Science

Science

NASA Spacecraft Flies Past Pluto After 10-Year Journey

12:38am July 15, 2015

by Geoff Brumfiel

On Tuesday morning, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft swooped past the surface of Pluto. The vast distance between Earth and Pluto means they're still waiting to hear what happened.

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An image of Pluto that was taken by New Horizons shortly before its flyby Tuesday shows a heart-shaped pattern on the planet's surface. NASA says Pluto "sent a love note back to Earth."

NASA Zooms In On Pluto, For Closest Views Yet

9:50pm July 14, 2015

by Bill Chappell

New images of Pluto are beginning to arrive from NASA's space probe, and they're already allowing scientists to update what we know about the dwarf planet.

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How Long Would It Take To Drive To Pluto?

7:18pm July 14, 2015

by Adam Frank

As New Horizons completes its journey to the far reaches of the solar system, NPR takes a look at just how long it takes to get to Pluto.

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After Nuclear Deal, Iranian Oil Could Flow At Molasses Pace

7:18pm July 14, 2015

by Jackie Northam

Iran holds the fourth-largest oil reserves in the world, and the nuclear deal could mean millions oil barrels flowing into an already saturated market, pushing the global price down further.

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Technicians prepped the New Horizons spacecraft on Nov. 4, 2005, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Fired into space in 2006, the probe is scheduled to finally get close to Pluto on Tuesday.

Planet Or Not, Icy Pluto To Finally Get Its Day In The Sun

12:41pm July 14, 2015

by Geoff Brumfiel

Astronomers kicked Pluto out of the planetary club in 2006 because of its small size. But scientists set to explore the surface Tuesday via a spacecraft's camera say those other guys are just wrong.

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Earth Gets A Close-Up View Of Its Most Distant Neighbors

11:25am July 14, 2015

Early Tuesday morning, NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft will complete the first-ever flyby of the dwarf planet Pluto. NPR's Geoff Brumfiel reports live from the New Horizons Control center.

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The last image of Pluto taken by New Horizons.

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Pluto Mission Gets A Poetic Tribute

10:48am July 14, 2015

by Adam Cole

Skunk Bear's latest video celebrates the hundreds of pictures taken by the New Horizons space probe over the past decade.

Science

Trying To Remember Multiple Things May Be The Best Way To Forget Them

2:35pm July 13, 2015

by Chris Benderev

When you have to remember many things at once, you might try to juggle all those to-do items in your head simultaneously. But new scientific research suggests there might be a better approach.

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A bumblebee collects pollen from a flower. New evidence suggests climate change has left bumblebees with a shrinking range of places to live.

Buzz Kill For Bumblebees: Climate Change Is Shrinking Their Range

2:31pm July 13, 2015

by Dan Charles

Wild bees are some of nature's busiest pollinators of crops and flowers. But new evidence suggests a warming climate is squeezing the bounds of where bumblebees can live.

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Should More Women Give Birth Outside The Hospital?

12:48pm July 13, 2015

by Dianna Douglas

The British medical system says healthy women with normal pregnancies should give birth at home or in a midwife-led facility. But 99 percent of babies in the U.S. are born in hospitals.

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