A series of tests planned by NASA will tell them a lot about the behaviour of fire onboard a spacecraft.
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This week presents observational astronomers with two surprise treats, as Comet 252P/LINEAR brightens and heads north, and the second closest passage of a comet to the Earth occurs on March 21st.
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Virtual Reality is helping NASA, and the rest of us, explore space.
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Check out André van der Hoeven's book "Treasures of the Universe - Amateur and Professional Visions of the Cosmos". Within it are striking images that display the natural wealth and beauty that constantly surrounds us and that no treasure chest could ever lock up.
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Due to its similarities to Earth and its warm, watery past, there are those who think that Mars could be turned into a "second Earth".
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The cooperative Euro-Russian ExoMars 2016 expedition is now en route to the Red Planet after successfully firing its upper stage booster one final time on Monday evening, March 15, to blast free of the Earth's gravitational tug and begin a 500 million kilometer interplanetary journey in a bold search of indications of life emanating from potential Martian microbes.
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90 years ago, on March 16, 1926, Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fuelled rocket, laying the groundwork for future space exploration.
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The sublimation of methane ice into methane gas is leaving a bite-mark feature on the surface of Pluto.
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A new study shows that Dark Matter is triggering star formation in dwarf galaxies near the Milky Way.
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First observed in the 2nd century CE, the Messier 7 cluster (aka. the Ptolemy Cluster) is one of the objects that can be seen with the naked eye
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In addition to its many commercial and scientific uses, helium is one of the most plentiful elements in our universe, second only to hydrogen gas.
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When stars explode, it's one of the most energetic explosions in the Universe. But did you supernovae come in different flavors?
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Sneaky Mars creeps up on bright Graffias in Scorpius for a very close conjunction Wednesday morning. Even better, the star is one of the prettiest double stars in the sky.
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The countdown has begun for blastoff of the ambitious European/Russian ExoMars 2016 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 14. Its goal is to search for minute signatures of methane gas that could possibly be an indication of life or of nonbiologic geologic processes ongoing today.
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An international team of astronomers recently measured the rotation rate of one of the most massive black holes known ... and it's fast! At nearly a third the speed of light, it's one of the fastest spinning things in the universe. The hole powers a quasar visible in amateur telescopes this season.
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NASA engineers have successfully test fired the first flight engine destined to power the agency's mammoth new SLS rocket that will launch American astronauts back to the Moon and deep space for the first time in nearly five decades.
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A new study from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory has indicated that the extreme eccentricity of distant KBOs could point the way to the mysterious Planet
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Today Cassini will observe the light of the central star in Orion's belt as it passes through Enceladus' plumes.
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NASA's MAVEN spacecraft captured the chaotic rendezvous between Mars and comet Siding Spring in 2014.
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The Insight Mars lander has been saved from mission termination and will live to launch another day two years from now, NASA managers just announced following a thorough three month investigation into the causes of the last moment snafu involving the failure of its French-built seismometer science instrument that last December forced the agency to cancel its planned liftoff this month.
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Hooray for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter! Ten years of ground-breaking science (and eye candy.)
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The first flight test for the RS-25 rocket engine, which will power NASA's Space Launch System, is set for March 10th.
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Martian colonists will need to grow their own food, and researchers in Netherlands are trying to understand how suitable Martian soil will be.
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According to new research by an international team of scientists, early galaxies were characterized by mergers (aka. "hookups")
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Reader images for today's amazing total solar eclipse from across the Pacific: the only total solar eclipse in 2016, and the last one prior to the return of totality to the United States on August 21st, 2017.
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China's planned space telescope will dock with its space station for repairs and servicing.
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Scientists will drill down into the site of the dinosaur-killing asteroid impact site to understand how life on Earth recovered.
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Given its similarities to Earth, there are many who believe we should terraform Venus, making it live up to its nickname "Earth's Sister"
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Our complete guide to the only total solar eclipse for 2016. With maps, webcasts, predictions and more.
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CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL - SpaceX's Falcon 9 finally put on a dazzling sky show after the commercial booster at last took flight on the fifth launch attempt, shortly after sunset on Friday, March 4, 2014.
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A group of Russian engineering students hope to use crowdfunding to build and launch what may be the brightest satellite in the sky.
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Final launch preparations are now in full swing for the ambitious European/Russian ExoMars 2016 spacecraft which has been encapsulated inside its payload launcher fairing and is slated to blast off for the Red Planet one week from now on March 14, 2016 from Kazakhstan.
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Using Hubble, an international team of astronomers just observed the farthest galaxy ever seen in the universe, shattering the previous distance record
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New images from NASA's New Horizons probe show possible clouds drifting lazily over Pluto's chill landscape.
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CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL - After enduring four launch scrubs caused by poor weather, misguided boaters, high level winds and propellant fueling problems, SpaceX put on a stunning sky show with tonight's sunset blastoff of their private Falcon 9 rocket boosting the high powered SES-9 commercial telecommunications satellite to orbit.
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Aquarius ("The Water Carrier") stretches from the celestial equator to the southern hemisphere, and is one of the most-recognized of the 88 constellations.
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JJ Abrams new 9-part web documentary will chronicle teams competing for Google's Lunar-X Prize.
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CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL - Alas SpaceX is now targeting Friday March 4 for the 5th attempt to launch their upgraded Falcon 9 carrying the powerful SES-9 commercial telecommunications satellite, following another pair of launch scrubs earlier this week due to errant boats and strong winds aloft.
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