An unusual light phenomenon above the Norwegian city of Skjeroy

New Russian missile failure sparks UFO frenzy

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 20

Russia's new nuclear-capable missile suffered another failed test launch, the defence ministry said Thursday, solving the mystery of a spectacular plume of white light that appeared over Norway.


Suzaku catches retreat of a black hole's disk

Suzaku catches retreat of a black hole's disk

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (15) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Studies of one of the galaxy's most active black-hole binaries reveal a dramatic change that will help scientists better understand how these systems expel fast-moving particle jets.


A novel, 10,000-year study of strata compaction and sea-level rise on English coast

A novel, 10,000-year study of strata compaction and sea-level rise on English coast

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Environmental scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and Durham University have employed a novel combination of geological and model reconstructions of wetland environments during a 10,000-year period ...


A faint star orbiting the Big Dipper's Alcor discovered

A faint star orbiting the Big Dipper's Alcor discovered

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0

Next time you spy the Big Dipper, keep in mind that there is another star, invisible to the unaided eye, contributing to this constellation.


Oceans' Uptake of Manmade Carbon May Be Slowing

Oceans' Uptake of Manmade Carbon May Be Slowing

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 09, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (20) | comments 10

(PhysOrg.com) -- The oceans play a key role in regulating climate, absorbing more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans put into the air. Now, the first year-by-year accounting of this mechanism ...


A picture shows Tel Aviv's sea front promenade on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline

Mediterranean Sea filled in less than two years: study

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 09, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (23) | comments 2

The Mediterranean Sea was mostly filled in less than two years in a dramatic flood around 5.33 million years ago in which water poured in from the Atlantic, according to a study published Wednesday.


Fermi sees brightest-ever blazar flare

Fermi sees brightest-ever blazar flare

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 09, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (10) | comments 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- A galaxy located billions of light-years away is commanding the attention of NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and astronomers around the globe. Thanks to a series of flares that began ...


Swift spacecraft

Magnetic Power Revealed in Gamma-Ray Burst Jet

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 09, 2009 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (9) | comments 7

(PhysOrg.com) -- A specialized camera on a telescope operated by U.K. astronomers from Liverpool has made the first measurement of magnetic fields in the afterglow of a gamma-ray burst (GRB). The result is ...


People surround the battery-powered underwater glider "Scarlet Knight" after its arrival at the port of Baiona

Robot completes first underwater crossing of Atlantic Ocean

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 09, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (11) | comments 2

Spain on Wednesday handed back to the United States a robot which last week completed the first underwater crossing of the Atlantic Ocean to help monitor climate change by tracking temperatures.


A NASA satellite image of iceberg B17B (C), some 19 kilometres (12 miles) long, floating off West Australia

Giant iceberg spotted south of Australia

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 09, 2009 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (14) | comments 12

A monster iceberg nearly twice the size of Hong Kong island has been spotted drifting towards Australia in what scientists Wednesday called a once-in-a-century event.


Gravestones Talking through Time

Gravestones Talking through Time

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (8) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A visit to your local graveyard can provide not only a history lesson, but a science lesson as well. Historians know that gravestones can reflect the lives of people whose memories are lost ...


Aussie galaxy survey to lead to 'new physics'

Aussie galaxy survey to lead to 'new physics'

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (23) | comments 7

(PhysOrg.com) -- Australian astronomers have released the first set of data from the first project to look at the effects of "dark energy" halfway back in the Universe's lifetime.


Cosmic rays hunted down: Physicists are closing in on the origin of cosmic rays

Cosmic rays hunted down: Physicists are closing in on the origin of cosmic rays

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (11) | comments 4

(PhysOrg.com) -- A thin rain of charged particles continually bombards our atmosphere from outer space. The mysterious particles were first detected 100 years ago but until 10 years ago when a new type of ...


Lightning

Lightning-produced radiation a potential health concern for air travelers

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (10) | comments 7

New information about lightning-emitted X-rays, gamma rays and high-energy electrons during thunderstorms is prompting scientists to raise concerns about the potential for airline passengers and crews to be ...


Brightness variations of sun-like stars: The mystery deepens

Brightness variations of sun-like stars: The mystery deepens

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (14) | comments 7

(PhysOrg.com) -- An extensive study made with ESO's Very Large Telescope deepens a long-standing mystery in the study of stars similar to the Sun. Unusual year-long variations in the brightness of about one ...