2013

The comet ISON tracked by the STEREO satellite (Image NASA/STEREO)

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In recent months, the comet ISON was the center of attention not only of astronomers, amateur and professional, but also of the general public because it had been mentioned as a possible comet of the century for its great brightness. It was followed and photographed by instruments on the ground and in space, including the good old Hubble Space Telescope, especially yesterday, when it moved close to the Sun. It was the most critical moment and it seemed that ISON was destroyed by the Sun’s gravity but after a few hours at least some fragments came out.

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In 2005 the remains of a Tyrannosaurus rex were found in Montana and so far the discovery was certainly interesting but not extraordinary. But when Mary Schweitzer, a paleontologist at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences announced that she had found not only bones but also soft tissue, many remained skeptical. Today, this exceptional discovery has an explanation.

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NASA has confirmed that the Mars Rover Curiosity has resumed its normal operations on Saturday, November 23, 2013, after a few days its work had been suspended following the detection of an electrical abnormality. The rover was never in real dangers but as a precaution it was decided to interrupt the scientific research it’s pursuing in order to proceed to a diagnosis of the problem without any worries.

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The novel “People of the Talisman” by Leigh Brackett was published for the first time in 1964. It’s the sequel to “The Secret of Sinharat”.

Eric John Stark is trying to reach the city of Kushat together with his friend Camar, who is mortally wounded. The city is too far away for them to arrive in time and Camar confesses that years ago he had stolen a sacred talisman of Kushat. Before dying, he asks Stark to bring it back to the city.