Science - Space latest news

A new regular feature highlights research undertaken by SETI scientists.

A vast database that shows asteroids are shaped by small impacts over time.

(European Space Agency) Earth observation satellites have provided vital information to relief workers in Myanmar throughout a particularly long crisis response window following the devastating Cyclone Nargis that hit the country on May 2 and 3, 2008.

First MESSENGER flyby confirms volcanism, gives data on Mercury's magnetic field.

(Brown University) A research team led by Brown university planetary geologist James Head has determined that volcanism played a central role in forming Mercury's surface. The evidence of volcanic activity lends important insights into Mercury's geologic history and appears in a special section describing the MESSENGER mission's recent flyby of Mercury in the July 4 issue of science.

(University of Manchester) Eclipses in a unique system of two dead stars, called pulsars, has shown that one of the pair is "wobbling" in space -- just like a spinning top. The effect, called precession, is precisely as predicted by Albert Einstein, and is thus a new and exciting confirmation of his theory.

Scientists have argued about the origins of Mercury's smooth plains and the source of its magnetic field for more than 30 years. Now, data from the January 2008 flyby of the planet by MESSENGER spacecraft have shown that volcanoes were involved in plains formation.

The Voyager 2 spacecraft has revealed some interesting facts about the shape of the solar system.

Mercury's magnetic field is "alive." Volcanic vents ring the planet's giant Caloris basin while the planet itself is surrounded by a plasma nebula of unexpected complexity.

Reuters - Volcanic activity has played a central role in forging the surface of Mercury, scientists said on Thursday based on data collected by a NASA spacecraft that zoomed past the closest planet to the sun in January.