Vote Now! Best Space Stories of the Week – May 25, 2014

Cosmic Anniversary, Stellar Cannibals & More

Gail Lamm

Last week marked the 50-year anniversary of the 'Big Bang Echo' Discovery, the first-ever Camelopardalid meteor shower peaked, and astronomers announced they have found a way to find stars that 'eat' alien Earths. See the best stories from last week here.

FIRST STOP: Cosmic Anniversary: 'Big Bang Echo' Discovered 50 Years Ago Today

Cosmic Anniversary: 'Big Bang Echo' Discovered 50 Years Ago Today

ESA and the Planck Collaboration

On May 20, 1964, American radio astronomers Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias discovered the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB), the ancient light that began saturating the universe 380,000 years after its creation.

[Full Story]

NEXT: New Meteor Shower Thrills Stargazers Despite Low 'Shooting Star' Count (Videos, Photos)

New Meteor Shower Thrills Stargazers Despite Low 'Shooting Star' Count (Videos, Photos)

Gail Lamm

The first-ever Camelopardalid meteor shower peaked in the wee hours of Saturday, offering stargazers a rare sight — the debut meteor display from the dusty Comet 209P/LINEAR. Photos of the new meteor shower sent in to Space.com show amazing views of meteors over Toronto, Indiana and even through the northern lights of Canada.

[Full Story]

NEXT: We'll Find Alien Life in This Lifetime, Scientists Tell Congress

We'll Find Alien Life in This Lifetime, Scientists Tell Congress

Arecibo Observatory/NSF

House lawmakers will hear testimony today (5/21) from experts in the field of astrobiology to learn about the challenges of seeking life off planet Earth.

[Full Story]

NEXT: Apps in Space! Boeing Looking at Mobile Tech for New Astronaut Taxi

Apps in Space! Boeing Looking at Mobile Tech for New Astronaut Taxi

The Boeing Co.

Boeing and Samsung are teaming up to find new ways to incorporate mobile technology and applications into the CST-100 spacecraft, which Boeing is developing as part of NASA's commercial crew program.

[Full Story]

NEXT: Stars That 'Eat' Alien Earths Exposed (Video)

Stars That 'Eat' Alien Earths Exposed (Video)

Vanderbilt University

Some stars that give birth to Earth-like rocky planets only to later devour those same daughter worlds, and now scientists say they have a way to find the stellar cannibals.

[Full Story]

NEXT: George Clooney's Satellite Sentinel Project for Human Rights Enters New Phase

George Clooney's Satellite Sentinel Project for Human Rights Enters New Phase

DigitalGlobe

The human-rights initiative co-founded by actor George Clooney is now shifting into detective mode.

[Full Story]

NEXT: Defying Gravity: Eye-Opening Science Adventures On a Weightless Flight (Photos)

Defying Gravity: Eye-Opening Science Adventures On a Weightless Flight (Photos)

NASA

Space.com shadowed a group of students from the University of California, San Diego who were selected by NASA to test an experiment on board a zero-gravity flight.

[Full Story]

NEXT: Huge New Mars Crater Found by NASA Spacecraft (Photos)

Huge New Mars Crater Found by NASA Spacecraft (Photos)

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

An eagle-eyed NASA spacecraft has spotted a fresh crater on Mars large enough to cover half of a football field, and it's no puny Martian pockmark. In fact, the crater is the largest new impact site ever seen on the Red Planet using orbiter photos.

[Full Story]

NEXT: My Time With Comet Lovejoy (Op-Ed)

My Time With Comet Lovejoy (Op-Ed)

Victor C. Rogus.

In 2013, an Australian spotted a comet streaking through the sky, one that would ultimately bear his name and excite amateur and professional astronomers around the globe, including Space.com columnist Victor Rogus.

[Full Story]

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Space.com Staff
News and editorial team

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.