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| Mars Express to make closest ever approach to Phobos |
| On 3 March 2010 Mars Express will make its closest ever approach to Phobos, the larger of the two Martian moons. During a series of flybys, spanning six weeks, all seven instruments onboard Mars Express will be utilised to study Phobos. The close approach provides a first opportunity to perform a unique gravity experiment that may reveal the distribution of mass within this intriguing moon. |
| Date: 24 Feb 2010 |
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| ESA chooses three scientific missions for further study |
| Dark energy, habitable planets around other stars, and the mysterious nature of our own Sun, have been chosen by ESA as candidates for two medium-class missions to be launched no earlier than 2017. |
| Date: 19 Feb 2010 |
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| Two windows on ozone: extending our view of the Martian atmosphere |
| New measurements of ozone in the atmosphere of Mars are being obtained in a coordinated observation campaign with Mars Express and a Hawaiian-based telescope. The combined observation set covers a longer time period and broader range of regions on Mars than previous campaigns, thereby improving the ability to verify and refine detailed models of the Martian atmosphere. |
| Date: 16 Feb 2010 |
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| Saturn's aurorae offer stunning double show [heic1003] |
| Researchers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope recently took advantage of a rare opportunity to record Saturn when its rings are edge-on, resulting in a unique movie featuring both of the giant planet's poles. Saturn is only in this position every 15 years and this favourable orientation has allowed a sustained study of Saturn's almost symmetric northern and southern lights. |
| Date: 11 Feb 2010 |
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| Forming the present-day spiral galaxies [heic1002] |
| Using data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have, for the first time, created a demographic census of galaxy types and shapes from a time before the Earth and the Sun existed, to the present day. The results show that, contrary to contemporary thought, more than half of the present-day spiral galaxies had so-called peculiar shapes only 6000 million years ago, which, if confirmed, highlights the importance of collisions and mergers in the recent past of many galaxies. It also provides clues for the unique status of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. |
| Date: 04 Feb 2010 |
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