Word: lightness
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...million miles from the flames of the sun, 581c hovers just 7 million miles from its home star. What prevents it from being incinerated like a match head is that its star is a red dwarf, only about one one-hundredth as bright as the sun. The dim light coupled with the planet's close proximity places it in what astronomers call the habitable zone: the spot at which temperatures remain comfortable and water can remain liquid. All this has led to a fair amount of astronomical hyperventilating. "On the treasure map of the universe, one would be tempted...
...Even if we could visit 581c, there would be reasons to wait a bit before we light the rockets. For one thing, just because the planet could have liquid water doesn't mean it does. The body was detected like all extrasolar planets initially are, not by direct observation, but by measuring the infinitesimal gravitational wobble it causes in its home star. We won't get a clearer sense of its makeup until its orbit carries it in front of the star and the brief interference in the wavelength and intensity of the incoming light allows us to make some...
...life closer to home. Sunlight is not the only kind of energy that can fire the biological furnaces; so can subsurface heat. Jupiter's icy moon Europa is thought to have a rich, salty, globe-girdling ocean sloshing just beneath its surface rind of water ice. Very little solar light reaches so far into space, and even less makes it down to the dark ocean inside Europa. But the gravitational flexing of the little world caused by the movement of Jupiter's other moons heats up its innards the same way a wire hanger heats up when you bend...
...Lankan-Tamil origin and have long been dismayed by the American stereotype of Tamil Tigers as terrorists as well as other misunderstandings. There are extremely sad events occurring on both sides of the war, and I thank you for bringing this to light. It's about time. I have been to the north of Sri Lanka and have seen the immense suffering of many Tamil people. Thanks for writing the truth. Shoumi Jeyarajah, Friedrichshafen, Germany...
...quick scan of the Bulldogs (in light of this mess, maybe Poodles is more apt) roster reveals 15 pitchers. Further study of the team’s statistics page elucidates that 14 different throwers have seen game action for Yale this season and eight of those have started a game. If suddenly you can’t find six kids on your bench worthy of starting an Ivy tilt on the hill, it shouldn’t be up to the Ivy League office to accommodate your short-handed staff (current...