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space porn
The Swan Nebula Shows The Death And Rebirth Of Superhot Stars
That silky white gas in this image of the Swan Nebula (also known as the Omega Nebula) is the remains of superhot stars, that bowed their shining heads and died. But it's also the birthplace of brilliant new stars. [ESO] -
space porn
Binary Star Discovery Allows Scientists To Detect Invisible "Gravity Waves"
Stars in the early universe probably formed in pairs, like the ones in this simulation created by a group of American astrophysicists. Their finding also has staggering implications: We may detect gravity waves, which has never been possible before. More » -
rocket porn
An Experimental Rocket Soars Over The Coast, On Its Way To A Pre-Planned Disaster
A specially designed rocket soars over Wallops Island, VA, on its way to test a new astronaut escape system for NASA's Orion spacecraft, due to start launching in 2015. Want to see the fancy new escape system? There are parachutes... More » -
space porn
Helix Nebula Produces Cosmic Fireworks Display
The United States' independence day is over for the year, but a new image of one of Earth's cosmic neighbors reveals an explosive spectacle. One of the closest nebulae to us displays dramatic firework-like knots when viewed in the infrared. More » -
vacation
Wish You Were Here - On The Moon
io9 is taking the day off to explode things in the name of national liberty. Also, to kick back on this moon beach, captured here in the dappled earthlight by NASA's newly-launched Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. More » -
maps
New Map Of Our Galactic Disc Reveals Where Future Stars Will Be Born
Members of a massive galaxy-mapping project started a few years ago have just unveiled the first of several atlases they will produce of our Milky Way's galactic disc. These images of "cold dust" in the galaxy show where stars will ignite. More » -
space porn
The Most Efficient Particle Accelerator Known To Humanity
Chinese astronomers observed this supernova, RCW 86, in the year 185 A.D. But it's still pumping out cosmic rays, and a new image shows how supernova remnants like this one are the Milky Way's "super-efficient particle accelerators." [Chandra Observatory] -
astronomy
New York Teenager Finds Weird, Introverted Supernova
At 14, Caroline Moore became the youngest person ever to discover a supernova. But months later, we're still figuring out how her find, dubbed SN 2008HA, can actually exist, since it defies everything we thought we knew. More » -
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cosmic rays
Why The Sun Is A Delinquent Parent
You already know that the sun can be dangerous because of the harmful effects of UV rays, but were you aware of the problems posed by it failing to protect us from cosmic rays? More » -
atmospheric conditions
The Cloud That Proved The 1908 Tunguska Explosion Was A Comet
The mysterious Tunguska explosion in 1908 leveled hundreds of square miles of Siberian forest, leaving trees flattened to the ground. New evidence, based on strange, glowing clouds in the upper atmosphere, proves that Tunguska wasn't caused by aliens after all. More » -
life out there
Could X-Rays Be Creating DNA On Titan?
Over at New Scientist, there's an intriguing article about how x-rays from the sun could be stirring up the molecular soup on Saturn's moon Titan - and ultimately create DNA. Recently researchers simulated Titan's atmosphere in the lab to see what it would take for the moon - whose atmosphere makes it similar to Earth in some ways - could ever cook up life as we know it. More » -
mad chemistry
Nano Droplet of Acid Solves Ozone Depletion Mystery
Last week a group of scientists reported in Science that they had created the tinest droplet of acid ever produced on Earth. It was created within a superfluid helium cluster at 0.37 kelvin. Observing this ultra-small acid drop allowed researchers to study how such droplets interact with water in our atmosphere to create chlorine which eats up ozone. Until this experiment, nobody had understood how chlorine could be created in the cold wastes of our upper atmosphere. Now we know it's via the interactions between acid and water ice, which then erode holes in our ozone layer. Which leads to more ultraviolet spectrum hitting the planet, which leads to genetic mutations in many life forms. More » -
afternoon reading
13 Ways of Looking at Apollo
The anniversary of Apollo's historic landing on the moon is coming up next month, and everyone from science historians to poets are reminiscing. Writer Matthew Battles has a fascinating essay about how space travel prepares us to be cyborgs. More » -
space porn
What Makes Young Galaxies Stop Growing?
Eventually a galaxy has to grow up and settle down, and stop throwing superheated gas around all over the place. And now astrophysicists have figured out how the glowing "superblobs" around galaxies help to make this happen. More » -
mars
Definitive Evidence Of An Ancient Lake On Mars
Water on ancient Mars may actually have been abundant: Scientists have speculated about ancient rivers and lakes for years. But a team at University of Colorado at Boulder announced this week the first "definitive" evidence of a lake on Mars. More » -
lunar exploration
NASA's New Moon Missions Hope To Crash And Burn
Don't be too concerned when you hear that latest NASA launch has crashed into the surface of the moon; it doesn't mean that everything's gone wrong. The entire point of one of the two missions is to do just that. More » -
space disasters
Warp Drive Could Suck Our Entire Planet Into A Black Hole
The good news is, Italian physicists think it's possible we could travel faster than light by creating a kind of "warp drive," encasing a spaceship in a bubble and warping space, so that space itself travels faster than the speed of light. And the spaceship, safe in its bubble, could "surf" that wave of space. The bad news? The warp drive could turn into a black hole that would incinerate the ship, and suck Earth inside. That's according to physicist Stefano Finazzi of Italy's International School For Advanced Studies: More » -
planetary collision
Mercury To Blame For Solar System's Collapse, Mars-Earth Collision
When our solar system's orbits all break down and planets are crashing into each other, we'll know exactly who's to blame: a tiny ball of rock called Mercury. Chaotic factors in Mercury's orbit could destabilize the whole solar system. More » -
space elevators
Scientists Design The Next Best Thing To A Space Elevator
Scientists in Canada have designed a cheaper, easier way to build mankind's millennium-old dream of a stairway to the heavens: use balloons. More » -
exclusive
Discover The Secrets Of Ron Moore's 10-Year Space Probe
Ronald D. Moore's long-awaited Virtuality airs June 26, and we've got exclusive concept art showing the inner workings of the deep-space probe Phaeton and its various modules — including a super-detailed diagram explaining the physics of the ship. More » -
concept art
The Electric Rocket That May Put A Robotic Inchworm On The Moon
Here's the "underdog" electric-powered rocket that just may conquer the Moon and win Google's $30 million Lunar X Prize. The Lunatrex rocket uses a slow-but-steady approach, taking months instead of days to reach the Moon. More » -
astronaut glamor
Will We See A New Age Of Astronaut Glamor?
What would it take to re-energize our excitement about space exploration? Maybe if astronauts start getting treated like movie stars. Here's a step in the right direction: a Louis Vuitton ad featuring Sally Ride, Buzz Aldrin and Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell. [WWD via TheFrisky] -
space porn
Rare Supernova Is Nearby But Invisible
In the galaxy M82 (pictured), a mere 12 million light years from Earth, an enormous but invisible supernova has disturbed its local volume with massive shockwaves. The supernova, the closest to Earth in the past five years, can only be detected via radio waves. More » -
concept art
Insect Astronauts Encounter Strange Creatures And A Disaster
It is often difficult to study megafauna, especially when you are so small that pretty much every creature is larger than you are. Nevertheless, a band of brave insectoid-suited scientists is studying this alien planet, and now you can see it through their eyes. More » -
life on mars
Mars Landers May Have Erased Evidence Of Life
Have the Mars landers not only failed in identifying signs of life on the red planet, but also accidentally been destroying them all along? Scientists are beginning to suggest that may be the case. Oops. More » -
meet the new boss
Why We're Excited About Charles Bolden
The US administration has finally nominated their choice for future NASA Administrator, and it's a former shuttle pilot with administrative experience who seems to understand what NASA is all about. How soon can he start? More » -
space porn
All The Colors You Bled Into the Sky
Aptly called the Heart Nebula, this gory glow is located in the constellation Cassieopia. More » -
ufos
Will the US Government Finally Admit There Are Aliens?
A whole batch of videos are circulating on YouTube from NASA - they show UFOs zooming around the space shuttle and space station. Is this the beginning of the alien renaissance? More » -
space porn
My God, Texas Is Full Of Stars!
This time-lapse fish-eye-lens photo of the night sky over Texas is incredible, thanks to a red-lens filter that allows us to see the galactic core of the Milky Way rising up at the end. [Gizmodo] -
solar porn
Is NASA Acting Out Danny Boyle's Sunshine For Real?
Award-winning space photographer Thierry Legault traveled to Florida to take this picture of the Space Shuttle Atlantis passing in front of the sun. And click through to see Atlantis and Hubble meeting in the sunshine. More » -
aliens
SETI Picks Up Regular Laser Pulse Emanating From Space
Astrophysicist Ragbir Bhathal works with SETI to scan the skies for possible communications from extraterrestrial intelligences. Unlike most SETI facilities, which look for radio signals, Bhathal's looks for laser pulses. And now he's found one. More » -
space porn
Watch Atlantis Rendezvous With Hubble - Live Feed, Right Now!
It's live on NASA TV right now . . . Atlantis will rendezvous with Hubble in about 20 minutes. (via NASA TV) -
space
Two Space Shuttles Prepped For Launch, In One Of Their Very Final Missions... To Probe Our Cosmic Origins
Later today, Space Shuttle Atlantis will be lifting off from Florida for the last ever servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Today's mission also marks the 30th mission for the Orbiter, which first launched in October of 1985 with STS-51-J. More » -
solar exhaustion
The Sun Is Weaker Than It's Been In 80 Years, Apparently
Fueling fears about the dimming sun, scientists are predicting that the current solar cycle is not only running a year or so late, but will also be the weakest cycle since 1928. Solar disaster! More » -
space porn
View From The Vacuum Organism Farms Outside My Domed Habitat On Rhea
Wish you were here! More » -
space porn
This Sparkling Galaxy Hides A Stellar Secret
This spiral galaxy, NGC 2841, is helping NASA solve a huge mystery: why do galaxies look so smooth, with such an even distribution of stars? More » -
space day
Celebrate Space Day With The Shuttle Astronauts And An ISS Webcam
Today is the 12th Annual Space Day, an event that's jointly hosted by NASA and Lockheed Martin, held each year on the first of May. This year's theme is titled : 'Celebrating Human Space Flight: Past, Present and Future'. More » -
space pornographers
Pack Your SPF-5 Billion: We're Going To The Sun!
We're sending not one, but two probes to the sun in the next few years. Hopefully making first contact with the super-hot aliens who have been watching us from inside the solar coronas. Gallery below. More » -
ufos
Last Week's UFO Sighting at Giza Pyramid Set to Hippie Music
Really, doesn't cliched music from the 1960s make every UFO sighting more believable? The bright green lettering, helpfully explaining the blob you're seeing, enhances the realism too. via Real UFOs -
space porn
Billion-Year Old Starburst Helps Us See Deeper Space Than Ever Before
It may have happened aeons ago, but the self-destruction of a star 13.1 billion light years away has just been seen by scientists, giving them their farthest look into the universe yet. More »



































