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Remote gas giant planets Neptune and Uranus could be covered in vast seas of liquid diamond, dotted with solid diamond chunks like icebergs. A new experiment revealed such oceans are plausible, and would explain some oddities about Neptune's magnetic field. More »
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Last week, I told you about Tobias Buckell's awesome new space zombies vs. alien-enhanced ninja novel, Sly Mongoose. The book hits stores this week, and SF author John Scalzi invited Buckell to write something about what inspired the novel. Buckell says that he owes it all to a NASA scientist named Geoff Landis, who gave a presentation on Venus that blew Buckell's mind and instantly spawned the idea for the planet Chilo where his novel takes place. The really cool part, aside from getting to read about floating cities on a planet covered in thick, sulfurous atmosphere, is that Buckell gives an excellent layperson's summary of what makes Venus habitable. More »
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This is a picture of Jupiter's moon Io floating over the planet's clouds, to remind you how freaking huge Jupiter is. Io is the same size as our own moon. To celebrate the battle of Jupiter's Red Spots, in which the original Daddy Red seems to be in the process of eating the other two, the Boston Globe posted a set of the greatest Jupiter photos of all time, from NASA. Click through for a few of our favorites, including some truly spooky views of Europa and Io. [Boston Globe via A Second Hand Conjecture] More »
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