Evidence of liquid water in comets reveals possible origin of life
Comets contained vast oceans of liquid water in their interiors during the first million years of their formation, a new study claims. view more (2009-07-31)
Astronomers discover missing link for origin of comets
An international team of scientists that includes University of British Columbia astronomer Brett Gladman has found an unusual object whose backward and tilted orbit around the Sun may clarify the origins of certain comets. view more (2008-09-05)
Hubble sees 'Comet Galaxy' being ripped apart by galaxy cluster
There are many galaxies of different shapes and sizes around us today. Roughly half are gas-poor elliptical-shaped galaxies with little new star formation activity, and half are gas-rich spiral and irregular galaxies with high star formation activity. Observations have shown that gas-poor galaxies are most often found near the centre of crowded... view more... (2007-03-05)
Comet impact theory disproved
New data, published today, disproves the recent theory that a large comet exploded over North America 12,900 years ago, causing a shock wave that travelled across North America at hundreds of kilometres per hour and triggering continent-wide wildfires. view more (2009-01-27)
Royal Society Summer Exhibition - Take Part In The Cassini-Huygens Mission
UK space scientists are involved in a plethora of spacecraft that are currently exploring the planets, moons and comets in our Solar System. The UK Goes to the Planets exhibit at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition provides an opportunity to find out about these missions direct from the scientists. Within the last couple of years we have... view more... (2004-06-30)
Life And Death In Space
Ever since its formation at the birth of the Solar System, some 4570 million years ago, planet Earth has resembled a giant bulls-eye in space, a target for asteroids and comets of all shapes and sizes. Clearly, this violent history has influenced the planet's surface and atmosphere, as well as the evolution of life. Some impactors bring water and... view more... (2003-04-05)
UK Rosetta Media Briefing
UK Rosetta Media Briefing Rosetta - rendezvous with a new cometary target Thursday 19th February 2004 Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London 10.30 am - 2.00 pm including lunch The European Space Agency's pioneering Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is scheduled for launch from Europe's spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana,... view more... (2004-02-05)
Preparing for the Venus Express
The European Space Agency is planning its first mission to unveil the mysteries of Earth`s cloud-shrouded sister planet, Venus. On Wednesday 10 April, Professor Fred Taylor (University of Oxford) will be explaining to the UK National Astronomy Meeting why European scientists are hoping to be on board the Venus Express in 2005. Venus, the Earth`s... view more... (2002-04-03)
Study links high levels of nitric oxide to infertility and sperm DNA damage
Iranian scientists have linked a chemical that plays an essential role in many bodily functions to sperm DNA damage and male infertility. view more (2006-06-19)
Saturn's rings have own atmosphere
Data from the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini spacecraft indicate that Saturn's majestic ring system has its own atmosphere-separate from that of the planet itself. view more (2005-08-18)
Orphan stars found in long galaxy tail
Astronomers have found evidence that stars have been forming in a long tail of gas that extends well outside its parent galaxy. This discovery suggests that such "orphan" stars may be much more prevalent than previously thought. view more (2007-09-21)
Venus Express comes into Cosmic Vision
On 11 July 2002, Europe took a step closer to Venus. The ESA Science Programme Committee agreed unanimously to start work on Venus Express. Venus Express will reuse the Mars Express spacecraft design and needs to be ready for launch in 2005. view more (2002-07-15)
Tunguska - making an impact @ the London `Catastrophes` conference
The "Tunguska Event" refers to the tremendous explosion on the morning of June 30, 1908, that laid waste to about 2150 square kilometres of Siberia in the region to the north and north-west of Lake Baikal in Russia. The event is widely attributed to be the impact of a comet or asteroid. view more (2002-08-17)
Earlier global warming produced a whole new form of life
Researchers from McGill University, along with colleagues from the California Institute of Technology, the Curie Institute in Paris, Princeton University and other institutions, have unearthed crystalline magnetic fossils of a previously unknown species of microorganism that lived at the boundary of the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, some 55 million... view more... (2008-10-23)
NASA's Cassini images reveal spectacular evidence of an active moon
Jets of fine, icy particles streaming from Saturn's moon Enceladus were captured in recent images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The images provide unambiguous visual evidence the moon is geologically active. view more (2005-12-07)
Tiny diamonds on Santa Rosa Island give evidence of cosmic impact
Nanosized diamonds found just a few meters below the surface of Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Santa Barbara provide strong evidence of a cosmic impact event in North America approximately 12,900 years ago. view more (2009-07-22)
UK Astronomers Watch the Skies for Threat from Space
British astronomers are providing a vital component to the world-wide effort of identifying and monitoring rogue asteroids and comets. From this month, the UK Astrometry and Photometry Programme (UKAPP) for Near-Earth Objects, based at Queens University, Belfast, will track Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) and feed their crucial information into the... view more... (2004-10-13)
Cebreros marks major readiness milestone
On 9 June, a powerful new 35-metre antenna, presently undergoing acceptance testing at Cebreros, Spain, successfully picked up signals and tracked Rosetta and SMART-1. It is ESA's second deep-space ground station in its class and adds Ka-band reception capability and high pointing precision to the ESTRACK network. view more (2005-06-27)
The making of an Ariane 5 launch
As Ariane 5 sped into space carrying Rosetta, it was easy to forget that behind this and every launch is a cast of hundreds. These people have been working for many months to prepare Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, for these brief minutes of excitement. Considering the hundreds of millions of kilometres that Rosetta will eventually... view more... (2004-03-03)
Megatsunamis @ the London `Catastrophes` conference
The modern world appears secure in its knowledge of hazards. However tsunamis today are smaller and less frequent than they were in prehistory. view more (2002-08-17)
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