Breaking News
Water Detected at the Greatest Distance Ever from Earth A research group from the Max Planck Insritute for Radio Astronomy using the 100 m Effelsberg radio telescope has detected water in a quasar located at a light travel time of 11.1 billion years. For complete report, see the Max Planck Society press release of December 18, 2008.
NASA's Kepler Spacecraft Ready to Ship to Florida Engineers are getting ready to ship the Kepler spacecraft off to Cape Canaveral for its March 5th launch. Kepler will search for Earth-like planets in space. For complete report, see the JPL news release of December 18, 2008.
Scientists Find 'Missing' Mineral and Clues to Mars Mysteries Researchers using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have discovered carbonate minerals on Mars indicating that the red planet had neutral to alkaline water when the minerals formed. The finding indicates that Mars had a variety of watery environments - important for life. For complete report, see the JPL news release of December 18, 2008.
Scientists Look at Cold "Super-Earths" on the Outskirts of Faraway Solar Systems That Could Support Life Such planets are plentiful and are said to be covered with ice and may have a substantial atmosphere. For more information on this story, see the Science Daily news article of December 16, 2008.
Saturn's Dynamic Moon Enceladus Shows More Signs of Activity NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows that there are more signs of ongoing changes on and around the moon. For complete report, see the JPL news release of December 15, 2008.
Hubble Telescope Finds Carbon Dioxide on an Extrasolar Planet NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. This is an important step toward finding chemical biotracers of extraterrestrial life. For complete report, see the JPL news release of December 9, 2008.
Simulation Shows That Bacteria Could Live on Mars A research team from the University of Aarhus in Denmark ran a simulation that shows that bacteria could survive beneath the Martian soil. For complete report on this research, see the Astrobiology Magazine article of December 4, 2008.
NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Mission Rescheduled for 2011 The launch date of October 2009 was considered no longer feasible because of testing and hardware challenges so the mission will launch two years later than planned. For complete report, see the JPL news release of December 4, 2008.
NASA Orbiter Finds Martian Rock Record with 10 Beats to the Bar NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals that climate cycles persisting for millions of years on ancient Mars left a record of rhythmic patterns in thick stacks of sedimentary rock layers. For complete report, see the JPL news release of December 4, 2008.
The Jets on Enceladus - What Causes Them? Scientists come up with new theories on what causes the geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus. One theory suggests liquid water may be the source of the jets. For complete report, see the JPL news release of November 26, 2008.
NASA Prepares for New Juno Mission to Jupiter NASA is moving forward on a mission to conduct an unprecedented, in-depth study of Jupiter with the Juno spacecraft to be launched in August 2011. For complete report, see the JPL news release of November 24, 2008.
NASA Spacecraft Detects Buried Glaciers on Mars NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter discovers vast Martian glaciers of water ice under rocky debris at much lower latitudes than any ice previously identified on the Red Planet. For complete report, see the JPL news release of November 20, 2008.
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*Attention! If you would like to express your opinion on whether Pluto is a planet, visit the Pluto Petition website and vote. You may also send in your written opinions on the issue.
* News Special See selected images from the planetary tour of the Voyager 1 & 2 spacecraft as they continue their journey to the edge of the solar system. You may view the images at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's website.
* News Special See movie taken by Huygens lander as it descended to the surface of Titan on January 14, 2005. Click on Astro Images link above.
* Space Weather News Check on the present solar wind conditions, solar flares, coronal holes and auroras. Visit the Space Weather.com website for the latest news on the weather in space.
Other News Reports
Key Molecule Discovered in Venusian Atmosphere The Venus Express spacecraft has made the first detection of the hydroxyl molecule in the upper atmosphere of Venus. The discovery is important since this molecule is highly reactive. For complete report, see the Astronomy Now news release of May 19, 2008
Third Red Spot Found on Jupiter The Hubble Telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 has discovered a third red spot on the solar system's largest planet. For complete report, see the HubbleSite news release of May 22, 2008.
NASA's Phoenix Spacecraft Lands on Mars NASA's Phoenix Lander made a successful landing in the northern polar region of Mars on Sunday, May 25th. For complete report, see the JPL news release of May 25, 2008.
Third Red Spot Found on Jupiter The Hubble Telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 has discovered a third red spot on the solar system's largest planet. For complete report, see the HubbleSite news release of May 22, 2008.
NASA's Phoenix Spacecraft Lands on Mars NASA's Phoenix Lander made a successful landing in the northern polar region of Mars on Sunday, May 25th. For complete report, see the JPL news release of May 25, 2008.
Raw Material for Life Came from Space Study done at the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London says that raw material for DNA and RNA found in a meteorite originated in space. For complete report, visit the Space.com report of June 13, 2008.
NASA's Phoenix Mars Landers Samples Martian Soil One of the ovens on the Phoenix lander bakes its first soil sample while the robotic arm digs deeper into the Martian soil. For complete report, see the JPL news release of June 16, 2008.
Three Large Earth-like Planets Discovered Orbiting Star European astronomers using the HARPS instrument at the ESO La Silla Observatory have discovered a triple system of super-Earths around the star HD 40307. For complete report, see the European Southern Observatory press release of June 16, 2008.
NASA Phoenix Mars Lander Confirms Frozen Water Scientists at NASA have found proof that the patch of hard bright material discovered at the Phoenix Lander site on Mars is really water ice and not some other material. For complete report, see the JPL news release of June 20, 2008.
Phoenix Lander Returns Treasure Trove for Science NASA's Phoenix Lander performed its first wet chemistry experiment on the Martian soil and has returned much scientific data. For complete report, see the JPL news release of June 26, 2008.
Voyager Squashes View of Solar System Date from NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft show that the bubble of solar wind surrounding the solar system is not round but has a squashed shape. For complete report, see the JPL news feature of July 2, 2008.
MESSENGER Settles old Debates and Makes new Discoveries at Mercury A study of data from the MESSENGER spacecraft flyby of Mercury in January have shown that volcanoes were involved in plains formation and suggest that its magnetic field is being actively produced in the planet's core. For the complete report, please visit the John Hopkins University APL news release of July 3, 2008.
Rare ' Star-Making Machine' Found in Distant Universe Astronomers have discovered a galaxy that is creating up to 4,000 new stars per year as compared to our Milky Way galaxy that creates about 10 per year. For complete report, see the Spitzer Space Telescope news release of July 10, 2008.
NASA Spacecraft Shows Diverse, Wet Environments on Ancient Mars Studies from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show that the Red Planet once had vast lakes, flowing rivers and a number of other wet environments that could potentially support life. For complete report, see the JPL news release of July 16, 2008.
The European Space Agency's spacecraft COROT Discovers Exoplanet Orbiting Sun-like Star The COROT spacecraft has discovered an exoplanet about the size of Jupiter orbiting a star slightly more massive than our Sun. For complete report, see the ESA news release of July 24, 2008.
NASA Confirms Liquid Lake on Saturn Moon Data from Cassini spacecraft confirms that there is a liquid lake on Saturn's moon Titan and it contains hydrocarbons. For complete report, see the JPL news release of July 30, 2008.
NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended Lab tests aboard NASA's Phoenix lander has identified the presence of water in a soil sample. For complete report, see the JPL news release of July 31, 2008.
News About the Kepler Mission The Kepler mission is designed to look for rocky Earth-like planets in the "habitable zone" of other solar systems. For news on the details of this mission to be launched in 2009, go to the JPL Blog news report of August 4, 2008.
Phoenix Microscope Takes First Image of Martian Dust Particle NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander which came down on Mars May 25, 2008 has taken the first-ever image of a single particle of Mars' ubiquitous dust, using its atomic force microscope. For complete report, see the JPL news release of August 14, 2008.
Cassini Pinpoints Source of Jets on Saturn's Moon Enceladus NASA's Cassini spacecraft while orbiting the Saturn system has pinpointed exactly where the icy jets erupt from Saturn's geologically active moon Enceladus. For complete report, see the JPL news release of August 14, 2008.
Generations of Stars Pose for Family Portrait New infrared image from the Spitzer Space Telescope shows generations of stars in a cloud called W5. For complete report, see the JPL news release of August 22, 2008.
NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity Climbs out of Crater The Rover Opportunity which had been inside a Martian crater examining ancient bedrock since last September has climbed out to study the surrounding plains. For complete report, see NASA's Mars Exploration Rover news report of August 29, 2008.
Spiky Probe on NASA Mars Lander Raises Vapor Quandary A fork-like conductivity probe has detected humidity rising and falling beside the Phoenix Mars Lander but when stuck into the ground, it detects only a very dry soil. For complete report, visit the JPL news release of September 4, 2008.
Cassini Images Ring Arcs Among Saturn's Moons NASA's Cassini spacecraft has detected the presence of a partial rings orbiting two of Saturn's moons. For complete report, see the JPL news release of September 5, 2008.
The ESO's Very Large Telescope Hints at the Presence of Planets Orbiting Sun-like Stars An instrument on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope suggests that there may be giant planets orbiting young Sun-like stars. For complete report, see the European Southern Observatory press release of September 8, 2008.
NASA Phoenix Lander Sees, Feels Martian Whirlwinds in Action NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has photographed several dust devils dancing across the arctic plain this week. For complete report, see the JPL news release of September 11, 2008.
Solar Wind Loses Power - Hits 50 Year Low Solar physicists announce that the average pressure of the solar wind has dropped more than 20% since the mid - 1990s. For complete report, see the Science at NASA report of September 23, 2008.
Snow Seen Falling on Mars by Phoenix Lander The latest news from NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander shows that there is snow falling on Mars and that soil data indicate a wet past. For complete report, see the JPL news release of September 29, 2008.
Snow Seen Falling on Mars by Phoenix Lander The latest news from NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander shows that there is snow falling on Mars and that soil data indicate a wet past. For complete report, see the JPL news release of September 29, 2008.
Supernova Could Have Triggered Our Solar System's Formation Carnegie Institution astrophysicists have shown for the first time time that a supernova could indeed have triggered the Solar System's formation under the more likely conditions of rapid heating and cooling. For complete report, see the Carnegie Institution for Science news release of October 2, 2008.
Giant Cyclones at Saturn's Poles Create a Swirl of Mystery NASA's Cassini spacecraft show new images of a giant cyclone at Saturn's north pole and a similar large cyclone at Saturn's south pole powered by Earth-like storm patterns. For complete report, see the JPL news release of October 13, 2008.
Closest Planetary System Hosts Two Asteroid Belts NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope observations show that the nearby star Epsilon Eridani has two asteroid belts. For complete report, see the Spitzer Space Telescope news release of October 27, 2008.
NASA Orbiter Reveals Details of a Wetter Mars New information from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows that a new catagory of minerals discovered suggests that liquid water remained on the Martian surface a billion years later than scientists had believed. For complete report, see the JPL news release of October 28, 2008.
Mercury MESSENGER's Second Flyby This Year Yields New Information The Mercury MESSENGER spacecraft's second flyby of Mercury this year has yielded hundreds of images and measurements of its surface, atmosphere and magnetic field. For complete report, see the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory news release of October 29, 2008.
Cassini Spacecraft Might Hold Secrets to Life on Saturn Moon NASA's Cassini spacecraft may have collected data that could reveal the presence of life on Saturn's moon Enceladus but getting the evidence out might be difficult. For complete report, see the NewScientist.com news release of November 3, 2008.
Mars Phoenix Lander Finishes Successful Work on Red Planet NASA's Phoenix Lander has apparently stopped operating after five months on Mars. A seasonal decline in sunshine is resulting in not enough sunlight available to keep the lander's batteries charged up. For complete report, see the JPL news release of November 10, 2008.
Dusty Shock Waves Generate Planet Ingredients Shock waves around dusty, young stars might be creating the raw materials for planets, according to new observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. For complete report on this development, see the Spitzer Space Telescope news release of November 11, 2008.
Hubble Directly Observes a Planet Orbiting Another Star NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken the first visible-light snapshot of a planet orbiting another star. For complete report, see the JPL news release of November 13, 2008.
As Much as a Third of Mars Could Have Been Underwater, UA Scientists Say University of Arizona scientists studying data from the Gamma Ray Spectrometer on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft say that oceans may have once covered about one third of planet Mars. For complete report, see the University of Arizona news release of November 17, 2008.