Astronomers unravel the mystery of the 'Dragon's Egg' nebula
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two large stars residing inside a spectacular cloud of gas and dust nicknamed the "Dragon's Egg" nebula have presented a puzzle to astronomers. One of them has a magnetic field, as does our sun. Its companion d...
Apr 11, 2024
Space startups see funding surge as government spending remains high, report says
By Akash Sriram and Jaspreet Singh (Reuters) - Funding for space startups more than doubled in the first quarter as government spending remained robust setting the stage for the space economy to grow stronger, venture capital firm Space Capital sai...
Apr 11, 2024
Russia launches Angara-A5 space rocket from Vostochny
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia test launched its Angara-A5 rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on Thursday after technical glitches prompted officials to abort missions at the very last minute for two days in a row. The launch of the Angara is intended...
Apr 11, 2024
Russia aborts Angara-A5 space rocket launch for second time
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia on Wednesday aborted the test launch of its Angara-A5 space rocket due to a malfunction of the engine launch control system, the second time in two days that the rocket's blast-off was cancelled at the very last minute. The lau...
Apr 10, 2024
US, Japan announce partnership to accelerate nuclear fusion
By Jarrett Renshaw and Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States and Japan on Wednesday announced a joint partnership to accelerate development and commercialization of nuclear fusion. The partnership was unveiled as Japanese Prime Minist...
Apr 10, 2024
US reconnaissance satellite launched in final flight of Delta rocket family
By Steve Gorman (Reuters) - The U.S. Space Force and a Boeing-Lockheed joint venture sent a secret reconnaissance payload to space on Tuesday atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket, the last flight of a workhorse launch brand dating back to the early 1960s. ...
Apr 10, 2024
Launch of Russia's Angara rocket set for Wednesday, Roscosmos says
(Reuters) - The launch of the Angara A5 space rocket from Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome will take place on Wednesday, the state space agency Roscosmos said on the Telegram messaging app, after the original launch was aborted on Tuesday due to a tec...
Apr 10, 2024
UK Nobel Prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs dies aged 94
By Robert Evans LONDON (Reuters) - Physicist Peter Higgs, whose theory of an undetected particle in the universe changed science and was vindicated by a Nobel prize-winning discovery half a century later, has died aged 94, the University of Edinbur...
Apr 09, 2024
Russia aborts launch of Angara A5 space rocket from Vostochny cosmodrome
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Tuesday aborted the test launch of the Angara-A5 rocket from its Vostochny cosmodrome minutes before it was scheduled to lift off. According to an announcement made through loudspeakers at the launch pad, the launch - w...
Apr 09, 2024
Russia to launch Angara rocket for first time from Vostochny Cosmodrome
(Reuters) - The first launch of the Angara A5 space rocket from Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome will take place on Tuesday, the state space agency Roscosmos said on Monday, in what could be a milestone for President Vladimir Putin's space ambitions. ...
Apr 09, 2024
Millions across North America await total solar eclipse
By Brad Brooks, Jonathan Allen and Steve Gorman (Reuters) - A total solar eclipse will have millions of people across a heavily populated swath of North America gazing toward the heavens on Monday as the moon completely blocks the sun for more than...
Apr 08, 2024
Russian descent vehicle lands in Kazakhstan with three astronauts
MOSCOW (Reuters) -A Russian descent vehicle landed safely in Kazakhstan on Saturday, returning from the International Space station with astronauts from Russia, Belarus and the United States, live footage broadcast by Russia's Roscosmos space agency sh...
Apr 06, 2024
India's space startup Agnikul delays maiden rocket launch again
(Reuters) - Indian aerospace startup Agnikul Cosmos postponed the maiden launch of its Agnibaan rocket again, people at the launch site said on Saturday, citing technical issues. The company postponed the liftoff while conducting pre-launch checks,...
Apr 06, 2024
Forecasts for cloudy skies cast shadow over North American solar eclipse
By Steve Gorman (Reuters) - Cloudy skies forecast for Monday could spell disappointment for many of the millions of North Americans hoping to glimpse the continent's first total solar eclipse since 2017, possibly turning this spellbinding celestial...
Apr 05, 2024
Texas woman who measures her life in eclipses about to see her 21st
By Evan Garcia FARMERS BRANCH, Texas (Reuters) - Leticia Ferrer is an "umbraphile" - literally, a shadow lover - but what it really means is that she is a chaser of eclipses. The 63-year-old Texas woman says she has traveled to all seven continents...
Apr 05, 2024
Explainer-How Monday's total solar eclipse affects U.S. grid operators
By Harshit Verma (Reuters) - Electric grids across the U.S. are anticipating a rapid decline in solar generation during Monday's total solar eclipse, which will span multiple states. NASA estimates the path of totality - when the sun is fully block...
Apr 05, 2024
Exclusive-Japan space startup Astroscale aims for June listing, sources say
By Sam Nussey and Miho Uranaka TOKYO (Reuters) - Space junk removal startup Astroscale is targeting a Tokyo listing as early as June, sources said, taking the high-profile venture public in a sector with out-of-this-world prospects and down-to-Eart...
Apr 05, 2024
Exclusive-White House directs NASA to create time standard for the moon
By Joey Roulette and Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday directed NASA to establish a unified standard of time for the moon and other celestial bodies, as the United States aims to set international norms in space amid a g...
Apr 02, 2024
Gene involved in cell shape offers clues on left-handedness
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - What do Lady Gaga, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Paul McCartney and Justin Bieber have in common with Ronald Reagan, Jimi Hendrix, Judy Garland, Fidel Castro and David Bowie? They are all left-handed, a trait share...
Apr 02, 2024
Dogs can associate words with objects, study finds
By Krisztina Fenyo BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Dogs are able to understand that some words refer to objects in a way that is similar to humans, a small study of canine brain waves has found, offering insight into the way the minds of man's best friends wo...
Mar 29, 2024
Secret planting operation boosts critically endangered Welsh shrub
By Helena Williams LONDON (Reuters) - At a secret location in the Welsh countryside, naturalists have planted 30 young specimens of a once-common plant that has been collected - and nibbled - almost to extinction. Cotoneaster Cambricus, Welsh Coton...
Mar 28, 2024
A million solar eclipse enthusiasts expected at Niagara Falls
By Wa Lone and Nivedita Balu NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario (Reuters) - From vintage train rides costing almost $4,000 per person to hotel rooms listed at $1,600 a night, businesses in and around majestic Niagara Falls are preparing to cash in on the April...
Mar 28, 2024
Scientists chronicle the earliest stages of a supernova
By Ari Rabinovitch REHOVOT, Israel (Reuters) - About 20 million years ago, in a galaxy not so far away, a large star exploded and sent elements representing the building blocks of life racing through space. About a year ago, by chance, as the light...
Mar 27, 2024
Twisted magnetic field observed around Milky Way's central black hole
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Astronomers on Wednesday announced that they have detected a strong and organized magnetic field twisted in a spiral pattern around the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, revealing previously unknown qualitie...
Mar 27, 2024
Humans give more viruses to animals than they give us, study finds
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some of the deadliest diseases to stalk humankind have come from pathogens that jumped from animals to people. The virus that causes AIDS, for example, crossed over from chimpanzees. And many experts believe th...
Mar 26, 2024