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Cosmic inflation is a theory that was proposed in the 1980s by cosmologist Alan Guth to answer some of the most fundamental questions of the origins of our universe. It also solved the Horizon Problem and the Flatness Problem.

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The air around the comet that Rosetta landed on has plenty of oxygen, scientists say, potentially changing our understanding of the beginnings of the solar system.

In current theories, oxygen shouldn’t be able to exist in high quantities, and should instead have combined with hydrogen and formed water. But oxygen is the fourth most common gas around the comet.

Professor Kathrin Altwegg, project leader for Rosetta’s Rosina mass spectrometer instrument, said: “We had never thought that oxygen could ‘survive’ for billions of years without combining with other substances.”

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Stunning, truly.


NASA has presented us with yet another stunning, backlit view of Pluto, taken by the New Horizons spacecraft during its flyby in July. The photo adds to the growing repertoire of Pluto images that are slowly being downloaded from the probe and released by the space agency. This one shows Pluto’s crescent in full, spectacular detail, completing the partial crescent image that NASA released in mid-September.

The image was taken by New Horizons’ Multi-spectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC), just 15 minutes after making its closest approach of Pluto on July 14th. It was taken from 11,000 miles away, when New Horizons looked back at Pluto toward the Sun. The photo shows the hazy layers of the dwarf planet’s atmosphere, as well as the mountains on Pluto’s surface that surround the icy plains of Sputnik Planum.

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