ceres
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It Was a Rough Week for Rockets
It was an unfortunate week for the rocket industry, with three distinct setbacks occurring and challenging the plans of three different aerospace companies across the globe. U.S.-based Rocket Lab, private Chinese launch provider Galactic Energy, and Europe’s Arianespace all endured face-palming disappointments this week, with two rockets failing outright and one continually unable to get…
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Pluto’s Huge Ice Volcanoes Are Stranger Than We Realised
Images gathered by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in 2015 hinted at the presence of ice volcanoes on Pluto. A new analysis of the data suggests they’re actually a prominent feature of the dwarf planet, with the largest reaching over 6 km high.
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Dwarf Planet Ceres Has a Secret Saltwater Ocean
Scientists are attributing the mysterious bright spots on Ceres, the largest object in the main asteroid belt, to a gigantic reservoir of salty water beneath the dwarf planet’s crust.
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This Dwarf Planet’s Freaky Ice Volcano Might Not Be Alone After All
The only thing cooler than a volcano is an ice volcano, obviously. Scientists think they have spotted these mounds of icy rock — called cryovolcanoes — on many moons, such as Triton, Europa, Titan and demoted planet Pluto (sorry, Pluto). Perhaps the strangest one of all is Ahuna Mons, a solitary ice giant half the…