Tidal interaction making Earth and Sun push each other away

September 12th, 2009 SYDNEY - In a new study, scientists have determined that giant gas planets like Jupiter, which orbit close to their parent star, could harbour moons the size of Earth. According to a report by ABC News, the study was led by graduate student Tim Cassidy from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, US.

September 7th, 2009 LONDON - In a new research, it has been determined that rocky worlds have to be about the size of Earth to be conducive for life. According to a report in New Scientist, the discovery of extrasolar super-Earths - rocky planets about five to ten times the mass of Earth - has raised hopes that some may harbour life.

August 26th, 2009 Suicidal planet seems on death spiral into starWASHINGTON — Astronomers have found what appears to be a gigantic suicidal planet. The odd, fiery planet is so close to its star and so large that it is triggering tremendous plasma tides on the star.

August 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US space agency NASA does not have enough cash to track the large nearby asteroids that could pose a hazard to Earth, a study by the National Academy of Science found Wednesday. In 2005, Congress ordered NASA to track up to 90 percent of near-Earth asteroids that are 140 metres in diameter or larger by 2020.

August 7th, 2009 SYDNEY - European astronomers have said that the smallest planet yet detected outside our Solar System, dubbed 'Super Earth', appears to have a solid surface. According to a report by ABC News, the European team describe the exoplanet CoRoT-7b, a so-called Super-Earth, which has a diameter approximately twice that of Earth.

July 31st, 2009 WASHINGTON - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is introducing a new Web site that will provide a centralized resource for information on near-Earth objects - those asteroids and comets that can approach Earth. The "Asteroid Watch" site also contains links for the interested public to sign up for NASA's new asteroid widget and Twitter account.

June 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Astronomers have announced the discovery of new tidal debris stripped away from colliding galaxies. New debris images are of special interest since they show the full history of galaxy collisions and resultant starburst activities, which are important in 'growing' galaxies in the early Universe.

June 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - New calculations by scientists indicate that tidal forces exerted on planets by the parent star's gravity could limit what is regarded as a star's habitable zone and change the criteria for planets where life could potentially take root. Scientists believe liquid water is essential for life.

June 2nd, 2009 LONDON - A new study has determined that life on Earth is unlikely to have come from space viruses. Panspermia is the idea that life was seeded by extraterrestrial microbes in the form of hardy bacterial spores that hitched a ride on a space rock and landed on Earth.

May 30th, 2009 LONDON - In a new research, a scientist has suggested that a perpetual cycle of melting and refreezing may offer the best explanation for why Saturn's moon Enceladus seems so active today. According to a report in New Scientist, the scientist in question is Norman Sleep of Stanford University, US.

May 14th, 2009 LONDON - In a new research, scientists have developed an experiment demonstrating how life originated on the Earth about 4 billion years ago in the form of the very first self-replicating molecules. According to a report in The Independent, the research was done by John Sutherland and colleagues at Manchester University, UK.

April 29th, 2009 LONDON - Two new studies have suggested that exoplanets which venture near their host stars are doomed to premature deaths - even before they get close enough to be ripped apart by the stars' gravity. According to a report in New Scientist, the studies say that a star's gravity can put a nearby planet on a 'fast track' to spiralling into the star and may also cause the planet to lose much of its atmosphere.

April 29th, 2009 LONDON - Comets could have supplied missing ingredients for the creation of life on earth, according to the latest study. 'When comets slammed into the earth about four billion years ago, they delivered a payload of organic materials that combined with Earth's own large reservoir of organics and led to the emergence of life,' said Bar-Nun, professor of planetary sciences at Tel Aviv University (TAU).

April 21st, 2009 LONDON - Media and entertainment giant Disney's bosses will plant 500,000 trees on Earth Day (Wednesday) after film fans flocked to buy tickets for the company's new documentary 'Earth'. The executives agreed to plant a tree for every ticket bought during the film's first week.

March 27th, 2009 LONDON - Scientists have used a virtual model to investigate options to save the Earth from an asteroid impact. According to a report in New Scientist, the model was developed by a team led by David Dearborn of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, which modelled the impact of a nuclear explosion on an asteroid's trajectory.