Hubble discovers a unique type of object in the Solar System

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Hubble discovers a unique type of object in the Solar System

With the help of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, a German-led group of astronomers have observed the intriguing characteristics of an unusual type of object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter: two asteroids orbiting each other and exhibiting comet-like features, including a bright coma and a long tail. This is the first known binary asteroid also classified as a comet. The research is presented in a paper published in the journal Nature this week.

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Scientists Just Discovered Organisms That Are Distinct From Any Life Forms Known to Science

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Scientists Just Discovered Organisms That Are Distinct From Any Life Forms Known to Science

On the tree of life, humans share a branch with a diverse array of creatures, all with one thing in common: a backbone. This single shared characteristic is enough to group us with dogs, fish, and lizards, in a group called a phylum; this is repeated throughout Earth’s organisms, connecting all of life’s diversity into one tree.

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China Claims They Have Actually Created an EM Drive

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China Claims They Have Actually Created an EM Drive

After a relatively long news hiatus, the impossible EM (Electromagnetic) Drive is making a comeback. Researchers from China’s space agency have released a video through state media earlier this month showing a supposedly-functional EM Drive. Have the Chinese finally made the impossible happen? Let’s not be quick to jump to conclusions here, though — at least not as fast as China did.

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New study indicates that planet 9 likely formed in the solar system

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New study indicates that planet 9 likely formed in the solar system

In January of 2016, astronomers Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin published the first evidence that there might be another planet in our Solar System. Known as “Planet 9”, this hypothetical body was believed to orbit at an extreme distance from our Sun. Since that time, multiple studies have been produced that have had tried to address the all-important question of where Planet 9 could have come from.

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A game of drones: why some bees kill their queens

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A game of drones: why some bees kill their queens

In a palace intrigue worthy of George R R Martin, a new study has shown that some bee workers are queenslayers who will rise up and kill their queen if she produces the wrong sort of male offspring. The throne can then be seized by one of her daughters, who will produce the right kind of male heirs – ensuring the survival of the bloodline.

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Two Stars, Three Dimensions, and Oodles of Energy

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Two Stars, Three Dimensions, and Oodles of Energy

For decades, astronomers have known about irregular outbursts from the double star system V745 Sco, which is located about 25,000 light years from Earth. Astronomers were caught by surprise when previous outbursts from this system were seen in 1937 and 1989. When the system erupted on February 6, 2014, however, scientists were ready to observe the event with a suite of telescopes including NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

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Venus express probe reveals the planet's mysterious night side

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Venus express probe reveals the planet's mysterious night side

Venus’ atmosphere is as mysterious as it is dense and scorching. For generations, scientists have sought to study it using ground-based telescopes, orbital missions, and the occasional atmospheric probe. And in 2006, the ESA’s Venus Express mission became the first probe to conduct long-term observations of the planet’s atmosphere, which revealed much about its dynamics.

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Hubble spots pitch black hot Jupiter that 'eats light'

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Hubble spots pitch black hot Jupiter that 'eats light'

The study of extra-solar planets has revealed discoveries that have confounded expectations and boggled the mind! Whether it’s Super-Earths that become diamond planets, multiple rocky planets orbiting closely together, or “Hot Jupiters” with traces of gaseous metal in their atmospheres, there’s been no shortage of planets out there for which there is no comparison here in the Solar System.

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Cassini crashes: it’s time for a new mission to explore the possibility of life on Saturn’s moons

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Cassini crashes: it’s time for a new mission to explore the possibility of life on Saturn’s moons

NASA’s Cassini mission has made its “death plunge” into the swirling clouds of Saturn after 20 years of exploring the planet and its moons. It’s been amazingly successful, making headlines with groundbreaking discoveries throughout its journey. But today the headlines are more like obituary notices, looking back at the mission’s spectacular achievements.

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New DNA evidence proves that women could become viking-warriors

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New DNA evidence proves that women could become viking-warriors

Viking culture might have been a bit more progressive than you would initially think. There seems to have been no such thing as a glass ceiling for women as their archaeological findings prove that women could be found in the higher ranks on the battlefield. One of the most well-known graves from the viking age, a mid-10th century grave in Swedish Viking town Birka provided enough evidence for archaeologists to come to this conclusion. 

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Inferno World with Titanium Skies - ESO’s VLT makes first detection of titanium oxide in an exoplanet!

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Inferno World with Titanium Skies - ESO’s VLT makes first detection of titanium oxide in an exoplanet!

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have detected titanium oxide in an exoplanet atmosphere for the first time. This discovery around the hot-Jupiter planet WASP-19b exploited the power of the FORS2 instrument. It provides unique information about the chemical composition and the temperature and pressure structure of the atmosphere of this unusual and very hot world. The results appear today in the journal Nature.

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Three possible super-earths discovered around nearby sun-like star!

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Three possible super-earths discovered around nearby sun-like star!

Since it was launched in 2009, NASA’s Kepler mission has continued to make important exoplanet discoveries. Even after the failure of two reaction wheels, the space observatory has found new life in the form of its K2 mission. All told, this space observatory has detected 5,017 candidates and confirmed the existence of 2,494 exoplanets using the Transit Method during its past eight years in service.

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Galaxies swell due to explosive action of new stars

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Galaxies swell due to explosive action of new stars

In 1926, famed astronomer Edwin Hubble developed his morphological classification scheme for galaxies. This method divided galaxies into three basic groups – Elliptical, Spiral and Lenticular – based on their shapes. Since then, astronomers have devoted considerable time and effort in an attempt to determine how galaxies have evolved over the course of billions of years to become these shapes.

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Health Check: is margarine actually better for me than butter?

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Health Check: is margarine actually better for me than butter?

Only 20 years ago butter was the public villain – contributing to raised cholesterol levels and public concern over an increased risk of heart disease. Now this public perception seems to have been reversed, and reality cooking shows seem to use butter in every recipe. But what has caused this shift in perceptions and is it based on scientific evidence?

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Cassini conducts a final flyby of Titan before crashing into Saturn

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Cassini conducts a final flyby of Titan before crashing into Saturn

When the Cassini spacecraft arrived around Saturn on July 1st, 2004, it became the fourth space probe to visit the system. But unlike the Pioneer 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 probes, the Cassini mission was the first to establish orbit around the planet for the sake of conducting long-term research. Since that time, the spacecraft and its accompanying probe – the Huygens lander – have revealed a startling amount about this system.

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Hurricanes may be getting more severe – do we need a whole new category to describe them?

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Hurricanes may be getting more severe – do we need a whole new category to describe them?

There’s been a devastating trail of destruction and flooding along the east Atlantic coast in the last few weeks following Hurricane Harvey and now Hurricane Irma. The latter, currently moving across Florida, is the strongest sustained hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic outside the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

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