NASA

Read the latest NASA news today on Newser.com

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Hubble Captures Asteroid's Odd Death

They're the first such photographs ever

(Newser) - The Hubble Space Telescope continues to wow astronomers. NASA today released a series of photographs that the AP calls the "first pictures of a disintegrating asteroid." Hubble zoomed in for a closer look after other telescopes spotted something unusual in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars...

NASA Hits 715-Planet &#39;Jackpot&#39;
 NASA Hits 715-Planet 'Jackpot' 
Feb 27, 2014 3:00 AM CST

NASA Hits 715-Planet 'Jackpot'

Kepler data massively boosts number of known worlds

(Newser) - NASA says it has almost doubled the number of planets known to humanity with a "bonanza" uncovered by its planet-hunting Kepler telescope. The 715 new planets orbit 305 stars in multi-planet systems like our own, and 94% of them are smaller than Neptune. NASA says it has found...

NASA Lays to Rest Mars' Rock Mystery

Rover kicked it into camera's view, says NASA

(Newser) - Remember when the weird "jelly doughnut" object on Mars made news last month? NASA scientists were happily baffled after it suddenly appeared in images taken by the Opportunity rover. They're baffled no more: Scientists today said they're sure that the object is indeed a rock that got...

Scientists: Raindrops Aren't Shaped Like Tears at All

They actually resemble hamburger bun tops

(Newser) - It turns out you've been drawing raindrops incorrectly your entire life. NASA scientists have determined that they don't actually resemble tears. They look more like hamburger bun tops: rounded above, flat on the bottom. As a video made by NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement explains, a raindrop begins...

NASA Plans to Make Coldest Spot in Universe

Cold Atom Lab on ISS will bring matter stunningly close to absolute zero

(Newser) - NASA is working on making things a lot colder on the International Space Station—as in, about as cold as physically possible. Scientists are building a "Cold Atom Lab," which would be able to bring matter within down as low as 0.0000000001 degrees above absolute zero, the...

NASA Sued Over Mystery Mars Rock

Critic thinks it's a sign of life, wants a more thorough investigation

(Newser) - NASA says it's a rock, a weird one for sure, but "clearly a rock." One critic, however, thinks it just might be evidence of life on Mars, and he's sued the space agency to demand a closer investigation, reports the Houston Chronicle . The strangeness began last...

It&#39;s Finally Christmas at ISS
 It's Finally Christmas at ISS 
Jan 12, 2014 7:22 AM CST

It's Finally Christmas at ISS

After a month of delays, Cygnus docks with space station

(Newser) - Christmas has finally arrived for the six space station astronauts. A privately launched supply ship arrived at the International Space Station this morning, three days after blasting off from Virginia. The space station crew used a hefty robot arm to capture the Cygnus capsule as the two craft zoomed side...

NASA Finds the &#39;Hand of God&#39;
 NASA Finds the 'Hand of God' 
Jan 10, 2014 7:55 AM CST

NASA Finds the 'Hand of God'

Stunning image shows material from exploded star

(Newser) - A newly released NASA photo depicts what appears to be an enormous hand floating in space. The "Hand of God," as it's being called, actually consists of the remains of an exploded star, Space.com explains. It had been imaged in 2009 using NASA's Chandra X-ray...

Asteroid to Hit Earth? NASA Builds Craft to Find Out

Bennu is circling Earth, and could strike in 2182

(Newser) - With a big asteroid possibly heading for Earth in 2182, what are scientists to do? Build an unmanned spacecraft to give that hunk of rock a closer look, the Arizona Republic reports. NASA and the University of Arizona are is designing the $1 billion project, called OSIRIS-REx, which is set...

Ancient Obelisk's True Purpose Revealed

We've had 'Altar of Peace' wrong for decades, according to 3D modeling

(Newser) - Researchers using 3D modeling and data from NASA think they've discovered the true purpose of the Obelisk of Montecitorio—upending a theory that has stood for decades. The 71-foot-tall ancient Egyptian obelisk was brought to Rome by Emperor Augustus, and would have stood across a plaza from the Ara...

Beyonce Samples Challenger Disaster in New Song
 Beyonce Samples 
 Challenger Disaster 
 in New Song 
bad ideas dept.
Dec 30, 2013 10:02 AM CST

Beyonce Samples Challenger Disaster in New Song

Astronauts not amused

(Newser) - The Challenger space shuttle exploded after liftoff in 1986, killing all seven crew members on board ... and for some reason Beyonce thought it was appropriate to sample audio from the disaster on a song from her new album . Then-NASA public affairs officer Steve Nesbitt is heard at the beginning of...

Astronauts Make Rare Christmas Eve Spacewalk

Astronauts swap in new cooling pump

(Newser) - A pair of astronauts installed a new ammonia pump on the International Space Station during a spacewalk today, in just the second Christmas Eve spacewalk in NASA's history, the AP reports. "It's like Christmas morning opening up a little present here," astronaut Rick Mastracchio said as...

Xmas Spacewalk Planned for Space Station Fix

Cooling system in urgent need of repair

(Newser) - Before they can tuck into their freeze-dried turkey dinners, two American astronauts are going to have to venture out on a spacewalk to fix a faulty pump that has shut down part of the International Space Station's cooling system. The Christmas Day spacewalk is one of three that NASA...

Astronaut Calls Kid, 6, Who's Fighting to Save NASA

Moon-walker Gene Cernan likes the boy's White House petition

(Newser) - A 6-year-old Denver boy is such a big fan of outer space that he created an online petition on the White House's We the People website when he heard that Congress might slash NASA funding. Connor Johnson still has a long way to go—about 85,000 signatures—to...

Government Gave Google Execs Deal on Jet Fuel

But report from NASA's IG says it was an accident

(Newser) - Private jet fuel is expensive, people. Luckily, Google's top execs were able to get a nice fat discount on it—via Uncle Sam. The latest government oops amounts to an unintentional $3.3 million to $5.3 million in savings over six years, per a new review by NASA'...

Cooling Pump Fails on Space Station

It's one of two, and NASA says none of the crew are in danger

(Newser) - NASA is reporting a glitch with one of the two cooling pumps on the International Space Station, but it says none of the six crew members are in danger, reports CNN . The crew shut down some non-essential electrical systems as a precaution while they figure what went wrong and how...

'Comet of the Century' Likely Didn't Survive Sun Encounter

Scientists think ISON broke up into pieces

(Newser) - Scientists say it appears a comet from the fringes of the solar system didn't survive its close encounter with the sizzling sun. Images from NASA spacecraft showed Comet ISON approaching for its slingshot around the sun today, but nothing coming out on the other side. In a Google+ hangout,...

NASA 'Dumbfounded' by 6-Tailed Comet

(OK, technically it's a 'comet-like' asteroid)

(Newser) - The Hubble telescope has spotted a spectacular, perplexing object in the middle of the Asteroid Belt: a rock with six "comet-like" dust tails streaming behind it. "We were literally dumbfounded when we saw it," David Jewitt, the head of the astronomy team studying the P/2013 P5, said...

Small Chance Big Asteroid Could Hit Earth in 2032

Chance of impact a low 1 in 63,000

(Newser) - As far as chances go, it's a lot more likely that an asteroid named 2013 TV135 will smash into our planet in 2032 than it is that you'll win Powerball . But before you panic, know that the chances are still quite slim: one in 63,000; NASA says...

He Was a Pioneering Astronaut— Aquanaut, Too

NASA's Scott Carpenter dead at 88

(Newser) - Astronaut Scott Carpenter, the second American to orbit the Earth and first person to explore both the heights of space and depths of the ocean, died today after a stroke at age 88. Along with John Glenn, who flew three months before him, Carpenter was one of the last two...

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