Space Research & Astronomy
Earth-mass planet found orbiting the nearest star
By Bryan Dyne, October 24, 2012
A planet with similar mass to the Earth has been found orbiting α Centauri B, our closest interstellar neighbor.
Voyager spacecraft approaching interstellar space—35 years after launch
By Bryan Dyne, September 28, 2012
Voyager 1 and 2 have flown through the Solar System for 35 years and now Voyager 1 is on the verge of becoming humanity’s first interstellar spacecraft.
The Mars landing
By Patrick Martin, August 10, 2012
Despite efforts to portray it as a triumph for “American values,” the successful landing of the Curiosity rover was the product of collective social effort and scientific planning that is the antithesis of profit-mad individualism.
Curiosity rover lands on Mars: A milestone of space exploration
By Bryan Dyne, August 7, 2012
Curiosity, NASA’s latest Mars rover, has successfully landed on target at Gale crater.
The 2012 transit of Venus
By Don Barry, June 5, 2012
The Sun, the planet Venus and the Earth will line up so that Venus appears to pass across the disk of the Sun.
New search for life among Jupiter’s ice moons
By Aidan Claire, May 17, 2012
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced a €1.1 billion unmanned mission to the ice moons of the planet Jupiter.
The end of the US space shuttle program
By Patrick Martin, August 19, 2011
The American manned space program is shutting down indefinitely, an event that has considerable historical significance.
Herschel telescope discovered twisted ring of gas and dust at the centre of our galaxy
By William Whitlow, August 5, 2011
The Herschel Space Observatory has identified a twisted ring of dust and gas at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy. Parts of the ring have been seen before but this is the first time it has been observed as a whole.
Dawn spacecraft reaches the asteroid Vesta
By Patrick Martin, July 20, 2011
The NASA mission will study the two largest asteroids, first Vesta, then Ceres.
Extra-solar planet could sustain Earth-like life
By Bryan Dyne, June 6, 2011
The planet Gliese 581 d is believed to be twice the mass of Earth, and could sustain liquid water on the side that faces its star.
First spacecraft begins orbiting the planet Mercury
By Patrick Martin, March 25, 2011
MESSENGER is the first space mission to Mercury in more than three decades.
Large Hadron Collider will continue experiments into 2012
By Bryan Dyne, Don Barry, March 18, 2011
The physics research conducted in 2010 has allowed for the Large Hadron Collider to extend its operations through 2011 and 2012.
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