A new multimillion-rand telescope in the Karoo will offer astronomers an unprecedented view of the stars. The MeerLICHT instrument in Sutherland will be specifically linked to the MeerKAT radio telescope array near Carnarvon in the Northern Cape. Unlike its bigger brother SALT (Southern African Large Telescope), the MeerLICHT is meant …
The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced a new programme of Mars exploration that aims to proceed at a "more methodical and leisurely pace'. Till now two missions have failed. Going by the new schedule, researchers will have to wait for at least a dozen years before …
Four more moons have been discovered in the past two months orbiting Saturn, bringing the total to 22, which is more than any other planet in the Solar System. This was announced by Matt Holman of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Holman says that the moons are …
ten new planets have been discovered outside the earth's solar system. The discoveries of these planets has increased the tally of the total confirmed planets to around 50. At least six of the 10 new planets were discovered by a Geneva-led team of astronomers, while three were discovered by three …
The Galileo spacecraft launched in 1989 to survey Jupiter and four of its moons may be close to a fiery end. A NASA (National Aeronautic and Space Administration) panel has recommended that the spacecraft be allowed to crash into Jupiter's atmosphere in December 2002. This is to prevent it from …
in the 1960s, an unmanned spacecraft sent to the moon saw a strange phenomenon: dust from the lunar surface was rising up. This was later confirmed by astronauts who saw the glow from the suspended dust above the horizon of the Moon. Though there was a perfectly reasonable theory as …
Some answers to one of the most embarrassing mysteries before astronomers are finally beginning to emerge. Astronomers using the Hubble space telescope have said they had discovered much of the world's missing hydrogen. They stumbled upon the answer by finding oxygen. Despite knowing how much matter should be there by …
Our knowledge of the Sun is limited by the fact that direct observations from the Earth are limited to the near side of our nearest star. The sun rotates and eventually all sides come into view, yet, remote imaging of the far side would be of immense use for understanding …
a specially designed satellite of the us National Space and Aeronautical Administration ( nasa ) has tracked the electrons moving out from the Earth's poles. These electrons are believed to be the cause of the mysterious "dark aurora' that breaks up the curtains of light in the auroral displays. Aurora …
on any full moon day, the sight of the moon rising over the horizon is truly awesome. The reddish disc seems far bigger than when it is up in the sky. The size of the moon is the same, but for some reason, once it is up in the sky, …
Astronomers analysing images of Uranus from the Hubble Space Telescope have found two tiny moons orbiting the planet. The finding supports a theory that the moons
According to the panel commissioned by the National Space and Aeronautic Administration (NASA) to find out what went wrong with the Mars Polar Lander, has said that a confused sensor may have led the lander crashing into the Red Planet. NASA lost contact with the Mars Polar Lander on December …
Supernovae are among the most spectacular events in our Universe. In a very short period, a star gives out energy that is equivalent to the energy given out by a whole galaxy. Unfortunately, our knowledge about the violent processes druing a supernova is still very sketchy. Now, astronomers have put …
what exactly were the conditions moments after the Big Bang - the theory that the universe began with the explosion of dense matter. The answer has eluded scientists for decades. Recently, a pathbreaking experiment involving scientists from 20 countries, including India, recreated the Big Bang and generated a state of …
If there is life anywhere else in our solar system, it is most likely to be found on Europa, one of the 16 moons orbiting Jupiter. According to a new report in the journal Nature , there is strong evidence that beneath Europa's frozen exterior of ice lies an ocean …
in 1995, when astronomers "discovered' an extrasolar planet orbiting the star 51 Pegasi, it was considered to be a scientific breakthrough. Since then, at least 30 extrasolar planets have been discovered. Invariably, their presence is deduced from the tiny gravitational effect that they have on the orbit of the parent …
They could be the first visitors from Mars. Astronomers have reported the discovery of a tough but peaceful pair of bacteria that might have been able to survive the ardous trip from Mars. "They don't cause any disease, they are very peaceful,' says scientist Curt Mileikowsky of the Royal Institute …
For the first time, scientists have been able to "see' another planet outside the solar system. On the night of November 7, the shadow of a planet was observed directly in front of a distant star named HD 209458. The transit was predicted by G Marcy of the University of …
A team of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, has successfully recreated the conditions inside the planets Neptune and Uranus. They managed to squeeze a tiny sample of methane to pressures that are 500,000 times the atmospheric pressure and heated the sample to almost 3,000
