Trillion-tonne iceberg breaks off Antarctica (Update) | AFP

Thermal wavelength image of a large iceberg, which has calved off the Larsen C ice shelf. Darker colors are colder, and brighter colors are warmer, so the rift between the iceberg and the ice shelf a ...

Earth's magnetic field 'simpler than we thought' | M.H. Walczak et al

A composite image of the Western hemisphere of the Earth. Credit: NASAJuly 7, 2017 (Phys.org) -- Scientists have identified patterns in the Earth's magnetic field that evolve on the order of 1,000 ye ...

Mars surface 'more uninhabitable' than thought | Jennifer Wadsworth & Charles Cockell

Latest lab tests show salt minerals on Mars kill basic life form bacteria, implying the 'Red Planet' is more uninhabitable than previously thought July 6, 2017 (Phys.org) -- Hopes of finding life on ...

Japan reveals plans to put a man on moon by 2030 | AFP

June 30, 2017 (AFP) -- Japan has revealed ambitious plans to put an astronaut on the Moon around 2030 in new proposals from the country's space agency. This is the first time the Japan Aerospace Expl ...

Groundbreaking Discovery Confirms Existence Of Orbiting Supermassive Black Holes | University Of New Mexico

For the first time ever, astronomers at The University of New Mexico say they've been able to observe and measure the orbital motion between two supermassive black holes hundreds of millions of light ...

Scientists detect gravitational waves for third time | Physical Review Letters

This image shows a numerical simulation of a binary black hole merger with masses and spins consistent with the third and most recent LIGO observation, named GW170104. The strength of the gravitation ...

Space junk could destroy satellites, hurt economies | AFP

There are an estimated 170 million pieces of so-called "space junk"—left behind after missions that can be as big as spent rocket stages or as small as paint flakes — in orbit alongside some US$700 b ...

New study reveals how changes in Martian rainfall shaped the planet | Robert A. Craddock et al.

Valley networks on Mars show evidence for surface runoff driven by rainfall. Credit: Elsevier May 16, 2017 (Phys.org) -- Heavy rain on Mars reshaped the planet's impact craters and carved out river-l ...

Stars as random number generators could test foundations of physics | Lisa Zyga

By ESA/Hubble, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8788068 May 16, 2017 (Phys.org) -- Stars, quasars, and other celestial objects generate photons in a random way, and now scie ...

Do you believe in ghosts? | Mickey Z.

Vincent van Gogh. The Starry Night. 1889. Oil on canvas. From Wikipedia. Mickey Z. -- World News Trust May 15, 2017 The universe is a big place, perhaps the biggest. (Vonnegut once said that.) Such a ...

Explaining the accelerating expansion of the universe without dark energy | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

The Hubble Ultra-Deep Field image shows some of the most remote galaxies visible with present technology, each consisting of billions of stars. The image's area of sky is very small – equivalent in s ...