Astronomers Trace The Evolution Of The First Galaxies In The Universe
A systematic search for the first bright galaxies to form in the early universe has revealed a dramatic jump in the number of such galaxies around 13 billion years ago.

General relativity survives gruelling pulsar test -- Einstein at least 99.95 percent right
A research team has used three years of observations of the "double pulsar", a unique pair of natural stellar clocks to prove that Einstein's theory of general relativity...

Supernova Radioisotopes Show Sun Was Born In Star Cluster, Scientists Say
The death of a massive nearby star billions of years ago offers evidence the sun was born in a star cluster, say astronomers...

New Lunar Meteorite Found In Antarctica
Scientists have recently discovered that one of the specimens is a rare breed -- a type of lunar meteorite seen only once before.

Cassini Detects Vast Polar Ethane Cloud On Titan
Cassini's Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer has detected what appears to be a massive ethane cloud surrounding Titan's north pole.

Washington University, China's ShanDong University will collaborate on Moon data
Amid a bevy of international space exploration missions to the Moon, US and China have agreed to cooperate on scientific research and joint training of students in the two institutions.

Scientists Snap First Images Of Brown Dwarf In Planetary System
Scientists using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered and directly imaged a small brown dwarf star, 50 times the mass of Jupiter, orbiting with a planet around a Sun-like star.

The occurrence of Jovian planets and the habitability of planetary systems
This paper reviews and brings together diverse observational and modeling results to infer the frequency and distribution of giant planets around solar-type stars and to assess implications for the habitability of terrestrial planets.

Possible ecosystems and the search for life on Europa
In this article, Europa's suitability for life was examined...

Chains of magnetite crystals in the meteorite ALH84001: Evidence of biological origin
The presence of magnetite crystal chains in ALH84001 was demonstrated by high-power stereo backscattered scanning electron microscopy...

Astronomers See Inside A Quasar For The First Time
For the first time, astronomers have looked inside quasars -- the brightest objects in the universe -- and have seen evidence of black holes.

State-of-the-art instruments for detecting extraterrestrial life
... As we begin this new millennium the question of whether life exists beyond the Earth remains unanswered. However, there are reasons for optimism that in the not-too-distant future we may have an answer...

The missing organic molecules on Mars
GC-MS on the Viking 1976 Mars missions did not detect organic molecules on the Martian surface, even those expected from meteorite bombardment...

Magnetofossils from Ancient Mars: a Robust Biosignature in the Martian Meteorite ALH84001
Evidence of biogenic activity on Mars has profound scientific implications for our understanding of the origin of life on Earth and the presence and diversity of life within the Cosmos...

Island Universes With A Twist
ESO's Very Large Telescope has taken images of three different 'Island Universes' [1], each amazing in their own way, whose curious shapes testify of a troubled past, and for one, of a foreseeable doomed future.

Smashing Young Stars Leave Dwarfs In Their Wake
Astronomers have discovered that the large disks of gas and dust around young stars will fragment if two young stars pass close to each other and form smaller brown dwarfs stars with disks of their own.

Scientists Predict How To Detect A Fourth Dimension Of Space
Scientistshave developed a mathematical framework they say will enable astronomers to test a new five-dimensional theory of gravity that competes with Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.

Hubble Finds That Earth Is Safe From One Class Of Gamma-ray Burst
Homeowners may have to worry about floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes destroying their homes, but at least they can remove long-duration gamma-ray bursts from their list of potential natural disasters...

How Long Is A Day On Saturn?
Gaseous planets do not have a solid surface to track and are not as rigid as rocky planets. Thus, their periods may change more than those of rocky planets while being less easy to measure.

NASA's Chandra Finds Black Holes Are 'Green'
By making the first direct estimate of how efficient or "green" black holes are, this work gives insight into how black holes generate energy and affect their environment.