Just a month after the Soviet Union stunned the world by putting the first artificial satellite into orbit, it boasted a new victory - a much bigger satellite carrying a mongrel dog called Laika. The mission, 50 years ago Saturday, ended sadly for Laika but helped pave the way for human flight. picked by AutumnLotus 10 months ago

Ancient gravitational interactions with Venus and Jupiter could help explain some quirks about our moon's orbit. Scientists think Earth's only natural satellite was born when a rogue Mars-sized object struck a young and still molten Earth. The collision created a disk of debris around Earth that eventually coalesced to form our moon about 4.5 billion years ago. picked by AutumnLotus 11 months ago

You can move the Earth around on its axis to see 3-D views and isolate any of over 900 satellites and other "objects" floating around up there. Really makes you wonder how they get anything else in orbit without hitting something. picked by Browntrout 2 years ago

The Japanese lunar orbiter "Kaguya" saw earth, moon and sun line up on April 6, 2008 and captured another "Earth-rise" and "Earth-set" HDTV video - this time when the Earth was full. picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago

A black hole's intense gravitational field can cause individual photons of light to go into orbit around it temporarily, new calculations suggest. That means that photons from a single burst of light that explodes near the black hole could orbit the hole for different amounts of time before escaping into space, making the black hole appear to flash like a strobe light. picked by AutumnLotus 8 months ago

As a followup to this story, we now have a very small new moon. picked by jaxomlotus 2 years ago

It's been one of those days, and this just made me wish I had this dialog on hand to use today. Giggle-worthy. Perhaps we can take to using Orbit speak in our criticisms. ;) picked by bunnysutra 6 months ago

Enter the designation or name of any asteroid or comet, and a 3D orbit visualization tool will appear for that object. You can also select from the list of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids provided. picked by AutumnLotus 9 months ago

Astronomers have confirmed the binary nature of OJ 287, a very massive black hole, orbited by a smaller one, and the interaction of the system with its surroundings produces brightness changes that allow astronomers to study the evolution of the orbit. This evolution is dominated by one of the most intriguing predictions of Einstein's theory of General Relativity. Update on this post. picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago

A planet outside our solar system with a year roughly equal to Earth's has been discovered around a dying, red giant star. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Astronomers are baffled after finding an exotic type of star called a pulsar apparently locked in an elongated orbit around a star much like the sun -- an arrangement defying what had been known about such objects. picked by AutumnLotus 4 months ago

Well not really to the stars... just to orbit (near space). Iris (Internet Router Protocol in Space)is to the future of satellite-based communications what Arpanet was to the creation of the internet in the 1960s. picked by BrownTrout 1 year ago

A blog post suggests that Hubble could be kept in a high-orbit 'museum' rather than being made to crash into the Earth's atmosphere. picked by sparky 2 years ago

When a bolt is lost in space, should anyone care? picked by Galoot 2 years ago

Our planet faces a fiery doom inside the sun unless future generations work out how to change its orbit.

New calculations by University of Sussex astronomers predict the Earth will be burnt to a cinder then swallowed up by the sun in about 7.6 billion years. picked by AutumnLotus 7 months ago

It used to be called the final frontier - the great unknown only the most prized and powerful technology could conquer.

But now, as these images show, the space beyond our atmosphere has become yet one more place blighted by man-made litter, with potentially devastating results. picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago

The satellite, named the Chang'e I after a female figure from Chinese mythology who lives on the moon, will trace a path around the moon's poles. It will orbit the moon for more than a year, allowing it to map nearly every part of its terrain and overall structure. Schedule launch on 24th Oct. picked by carusonline 11 months ago

Senior editor of MAKE magazine, phillip torrone - playing with a new logitech camera. picked by extc68 7 months ago

Some crucial ingredients for life on Earth may have formed in interstellar space, rather than on the planet's surface. A new computer model indicates clouds of adenine molecules, a basic component of DNA, can form and survive the harsh conditions of space, and possibly sprinkle onto planets as the stars they orbit travel through a galaxy. picked by AutumnLotus 12 months ago

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has just begun its science mission, and one of the first targets is Victoria Crater, where the rover Opportunity has just arrived after nearly 1000 sols on Mars.

The photos, using the largest interplanetary telescope ever lofted, are truly amazing.

See comments for links to original imagery. picked by Fanatic 2 years ago