http://www.mail.com/subjects/1932-astronomy.html Mail.com - the best personalized free web-based Email en en http://sec-s.uicdn.com/mail.com/2.20/img/mailcom_logo_rss.png http://www.mail.com/subjects/1932-astronomy.html http://www.mail.com/news/us/1293754-10-things-to-thursday.html Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and stories that will be talked about Thursday: 1. US TRIES FOR A TRICKY BALANCE ON KOREA Condemning the rocket launch too harshly risks rewarding the North, which seeks to leverage any global attention it gets into much-needed aid. 2. WHEN THE FED MIGHT RAISE INTEREST RATES ... Thu, 13 Dec 2012 02:14:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/us/1293754-10-things-to-thursday.html 2012-12-13T02:14:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761916-distant-galaxy-regains-title-oldest-universe.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — A galaxy once considered the oldest has reclaimed its title, scientists reported Wednesday. Poring through Hubble Space Telescope photos, the team recalculated the galaxy's age and determined it is actually 13.3 billion years old — not a mere 13.2 billion. The dim galaxy filled with blue stars was first noticed last year by a different ... Wed, 12 Dec 2012 19:50:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1761916-distant-galaxy-regains-title-oldest-universe.html 2012-12-12T19:50:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1757884-hawking-cern-scientists-win-huge-physics-prize.html GENEVA (AP) — A Russian billionaire's foundation is awarding two special prizes of $3 million each to British cosmologist Stephen Hawking for his work on black holes and to seven scientists at the world's biggest atom-smasher for their roles in the discovery of a new subatomic particle believed to be the long-sought Higgs boson. Yuri Milner's Fundamental ... Tue, 11 Dec 2012 10:51:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1757884-hawking-cern-scientists-win-huge-physics-prize.html 2012-12-11T10:51:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1749852-alaska-reclaims-missing-moon-rocks-1973.html ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A display of moon rocks that disappeared from an Alaska museum after an arson fire nearly four decades ago has been returned to the state following the settlement of a lawsuit by a man who claimed he rescued the rocks from the rubble. State and federal officials at a news conference Thursday displayed the returned relic — tiny moo... Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:10:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1749852-alaska-reclaims-missing-moon-rocks-1973.html 2012-12-07T00:10:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1748832-to-moon-firm-hopes-to-sell-15-billion-trips.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Attention wealthy nations and billionaires: A team of former NASA executives will fly you to the moon in an out-of-this-world commercial venture combining the wizardry of Apollo and the marketing of Apple. For a mere $1.5 billion, the business is offering countries the chance to send two people to the moon and back, either for research o... Thu, 06 Dec 2012 22:04:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1748832-to-moon-firm-hopes-to-sell-15-billion-trips.html 2012-12-06T22:04:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1749534-craft-spies-interesting-gullies-asteroid-vesta.html PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Scientists are puzzling over the discovery of gullies inside young craters on the giant asteroid Vesta. NASA's Dawn spacecraft spied two types of channels on the crater walls of the second-largest object in the asteroid belt. The first kind — short and straight — were likely carved by dry material flowing down the depression. ... Thu, 06 Dec 2012 21:28:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1749534-craft-spies-interesting-gullies-asteroid-vesta.html 2012-12-06T21:28:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1745188-expert-panel-nasa-lost-space-goal.html WASHINGTON (AP) — NASA, the agency that epitomized the "Right Stuff," seems lost in space and doesn't have a clear sense of where it is going, an independent panel of science and engineering experts said in a stinging report Wednesday. The one place the White House wants to send astronauts — an asteroid — doesn't seem to be getting the engines firing at... Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:16:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1745188-expert-panel-nasa-lost-space-goal.html 2012-12-05T22:16:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1745386-surface-moon-reveals-shattered-history.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — The moon took quite a beating in its early days, more than previously believed, scientists reported Wednesday. This surprising new view of the moon comes from detailed gravity mapping by twin NASA spacecraft, which slipped into orbit around the celestial body earlier this year to peer into the interior. Researchers have long known that ... Wed, 05 Dec 2012 17:57:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1745386-surface-moon-reveals-shattered-history.html 2012-12-05T17:57:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1743188-mars-redux-nasa-to-launch-curiosity-like-rover.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — If you thought NASA's latest Mars landing was a nail-biter, get ready for a sequel. The space agency on Tuesday announced plans to launch another mega-rover to the red planet in 2020 that will be modeled after the wildly popular Curiosity. To keep costs down, engineers will borrow Curiosity's blueprints, recycle spare parts where possib... Wed, 05 Dec 2012 00:50:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1743188-mars-redux-nasa-to-launch-curiosity-like-rover.html 2012-12-05T00:50:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1742808-rover-opportunity-clay-rich-site-mars.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — After rolling around the Martian plains for more than eight years, the Opportunity rover finally found a spot believed to be rich in clay minerals, scientists said Tuesday. Orbiting spacecraft previously detected the presence of clay-bearing deposits at a huge crater in Mars' southern hemisphere. Using that information as a guide, the s... Tue, 04 Dec 2012 20:13:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1742808-rover-opportunity-clay-rich-site-mars.html 2012-12-04T20:13:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1740402-nasa-voyager-1-enters-region-solar-system.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — The unstoppable Voyager 1 spacecraft has sailed into a new realm of the solar system that scientists did not know existed. Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, have been speeding away from the sun toward interstellar space, or the space between stars. Over the summer, Voyager 1, which is farther along in its journey, crossed into this new... Mon, 03 Dec 2012 22:07:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1740402-nasa-voyager-1-enters-region-solar-system.html 2012-12-03T22:07:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1740116-mars-rover-curiosity-surprise-1st-soil-test.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — NASA's Curiosity rover has indeed found something in the Martian dirt. But so far, there's no definitive sign of the chemical ingredients necessary to support life. A scoop of sandy soil analyzed by Curiosity's sophisticated chemistry laboratory contained water and a mix of chemicals, but not complex carbon-based molecules considered es... Mon, 03 Dec 2012 21:09:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1740116-mars-rover-curiosity-surprise-1st-soil-test.html 2012-12-03T21:09:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1731656-nasa-closest-planet-to-sun-mercury-harbors-ice.html CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Just in time for Christmas, scientists have confirmed a vast amount of ice at the north pole — on Mercury, the closest planet to the sun. The findings are from NASA's Mercury-orbiting probe, Messenger, and the subject of three scientific papers released Thursday by the journal Science. The frozen water is located in regions of ... Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:45:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1731656-nasa-closest-planet-to-sun-mercury-harbors-ice.html 2012-11-29T23:45:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1717634-nasa-scientists-eyeing-regional-dust-storm-mars.html PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — NASA is tracking a regional dust storm on Mars, but says it has not affected the operations of its two rovers on the surface. The space agency said Wednesday the storm raging in the Martian southern hemisphere was spotted earlier this month by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter circling overhead. The storm came within 840 miles of Opp... Wed, 21 Nov 2012 22:32:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1717634-nasa-scientists-eyeing-regional-dust-storm-mars.html 2012-11-21T22:32:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1717010-study-distant-dwarf-planet-atmosphere.html WASHINGTON (AP) — Astronomers say Pluto's icy more distant sister seems even more alien than thought because it doesn't have an atmosphere. Scientists gained that bit of new knowledge about the dwarf planet Makemake (MAH'-kay MAH'-kay) by measuring light from data gathered by several large telescopes. Researchers report in the journal Nature that the smal... Wed, 21 Nov 2012 19:01:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1717010-study-distant-dwarf-planet-atmosphere.html 2012-11-21T19:01:00Z http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1714270-guide-to-tv-dvd-sets-holiday-gifts.html A TV show DVD set represents more than a holiday gift that's easy to wrap. It also demonstrates respect: you know the recipient is mentally fit and couch-ready for a viewing marathon of "Dr. Who" or "House." Those are among the new releases worth considering for the TV lover in your life: GOLDEN OLDIES —"The Dean Martin Variety Show: Dean's Ultimate Colle... Tue, 20 Nov 2012 16:59:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/entertainment/lifestyle/1714270-guide-to-tv-dvd-sets-holiday-gifts.html 2012-11-20T16:59:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1703540-mars-rover-curiosity-set-to-hit-road.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — After playing in the sand, the Curiosity rover is poised to trek across the Martian landscape in search of a rock to drill into, scientists reported Thursday. The six-wheel rover has been parked for more than a month at a sand dune where it has been busy scooping up soil, sniffing the atmosphere and measuring radiation levels on the sur... Thu, 15 Nov 2012 21:33:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1703540-mars-rover-curiosity-set-to-hit-road.html 2012-11-15T21:33:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1696466-clouds-part-solar-eclipse-darkens-north-australia.html SYDNEY (AP) — From boats bobbing on the Great Barrier Reef, to hot air balloons hovering over the rainforest, and the hilltops and beaches in between, tens of thousands of scientists, tourists and amateur astronomers watched as the sun, moon and Earth aligned and plunged northern Australia into darkness during a total solar eclipse Wednesday. Stubborn clo... Wed, 14 Nov 2012 02:56:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1696466-clouds-part-solar-eclipse-darkens-north-australia.html 2012-11-14T02:56:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1674504-nasa-rover-detect-methane-mars.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — Scientists say initial sampling of Mars' atmosphere by the NASA rover Curiosity did not definitively detect methane, a gas that can be a clue to determining if the red planet ever was hospitable to microbial life. Test results released Friday in a teleconference from Jet Propulsion Laboratory are not conclusive but are in line with past... Fri, 02 Nov 2012 18:31:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1674504-nasa-rover-detect-methane-mars.html 2012-11-02T18:31:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1666994-nasa-curiosity-rover-takes-bite-martian-soil.html PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Scientists say the Martian soil at the rover Curiosity's landing site contains minerals similar to what's found on Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano. The finding released Tuesday is the latest step in trying to better understand whether the environment could have been hospitable to microbial life. Curiosity recently ingested its first soi... Tue, 30 Oct 2012 20:16:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1666994-nasa-curiosity-rover-takes-bite-martian-soil.html 2012-10-30T20:16:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1658744-chiles-alma-probes-origins-universe.html LLANO DE CHAJNANTOR, Chile (AP) — Earth's largest radio telescope is growing more powerful by the day on this remote plateau high above Chile's Atacama desert, where visitors often feel like they're planting the first human footprints on the red crust of Mars. The 16,400-foot (5,000-meter) altitude, thin air and mercurial climate here can be unbearable. V... Fri, 26 Oct 2012 16:12:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1658744-chiles-alma-probes-origins-universe.html 2012-10-26T16:12:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1644860-soyuz-craft-readied-space-station-mission.html BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) — A Russian-made Soyuz rocket was erected into place Sunday, ahead of the start of a mission to take a three-man crew to the International Space Station. For the first time since 1984, the manned launch will take place from Baikonur cosmodrome launch pad 31, while the pad that is normally used, from which Yury Gagarin began his l... Sun, 21 Oct 2012 05:42:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1644860-soyuz-craft-readied-space-station-mission.html 2012-10-21T05:42:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1639074-stunning-meteor-lights-up-california-sky.html SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A streaking fireball lit up California skies and stunned stargazers Wednesday night, and professional observers say more meteors are on the way. The exploding streak was visible over the San Francisco Bay area and other parts of Northern California, and there were also reports of a loud boom. "It looked like a plane crash or rocket," ... Thu, 18 Oct 2012 21:50:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1639074-stunning-meteor-lights-up-california-sky.html 2012-10-18T21:50:00Z http://www.mail.com/news/us/1636688-gops-broun-vs-darwin-ga-house-race.html ATLANTA (AP) — Having denounced evolution as a lie "straight from the pit of hell," Republican Rep. Paul Broun has won himself a new political opponent: Charles Darwin. An ultraconservative congressman whose district includes the University of Georgia campus, Broun told a Baptist church last month that evolution, embryology and the Big Bang theory were li... Wed, 17 Oct 2012 22:36:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/news/us/1636688-gops-broun-vs-darwin-ga-house-race.html 2012-10-17T22:36:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1635060-earth-sized-planet-solar-system.html WASHINGTON (AP) — European astronomers say that just outside our solar system they've found a planet that's the closest you can get to Earth in location and size. It is the type of planet they've been searching for across the Milky Way galaxy and they found it circling a star right next door — 25 trillion miles away. But the Earth-like planet is so hot it... Tue, 16 Oct 2012 21:13:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1635060-earth-sized-planet-solar-system.html 2012-10-16T21:13:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1624444-mars-rovers-peek-rock-turns-up-curiosity.html WASHINGTON (AP) — The first rock nuzzled by NASA's Mars Curiosity rover is turning out to be a bit more unusual than scientists thought it would be. Curiosity used its robot arm to touch at a football-sized pyramid-shaped rock for the first time two weeks ago. It also shot the rock dozens of times with a laser. The results surprised scientists. They said ... Thu, 11 Oct 2012 19:19:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1624444-mars-rovers-peek-rock-turns-up-curiosity.html 2012-10-11T19:19:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1619226-bright-object-mars-plastic-rover.html PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — NASA says a small bright object detected on Mars is likely a piece of plastic from the Curiosity rover. The six-wheel spacecraft captured an image of the puzzling object Monday after scooping up Martian sand and dust over the weekend. In a statement Tuesday, the space agency says the plastic bit that fell off the rover is "benign."... Tue, 09 Oct 2012 21:07:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1619226-bright-object-mars-plastic-rover.html 2012-10-09T21:07:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1617010-mars-rover-curiosity-scoops-detects-bright-object.html LOS ANGELES (AP) — NASA officials say the Curiosity rover has made its first scoop of the surface of planet Mars and has detected a bright object on the ground. Officials said in a news release Monday that they suspect the object might be a part of the six-wheeled rover, but they won't sample or scoop anymore until they figure out what it is. The Curiosit... Tue, 09 Oct 2012 01:22:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1617010-mars-rover-curiosity-scoops-detects-bright-object.html 2012-10-09T01:22:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1612822-congressman-calls-evolution-lie-pit-hell.html ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia Rep. Paul Broun said in videotaped remarks that evolution, embryology and the Big Bang theory are "lies straight from the pit of hell" meant to convince people that they do not need a savior. The Republican lawmaker made those comments during a speech Sept. 27 at a sportsman's banquet at Liberty Baptist Church in Hartwell. Broun... Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:47:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1612822-congressman-calls-evolution-lie-pit-hell.html 2012-10-06T17:47:00Z http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1610596-mexico-mayan-ball-court-was-celestial-marker.html MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican archaeologists say they have determined that the ancient Mayas built watchtower-style structures atop the ceremonial ball court at the temples of Chichen Itza to observe the equinoxes and solstices, and they said Friday that the discovery adds to understanding of the many layers of ritual significance that the ball game had for the culture. ... Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:39:00 GMT http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/1610596-mexico-mayan-ball-court-was-celestial-marker.html 2012-10-05T19:39:00Z