Scientists discover a nearby 'super-Earth'

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Researchers have discovered a "super-Earth" type planet, GJ 536 b, whose mass is around 5.4 Earth masses, in orbit around a nearby very bright star. The exoplanet is not within the star's habitable zone, but its short orbital period of 8.7 days and the luminosity of its star, a red dwarf which is quite cool and near to our Sun, make it an attractive candidate for investigating its atmospheric composition.
via Science Daily
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Distant star is roundest object ever observed in nature

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Stars are not perfect spheres. While they rotate, they become flat due to the centrifugal force. A team of researchers has now succeeded in measuring the oblateness of a slowly rotating star with unprecedented precision. The researchers have determined stellar oblateness using asteroseismology -- the study of the oscillations of stars. The technique is applied to a star 5000 light years away from Earth and revealed that the difference between the equatorial and polar radii of the star is only 3 kilometers -- a number that is astonishing small compared to the star's mean radius of 1.5 million kilometers; which means that the gas sphere is astonishingly round.
via Science Daily
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New analysis adds support for a subsurface ocean on Pluto

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A liquid ocean lying deep beneath Pluto's frozen surface is the best explanation for features revealed by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, according to a new analysis. The idea that Pluto has a subsurface ocean is not new, but the study provides the most detailed investigation yet of its likely role in the evolution of key features such as the vast, low-lying plain known as Sputnik Planitia (formerly Sputnik Planum).
via Science Daily
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Cracked, frozen and tipped over: New clues from Pluto's past

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New research by planetary scientists reveals fascinating clues about Pluto, suggesting the small world at the fringes of our solar system is much more active than anyone ever imagined.
via Science Daily
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'Beautiful accident' leads to advances in high pressure materials synthesis

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Unexpected results from a neutron scattering experiment could open a new pathway for the synthesis of novel materials and also help explain the formation of complex organic structures observed in interstellar space.
via Science Daily
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A Heavy Heart May Have Rolled Pluto Over

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A bright, heart-shape feature on Pluto is near its equator, on the side facing away from Pluto’s largest moon. That is probably not coincidence.
via New York Times

Images of a Supermoon Spectacle

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Photographs from around the world captured the biggest and brightest full moon in nearly 70 years on Sunday and Monday nights.
via New York Times

Dr. Laurent Pueyo Receives 2016 Outstanding Young Scientist Award

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The Maryland Academy of Sciences has selected Dr. Laurent Pueyo of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, as the recipient of the 2016 Outstanding Young Scientist award. He will receive the award in a ceremony on Nov. 16 at the Maryland Science Center, located in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

via HubbleSite NewsCenter -- Latest News Releases
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2016/40/

Great valley found on Mercury

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Scientists have discovered a new large valley on Mercury that may be the first evidence of buckling of the planet's outer silicate shell in response to global contraction. The researchers discovered the valley using a new high-resolution topographic map of part of Mercury's southern hemisphere created by stereo images from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft.
via Science Daily
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The Heart and Soul Nebulas

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