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July 03, 2013

Kerberos and Styx: Welcome to the Pluto System
Laurel MD (SPX) Jul 03, 2013
The names of Pluto's two smallest known moons, previously referred to as "P4" and "P5," have been formally approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). P4 has been named Kerberos, after the three-headed dog of Greek mythology. P5 has been named Styx, after the mythological river that separates the world of the living from the realm of the dead. They join Pluto's previously known moons Charon, Nix and Hydra. According to IAU rules, Pluto's moons are named for characters associated with t ... read more

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Opportunity's Improbable Anniversary When NASA's Mars rover Opportunity blasted off from Cape Canaveral in 2003, many onlookers expected a relatively short mission. Landing on Mars is risky business. The Red Planet has a long history o ... more		Comet ISON Brings Holiday Fireworks Its swift motion is captured in this time-lapse movie made from a sequence of pictures taken May 8, 2013, by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. At the time the images were taken, the comet was 403 milli ... more		Revolutionary Instrument Delivers a Sharper Universe to Astronomers A unique new instrument at Gemini South in Chile takes the removal of atmospheric distortions (using adaptive optics technology) to a new level. The release of seven ultrasharp, large-field images f ... more
				GPM Spreads Its Wings in Solar Array Deployment Test NASA successfully completed two pre-vibration solar array deployment tests of the Global Precipitation Measurement satellite on June 6 and June 15, 2013. "Cross your fingers. Cross your toes," ... more		Dawn's Ion propulsion 10 times more efficient than conventional chemical propulsion The indefatigable Dawn spacecraft is continuing its extraordinary interplanetary flight on behalf of inquisitive creatures on distant Earth. Progressing ever farther from Vesta, the rocky and rugged ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

ISS technology to 'hear' potential leaks The hiss of air escaping from a leaky car tire is no one's favorite sound. Even less pleasant? Hearing that hiss of escaping air 250 miles above Earth's surface while inside the pressurized confines ... more		The Asteroid Busters There is a sleeping giant out there, in space, somewhere. It is hidden among a mass of stars, lurking ever so quietly, waiting until the day of reckoning - the end of life on Earth. It is a large as ... more		One in Four Chance Annually of Rocket Debris Entering High-Traffic Airspace Urban Sky Secures $30 Million in Series B Round to Advance Stratospheric Innovation New Zealand voices 'concern' as Cook Islands seeks China deal		Chemists work to desalt the ocean for drinking water, one nanoliter at a time By creating a small electrical field that removes salts from seawater, chemists at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Marburg in Germany have introduced a new method for the des ... more
				Russian rocket explodes in Kazakhstan An unmanned Russian carrier rocket exploded Tuesday on takeoff at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, releasing tonnes of highly toxic fuel into the air in the space programme's latest disaster caught on live television. ... more		New forecast doubles lead time for El Nino: study A new method could double the lead time for forecasting the ocean warming trend known as El Nino and help communities better prepare for crops losses, floods and drought, German researchers said Monday. ... more

Solar systems for home and business

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Satellite spots giant crater in Antarctic ice cover above buried lake A European satellite has spotted a vast crater in Antarctica's icy surface scientists say they think was formed when a lake under miles of ice suddenly drained. ... more		New low-cost, transparent electrodes Indium tin oxide (ITO) has become a standard material in light-emitting diodes, flat panel plasma displays, electronic ink and other applications because of its high performance, moisture resistance ... more		Efforts to Detect Alien Life Advanced by Simple Microbe Mobility Test How Early Earth Supported the Formation of Polyester Protocells Lightning strikes link weather on Earth and weather in space		Russian Proton M Rocket Explodes Just After Blast Off An unmanned Russian carrier rocket exploded on takeoff at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, releasing 600 tonnes of highly toxic fuel into the air in images broadcast live on television. ... more
				India launches satellite for new navigation system India launched the first of seven satellites for its domestic satellite navigation network Tuesday, its space centre said, in the first step to creating a scaled down version of the US Global Positioning System. ... more		Cloud effect could increase number of possible life-supporting planets The climate influence of clouds could double the number of potentially habitable planets orbiting the most common type of stars, U.S. scientists say. ... more

Metamorphosis of Moon's Water Ice Explained

Scientists use gravity, topographic data to find unmapped moon craters

Australian team maps Moon's hidden craters

Opportunity's Improbable Anniversary

Opportunity Clocks Up 37 Kilometers Of Roving Mars

Dry run for the 2020 Mars Mission

NASA's Voyager 1 approaches outer limit of solar system

Voyager 1 Explores Final Frontier Of Our Solar Bubble

PayPal launches quest for intergalactic currency

Twilight for Tiangong

China plans to launch Tiangong-2 space lab around 2015

China calls for international cooperation in manned space program

	Astronomers Detect Three 'Super-Earths' in Nearby Star's Habitable Zone New observations of a star known as Gliese 667C have revealed a system with at least six planets, including a record-breaking three super-Earths orbiting in the star's "habitable zone" where liquid ... more		Inmarsat's First Fully Assembled Global Xpress Satellite Achieves Significant Testing Milestone Inmarsat reports that the first fully assembled Inmarsat-5 satellite has successfully completed mechanical testing at Boeing's manufacturing facility in El Segundo, CA. The satellite, one of three t ... more		Gas-Giant Exoplanets Cling Close to Their Parent Stars Finding extrasolar planets has become so commonplace that it seems astronomers merely have to look up and another world is discovered. However, results from Gemini Observatory's recently completed P ... more		France seeks $1.5B MQ-9 Reaper deal France is seeking to procure MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft from the United States in a package deal worth an estimated $1.5 billion. ... more

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Israel gets sixth Iron Dome, awaits David's Sling		Two mutations triggered an evolutionary leap 500 million years ago		Study reveals clues to lifecycle of worlds iconic mountains		Location of upwelling in Earth's mantle discovered to be stable		Large-scale quantum chip validated
Watching solar cells grow		Quantum engines must break down		It's a bug's life: Microbes to inherit the Earth		Efficient Production Process for Coveted Nanocrystals		Microscopy technique could help computer industry develop 3-D components

Dry run for the 2020 Mars Mission

New camera yields clues to dramatic events on sun's surface

Russia's Academy of Sciences at odds with government

Voyager 1 Explores Final Frontier Of Our Solar Bubble

Spiral galaxies like Milky Way bigger than thought

Opportunity Clocks Up 37 Kilometers Of Roving Mars

NASA Launches Satellite To Study How Sun's Atmosphere Is Energized

Researchers call for rethinking efforts to prevent interplanetary contamination

Arianespace takes delivery of its next Ariane 5 at the Spaceport

NASA launches satellite to study solar material

NASA's Voyager 1 approaches outer limit of solar system

Twilight for Tiangong

A Stepping-Stone for Oxygen on Earth

Europe prepares spacecraft to observe a billion stars

1 star, 3 habitable planets

Astronomers spy on galaxies in the raw

Launch Of Latest NASA Solar Mission Rescheduled To June 27

U.S. space-based missile alert system moves forward

US drone strike kills 4 in NW Pakistan: officials

Massive online protest of NSA spying activities planned

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