Topic: Saturn (Planet)
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What makes a planet livable? Five things scientists look for.
Scientists have so far detected at least 550 planets outside the solar system – and another 2,000-plus await confirmation. But how to pick out the ones that may be Earth-like havens for life? Here's what one team looks for in assessing any planet's potential habitability and its similarity to Earth's properties.
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Uranus
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Europa or bust? Maybe not. Top 9 priorities for planetary research missions
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In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Massive Storms
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In Pictures: Space Photos of the Day: Blast off
All Content
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Venus transit 2012: a chance to test Earth-hunting techniques (+video)
Venus's 2012 transit across the sun will let researchers test methods for observing Earth-like planets light years away. It's an opportunity that won't be available again until December 2117.
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Astronomers say that there are billions of potentially habitable planets in our galaxy (+video)
A team of European astronomers say that about 40 percent of red dwarf stars - the most common type of star in the Milky Way - have at least one planet whose temperatures would allow liquid water on the surface.
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James Cameron dive launches race to the bottom of the world (+video)
Before James Cameron made a solo dive to the Challenger Deep – the deepest point in the ocean – only one mission had been there before. Now, several groups are planning deep-sea dives, and engineering advances could shed new light on the region.
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Scientists explain pileups of gigantic alien worlds
Researchers say they have apparently discovered the secret behind the mysterious clumping of massive alien worlds: high-energy radiation from their stars.
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Stars create gaps devoid of gas giants, study finds
Computer simulations of young solar systems suggest that gas giants seem to avoid certain orbital regions around stars, a phenomenon caused by intense radiation emanating from young stars.
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Thin layer of oxygen found on Dione may change search for alien life
After the Cassini probe's flyby over Saturn's frozen moon, Dione, scientists saw evidence of ionized oxygen molecules in its atmosphere. This could have interesting implications for astrobiology.
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Saturn's frigid moon holds wisps of oxygen, scientists say
After the Cassini probe's flyby over Dione, Saturn's cratered icy moon, scientists have found strong evidence of a thin layer of oxygen in its atmosphere.
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Oxygen atmosphere found on distant Saturn moon Dione (+video)
Dione's atmosphere was detected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which spotted an ultra-thin layer of oxygen ions so sparse that it is equivalent to conditions 300 miles above Earth.
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Obama's NASA budget: Mars takes a hit, but space science isn't dead
Two major Mars missions lost out to the James Web Space Telescope in Obama's proposed NASA budget, but there's still money for other ambitious space-science missions.
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Is NASA giving up on Mars? (+video)
NASA's 2013 budget includes deep cuts to its planetary science mission, particularly its efforts to send spacecraft to Mars. Instead, the space agency will focus on human spaceflight and infrared astronomy. Is NASA now heading down the wrong path?
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What makes a planet livable? Five things scientists look for.
Scientists have so far detected at least 550 planets outside the solar system – and another 2,000-plus await confirmation. But how to pick out the ones that may be Earth-like havens for life? Here's what one team looks for in assessing any planet's potential habitability and its similarity to Earth's properties.
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Putin hails Antarctic lake discovery as 'great event,' promises awards
On national television, Russia's natural resources minister gave Putin a canister of water from melted ice at the bottom of the boreshaft near the surface of Lake Vostok.
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Enormous subglacial Lake Vostok could hold clues for alien life
Since drilling through miles of ice to reach the massive underground lake, scientists have begun to speculate on what exists, or lives, in the frigid freshwater.
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Why you should care about Lake Vostok
If scientists find life in Antarctica's Lake Vostok, an ancient freshwater body locked beneath two miles of ice, it will greatly boost hopes of the existence of life on other worlds.
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Ancient Antarctic lake thought to harbor prehistoric life, Hitler clones
In its reporting on the efforts of a Russian drilling team to reach a subglacial lake in Antarctica, Russian state media has revived an old conjecture about a secret Nazi cloning facility on the southern continent.
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Scientists drill past Antarctic ice to reach buried lake. What lies beneath?
Lake Vostok has been capped with Antarctic ice for at least 15 million years. Now scientists have drilled 13,000 feet to reach its surface. They'll soon learn what life forms have adapted to that cold, dark locale.
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Russians reach mysterious lake 2.4 miles below Antarctic ice
Russian scientists confirmed they have drilled down to a 20-million year old freshwater lake far below the surface of Antarctica. Could this lake hold clues to life on other planets or moons?
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Newfound alien planet 'best candidate to support liquid water'
A planet recently discovered orbiting a nearby star is located in the star's 'habitable zone,' meaning that it could support life as we know it.
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Titan: mile-wide dunes on Earth's frozen twin intrigue scientists
Some dunes on Titan – a Saturn moon seen as a chillier version of early Earth – are huge. Scientists now have suspicions about what's going on, but they don't yet know how Titan's version of sand formed.
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Amazing planets: mini solar system, 'Star Wars' lookalike among new finds
The catalogue of newly found planets is becoming richer by the day. By one new estimate, virtually all the billions of stars in the Milky Way could have a planet orbiting them.
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Most stars in our galaxy have planets, study suggests
Rocky, roughly earth-like planets orbiting stars seem to be the rule, rather than the exception, an new study reveals.
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A real-life 'Avatar'? Search begins for moons that could support life.
With scientists already looking for Earth-size planets orbiting in distant stars' habitable zones, a new project is using similar techniques to look for moons, too.
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Mars rover gets 'engine' upgrade: Curiosity fueled by nuclear power
The next Mars rover, Curiosity, is scheduled to launch Saturday. It's the first Mars rover to jettison solar panels for nuclear power, meaning it can go places and do things others couldn't.
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Tatooine for real? Scientists confirm planet orbiting two suns.
Tatooine is the mythical home of Luke Skywalker. Now, scientists have identified a planet in a binary system 200 light-years away, although the planet is more like Saturn in mass and makeup.
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Future NASA rocket unveiled, designed to reach moon and beyond
The design of the new NASA rocket draws on key systems from the space shuttle and Ares programs. The agency anticipates launching the first demonstration version of the rocket by 2017.
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