News Briefs

Paleontologists are currently studying a new specimen of Archaeopteryx, which reveals previously unknown features of the plumage.

The average planetary orbit is ten times as elongated as Earths, a fact that can influence their potential habitability. Dim brown dwarfs may be part of the problem.

An unusual series of recent eruptions has led to the massive burst of solar material from the sun's atmosphere.

Astrobiologists from the United States and Germany have recorded the highest level of UV radiation yet known at the Earth’s surface.

This test was the first of three planned for the LDSD project, developed to evaluate new landing technologies for future Mars missions.

Scientists have identified the origin of dark material scattered over the surface of Vesta in images from NASA’s Dawn mission.

The evolution of the ribosome, a large molecular structure found in the cells of all species, has been revealed in unprecedented detail in a new study.

Is a planetary biosphere necessary for the long-term survival of life?

Higher concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere cause warming not only at high latitudes but also across tropical regions, according to new research.

NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover has completed a Martian year –687 Earth days– this week. The vehicle travels through an arid and reddish landscape that was home to glaciers in the past.

The detection of water vapor has implications for mission planning, as Rosetta will become the first spacecraft ever to orbit a comet and deploy a lander to its surface.

Scientists have found that the sun's corona is even larger than thought, extending out some 5 million miles above the sun's surface.

Team members on NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn have chosen a name for the final phase of the mission: the Cassini Grand Finale.

Astrobiologists have shed new light on the future habitability of Earth, and the tools they are using could also tell us about habitability around distant stars.

A study reports that deep ocean currents stalled or may have stopped some 900,000 years ago, explaining why ice-age cycles became longer and more intense.