British scientists look to space for curbing global warming

September 28th, 2009 LONDON - In a new study, the British Meteorological Department has warned that global warming could result in a rise of 4 degree Celsius by the year 2060. According to the Guardian, unchecked global warming could bring a severe temperature rise of 4C within many people's lifetimes, as warned by the new report for the British government that significantly raises the stakes over climate change.

September 24th, 2009 LONDON - The discovery of water on the moon by Indian maiden lunar craft Chandrayaan-1 is just the breakthrough international space scientists were waiting for in order to kick start the moon exploration programme again, the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) said Thursday. This is a massively impressive accomplishment, RAS Secretary Martin Barstow, a leading British astronomer, told IANS after American scientists made the stunning announcement that the Indian mooncraft had sent evidence of water on the lunar surface.

September 13th, 2009 LONDON - There are thousands of habitable moons orbiting planets in other solar systems trillions of miles from our own, British scientists say. On the basis of mathematical calculations, scientists at the University College London have said that it should be possible to spot these moons using a space telescope launched by NASA.

August 30th, 2009 LONDON - British space scientists have designed a special spacecraft that can save the earth from a catastrophic asteroid collision. The 10 tonne spacecraft named "gravity tractor" would be deployed to intercept an asteroid en route to the earth and has the ability to fly 160 ft alongside it.

August 8th, 2009 LONDON - In a new research, scientists have determined that the use of geo-engineering to slow global warming may increase the risk of droughts. Methods put forward include reflecting solar radiation back into space using giant mirrors or aerosol particles.

May 27th, 2009 LONDON - US President Barrack Obama's energy adviser has suggested that as part of efforts to slow global warming, all the world's roofs should be painted white. According to a report in the Telegraph, Professor Steven Chu, the US Energy Secretary, said that the unusual proposal would mean homes in hot countries would save energy and money on air conditioning by deflecting the sun's rays.

May 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US space agency NASA said astronauts Tuesday sent the Hubble Space Telescope back into orbit, where it is to help probe the origins and nature of the universe for at least five more years. Astronauts spent the past seven days repairing the telescope, completing their tasks Monday on a space walk lasting over seven hours, as a stand-by shuttle stood ready on the launch pad in Florida for a rescue mission.

May 14th, 2009 LONDON - The Catlin Arctic Survey, a gruelling 10-week expedition to measure the thickness of sea-ice that will help study the impacts of global warming in the region, has ended. According to a report by BBC News, two planes landed safely on May 13 on the floating Arctic ice to collect researchers Pen Hadow, Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley.

May 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida Monday on a mission to repair the ageing Hubble Space Telescope. The fifth and last mission to repair Hubble launched at 2:01 p.m.

May 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - For nearly 20 years the Hubble Space Telescope has kept its orbiting eye trained on the universe, and with the launch of space shuttle Atlantis to repair the ageing instrument, scientists hope it will continue to provide important discoveries. The fifth and last mission to repair Hubble is to launch at 1801 GMT Monday from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

March 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Carbon dioxide released from the Antartic Ocean due to shifting wind patterns may drastically increase global warming, say scientists. Many scientists think that the end of the last ice age was triggered by a change in earth's orbit that caused the northern part of the planet to warm.

February 25th, 2009 SYDNEY - Water vapour released into the air adds one degree Celsius to global warming for every one contributed by humanity through other greenhouse gas emissions. The evidence for this phenomenon, long-debated among climate scientists, is now indisputable, according to a review of the evidence by Andrew Dessler of Texas A&M University and Steven Sherwood of the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

January 27th, 2009 BERLIN - Indian and German scientists began strewing iron powder on hundreds of square kilometres of the Antarctic ocean in a momentous experiment that may yield a solution to the global warming crisis. Some environmentalists have opposed the work of Indian and German scientists aboard the Polarstern, a German research icebreaker, but Berlin ruled Monday the project is safe and breaks no laws.

January 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Unchecked global warming is causing dead zones or low-oxygen areas in oceans, threatening the very survival of fish, crabs and clams, according to a Danish study. In shallow coastal regions, these zones can be caused by runoff of excess fertilisers from farming.

January 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Antarctica is warming, despite the recent scientific consensus that the southernmost continent was not being impacted by global warming, a study published in the journal Nature said Thursday. Scientists had observed warming in the Antarctic Peninsula that extends north from the icy continent, but the rest of the continent was believed to be stable or even cooling as the rest of the Earth's continents saw temperatures increase.