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curiousuburb
Antimatter Man
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: that interweb thing
 
2011-11-23, 20:24

Known Exoplanets now total more than 700... so it's about time somebody rated the best destinations.

Most liveable alien worlds ranked

There's some dispute which planets of Gliese 581 are confirmed, but several make the top 5, despite it being a Red Dwarf.



And despite proximity, our Moon isn't even in the top 5

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NASA did recently release a new super-accurate and groovy looking elevation map of the Moon though.

Quote:
The map was produced using data sent back by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft, which was launched in June 2009.

It reveals troughs and bumps over nearly the entire Moon with a pixel scale close to 100m (328 ft).

(Purple is lowest, white is highest)
A single measure of elevation (one pixel) on the map is roughly the size of two football pitches placed side-by-side.

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But all fingers are crossed and eyes are on Florida for the launch of the Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) Rover on Nov 26.

Quote:
It is expected to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on Saturday.

Lift-off is actually a day later than originally planned, to give engineers time to replace a problem battery in the spacecraft's Atlas rocket.

The one-hour-and-43-minute launch window will now open at 10:02 local time (15:02 GMT). MSL's cruise to Mars should take eight-and-a-half months.

The rover will aim to touch down in an equatorial depression called Gale Crater, where it will use its suite of 10 instruments to assess whether the Red Planet has ever been habitable.



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NASA's Mars Science Laboratory homepage

Go Curiosity!

All those who believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
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