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Hot Topic
Solar System
Outer Solar System
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Voyager on the Edge
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| Topic: Outer Solar System |
06/18/11 |
| New calculations indicate that NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft will leave the Solar System earlier than previously thought. |
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Haumea Shines with Crystalline Ice
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| Topic: Outer Solar System |
05/16/11 |
| A new study shows that the dwarf planet Haumea and one of its satellites are covered in water-ice due to tidal forces between them and the heat of radiogenic elements. |
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Messages From the Edge of the Solar System
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| Topic: Outer Solar System |
04/29/11 |
| More than 30 years after they left Earth, NASA's twin Voyager probes are now returning data from the edge of the Solar System. With each passing day they are beaming back a message that, to scientists, is both unsettling and thrilling. |
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Pluto Has Carbon Monoxide in its Atmosphere
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| Topic: Outer Solar System |
04/20/11 |
| Astronomers have discovered carbon monoxide gas in the atmosphere of Pluto. Pluto is the only 'dwarf planet' known to have an atmosphere, and it appears that it may have grown in size over the last decade. |
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Comet Caused Rings to Ripple
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| Topic: Outer Solar System |
04/02/11 |
| Using data from three NASA separate missions, scientists have traced ripples in the rings of Saturn and Jupiter to collisions with cometary fragments. Understanding the local environments of Saturn and Jupiter can help astrobiologists determine the habitability of moons that orbit these giant planets. |
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Looking Back at Uranus
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| Topic: Outer Solar System |
01/23/11 |
| Twenty-five years ago, NASA made its only visit thus far to the planet Uranus. Voyager 2 returned unexpected images of an active planet and moons with dramatic surface features. The visit expanded our knowledge of the planets and helped astrobiologists understand whether or not planets and moons in the outer Solar System could be habitable. |
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Voyager Crosses the Point of Solar Stillness
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| Topic: Outer Solar System |
12/15/10 |
| NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has reached a point at the edge of our solar system where there is no outward motion of solar wind. The craft is getting closer and closer to interstellar space. For 33-year years, Voyager 1 has provided incredible data about the structure of our solar system and many of the outer planets and moons. |
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The Ever-Changing Edge of the Solar System
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| Topic: Outer Solar System |
10/02/10 |
| New data from NASA's IBEX spacecraft reveals that the edge of our solar system is a more dynamic place than previously thought. The research is shedding new light on our solar system, and can help astrobiologists better understand the conditions that allowed the Earth to become a habitable world. |
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New Objects Hidden in Hubble Data
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| Topic: Outer Solar System |
09/15/10 |
| With some clever science, astronomers have re-examined data archives from the Hubble Space Telescope and discovered 14 new trans-Neptunian objects. These objects rest beyond the orbit of Neptune and can teach us a great deal about the history of the Solar System and the materials that could have been delivered to the early Earth. |
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