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Vitamin B3 might have been made in space, delivered to Earth by meteorites

Ancient Earth might have had an extraterrestrial supply of vitamin B3 delivered by carbon-rich meteorites, according to a new analysis by researchers. The result supports a theory that the origin of life may have been assisted by a supply of key molecules created in space and brought to Earth by comet and meteor impacts.

Apr 17th, 2014

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Kepler telescope discovers first Earth-size planet in 'habitable zone'

Using NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered the first Earth-size planet orbiting a star in the 'habitable zone' - the range of distance from a star where liquid water might pool on the surface of an orbiting planet. The discovery of Kepler-186f confirms that planets the size of Earth exist in the habitable zone of stars other than our sun.

Apr 17th, 2014

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Meteorites yield clues to red planet's early atmosphere

Geologists analyzed 40 meteorites that fell to Earth from Mars to understand the history of the Martian atmosphere. They show the atmospheres of Mars and Earth diverged in important ways early in the solar system's 4.6 billion year evolution.

Apr 17th, 2014

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A study in scarlet

This new image from ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile reveals a cloud of hydrogen called Gum 41. In the middle of this little-known nebula, brilliant hot young stars are giving off energetic radiation that causes the surrounding hydrogen to glow with a characteristic red hue.

Apr 16th, 2014

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Pushy neighbors force stellar twins to diverge

Much like an environment influences people, so too do cosmic communities affect even giant dazzling stars: Peering deep into the Milky Way galaxy's center from a high-flying observatory, astronomers have discovered identical, rare stars whose diverging dusty and gaseous garb are strictly influenced by an intrusive cluster of neighbors.

Apr 14th, 2014

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Cosmic slurp

Researchers use supercomputers to understand and predict signs of black holes swallowing stars.

Apr 14th, 2014

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Chance meeting creates celestial diamond ring

Created when an aging star blew off its outer layers, planetary nebula PN A66 33 is, by chance, aligned with a foreground star, and bears an uncanny resemblance to a diamond engagement ring. This cosmic gem is unusually symmetric, appearing to be almost circular on the sky.

Apr 9th, 2014

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Saturn's hexagon: an amazing phenomenon

An unusual structure with a hexagonal shape surrounding Saturn's north pole was spotted on the planet for the first time thirty years ago. Nothing similar with such a regular geometry had ever been seen on any planet in the Solar System.

Apr 8th, 2014

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