A recently observed temperature reversal on Uranus may offer a clue to a long-standing mystery: Why are the upper atmospheres of gas giants so hot?
Space & Planets
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Claudia Joan Alexander (1959–2015)
Alexander is remembered for her leading role in the Galileo and Rosetta missions and her efforts to encourage women scientists from underprivileged and underrepresented groups.
Posted inScience Updates
Where Curiosity Has Taken Us
The Curiosity rover, one of NASA's flagship missions, analyzes Martian geology, geochemistry, climatology, and radiation to assess whether Mars could have supported microbial life.
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New Step Toward Finding Earth 2.0
Researchers unveil a way to tease out the wobble of a star caused by unseen planets despite the confounding effects of star spots, which are the sunspots of distant stars.
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Special Delivery: Post Office to Issue Space-Themed Stamps
Letter writers will be able to adorn their envelopes this year with full-disk images of the planets, Pluto, and the full Moon, as well as Star Trek icons.
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World Without Time
On New Year's Day 2019, a spacecraft known for its historic flyby of Pluto will take an unprecedented look into the distant past by flying right up to a frozen remnant of the original solar system.
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Atmospheres Can Collapse on the Dark Sides of Planets
Planets that orbit close to their stars might lose their atmospheres along with any chance of life, but new models show a way in which these planets may retain their atmospheres and habitability.
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Interior Water Not Ruled Out for Our Moon, Lab Tests Suggest
The experiments mimicked cooling of magma at the lunar surface. They found that any water in interior molten rock might have escaped so fast at the surface that none was left to be measured.
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Experts Urge Europe and the U.S. to Boost Cooperation in Space
By working more closely together, these major space players could better monitor weather and natural hazards, improve communications and satellite security, and extend international cooperation.
Posted inScience Updates
Status of Tools and Data for Planetary Research
2nd Planetary Data Workshop; Flagstaff, Arizona, 8–11 June 2015