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    Category Astronomy/Space

    Test for Damp Ground at Mars’ Seasonal Streaks finds None

    August 25, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Blue dots on this map indicate sites of recurring slope lineae (RSL) in part of the Valles Marineris canyon network on Mars. RSL are seasonal dark streaks that may be indicators of liquid water. The area mapped here has the highest density of known RSL on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

    Blue dots on this map indicate sites of recurring slope lineae (RSL) in part of the Valles Marineris canyon network on Mars. RSL are seasonal dark streaks that may be indicators of liquid water. The area mapped here has the highest density of known RSL on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

    Seasonal dark streaks on Mars that have become one of the hottest topics in interplanetary research don’t hold much water, according to the latest findings from a NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars. The new results from NASA’s Mars Odyssey mission rely on ground temperature, measured by infrared imaging using the spacecraft’s Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS)...

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    Fossilized Rivers suggest Warm, Wet Ancient Mars

    August 24, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Fossilized rivers suggest warm, wet ancient Mars

    Perspective view of Aram Dorsum, an inverted channel on Mars and candidate landing site for the ExoMars rover. Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS

    Extensive systems of fossilised riverbeds have been discovered on an ancient region of the Martian surface, supporting the idea that the now cold and dry Red Planet had a warm and wet climate about 4 billion years ago, according to UCL-led research. The study identified over 17,000km of former river channels on a northern plain called Arabia Terra, providing further evidence of water once flowing on Mars.

    “Climate models of early Mars predict rain in Arabia Terra and until now there was little geological evidence on the surface to support this theory...

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    China unveils 2020 Mars Rover Concept: report

    August 24, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    A concept image of the probe, including the solar panels that will help power it (China Daily)

    A concept image of the probe, including the solar panels that will help power it (China Daily)

    China has unveiled illustrations of a Mars probe and rover it aims to send to the Red Planet at the end of the decade in a mission that faces “unprecedented” challenges, state media said on Wednesday. China, which is pouring billions into its space programme and working to catch up with the US and Europe, announced in April it aims to send a spacecraft “around 2020” to orbit Mars, land and deploy the rover. Zhang Rongqiao, chief architect of the project, said Tuesday they were targeting July or August of that year for the launch, the Xinhua news agency reported.

    A Long March-5 carrier rocket will be dispatched from the Wenchang space launch centre in the southern island province of Hainan, Xinhua...

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    Astronomers discover a Large Cavity around the Tycho’s Supernova

    August 23, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Astronomers discover a large cavity around the Tycho's supernova

    The large-field WISE [12–4.6] µm infrared image around the Tycho’s supernova remnant (SNR). The red circle shows the position and size of the shell-like structure in the Tycho’s SNR, while the yellow dashed ellipse shows the cavity found in the MWISP CO images. The three white dashed lines are shown to guide the eye for the stream-like structures seen in the CO images. The white arrows mark the positions of the pillar-like structures found in the WISE image. Credit: Chen et al., 2016.

    Chinese astronomers have detected a large cavity existing around Tycho’s supernova, SN 1572, exhibiting stream-like structures. The findings show that the environments of the supernovae may be much more complicated than previously thought...

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