Scientists have recorded the sound of three stars similar to our Sun using France's Corot space telescope. The technique, called "stellar seismology", is becoming increasingly popular among astronomers because the sounds give an indication of what is going on in the stars' interior.

A telescope arms race is taking shape around the world. Astronomers are drawing up plans for the biggest, most powerful instruments ever constructed, capable of peering far deeper into the universe — and further back in time — than ever before.

A controversial effort by the US Pentagon to develop ground-based anti-satellite lasers has been highlighted by Congressional hearings held this week.

Japanese scientists have come up with a method for encrypting messages using quasars, which emit radio waves and are thought to be powered by black holes.

Google has struck a partnership with scientists building a huge sky-scanning telescope, with hopes of helping the public access digital footage of asteroids, supernovas and distant galaxies.

A joint Mexico-U.S. effort to build a monster radio telescope in Mexico is causing concerns because the project, the Large Millimeter Telescope, is part of a U.S. Defense Department effort to develop the target acquisition and directed-energy technology needed for anti-satellite warfare.

Overview of the research on adaptive optics and directed energy being done at the U.S. Air Force Starfire Optical Observatory. This facility was previously the subject of a New York Times article which argued the Bush Administration was pursuing anti-satellite laser weapons under the cover of astronomy.

The Swift Space Laboratory -- a joint project between NASA, Britain, and Italy -- is the first satellite dedicated to probing the mysteries of gamma ray bursts.

European researchers have begun work on a research programme to create a flotilla of orbiting mirrors that could return clear pictures of exo-planets, worlds that circle other stars.

Astronomers have demonstrated the use of internet technologies and the principle of interferometry to create a giant "virtual telescope" that has a resolution 5 times that of the Hubble Space Telescope.