packed with dark matter – many more may be out there > >
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Physical Science
Milky Way
'Frankenstein' fix lets asteroid mission cheat death
The beleaguered Hayabusa asteroid probe is back on track to return to Earth after ground controllers cobbled together a working engine from two dead ones > >
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Physical Science
Earth
Is this the end for human space flight?
Have our dreams of sailing through space run out of history? Michael Hanlon thinks they have; Ivan Semeniuk can't see them being allowed to die > >
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Physical Science
Water found in lunar impact likely came from comets
The discovery of volatiles in lunar material ejected by NASA's LCROSS mission suggests comets delivered much of the water at the impact site > >
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Physical Science
NASA
Water found in lunar impact probably came from comets
The discovery of volatiles in lunar material ejected by NASA's LCROSS mission suggests comets delivered much of the water at the impact site > >
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Physical Science
NASA
Ripples in space divide classical and quantum worlds
We're made of subatomic particles that can be in two places at once. So why can't we? > >
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Physical Science
NASA seeks its one true glove
The second Astronaut Glove Challenge for more dextrous space gloves takes place this week > >
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Physical Science
Meteor showers: good for skygazers, bad for satellites
Several space missions have been damaged or destroyed by meteoroids over the years – David Shiga rounds up the casualties > >
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Physical Science
Mystery 'dark flow' extends towards edge of universe
Over a thousand galaxy clusters are streaming in one direction across the sky – some think it's the first sign of a neighbouring universe > >
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Physical Science
NASA to restart primate irradiation testing
The effect of space radiation on astronauts is still a big question mark for deep space exploration – primate research is meant to cut it down to size > >
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Physical Science
Meteor shower this week as we cut through comet trails
Hundreds of Leonid meteors an hour will stream across the sky on Tuesday when the Earth passes through old comet streams > >
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Physical Science
Earth
Impact reveals lunar water by the bucketful
NASA's LCROSS mission has confirmed an icy store of water at the moon's south pole > >
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Physical Science
NASA
Failed stellar bombs hint at supernova tipping point
Two peculiar white dwarfs with more oxygen than carbon are like nothing anybody has seen before > >
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Physical Science
Propelled by light: the promise and perils of solar sailing
Despite earlier failures, the Planetary Society is gearing up to test another solar sail in space in a year – executive director Louis Friedman explains why > >
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Physical Science
Mars rover battles for its life
NASA's veteran explorer Spirit faces its toughest challenge yet as it prepares to free itself from a sand trap where it has been mired for the past six months > >
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Physical Science
NASA
Mars
In SUSY we trust: What the LHC is really looking for
Forget the God particle - the rebooted Large Hadron Collider will give us much greater revelations > >
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Physical Science
Large Hadron Collider
Backward star ain't from around here
The nearest neighbouring star to orbit the galaxy backwards appears to have come from a much brighter place > >
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Physical Science
Will probe's upcoming fly-by unlock exotic physics?
All eyes will be on the Rosetta comet-chasing probe when it flies by Earth on Friday – a past fly-by revealed a mysterious speed boost that general relativity cannot explain > >
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Physical Science
Earth
Extraterrestrial rafting: Hunting off-world sea life
Do the moons of Jupiter and Saturn harbour life in their chilly oceans? A flotilla of space probes is being lined up to haul anchor and find out > >
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Physical Science
Jupiter
Saturn
'Space elevator' wins $900,000 NASA prize
A laser-powered robot climbed 900 metres up a cable suspended from a helicopter, winning a prize that had gone unclaimed since 2005 > >
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Physical Science
TV switch-over triggers rush to see rare stars
The wavelengths previously used to broadcast analogue TV in the US are now open to radio astronomers – but not for long > >
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Physical Science
Peter Diamandis: the joy of taking risks
The CEO of the X Prize Foundation wants to use our competitive instincts to make the world a better place > >
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Physical Science
Space junk piles up into threat to future launches
Burgeoning volumes of space debris are going to hit the economics of space flight hard and give mission controllers headaches > >
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Physical Science
Telescope glitch could delay discovery of alien Earths
Noise in a few of the CCDs on NASA's Kepler space telescope could overwhelm the signal of an Earth-like planet, but mission scientists are developing a fix > >
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Physical Science
NASA
Earth
Discovery
Cassini makes deepest dive yet into Saturn moon's jets
The probe has flown farther into the plumes spewing from icy Enceleadus than ever before – it will hunt for complex organic molecules that could hint at life > >
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Physical Science
Cassini
Saturn
Signs of alien worlds from long ago and far, far away
Light from 88 remote galaxies, emitted when the universe was young, provides some of the best evidence yet of solar systems beyond the Milky Way > >
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Physical Science
Milky Way
Controversy erupts over mock lunar lander contest
A rival team is crying foul after a competitor's mock lunar lander was allowed to make an extra flight in a $1 million competition > >
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Physical Science
Mock lunar lander to vie for $1m prize, despite fire
In a departure from previous competitions, Masten Space Systems will get an extra chance at competing for a $1 million prize for building a rocket that can take off and land vertically > >
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Physical Science
Voices of long-dead stars haunt the galaxy
Mysterious radio blips from apparently empty regions of space may be traces of an army of stellar corpses > >
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Physical Science
Universe's quantum 'speed bumps' no obstacle for light
The prospect that light is slowed by quantum-scale graininess in space-time seems to be fading, thanks to observations by NASA's Fermi telescope > >
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Physical Science
NASA
Multiplying universes: How many is the multiverse?
Imagine 10 to the power of 10 to the power of 10 million universes – oh, sorry, quantum physics says you can't > >
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Physical Science
Space shuttle successor completes crucial flight test
NASA has successfully launched a test version of the Ares I rocket it is developing to replace the space shuttle > >
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Physical Science
NASA
Images of space transformed by chips
Long before digital cameras hit the shops, their technology was used in astronomy. A gallery of images shows how CCDs showed us space as never before > >
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Physical Science
Static electricity worry halts NASA rocket test flight
The threat of 'triboelectrification' forces NASA to postpone the first scheduled launch of the Ares I-X, a prototype of the rocket intended to replace the space shuttle > >
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Physical Science
NASA
Space debris threat to future launches
Rocketing volumes of space debris are going to add significantly to the complexity of future space flights > >
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