‘X’ Marks a Curious Corner on Pluto’s Icy Plains
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/x-marks-a-curious-corner-on-pluto-s-icy-plains

Mission scientists believe the pattern of the cells stems from the slow thermal convection of the nitrogen-dominated ices that fill Sputnik Planum. A reservoir that’s likely several miles or kilometers deep in some places, the solid nitrogen is warmed at depth by Pluto’s modest internal heat, becomes buoyant and rises up in great blobs, and then cools off and sinks again to renew the cycle.

“This part of Pluto is acting like a lava lamp,” said William McKinnon, deputy lead of the New Horizons Geology, Geophysics and Imaging team, from Washington University in St. Louis, “if you can imagine a lava lamp as wide as, and even deeper than, the Hudson Bay.”

Particles ‘Go with the Flow’ on Pluto’s Surface
http://www.nasa.gov/feature/particles-go-with-the-flow-on-pluto-s-surface

Among the features scientists find particularly interesting are the bright methane ices that condensed on many crater rims; the collection of dark red tholins (small soot-like particles generated from reactions involving methane and nitrogen in the atmosphere) in low areas, like the bottoms of craters; and the layering on the faces of steep cliffs and on crater walls.

In areas where the reddish material is thickest and the surface appears smooth, the material seems to have flowed into some channels and craters. Scientists say tholin deposits of that thickness aren’t usually mobile on large scales, suggesting that they might be riding along with ice flowing underneath, or being blown around by Pluto’s winds.

Does Icy Pluto Have a Hidden Ocean? New Horizons Offers New Clues | Science | Smithsonian
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/...-have-hidden-ocean-new-horizons-offers-new-clues-180957737/?&no-ist

In addition to wonders like soaring mountains, ice volcanoes and a giant heart-shaped basin, images beamed back by the probe revealed a surface marred by a network of fissures and a notably spherical shape.

For some scientists, those last two discoveries are hints that something even wilder may be hidden inside the tiny world, because they are the first direct clues that Pluto could host a subsurface ocean beneath its thick, icy crust. If confirmed, an ocean on Pluto would have profound implications, because it would increase the likelihood that other icy bodies could host liquid water—and possibly life.

"The fact that even cold, distant Pluto could have a subsurface ocean means that there are potential habitats even in apparently unpromising locations," says Francis Nimmo, a New Horizons scientist based at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

These cracks hint at subsurface seas:

THERIDANE: Ne, draha je polarni (inklinace ~90°), uhel beta udava orientaci vuci subsolarnimu bodu na Ceresu a tim i to, jake stiny jsou na fotkach a jak velkou cast drahy je sonda ve stinu.

XCHAOS: podle 4.6 Ceres Science Overview má High Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO) beta úhel 40° a Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO, začne v prosinci 2016) bude mít 65°.

Beta úhel je úhel mezi orbitální rovinou a vektorem Slunce-Ceres. Ceres má sklon osy kolem 4°, takže pokud to chápu dobře, nepodívá se Dawn dál než 69° od rovníku.

Ceres zblízka. No, zajímal by mi sklon dráhy, jestli přeletěj nad vším, co je zajímavý.

Bobak Ferdowsi on Twitter: "Yesterday, Mars. I never thought an engineering wheel photo could look so artistic. #suchterrain https://t.co/odpEa0geAY"
https://twitter.com/tweetsoutloud/status/684877302543466496

blahoželáme!

NASA | Massive Black Hole Shreds Passing Star
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu6hIhW00Fk

New photos of SpaceX booster show sooty but undamaged rocket | Ars Technica
http://arstechnica.com/...ence/2016/01/new-photos-of-spacex-booster-show-sooty-but-undamaged-rocket/

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured this view of Saturn's moon Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles across) during a moderately
close flyby on Dec. 6, 2015. This is one of Cassini's highest resolution views of the small moon, along with Epimetheus Revealed .
This view looks toward the Saturn facing side of Epimetheus. North on Epimetheus is up. The image was taken in green polarized
light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 35,000 kilometers from
Epimetheus and at a Sun-Epimetheus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 28 degrees. Image scale is 697 feet (212 meters) per pixel.

Nevím jestli to sledujete, ale ten F9 kterej přistál je předběžně bez poškození a udělá se na něm full static burn. Pokud to přežije, půjde do muzea.

NASA — Solar System: 2016 Preview
http://nasa.tumblr.com/post/136468217989/solar-system-2016-preview

What do we have planned for 2016? A return to the king of planets. A survey of mysterious Ceres. More postcards from Pluto. Anyone who follows solar system exploration in 2016 is in for quite a ride. Last year was one for the record books – and now here are 10 things to look forward to in the new year.

Co nás čeká v roce 2016?
https://www.stream.cz/dobyvanivesmiru/10008587-co-nas-ceka-v-roce-2016