(PhysOrg.com) — The Dawn spacecraft has completed a graceful spiral into the first of four planned science orbits during the spacecraft’s yearlong visit to Vesta. The spacecraft started taking detailed observations on Aug. 11 at 9:13 a.m. PDT (12:13 a.m. EDT), which marks the official start of the first science-collecting orbit phase at Vesta, also known as the survey orbit.

On May 23, 2012, the remnants of post-tropical storm Alberto were chasing a frontal system over the Atlantic Ocean, several hundred miles east of the U.S. East coast. A new NASA animation of imagery from NOAA's GOES-15 satellite shows the progression of Alberto's remnants.

Tropical Storm Bud is dropping heavy rainfall, and appears to be intensifying. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been monitoring rainfall within the storm, and has watched it become heavier over the last day - a sign the storm is intensifying.

The Dragon space capsule, which has launched a new era of commercial spaceflight, completed its first tests before its scheduled docking at the International Space Station, NASA said Wednesday.

(AP) -- A privately built space capsule that's zipping its way to the International Space Station has also launched something else: A new for-profit space race.

A recent study proposes the galaxy is crowded with nomad planets adrift in space. If this is the case, nomad planets may play a dynamic role in the universe.

The influence of the ground beneath us on the air around us could be greater than scientists had previously thought, according to new research that links the long-ago proliferation of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere to a sudden change in the inner workings of our planet.

The hordes of bark beetles that have bored their way through more than 6 billion trees in the western U.S. and British Columbia since the 1990s do more than damage and kill stately pine, spruce and other trees. A new study finds that these pests can make trees release up ...