Space Articles

Wanted: Garbage collectors in space

By Stephen Ornes / September 21, 2011
Space Debris

Scientists say we should clean up the cosmos now to avoid crashes in the future

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Fireworks near the Big Dipper

By Stephen Ornes / September 14, 2011
pinwheel

Astronomers see a star as it explodes

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Possible new saltwater stains on Mars

By Stephen Ornes / August 31, 2011
Mars

Dark streaks that grow in spring, fade in winter may point to saltwater on the Red Planet

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How the outer sun gets so hot

By Stephen Ornes / August 17, 2011
During a total solar eclipse, the sun’s surface is completed blocked by the moon, but the outer layer of the sun, called the corona, is visible as a bright halo. Credit: Fred Espenak/NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Magnetic waves boost the corona to extreme temperatures

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Not seeing sunspots

By Stephen Ornes / June 29, 2011
What a difference! These two images of the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, were taken about 20 months apart. The sun is quiet in the picture at left, taken in January 1997. In the picture at right, taken in November 1998, the sun is more active. When the sun’s activity increases, more sunspots become visible.

Scientists predict a delay for the sun’s next cycle

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End of an Era

By Stephen Ornes / May 25, 2011
The space shuttle Atlantis lifts off in May 2010, headed for the International Space Station more than 200 miles above Earth.

As NASA’s space shuttles land for the last time, they leave behind a sound scientific legacy

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The dark side of the universe

By Stephen Ornes / April 26, 2011
The ghostly blue clouds in the center of the Abell 1689 galaxy cluster show where Dan Coe and his team think dark matter is hiding. Abell 1689 is home to about 1,000 galaxies and trillions of stars. Credit: NASA, ESA, and Dan Coe (NASA JPL/Caltech and STScI)

Most of the cosmos is invisible, but that doesn’t stop scientists from searching for it

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A curious cosmic explosion

By Stephen Ornes / April 26, 2011
This artist’s conception shows what a gamma-ray burst might look like coming from a collapsing star. Credit NASA

A bright blowup far, far away keeps astronomers guessing

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The growing planetary family

By Stephen Ornes / February 17, 2011
This photo shows the tiny patch of sky around the Milky Way that the Kepler space telescope constantly studies. Credit Carter Roberts

At least 1,200 added to list of possible planets beyond the solar system

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When the universe began … again

By Stephen Ornes / December 6, 2010

Physicists suggest maybe the Big Bang was the latest of many bangs

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