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Posts by
Paul Scott Anderson
Astronomers find 18 more Earth-sized exoplanets in Kepler data
A new survey algorithm - called Transit Least-Squares - has just caused the number of known, rocky, Earth-sized worlds orbiting distant stars to grow again, as astronomers add another 18 exoplanets to the list.
May 27, 2019
New evidence for Pluto’s subsurface ocean
Does Pluto have an ocean? That idea seems preposterous at first, but a new study adds to the growing evidence for a subsurface ocean on this distant dwarf planet ... and explains how it stays liquid.
May 23, 2019
Scientists find new periodic water cycle on Mars
A new study shows that Mars has a unique water vapor cycle that occurs only once about every 2 years. The cycle might help explain how Mars lost most of its water.
May 21, 2019
How some planets can survive their stars’ deaths
A new "survival guide for exoplanets" outlines how different kinds of planets fare when their host star dies. It suggests the smallest rocky worlds are the most likely to escape annihilation.
May 19, 2019
New insights about Haumea’s enigmatic ring
Dwarf planet Haumea orbits in Pluto's realm of the solar system. It's the most distant little world known to have a ring. Scientists in Brazil have new insights on how Haumea's ring maintains its nearly perfect circular shape.
May 16, 2019
Asteroid strike simulation blasts New York City
It seems like play, but they're serious. Every year, at the Planetary Defense Conference, asteroid experts from around the globe run days-long simulations of asteroids headed for major cities. In 2019, it was New York City's turn.
May 13, 2019
India aims for 1st landing near moon’s south pole
The moon's south pole has never been explored from the ground, but India's new Chandrayaan-2 mission will attempt a 1st-ever landing there, with a rover, this September.
May 10, 2019
Unfathomably deep oceans on alien water worlds?
Distant water exoplanets might have oceans thousands of miles deep. That's in contrast to Earth's ocean, which is about 6.8 miles (about 11 km) deep at its deepest point.
May 9, 2019
NASA to fund research on advanced solar sails
Solar sails use faint pressure from sunlight to propel a spacecraft forward. A next-generation solar sail - called a diffractive solar sail - might be made of metamaterials, or smart materials.
May 5, 2019
Scientists explain mysterious, celestial STEVE
STEVE is a majestic sky phenomenon, similar to well-known auroras, but not as well understood. Now, a new study provides an explanation.
May 2, 2019
