The Andromeda Observatory

Space and Science News

A selection of news items from Internet RSS feeds around the world.

BBC News: astronomy space

Link: http://newsapi.bbc.co.uk/feeds/search/news+sport/astronomy+space

BBC News: astronomy space

NASA Breaking News

Link: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/index.html

News feed containing the latest NASA news articles and press releases.

Science Magazines Honor Cutting-Edge NASA Programs

NASA's revolutionary planet-hunting Kepler space telescope has been honored with the 2009 Best of What's New Grand Award from Popular Science Magazine and a 2009 Breakthrough Award from Popular Mechanics Magazine.

NASA Awards $350,000 to Winning Astronaut Glove Designers

NASA's Centennial Challenges program awarded $350,000 this week to a pair of designers who developed concepts for more flexible space gloves that could make it easier for astronauts to perform tasks.

NASA Pushes Social Media Experience to New Heights

NASA launched a social media experience at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida that quickly turned into an unprecedented world-wide event as more than 100 Twitter users got a unique look inside America's space program and front row seats to the Nov. 16 liftoff of the space shuttle Atlantis.

Planet 51 Star Brings NASA's Message of Exploration Down to Earth

Actor Dwayne Johnson, usually known for his action and comedic film roles, takes to the stars as an astronaut in a new animated feature that brings important messages about the importance of space exploration and education to those of us here on Earth.

Planet 51 PSA Campaign Brings NASA's Message of Exploration Down to Earth

Broadcast-quality digital public service announcements are available for download from NASA featuring actor Dwayne Johnson, star of the new film "Planet 51," discussing the importance of space exploration, diversity and education.

Space Station, Space Shuttle Joint Crew News Conference Tuesday

The 12 crew members aboard space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station will hold a news conference at 7:13 a.m. CST on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

NASA Provides Venerable Hubble Hardware to Smithsonian

Two key instruments from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have a new home in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.

Space Shuttle Pilot Set to Talk With Tennessee Students from Orbit

Congressman Bart Gordon and Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville will host a live conversation between more than 120 students and NASA astronaut Barry E. Wilmore on Sunday, Nov. 22.

NASA and Microsoft Allow Earthlings to Become Martians

NASA and Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash., have collaborated to create a Web site where Internet users can have fun while advancing their knowledge of Mars.

NASA's Wise Gets Ready to Survey the Whole Sky

NASA'S Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or Wise, is chilled out, sporting a sunshade and getting ready to roll.

ESA Science & Technology

Link: http://sci.esa.int

News on the science missions of the European Space Agency, including Mars Express, Cassini-Huygens, SMART-1 and Rosetta

Hubble:Baffling boxy bulge [heic0914]

The evolution of bulges in the centres of spiral galaxies puzzles astronomers. A recent NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 4710 is part of a survey that has been conducted to learn more about the formation of bulges, which are a substantial component of most spiral galaxies.

Rosetta:Rosetta's observations during the third Earth swingby

Rosetta's third Earth swingby on 13 November 2009 provides an important opportunity to obtain calibration measurements for the science instruments and to perform science observations of both the Earth and the Moon from a unique vantage point.

LISA Pathfinder:Magnetic moment testing of LISA Pathfinder flight-model units

Flight-model units for the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft are undergoing a series of tests to determine their magnetic characteristics. The purpose of the tests is to ensure that the stringent magnetic cleanliness requirements of the LISA Pathfinder mission will be met.

Herschel:Herschel Science Demonstration Phase - Presentations of Initial Results

A Herschel workshop will be held on 17 to 18 December 2009 to present the initial results of the on-going Herschel science demonstration phase (SDP). The workshop will take stock of results achieved to date with the Herschel SDP observations.

Conferences:Miami 2009 - A topical conference on elementary particles, astrophysics, and cosmology[Tue, 15 Dec 2009]

The Miami 2009 annual meeting will again be held at the Lago Mar Resort in Florida. This series of topical conferences brings together scientists from the fields of elementary particles, astrophysics, and cosmology.

Herschel:Herschel Science Demonstration Phase Initial Results Presentations[Thu, 17 Dec 2009]

Currently Herschel is executing a mixture of performance verification phase (PVP), science demonstration phase (SDP), and even some limited routine science phase (RSP) activities. This two-day workshop will take stock of results achieved to date as part of the on-going science demonstration phase.