Christmas comet surprises astronaut | Skymania News and Guide

A brilliant new “star of wonder” is wowing people in parts of the world - and astronauts on the international space station - who have seen it appear in the east right before Christmas.

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NASA finds two Earth-size planets | Skymania News and Guide

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Cloud seen heading for giant black hole

Astronomers have spotted a gas cloud on a collision course with the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.

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Hale-Bopp - a comet that refuses to die

A brilliant comet that dazzled observers over Easter in 1997 is continuing to astonish astronomers 14 years later. Hale-Bopp, which shone brightly with a spectacular tail for weeks on end, is still showing signs of activity despite having receded to the edge of the solar system.

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Highlights from first 50 years in space

Fifty years ago this week, on April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. Since he blazed a trail into orbit, more than 500 humans have explored the final frontier. Here are some of the significant moments from the first half century of manned spaceflight.

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Space telescopes watch mystery blast

NASA space telescopes have joined forces to watch one of the most puzzling explosions every seen in the depths of the universe. High-energy radiation continues to brighten and fade from the spot, more than a week after it was first observed.

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Did life on Earth begin on Mars? | Skymania News and Guide

US scientists are planning an experiment for a future mission to Mars – to find out if we are all Martians. They want to test the theory that life began on the Red Planet and was then carried as simple bugs to Earth.

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New record for coolest star known | Skymania News and Guide

Astronomers have discovered the coolest star known in the galaxy with a surface only as hot as a freshly made cup of tea. The alien sun, termed a brown dwarf, is thought to be a star that failed to trigger the nuclear reactions needed to shine brightly.

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NASA man finds aliens in meteorites

A NASA astrobiologist has caused a stir by claiming to have found evidence of life in meteorites that fell to Earth. Dr Richard Hoover says he found microscopic fossils in not one but three space rocks that are among the oldest in the solar system.

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Six worlds found in new solar system

The prospect of alien life existing in the universe got a further boost last night when NASA revealed the discovery of six planets orbiting a star like the Sun. And the Kepler space telescope has found another 1,000 possible worlds that are yet to be confirmed!

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Fast-living star creates shockwaves

A space telescope has photographed the dramatic shockwaves caused by a runaway star ripping through the galaxy like a bullet. The massive star, bright enough to be easily spotted by backyard stargazers, is racing at 54,000 mph through a cloud of dust and gas.

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Astronomers weigh monster black hole

Scientists have weighed a nearby monster black hole and found that it has swallowed the equivalent of 6.6 billion suns. The cosmic cannibal is the most massive known in our local patch of the universe and lies at the centre of a galaxy called M87.

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Andromeda galaxy is an electric sight

Two space telescopes working together have taken a spectacular new photo of our nearest galaxy, Messier 31 in Andromeda, lit up like a neon sign.

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Storm on Saturn visible to amateurs

One of the biggest planetary storms seen in the solar system has dramatically blown up on Saturn. It is so big and so bright that it can be seen in backyard telescopes.

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Student finds SOHO's 2,000th comet

An observatory launched into space 15 years ago to observe the Sun has this week discovered its 2,000th comet.

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Earliest color photo of astro event

This remarkable picture appears to be the first color photograph of an astronomical expedition, perhaps even of any scientific event.

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Your chance to discover a planet | Skymania News and Guide

Armchair astronomers are being given the chance to discover their own planet using NASA satellite data, thanks to a new website. And the scientists behind it say one of them could even make the first discovery of another Earth.

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Small asteroid grazes the Earth

An amateur astronomer has captured the moment a small asteroid skimmed past the Earth yesterday, coming to within 46,000 km (29,000 miles) of us.

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New solar system 'has seven planets'

Astronomers have discovered a new solar system with nearly as many planets as our own, boosting chances that life exists elsewhere in the galaxy.

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Yet another impact seen on Jupiter

Yet another asteroid impact has apparently been spotted on Jupiter by an amateur astronomer, raising the possibility that these are occurring more frequently than was imagined

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NASA probe snaps fragile Earth | Skymania News and Guide

You are here! A new NASA photo from the depths of space shows a fragile Earth as never seen before. Our planet and its companion Moon hang against a starry background in a dramatic shot from the Messenger probe between us and the Sun.

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Ideal conditions for Perseid fireworks | Skymania News and Guide

One of the finest meteor showers of the year takes place in perfect conditions this year thanks to the absence of bright moonlight. This story links to a guide on how to observe nature's own fireworks.

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Double blast on Sun aimed at Earth

A blast of violent space weather could hit the Earth tomorrow following two massive explosions on the Sun. NASA astronomers witnessed a huge flare above a giant sunspot the size of our planet and linked to an even larger eruption across the surface of Sun.

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Star kicked out by giant black hole

A runaway star found racing through space at an incredible 2.5 million km an hour (1.6 million mph), suffered a brush with a monster black hole at the heart of our galaxy, astronomers believe.

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Watch out for dazzling space clouds | Skymania News and Guide

An amateur astronomer and BBC science finalist is making the first prediction of a bright display of natural "space clouds" to shine down over the UK, Ireland and similar mid-northern latitudes tomorrow night, Monday 19 July.

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