Copyright (c) 2012 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. http://news.yahoo.com/i/1630 science Space/Astronomy en-us Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:30:03 GMT 5 142 18 http://news.yahoo.com/i/1630 http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/nws/th/main_142c.gif http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120214/sc_space/astronautssnapamazingnorthernlightsvideosfromspace space/20120214/astronautssnapamazingnorthernlightsvideosfromspace SPACE.com topstories Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:30:03 GMT SPACE.com - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are on a quest to snap photos of the northern lights so the public can better appreciate this spectacular cosmic display. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120214/sc_space/ataleoftwostarstheinsidestoryoforionsbelt space/20120214/ataleoftwostarstheinsidestoryoforionsbelt SPACE.com science Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:30:01 GMT SPACE.com - Standing upright and shining down upon Earth on these midwinter nights is the brightest and grandest of all the constellations: Orion, the Mighty Hunter.&nbsp; http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120214/sc_space/elusivedarkmatterpervadesintergalacticspace space/20120214/elusivedarkmatterpervadesintergalacticspace SPACE.com science Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:30:00 GMT SPACE.com - A group of Japanese physicists has revealed where dark matter is &mdash; though not what it is &mdash; for the first time. As it turns out, the mysterious substance is almost everywhere, drooping throughout intergalactic space to form an all-encompassing web of matter. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120214/us_ac/10964482_in_nasa_budget_space_exploration_and_commercial_crew_compete_for_funding ac/20120214/10964482_in_nasa_budget_space_exploration_and_commercial_crew_compete_for_funding ContributorNetwork us Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:26:51 GMT ContributorNetwork - While most attention is being focused at the Obama administration's proposal to slash funding for Mars exploration, another political battle is brewing concerning space exploration and the commercial crew program, according to NASA Spaceflight. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120214/sc_space/cosmicvalentinesdayphotowrapsmilkywaygalaxyinpinkheart space/20120214/cosmicvalentinesdayphotowrapsmilkywaygalaxyinpinkheart SPACE.com science Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:00:06 GMT SPACE.com - A veteran astronomer has sent our Milky Way galaxy the ultimate love letter by snapping a portrait of the galaxy nestled inside a neon-like heart in fitting cosmic card for Valentine's Day. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120214/sc_space/nasascalesbackmarsexplorationstrategytofitbudget space/20120214/nasascalesbackmarsexplorationstrategytofitbudget SPACE.com science Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:30:05 GMT SPACE.com - NASA is fundamentally overhauling its Mars exploration strategy, ditching multibillion-dollar "flagship" missions in favor of cheaper, more efficient projects for now, agency officials announced Monday (Feb. 13). http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120214/sc_space/antarcticaslakevostokistestcaseforexploringicyjupitermoon space/20120214/antarcticaslakevostokistestcaseforexploringicyjupitermoon SPACE.com science Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:14:59 GMT SPACE.com - Russian scientists in Antarctica have reached a lake that's been buried in ice for more than 14 million years &mdash; a milestone that could provide hints of what to expect when the ocean under the icy crust of Jupiter's moon, Europa, is similarly explored. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120214/sc_nm/us_usa_budget_space nm/20120214/us_usa_budget_space Reuters science Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:19:49 GMT Reuters - NASA intends to cancel plans to join Europe on a Mars sampling mission that is considered important to learning if life appeared beyond Earth as the U.S. space agency balances out a virtually flat $17.7 billion budget for 2013, officials said on Monday. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120213/us_ac/10962610_nasa_mulls_exploration_space_station_behind_lunar_far_side ac/20120213/10962610_nasa_mulls_exploration_space_station_behind_lunar_far_side ContributorNetwork us Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:56:36 GMT ContributorNetwork - According to the Daily Mail, NASA is mulling the idea of building a human-tended space station at the L2 point where the gravity of the Earth and the moon cancel one another out, behind the far side of the moon from Earth. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120213/us_ac/10940216_former_nasa_astronaut_janice_voss_dies ac/20120213/10940216_former_nasa_astronaut_janice_voss_dies ContributorNetwork us Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:30:55 GMT ContributorNetwork - SpaceRef has published a NASA news release that announces astronaut Janice Voss has died at age 55 after a battle with breast cancer. She flew on five space shuttle flights from 1993 to 2000. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120213/sc_space/nasaspaceshuttlecarryingjumbojetretiresafteronelastflight space/20120213/nasaspaceshuttlecarryingjumbojetretiresafteronelastflight SPACE.com science Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:30:00 GMT SPACE.com - One of only two planes ever to carry NASA's space shuttles on piggy-back rides across the country has taken its last flight after more than 20 years of service. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120213/sc_space/obamas2013nasabudgetrequestshiftsfundsfrommarstospacetech space/20120213/obamas2013nasabudgetrequestshiftsfundsfrommarstospacetech SPACE.com science Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:30:04 GMT SPACE.com - The proposed 2013 federal budget unveiled by President Barack Obama today (Feb. 13) keeps NASA funding relatively flat next year, but bites deep into the agency's robotic Mars mission coffers while shifting new funds to human exploration and space technology. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120213/us_ac/10953480_nasa_to_receive_small_decrease_in_obamas_proposed_fy_2013_budget ac/20120213/10953480_nasa_to_receive_small_decrease_in_obamas_proposed_fy_2013_budget ContributorNetwork us Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:29:05 GMT ContributorNetwork - Even though President Barack Obama's proposed fiscal year 2013 budget will not be officially released until Monday, Aviation Week has obtained the details of the proposed spending for NASA. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120213/sc_nm/us_frenchguiana_vega nm/20120213/us_frenchguiana_vega Reuters science Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:40:29 GMT Reuters - Europe's first Vega rocket blasted off from French Guiana Monday in a successful inaugural flight aimed at giving Europe a vehicle for scientific satellite missions. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120213/sc_space/europelaunchesnewvegarocketonmaidenvoyage space/20120213/europelaunchesnewvegarocketonmaidenvoyage SPACE.com science Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:14:59 GMT SPACE.com - A brand-new rocket soared into space early Monday (Feb. 13) in a launch debut that carried nine small satellites and the hopes of the European Space Agency all the way into orbit. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120212/sc_space/whitehousetoproposefundingcutfornasa space/20120212/whitehousetoproposefundingcutfornasa SPACE.com science Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:14:59 GMT SPACE.com - U.S. President Barack Obama will ask Congress for $17.7 billion for NASA for 2013, an amount that would leave the agency funded at its lowest level in four years, according to sources familiar with the forthcoming budget proposal. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120213/ap_on_go_ot/us_cuba_imprisoned_american ap/20120213/us_cuba_imprisoned_american AP politics Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:06:19 GMT <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120213/ap_on_go_ot/us_cuba_imprisoned_american"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20120212/capt.b79f6ddb8daa4961a43a22a051c1e3e1-b79f6ddb8daa4961a43a22a051c1e3e1-0.jpg?x=130&y=97&q=85&sig=bsmoF3hOM1bnGWbMtB5yPw--" align="left" height="97" width="130" alt="FILE - In this March 5, 2011, file photo Cuban security forces arrive with USAID subcontractor Alan Gross, left, outside the courthouse in Havana, Cuba, where he is to stand trial. Gross sits in a military prison hospital. His family says he has lost about 100 pounds and they express concern about his health. All the U.S. diplomatic attempts to win his freedom have come up empty and there is no sign that Cuba is prepared to act on appeals for a humanitarian release. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes, File)" border="0" /></a>AP - Piece by piece, in backpacks and carry-on bags, American aid contractor Alan Gross made sure laptops, smartphones, hard drives and networking equipment were secreted into Cuba. The most sensitive item, according to official trip reports, was the last one: a specialized mobile phone chip that experts say is often used by the Pentagon and the CIA to make satellite signals virtually impossible to track.</p><br clear="all"/> <p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120213/ap_on_go_ot/us_cuba_imprisoned_american"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20120212/capt.b79f6ddb8daa4961a43a22a051c1e3e1-b79f6ddb8daa4961a43a22a051c1e3e1-0.jpg?x=130&y=97&q=85&sig=bsmoF3hOM1bnGWbMtB5yPw--" align="left" height="97" width="130" alt="photo" title="FILE - In this March 5, 2011, file photo Cuban security forces arrive with USAID subcontractor Alan Gross, left, outside the courthouse in Havana, Cuba, where he is to stand trial. Gross sits in a military prison hospital. His family says he has lost about 100 pounds and they express concern about his health. All the U.S. diplomatic attempts to win his freedom have come up empty and there is no sign that Cuba is prepared to act on appeals for a humanitarian release. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes, File)" border="0"/></a></p><br clear="all"/> (AP) http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120212/sc_space/alienlifemaynotsurviveonplanetswithuranusliketilts space/20120212/alienlifemaynotsurviveonplanetswithuranusliketilts SPACE.com science Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:00:06 GMT SPACE.com - If you think summer is too hot or winter unbearably cold, take solace that in the distant past seasons on our planet might have been much harsher. However, the advent of milder seasons did more than offer comfort, some scientists suggest. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120212/sc_space/howtoobservegeminitheheavenlytwinconstellation space/20120212/howtoobservegeminitheheavenlytwinconstellation SPACE.com science Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:00:05 GMT SPACE.com - If you head outside around 10:30 p.m. local time this week and look straight up, you'll be looking directly at Gemini, the Twin Brothers. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120211/sc_space/nasaeyesplanfordeepspaceoutpostnearthemoon space/20120211/nasaeyesplanfordeepspaceoutpostnearthemoon SPACE.com science Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:44:59 GMT SPACE.com - NASA is pressing forward on assessing the value of a "human-tended waypoint" near the far side of the moon &mdash; one that would embrace international partnerships as well as commercial and academic participation, SPACE.com has learned.