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May 20, 2013

Cassini Shapes First Global Topographic Map of Titan
Pasadena CA (JPL) May 20, 2013
Scientists have created the first global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan, giving researchers a valuable tool for learning more about one of the most Earth-like and interesting worlds in the solar system. The map was just published as part of a paper in the journal Icarus. Titan is Saturn's largest moon - with a radius of about 1,600 miles (2,574 kilometers), it's bigger than planet Mercury - and is the second-largest moon in the solar system. Scientists care about Titan because it's the onl ... read more

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'Tis the Season -- for Plasma Changes at Saturn Researchers working with data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have discovered one way the bubble of charged particles around Saturn - known as the magnetosphere - changes with the planet's seasons. ... more		See Saturn at its Best and Brightest The Solar System is a beautiful place filled with wonders that NASA space probes are only beginning to discover. There's a tendency, though, for people to become indifferent; every year Hubble, Cass ... more		Cassini Gets Close-Up Views of Large Hurricane on Saturn NASA's Cassini spacecraft has provided scientists the first close-up, visible-light views of a behemoth hurricane swirling around Saturn's north pole. In high-resolution pictures and video, sc ... more
				Saturn's youthful appearance explained As planets age they become darker and cooler. Saturn however is much brighter than expected for a planet of its age - a question that has puzzled scientists since the late sixties. New research publ ... more		Apollo-Era Test Stand Being Prepared for SLS Core Stage Testing Before NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS) flies to space on its inaugural mission in 2017, it will fly in place at the agency's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The B-2 Test Stand at Ste ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Spacecraft returns dramatic images of massive hurricane on Saturn NASA says the Cassini spacecraft has sent back the first close-up, visible-light views of a behemoth hurricane swirling around Saturn's north pole. ... more		NASA Probe Observes Meteors Colliding with Saturn's Rings NASA's Cassini spacecraft has provided the first direct evidence of small meteoroids breaking into streams of rubble and crashing into Saturn's rings. These observations make Saturn's rings th ... more		Russia's missile shipment will embolden Syria: US Japan PM vows to seek talks with N. Korea over kidnapping France wants 'decisive sanctions' against Iran N. Korea test-fires another short-range missile Air strikes, dozens dead in Nigeria assault on Islamists Japan PM says shrine visits 'natural' Iraq Slaughter Intensifies; Gunmen mass at Iraq security command HQ		Herschel links water in Jupiter's stratosphere to 1994 comet impact Astronomers have finally found direct proof that almost all water present in Jupiter's stratosphere was delivered by comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which struck the planet in 1994. The result is based on n ... more
				Titan's Methane: Going, Going, Soon to Be Gone? By tracking a part of the surface of Saturn's moon Titan over several years, NASA's Cassini mission has found a remarkable longevity to the hydrocarbon lakes on the moon's surface. A team led ... more		Ice Cloud Heralds Fall at Titan's South Pole An ice cloud taking shape over Titan's south pole is the latest sign that the change of seasons is setting off a cascade of radical changes in the atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon. Made from an u ... more

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Blame it on the Rain (from Saturn's Rings) A new study tracks the "rain" of charged water particles into the atmosphere of Saturn and finds there is more of it and it falls across larger areas of the planet than previously thought. The ... more		NASA Team Investigates Complex Chemistry At Titan A laboratory experiment at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., simulating the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan suggests complex organic chemistry that could eventually lead to the b ... more		New Stanford Nanoscavengers Could Usher In Next Generation Water Purification Innovation in spectroscopy could improve greenhouse gas detection Study provides insight into nesting behavior of dinosaurs UC Santa Barbara scientist studies methane levels in cross-continent drive Safer, more environmentally friendly flame retardant with first-of-its-kind dual effects Keeping fruit, vegetables and cut flowers fresh longer Using earthquake sensors to track endangered whales		Sun block for the "Big Dog" An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and from the University of Cologne, successfully identified two titanium oxides in the e ... more
				Saturn is Like an Antiques Shop, Cassini Suggests A new analysis of data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggests that Saturn's moons and rings are gently worn vintage goods from around the time of our solar system's birth. Though they are tin ... more		'Hot Spots' Ride a Merry-Go-Round on Jupiter In the swirling canopy of Jupiter's atmosphere, cloudless patches are so exceptional that the big ones get the special name "hot spots." Exactly how these clearings form and why they're only found n ... more

Nine-Year-Old Mars Rover Passes 40-Year-Old Record

Mars Icebreaker Life Mission

NASA Probe Counts Space Rock Impacts on Mars

Bright Explosion on the Moon

NASA says meteor impact on the moon glowed like a star

Where on Earth did the moon's water come from

Cassini Shapes First Global Topographic Map of Titan

'Tis the Season -- for Plasma Changes at Saturn

See Saturn at its Best and Brightest

China launches communications satellite

On Course for Shenzhou 10

Yuanwang III, VI depart for space-tracking missions

	Rhea Rev 183 Raw Preview NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured these raw, unprocessed images of Saturn's moon Rhea during a close flyby on March 9, 2013. This flyby marks the mission's last targeted encounter with Rhea and onl ... more		Cassini Makes Last Close Flyby of Saturnian Moon Rhea NASA's Cassini spacecraft will be swooping close to Saturn's moon Rhea on Saturday, March 9, the last close flyby of Rhea in Cassini's mission. The primary purpose will be to probe the interna ... more		Cassini Spies Bright Venus From Saturn Orbit A distant world gleaming in sunlight, Earth's twin planet, Venus, shines like a bright beacon in images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn. One special image of Venus an ... more		Modeling Jupiter and Saturn's possible origins New theoretical modeling by Carnegie's Alan Boss provides clues to how the gas giant planets in our solar system-Jupiter and Saturn-might have formed and evolved. His work was published recently by ... more

German energy shift faces headwinds

U.S. unveils new draft fracking regulations

Scientists develop 'green' pretreatment of Miscanthus for biofuels

Scientists capture first direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly effect

Add boron for better batteries

The science behind a self-assembled nano-carbon helix

Belgium to re-start two reactors halted since 2012

A Window into Europa's Ocean Right at the Surface		Cassini Still Going Strong Investigating Saturn's Moons		Cassini Sheds Light On Cosmic Particle Accelerators		Cassini Sees Titan Cooking up Smog		NASA's Cassini Watches Storm Choke on Its Own Tail
NASA Engineers Resurrect And Test Mighty F-1 Engine Gas Generator		Titan Gets a Dune "Makeover"		NASA Engineers Resurrect And Test Mighty F-1 Engine Gas Generator		Cassini Suggests Icing On A Lake		Frozen hydrocarbon ice on Titan's oceans?

Cassini Instrument Learns New Tricks

Saturn's Transit of Venus on Dec. 21, 2012

From Cassini for the Holidays: A Splendor Seldom Seen

Cassini Spots Mini Nile River on Saturn Moon

Titan, Saturn's Largest Moon, Icier than Scientists Thought

NASA's Cassini Sees Abrupt Turn in Titan's Atmosphere

Cassini Finds a Video Gamers' Paradise at Saturn

NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building Prepared for Multiple Rockets

Cassini Halloween Treat: Titan Glows in the Dark

Saturn's giant storm reveals the planet's churning atmosphere

Giant impact scenario may explain the unusual moons of Saturn

The sound in Saturn's rings: RUB-Physicists explain nonlinear dust acoustic waves in dusty plasmas

What's Baking on Titan?

A Long and Winding Road: Cassini Celebrates 15 Years

Bouncing on Titan

Navigating the Seas of Titan

Titan Shows Surprising Seasonal Changes

Does Triton Have a Subsurface Ocean?

Saturn and its Largest Moon Reflect Their True Colors

NASA Goddard Team to Demonstrate Miniaturized Spectrometer-on-a-Chip

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