Space : Science World Report

Mar 20, 2012 07:07 AM EDT

Experients May Force evision of Astrophysical Models of the Universe

In a challenge to current astrophysical models of the universe, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories Z machine and the University of Rostock in Germany have found that current estimates of ice-giant planetary interiors overstate water's compressibility by as much as 30 percent.

Mar 19, 2012 02:51 PM EDT

Geologic Map of Jupiter's Moon Io Details an Otherworldly Volcanic Surface

More than 400 years after Galileo's discovery of Io, the innermost of Jupiter's largest moons, a team of scientists led by Arizona State University (ASU) has produced the first complete global geologic map of the Jovian satellite. The map, published by the U. S. Geological Survey, depicts the charac...

Mar 19, 2012 02:29 PM EDT

Cosmic Rays Alter Chemistry of Lunar Ice

Space scientists from the University of New Hampshire and multi-institutional colleagues report they have quantified levels of radiation on the moon's surface from galactic cosmic ray (GCR) bombardment that over time causes chemical changes in water ice and can create complex carbon chains similar t...

Mar 19, 2012 11:11 AM EDT

Sunspot Group 1429 and the Distant Sun

What's that on the Sun? Over the past two weeks, one of the most energetic sunspot regions of recent years crossed the face of the Sun. Active Region 1429, visible above as the group of dark spots on the Sun's upper right, blasted out several solar flares and coronal mass ejections since coming arou...

Mar 19, 2012 10:57 AM EDT

Some Orbits More Popular than Others in Solar Systems

Computer simulations have revealed a plausible explanation for a phenomenon that has puzzled astronomers: Rather than occupying orbits at regular distances from a star, giant gas planets similar to Jupiter and Saturn appear to prefer to occupy certain regions in mature solar systems while staying cl...

Mar 19, 2012 07:25 AM EDT

Hazy Shades of Life on Early Earth

A 'see-sawing' atmosphere over 2.5 billion years ago preceded the oxygenation of our planet and the development of complex life on Earth, a new study has shown.

Mar 19, 2012 07:15 AM EDT

ParanÃ¡ River Floodplain, Brazil

Near the Mato Grosso-SaÃµ Paulo border in Brazil, the ParanÃ¡ River appears as a wide, blue strip with the muddy brown water of the smaller Verde River entering from the northwest (top left). An extensive wetland (dark green) occupies most of the left half of this astronaut photograph, and the f...

Mar 18, 2012 03:21 PM EDT

NASA Sub-Scale Solid-Rocket Motor Tests Material for Space Launch System

A sub-scale solid rocket motor designed to mimic NASA's Space Launch System, or SLS, booster design successfully was tested today by engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The 20-second firing tested new insulation materials on the 24-inch-diameter, 109-inch-long motor....

Mar 18, 2012 03:10 PM EDT

Greening the Princess Astrid Coast

A few weeks ago, NASA's Terra satellite flew over East Antarctica and detected swirls of green amidst the ice off the Princess Astrid Coast. For three weeks since, we have been trying to figure out what Terra saw in this remote region of the world's most remote continent.

Mar 17, 2012 05:25 PM EDT

First Complete Image of the Solar Far Side of the Sun

With 492 votes, the winner is "Twin Solar Spacecraft Take First Complete Image of Far Side of Sun" referring to an image captured by NASA's two Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft. The STEREO satellites are currently in orbit around the sun and separated such that each has a ...

Mar 17, 2012 09:05 AM EDT

A Summer of Rain Paints Eastern Australia Green

In Australia, dry conditions are so common that even in the middle of a comparatively wet summer, large swaths of land (especially the desert interior) can remain parched and largely devoid of vegetation. However, as was the case in 2010 and 2011, the summer has shaped up to be a wet one across the ...

Mar 16, 2012 03:04 PM EDT

Building the European Union's Natura 2000 -- the Largest ever Network of Protected Areas

The European Union's Habitats Directive is now 20 years old, and its network of protected areas, known as Natura 2000, is nearing completion. After a slow start, the network now includes some 26 000 protected sites and covers approximately 18% of the EU's land surface as well as significant areas of...