SPACE.com – Some of themost important astronomical discoveries in history were made unexpectedly, andthe cosmic mysteries that puzzle scientists today are likely to be made equallyas serendipitously, one astronomer says.
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SPACE.com – Eventhough NASA’s Mars rover Spirit has been trapped in the sand for months, therobot has still managed to report new facts about the red planet — all by justspinning its wheels.
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For the very first time, the martian moons Phobos and Deimos have been caught on camera together. ESA’s Mars Express orbiter took these pioneering images last month. Apart from their ‘wow’ factor, these unique images will help the HRSC team validate and refine existing orbit models of the two moons.
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Gaia, ESA’s next-generation star mapper, will be carried into space by a Soyuz-STB/Fregat launch vehicle from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. David Southwood, ESA’s Director of Science and Robotic Exploration, signed the contract for the launch with Jean-Yves LeGall, Chairman and CEO of Arianespace, at ESA Headquarters in Paris yesterday.
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2009 December 24
Gamma Cassiopeiaeshines high in northern autumn evening skies.The brightest spiky star in this rich and colorful Milky Way starfield,bluishGammaCas marks the central peak in the W-shaped constellationCassiopeia.A hot, variable, and rapidlyrotatingstar about 600 light-yearsdistant, Gamma Cas also ionizes surroundinginterstellar material,including the wispyIC 63 (left) and IC 59 emission and reflectionnebulae. The two faint nebulae are physicallycloseto Gamma Cas, separated from the star by only a few light-years.This well-composed, wide-fieldview ofthe region spans almost 2 degrees on the sky.
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ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray observatory is celebrating its 10th anniversary. During its decade of operation, this remarkable space observatory has supplied new data for every aspect of astronomy. From our cosmic backyard to the further reaches of the Universe, XMM-Newton has changed the way we think of space.
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2009 December 27 
Three thousand light-years away,a dying star throws off shells of glowing gas.This image from theHubble Space Telescope reveals theCat’s Eye Nebula to be one of the mostcomplexplanetary nebulae known.In fact, the features seen in theCat’s Eyeare so complex that astronomers suspect the brightcentral object may actually be abinary star system.The term planetarynebula, used to describe thisgeneral class of objects, is misleading.Although these objects may appear round andplanet-like in small telescopes,high resolution images reveal them to bestars surrounded by cocoons of gas blown off in the late stages ofstellar evolution
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AP – A Russian spacecraft carrying an American, a Russian and a Japanese austronaut docked successfully at the International Space Station on Wednesday, officials said.
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As elements of the integrated circuits running our computers, phones and electronics, silicon wafers are everywhere. An ESA-led effort is establishing an out-of-this-world use for these commonplace items: when stacked together precisely by the thousand they promise to deliver astronomy’s clearest X-ray view yet of the most violent regions of space.
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To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first Ariane launch, ESA, Arianespace and CNES, the French space agency, are showing two films on a large outdoor screen in the centre of Paris highlighting the successes of the rocket family.
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