Multi-million dollar anti-bat mesh to be built around Ares rocket before launch. Artist impression of the multi-million dollar anti-bat mesh to be added to the Constellation launch tower to prevent another Brian the Bat tragedy (NASA) NOTE: The message that follows was part of the Universe Today’s...

The one day I’m on the road and can’t find an Internet connection was bound to be the very same day that the mother of all headline news breaks! “Brian the Bat” has been adopted by the mainstream media. Naturally, many websites and news sources picked up the tragic end of the...

Brian the Discovery Bat holds onto the external tank moments before launch (NASA/Damaris B. Sarria) NASA has now given details about the circumstances of Brian’s demise. It turns out that Brian was in fact a free-tailed bat, and not a fruit bat as previously reported. Also, NASA confirmed today’s...

Warning: You are about to read news of an upsetting nature. Brian didn’t make it, he was more of a thrill seeker than we gave him credit for… Brian the Discovery Bat holds onto the external tank moments before launch (NASA/Damaris B. Sarria) If you have been following the news about the bat...

At 19:47 EST, the STS-119 mission began with the successful launch of Space Shuttle Discovery from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission had been delayed by a week due to a hydrogen leak outside Discovery’s external fuel tank (compounding the extended delay caused by valve problems), but...

Bad Astronomy - One of Time's top 25 blogs of 2009 It is always fantastic to hear blog has been recognised by the mainstream media, but when a site from the space blogosphere is recognized by Time.com as one of 25 best blogs of 2009, that’s a big deal. Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy is officially...

Less than a day after news of the unprecedented in-orbit collision between the active Iridium communications and defunct Russian satellites, the software company AGI has already carried out an analysis of the event. A detailed animation has been released depicting the velocity, angle of impact and statistical...

© David Clark On Tuesday, at approximately 5pm GMT, two satellites made history. They became the first artificial satellites ever to collide accidentally in low-Earth orbit. The event happened between a defunct Russian satellite (Cosmos 2251, launched in 1993) and an active commercial Iridium communications...

Mount Asama erupted early in the morning of February 2nd. (AP) Only a few hours after the Japanese authorities issued an alert for the imminent eruption of Mount Asama, the volcano erupted at 1:51 am local time (Feb. 2nd), spewing thick smoke nearly 2 km high. Ash is falling on parts of Tokyo, 140 km...

In 2004, smoke rises from Mount Asama in Tsumagoi, 140 km northwest of Tokyo (Reuters) There will be growing tension in central Japan tonight. Mount Asama, an active complex volcano, is stirring and Japan’s Meteorological Agency has put the region on high alert. Geophysicists predict the volcano...