* Astronomy

A Nasa satellite mission will be launched this year to study the highest and most mysterious clouds on Earth. Noctilucent, or "night-shining", clouds ap...

The Meester-Cornelis (H5) meteorite fell in Jakarta Raya, Indonesia, on the 2nd June, 1915. A total mass of 24.75 kg was recovered. 6° 14'S, 106° 53'E

Title: CI Aql: a Type Ia supernova progenitor? Authors: Dave Sahman, Vik Dhillon, Tom Marsh, Sarah Moll, Tim Thoroughgood, Chris Watson, Stuart Littlefair If recurrent novae are progenitors of Type Ia supernovae, their white dwarfs must have masses close to the Chandrasekhar limit. The most rel...

Title: The Occulting Galaxy Pair UGC 3995; Dust properties from HST and CALIFA data Authors: B.W. Holwerda (ESA-ESTEC), W.C. Keel (University of Alabama) UGC 3995 is an interacting and occulting galaxy pair. UGC 3995B is a foreground face-on spiral and UGC 3995A a bright background spiral with an...

Title: Photometric and spectroscopic variations of the Be star HD 112999 Authors: M. A. Corti, R. C. Gamen, Y. J. Aidelman, G. A. Ferrero, W. A. Weidmann Be objects are stars of B spectral type showing lines of the Balmer series in emission. The presence of these lines is attributed to the existence of...

Sunspots 11312, 11309, 11311, 11310, 11307, 11306, 11305 and 11302. Expand (140kb, 560 x 560) Credit: SOHO/MDI

MAGIC discovers the most distant very-high energy gamma-ray emission from an accreting supermassive black hole. The MAGIC (Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov) telescope has detected emission of very high energy gamma rays from the active nucleus of the [url=http://astronomy.ac...

Hubble Sees the Messy Result of a Galactic Collision This new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures an ongoing cosmic collision between two galaxies - a spiral galaxy is in the process of colliding with a lenticular galaxy. The collision looks almost as if it is popping out of the sc...

Dozens report seeing fireball in sky Thursday An earthquake-like shaking felt by some Ohioans on Thursday night is being attributed to a large fireball. The American Meteor Society's website says more than 50 people reported seeing the fireball just after 11 p.m. Thursday. [url=http://www.whi...

Orbital elements: 2012 OP Epoch 2012 Sept. 30.0 TT = JDT 2456200.5 MPC M 359.56033 (2000.0) P Q n 0.00490147 Peri. 356.96404 -0.00726295 -0.40379836 a 34.3229884 Node 268.35888 -0.89709870 -0.40153033 e 0.8982708 Incl. 113.76663 -0.44177051 +0.82202206 P 201 H 14.0 G 0.15 U 7 MPEC 2012 - O...

Scientists recommend destination for roving science laboratory 'Curiosity'. Gale Crater, a 150-kilometre wide depression named after an Australian banker-turned-amateur astronomer, has emerged as the preferred destination for the next spacecraft to set wheels on Mars. The proposed landi...

The Marjalahti (Pallasite) meteorite fell in Respublika Kareliya, Russia, on the 1st June, 1902. A total mass of 45 kg was recovered. 61° 30'N, 30° 30'E

The Virba (L6) meteorite fell in Mikhaylovgrad, Bulgaria, on the 1st June, 1873. A total mass of 3.6 kg was recovered. 43° 32'N, 22° 38'E

A look at ancient UK trees under threat Having stood for hundreds of years, the UK's ancient trees are nature's equivalent of listed buildings, but many species could be under threat. The Woodland Trust is warning that tens of thousands of others are at risk from a wide range of pests and diseases. [ur...

NASA has designated the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission to fly aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy rocket. The launch will be provided under terms of a launch service agreement procured previously by NASA for this vehicle. The liftoff will occur from Space Laun...