Rare transit of Mercury to take place on 9 May

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On 9 May there will be a rare transit of Mercury, when the smallest planet in our Solar System will pass directly between the Earth and the Sun. The last time this happened was in 2006, and the next two occasions will be in 2019 and 2032. During the transit, which takes place in the afternoon and early evening in the UK, Mercury will appear as a dark silhouetted disk against the bright surface of the Sun.
via Science Daily
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SpaceX Says It Plans to Send a Probe to Mars

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Elon Musk’s company said it would dispatch its Dragon vessel to the planet, possibly as early as 2018, with a long-term goal of establishing colonies.
via New York Times

Omega Centauri: The Brightest Globular Star Cluster

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Nanotube semiconductors well-suited for PV systems

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Researchers have discovered single-walled carbon nanotube semiconductors could be favorable for photovoltaic systems because they can potentially convert sunlight to electricity or fuels without losing much energy.
via Science Daily

Theory establishes a path to high-performance 2-D semiconductor devices

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Researchers have uncovered a way to overcome a principal obstacle in using two-dimensional (2-D) semiconductors in electronic and optoelectronic devices.
via Science Daily

Light echoes give clues to planet nursery around star

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For the first time, astronomers used echoes of light to determine the distance from a star to the inner wall of its surrounding planet-forming disk of dust and gas. Being able to exactly pinpoint the inner edge of such disks is a big step forward in understanding the evolution of planetary systems.
via Science Daily
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