MS-ESS1-3
Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.
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Planets
Analyze This: The masses of planets
Scientists discovered a solar system with planets that are similar in size and mass to Earth. Using data, we take a closer look at that similarity.
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Science & Society
Cool Jobs: Reaching out to E.T. is a numbers game
From figuring out if we’re alone in the universe, to writing messages to aliens, scientists use math in many ways in their search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
By Ilima Loomis -
Planets
Scientists Say: Dwarf planet
Dwarf planets are distinct from the full-size models. A little too small, they also have a lot of space stuff filling their path around the sun.
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Animals
Cool Jobs: A world aglow
Three scientists probe how the natural world makes light, in hopes of using this information to design new and better products.
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Physics
Star caught passing gas before exploding
Stars can become unstable as they near death, a new study suggests. Some may even spew gas for a year or so before they explode.
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Planets
Scientists Say: Goldilocks zone
Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. This is the region around a star where water could be a liquid, instead of a solid or gas.
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Planets
New solar system found to have 7 Earth-size planets
A neighboring star system hosts seven Earth-like planets. Especially surprising: Three of those planets appear to reside in a zone that could support life as we know it.
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Physics
Strange X-rays point to possible ‘dark’ matter
Scientists have been looking for “dark” matter. It’s supposed to make up most of the universe — but it’s also invisible. X-rays may now point to where some of this weird stuff is.
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Space
Cool Jobs: Probing Pluto
The New Horizons mission captivated the world as it flew by Pluto. Here are some of the people who made that possible.
By Ron Cowen -
Space
Rivers of stars flow between ‘clouds’ orbiting the Milky Way
Two streams of stars flow between dwarf galaxies known as the Magellanic Clouds. This new finding could give clues to the structure of our Milky Way galaxy.
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Space
Clouds on Jupiter run surprisingly deep
Jupiter’s clouds are not just a thin jacket about the planet, new data show.
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Space
Scientists Say: Comet
Comets are small solar system objects. When they pass close to their sun, their melting gases and water give them a tail.