http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The European union has selected the Finnish Meteorological Institute to lead an international space effort whose goal is to build the largest and fastest man-made device. http://phys.org/news211110648.html Technology Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:51:40 EST news211110648 (PhysOrg.com) -- On Dec. 6 at 1:31 a.m. EST, NASA for the first time successfully ejected a nanosatellite from a free-flying microsatellite. NanoSail-D ejected from the Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite, FASTSAT, demonstrating the capability to deploy a small cubesat payload from an autonomous microsatellite in space. http://phys.org/news210946891.html Space & Earth Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:40:02 EST news210946891 Russia is looking to build a $2 billion orbital "pod" that would sweep up satellite debris from space around the Earth. According to a post on the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos' Facebook site, (which seems to confirm an earlier article by the Interfax news agency) the cleaning satellite would work on nuclear power and be operational for about 15 years. The Russian rocket company, Energia proposes that they would complete the cleaning satellite assembly by 2020 and test the device no later than in 2023. http://phys.org/news210343774.html Space & Earth Tue, 30 Nov 2010 12:49:43 EST news210343774 Lockheed Martin submitted its proposal today for the next phase of Space Fence, a program that will revamp the way the U.S. Air Force identifies and tracks objects in space. http://phys.org/news209387535.html Space & Earth Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:12:28 EST news209387535 Nuclear explosion debris may contain microscopic evidence that could help investigators determine the origin of the bomb, according to a study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://phys.org/news208544338.html Chemistry Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:20:01 EST news208544338 The Russian mission control centre has decided to manoeuvre the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday to avoid collision with space debris, Russian news agencies reported. http://phys.org/news207287320.html Space & Earth Tue, 26 Oct 2010 04:49:54 EST news207287320 (PhysOrg.com) -- It was a case of celestial hit and run. Two asteroids, both in the wrong place at the wrong time. The result: one big trail of debris and a case of mistaken identity. Now, however, ESA’s comet-chaser Rosetta has unravelled the truth. http://phys.org/news206257127.html Space & Earth Thu, 14 Oct 2010 06:43:06 EST news206257127 One of NASA's orbiting sentinels is expected to return to Earth in a few days. The agency's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation (ICESat) satellite completed a very productive scientific mission earlier this year. NASA lowered the satellite's orbit last month and then decommissioned the spacecraft in preparation for re-entry. It is estimated that the satellite will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and largely burn up on or about August 29. http://phys.org/news202396618.html Space & Earth Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:22:04 EST news202396618 Large changes in the sun's energy output may drive unexpectedly dramatic fluctuations in Earth's outer atmosphere. http://phys.org/news202054025.html Space & Earth Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:07:33 EST news202054025 Despite growing awareness of the problem of plastic pollution in the world's oceans, little solid scientific information existed to illustrate the nature and scope of the issue. This week, a team of researchers from Sea Education Association (SEA), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the University of Hawaii (UH) published a study of plastic marine debris based on data collected over 22 years by undergraduate students in the latest issue of the journal Science. http://phys.org/news201428132.html Space & Earth Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:00:28 EST news201428132 A dozen space vehicles, equipped with 200 nets each, could scoop up the space debris floating in low Earth orbit, clearing the way for a future space elevator. That’s the idea described last Friday at the annual Space Elevator conference by Star Inc., a company that is receiving funding for the project from DARPA. http://phys.org/news201229702.html Space & Earth Tue, 17 Aug 2010 02:08:47 EST news201229702 Global Aerospace Corporation (GAC) announced that Dr. Kristin L. Gates will present a paper on de-orbiting space junk at the August 2 Artificial and Natural Space Debris session of the AIAA Astrodynamics Specialists Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Gates will describe GAC's Gossamer Orbit Lowering Device (GOLD) for safe and efficient removal from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) of dangerous space objects. The patented GOLD system concept uses a very large ultra thin balloon envelope to increase the aerodynamic drag by a factor of several hundred. This will cause the space junk to enter the earth's atmosphere quickly and burn up. It will reduce the natural orbit decay of some objects from centuries to months. The computer-generated figure illustrates a GOLD system de-orbiting a large scientific observatory. http://phys.org/news199976396.html Space & Earth Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:40:01 EST news199976396 Debris from a satellite destroyed in 2007 by a Chinese missile is in the vicinity of the International Space Station and astronauts are ready to take cover if required, a Russian official said Friday. http://phys.org/news199100998.html Space & Earth Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:50:18 EST news199100998 (PhysOrg.com) -- While orbiting Saturn for the last six years, NASA's Cassini spacecraft has kept a close eye on the collisions and disturbances in the gas giant's rings. http://phys.org/news198861848.html Space & Earth Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:24:38 EST news198861848 An Australian company Tuesday said it had developed a laser tracking system that will stop chunks of space debris colliding with spacecraft and satellites in the Earth's orbit. http://phys.org/news198818176.html Space & Earth Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:16:30 EST news198818176 (AP) -- The launch of a new U.S. Air Force space surveillance satellite has been delayed due to a software problem in a rocket similar to the one that will lift the satellite into orbit. http://phys.org/news197659026.html Space & Earth Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:40:05 EST news197659026 (PhysOrg.com) -- UC Irvine professor William Cooper follows the trail of plastic debris that's spreading from the coast to the deep sea. http://phys.org/news197049997.html Space & Earth Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:20:03 EST news197049997 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from the University of Southampton have confirmed a long-term change in the Earth's upper atmosphere at altitudes where satellites are operating. http://phys.org/news196525719.html Space & Earth Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:00:28 EST news196525719 On June 3rd, 2010, something hit Jupiter. A comet or asteroid descended from the black of space, struck the planet's cloudtops, and disintegrated, producing a flash of light so bright it was visible in backyard telescopes on Earth. Soon, observers around the world were training their optics on the impact site, waiting to monitor the cindery cloud of debris which always seems to accompany a strike of this kind. http://phys.org/news195802922.html Space & Earth Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:42:42 EST news195802922 US shuttle Atlantis speeded toward the International Space Station Saturday after a successful lift-off on the final mission for the 25-year-old spacecraft. http://phys.org/news193130213.html Space & Earth Sat, 15 May 2010 08:17:13 EST news193130213 A top US general on Thursday called for international rules to control chaotic space traffic, warning satellites are increasingly at risk of collision. http://phys.org/news192977954.html Space & Earth Thu, 13 May 2010 14:20:01 EST news192977954 (PhysOrg.com) -- A rooftop webcam at the University of Wisconsin-Madison captured the final seconds of a fireball's Wednesday, April 14 descent into the atmosphere. A fireball is a meteor, or "shooting star," that emits a brilliant light as it enters Earth's atmosphere. http://phys.org/news190640737.html Space & Earth Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:47:35 EST news190640737 (AP) -- Researchers are warning of a new blight at sea: a swirl of confetti-like plastic debris stretching over a remote expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. http://phys.org/news190569673.html Space & Earth Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:01:33 EST news190569673 Countless studies and reports exist describing how a landscape is impacted after logging Douglas-fir: What is the impact on the soil? Should one leave the debris in place? Pile it? Burn it or haul it offsite in preparation for replanting the area in the future? http://phys.org/news189436068.html Biology Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:20:02 EST news189436068 (PhysOrg.com) -- New UK technology is set to play a major part in clearing dangerous clouds of debris hurtling around the Earth's lower orbit. http://phys.org/news189009246.html Space & Earth Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:34:37 EST news189009246 A loud explosion and ball of fire that people in central Mexico reported seeing in the sky was actually a Russian satellite plunging back to earth, experts said Thursday. http://phys.org/news185178208.html Space & Earth Fri, 12 Feb 2010 07:00:01 EST news185178208 (AP) -- The Philippines' most active volcano could have a huge eruption within days, officials warned Sunday after detecting a drastic surge in earthquakes and eerie rumbling sounds in surrounding foothills. Tens of thousands of villagers have been evacuated as a precaution. http://phys.org/news180531928.html Space & Earth Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:46:39 EST news180531928 (AP) -- Security forces in army trucks Friday sent about 3,000 residents outside the danger zone surrounding the smoldering Mayon volcano, which looked set for a major eruption after days of shooting ash plumes and spilling lava. http://phys.org/news180341972.html Space & Earth Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:00:22 EST news180341972 (AP) -- NASA says a piece of old space junk that it's been tracking for a few days is no threat to the International Space Station. http://phys.org/news178645573.html Space & Earth Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:46:33 EST news178645573 (PhysOrg.com) -- Roughly 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, North America's vast assemblage of large animals -- including such iconic creatures as mammoths, mastodons, camels, horses, ground sloths and giant beavers -- began their precipitous slide to extinction. http://phys.org/news177864298.html Space & Earth Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:45:49 EST news177864298