http://www.skynightly.com/index.html Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST en-us NASA's daring plan to visit the sun took a giant leap forward with the selection of five key science investigations for the Solar Probe+ spacecraft. Slated to launch no later than 2018, the smart car-sized spacecraft will plunge directly into the atmosphere of the sun, aiming to solve some of the biggest mysteries of solar physics. The announcement means that researchers can begin building]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST God no longer has any place in theories on the creation of the Universe due to a series of developments in physics, British scientist Stephen Hawking said in extracts published Thursday from a new book. In a hardening of the more accommodating position on religion that he took in his 1988 international best-seller "A Brief History of Time", Hawking said the Big Bang was merely the consequenc]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST New research from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals that asteroids somewhat near Earth, termed near-Earth objects, are a mixed bunch, with a surprisingly wide array of compositions. Like a pinata filled with everything from chocolates to fruity candies, these asteroids come in assorted colors and compositions. Some are dark and dull; others are shiny and bright. The Spitzer observatio]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST Observations made with NASA's newly refurbished Hubble Space Telescope of a nearby supernova are allowing astronomers to measure the velocity and composition of "star guts" being ejected into space following the explosion, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. The team detected significant brightening of the emissions from Supernova 1987A, which were consis]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST Pity poor Mercury. The tiny planet endures endless assaults by intense sunlight, powerful solar wind and high-speed miniature meteoroids called micrometeoroids. The planet's flimsy covering, the exosphere, nearly blends in with the vacuum of space, making it too thin to offer protection. Because of this, it's tempting to think of Mercury's exosphere as just the battered remains of ancient ]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST The galaxy NGC 4666 takes pride of place at the centre of this new image, made in visible light with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. NGC 4666 is a remarkable galaxy with very vigorous star formation and an unusual "superwind" of out-flowing gas. It had previously been observed in X-rays by the ESA XMM-Newton space telescope, an]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST Dawn's journey ever-deeper into the asteroid belt continues to go well, as the spacecraft carries out its familiar routine of thrusting gently with its ion propulsion system. But the interplanetary traveler has changed some of its habits, performing certain activities a little differently now from what its many followers have been accustomed to. Dawn is now so far from the sun, that even w]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST China's Ministry of Civil Affairs has published the official Chinese names for places on the earth's moon, in a first that eliminates confusion and will help the nation's lunar exploration efforts. The ministry published the Chinese names for 468 places and will publish more at a later date. The International Astronomical Union has given names to more than 9,000 places on the moon, s]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST On July 11th, amateur astronomers from around the world trekked to remote islands in the South Pacific to witness a total solar eclipse. They watched in awe as the Moon completely covered the Sun and revealed wispy, incandescent streamers in our star's million-degree atmosphere, the corona. These fleeting glimpses of the corona last just a few minutes and happen only every 19 months on ave]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST Any driver who's seen deer silhouetted by the headlights of an oncoming car knows that vital information can be conveyed by the outlines of objects. Building on this concept, University of Florida astronomers have analyzed light passing through the upper atmosphere of the giant planet HD 80606 b, about 190 light years from Earth, and determined that its atmosphere contains the element pota]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST Astronomers at the University of Hawaii have measured the temperature of a young gas-giant planet around another star using the W. M. Keck Observatory, and the results are puzzling. They have found that its atmosphere is unlike that of any previously studied extrasolar planet. By obtaining a spectrum of its emitted light, the astronomers determined the temperature of the planet. As a resul]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST The Herschel infrared space observatory has discovered that ultraviolet starlight is the key ingredient for making water in space. It is the only explanation for why a dying star is surrounded by a gigantic cloud of hot water vapor. Herschel is a European Space Agency mission with important participation from NASA. Every recipe needs a secret ingredient. When astronomers discovered an unex]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST For two weeks every year, NASA's Desert Research and Technology Studies group (Desert RATS) conducts state-of-the-art technology development tests in the Arizona desert at Black Point Lava Flow in anticipation of future human and robotic exploration. Teams of engineers and geologists from several NASA laboratories and a variety of private and academic partners are participating in this year's te]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST Cluster has spent a decade revealing previously hidden interactions between the Sun and Earth. Its studies have uncovered secrets of aurora, solar storms, and given us insight into fundamental processes that occur across the Universe. And there is more work to do. The aurora, those dancing lights in the polar skies, are but the visible manifestation of an invisible battle taking place abov]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST With a brilliant, finely tuned spark of ultraviolet (UV) light, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) helped NASA scientists successfully position a crucial UV sensor inside a space-borne instrument to observe a "hidden" layer of the Sun where violent space weather can originate. Dark spots on the Sun release particles and electromagnetic fields into spac]]> Fri, 03 SEP 2010 15:33:36 AEST