Giant asteroids could have delivered bling to early Earth

Giant asteroids could have delivered bling to early Earth

You wouldn’t expect the impact of a Pluto-sized object with the Earth to have an upside. Yet this event, 4.5 billion year ago, may be the reason why our planet has significant quantities of gold, platinum, and other highly siderophile elements—those which readily bond to iron—according to research published 8 December in Science.  Read more

SpaceX’s Dragon capsule succesfully launches, key to ISS viability (updated)

SpaceX's Dragon capsule succesfully launches, key to ISS viability (updated)

Commercial spaceflight achieved a major milestone with the launch of Space Exploration Technology Corp.‘s (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket at 10:43 a.m. EST on 8 December. The rocket carries the company’s Dragon capsule, a reusable spacecraft intended to ferry astronauts, supplies, and research materials to the International Space Station (ISS).  Read more

Climate change spurs bid to put seals on endangered list

Climate change spurs bid to put seals on endangered list

A warmer world could mean a reduction of the colder climates. With this in mind, on 3 December the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposed designating two Alaskan mammals—Arctic ringed seals (Pusa hispida) and Pacific bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus)—as ‘threatened’ under the Endangered Species Act, citing diminished sea ice due to climate change in their native habitat.  Read more

Wikileaks cables suggest US blocked Iranian scientist from UN climate panel chair

Wikileaks cables suggest US blocked Iranian scientist from UN climate panel chair

The latest stream of cables from the website Wikileaks, which is publishing more than 250,000 confidential US embassy documents, shows science getting caught up in diplomatic tussles. One message reveals that a US delegation urged Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), not to appoint Mostafa Jafari (right), an Iranian scientist, as co-chair of a major working group. The other nominated co-chair was a US scientist, Christopher Field of Stanford University in California.  Read more

Senate punts on NASA appropriations bill

Senate punts on NASA appropriations bill

When it comes to funding NASA, lawmakers are lately working down to the wire. The night before the October recess, Congress passed an Authorization Act for the agency, mandating a $19 billion budget for FY2011. But legislators were unable to pass the appropriations bill needed to actually provide the funds, instead relying on a continuing resolution that froze funding at FY2010 levels and prohibited the agency from terminating programs or starting new ones.  Read more

NASA’s JWST telescope expected to cost $6.5 billion

NASA's JWST telescope expected to cost $6.5 billion

The successor to the Hubble, the 6.5-m space-based James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), has apparently inherited its precursor’s knack for budgetary problems. A report released 10 November finds JWST to be $1.5 billion over budget, and will cost NASA at least $200 million more per year for the next two years. Rather than a scheduled 2014 launch date, the report suggests that the earliest the telescope could launch is September 2015.  Read more

Fermi spies giant galactic bubbles

Fermi spies giant galactic bubbles

You’d think it would be hard to hide a structure half the size of the Milky Way sticking straight out of its centre. Yet, that’s precisely what researchers say they have uncovered: two giant, previously undetected bubbles 50,000 light years across, emanating from either side of the galactic plane. The discovery, based on data from NASA’s orbiting Fermi telescope, was unveiled today at a NASA press briefing in Washington DC.  Read more