Vote Now! Best Space Stories of the Week - Aug. 4, 2013

New Twist on Black Holes, Cosmic 'Hula Hoops' & More

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Last week a new discovery shed light on the evolution of black holes, NASA found blinking baby stars with cosmic 'hula hoops' and Hubble helped solve a galaxy-evolution mystery. See the top stories of the last week here.

FIRST STOP: Incredible Technology: How to Explore Jupiter's Moon Europa

Incredible Technology: How to Explore Jupiter's Moon Europa

NASA/JPL/Ted Stryk

What kind of technology do you need to send a lander or even people to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa? Experts weigh in. [Full Story]

NEXT: How Giant Black Holes Spin: New Twist Revealed

How Giant Black Holes Spin: New Twist Revealed

NASA/JPL-Caltech

A newly discovered way to determine the spin of supermassive black holes could help shed light on the evolution of these bizarre objects and the galaxies they anchor. [Full Story]

NEXT: Astronaut Drives Rover from Space Station

Astronaut Drives Rover from Space Station

SPACE.com/Mike Wall

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station successfully operated a rover on Earth's surface Friday (July 26), helping lay the foundation for future human-robot partnerships that could push the boundaries of planetary exploration. [Full Story]

NEXT: Outer Space Olympics: Russia to Launch Torch, Award Meteor Medals

Outer Space Olympics: Russia to Launch Torch, Award Meteor Medals

CREDIT: collectSPACE.com/NASA/Sochi 2014

Russia is injecting outer space into the 2014 Olympics — both literally and figuratively. The host nation for the next Winter Games will launch an Olympic torch on a spacewalk and embed meteorite fragments into a special set of gold medals. [Full Story]

NEXT: Comet ISON: Is Potential 'Comet of the Century' Already Fizzling Out?

Comet ISON: Is Potential 'Comet of the Century' Already Fizzling Out?

NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

It doesn't look like Comet ISON will live up to its considerable hype, one researcher says. [Full Story]

NEXT: 'Star Trek's' Shuttlecraft Galileo Warps Into Space Center Houston

'Star Trek's' Shuttlecraft Galileo Warps Into Space Center Houston

SPACE.com/Robert Z. Pearlman

The newly restored shuttlecraft Galileo from TV’s “Star Trek” has found its new home in Texas at Space Center Houston. [Full Story]

NEXT: Hubble Telescope Helps Solve Galaxy-Evolution Mystery

Hubble Telescope Helps Solve Galaxy-Evolution Mystery

NASA, ESA, M. Carollo (ETH Zurich)

Using data from Hubble, scientists have unravelled a mystery surrounding galaxies that have ceased star formation. [Full Story]

NEXT: NASA Completes First Review of Asteroid-Capture Concepts

NASA Completes First Review of Asteroid-Capture Concepts

NASA

NASA has completed the initial internal review of ideas for its ambitious asteroid-capture mission, agency officials announced Wednesday (July 31). [Full Story]

NEXT: NASA's Next Mega-Rocket Passes Key Design Review

NASA's Next Mega-Rocket Passes Key Design Review

Boeing

The huge rocket that NASA is building to blast astronauts toward Mars, asteroids and other destinations in deep space has passed a critical design milestone, agency officials announced today (Aug. 1). [Full Story]

NEXT: NASA Finds Blinking Baby Stars with Cosmic 'Hula Hoop'

NASA Finds Blinking Baby Stars with Cosmic 'Hula Hoop'

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have detected a system of young, blinking stars surrounded by a dusty "hula-hoop" of stellar leftovers that could form planets one day. [Full Story]

NEXT: Sci-Fi Film 'Europa Report' Melds Space Fantasy and Fact

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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.