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    Category Astronomy/Space

    Fog on Titan detected by Huygens lander

    March 29, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Fog on Titan detected by Huygens lander

    Credit: arXiv:1603.04413 [astro-ph.EP]

    Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, with its thick, dense atmosphere, is of special interest for scientists studying atmospheric features on other worlds. While the presence of fog on Titan was revealed in 2009 thanks to data provided by NASA/ESA Cassini spacecraft, a new study shows that this phenomenon is also visible from ground observations conducted by the ESA Huygens lander.

    Huygens was released by the Cassini spacecraft and landed on Titan on January 14, 2005. It gathered crucial scientific data while descending through the nitrogen-dominated atmosphere for 2.5 hours and transmitted a signal for about 70 minutes after touchdown before contact was lost...

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    Oddball Planet raises questions about Origins of ‘Hot Jupiters’

    March 29, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    HD 80606 b (rendered here) stands out amid the hundreds of exoplanets discovered recently because of its highly eccentric orbit. Researchers have studied how the planet's temperature changes as it approaches, sweeps by, and moves away from its star. HD 80606 b (rendered here) stands out amid the hundreds of exoplanets discovered recently because of its highly eccentric orbit. Researchers have studied how the planet's temperature changes as it approaches, sweeps by, and moves away from its star. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers and JPL

    HD 80606 b (rendered here) stands out amid the hundreds of exoplanets discovered recently because of its highly eccentric orbit. Researchers have studied how the planet’s temperature changes as it approaches, sweeps by, and moves away from its star. HD 80606 b (rendered here) stands out amid the hundreds of exoplanets discovered recently because of its highly eccentric orbit. Researchers have studied how the planet’s temperature changes as it approaches, sweeps by, and moves away from its star. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers and JPL

    Observations of an extreme-weather planet raise questions about hot Jupiters’ origins. Scientists have observed an exoplanet by the name of HD 80606 b...

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    Searching for Life beyond earth: 1s Scientific Roadmap for European Astrobiology

    March 28, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space, Biology/Biotechnology

    The first scientific Roadmap for European Astrobiology was published on 21 March 2016. This strategic landmark for European astrobiology was produced through the European Commission-funded AstRoMap project (2013-2015). In putting this research roadmap document together, the 19 authors relied on the outcome and findings of the AstRoMap project as well as on wide community consultation and four disciplinary workshops organised between 2013 and 2014. The AstRoMap European Astrobiology Roadmap considers astrobiology in a wide context: it is understood as the study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the context of cosmic evolution; this includes habitability in the Solar System and beyond...

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    Moons of Saturn may be Younger than the Dinosaurs

    March 28, 2016, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The new paper finds that Saturn's moon Rhea and all other moons and rings closer to Saturn may be only 100 million years old. Outer satellites (not pictured here), including Saturn's largest moon Titan, are probably as old as the planet itself. Credit: NASA/JPL

    The new paper finds that Saturn’s moon Rhea and all other moons and rings closer to Saturn may be only 100 million years old. Outer satellites (not pictured here), including Saturn’s largest moon Titan, are probably as old as the planet itself. Credit: NASA/JPL

    New research suggests that some of Saturn’s icy moons, as well as its famous rings, might be modern adornments. Their dramatic birth may have taken place a mere hundred million years ago, more recent than the reign of many dinosaurs. “Moons are always changing their orbits. That’s inevitable,” says Matija Cuk, principal investigator at the SETI Institute. “But that fact allows us to use computer simulations to tease out the history of Saturn’s inner moons...

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