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Submission + - A second solar system has been detected that's very similar to our own (spaceindustrynews.com) 1

Submitted by littlesparkvt
littlesparkvt writes: A team of astrophysicists at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und- Raumfahrt; DLR), together with German and European colleagues, has discovered the most extensive planetary system to date. Seven planets circle the star KOI-351 – more than in other known planetary systems. They are arranged in a similar fashion to the eight planets in the Solar System, with small rocky planets close to the parent star and gas giant planets at greater distances. Although the planetary system around KOI-351 is packed together more tightly, it provides an interesting comparison to our cosmic home.

Submission + - Is Europa Too Prickly to Land On? (discovery.com)

Submitted by astroengine
astroengine writes: A deadly bed of icy javelins — known as penitentes — could be awaiting any spacecraft that tries to land on some parts of the ice-covered world Europa, say researchers who have carefully modeled the ice processes at work on parts of the Jovian moon to detect features beyond the current low resolution images. If the prediction of long vertical blades of ice is correct, it will not only help engineers design a lander to tame or avoid the sabers, but also help explain a couple of nagging mysteries about the strange moon. "This is a game changer," said planetary scientist Don Blankenship of the University of Texas in Austin. Blankenship has been involved in NASA's planning process for sending a reconnaissance spacecraft and eventually a lander to Europa.

Submission + - Fixing Healtcare.gov - 5 Million Lines Of Code To Fix And "Weeks" Of Work (nytimes.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Administration officials approached the contractors last week to see if they could perform the necessary repairs and reboot the system by Nov. 1. ... Some specialists working on the project said the online system required such extensive repairs that it might not operate smoothly until after the Dec. 15 deadline for people to sign up for coverage ... experts said the technological problems of the site went far beyond the roadblocks to creating accounts that continue to prevent legions of users from even registering. ... One specialist said that as many as five million lines of software code may need to be rewritten before the Web site runs properly. ... One major problem slowing repairs ... the federal agency in charge of the exchange, is responsible for making sure that the separately designed databases and pieces of software from 55 contractors work together. ... and numerous people involved in the project said the agency did not have the expertise to do the job ... Insurance executives said in interviews that they were frustrated because they did not know the government’s plan or schedule ... the system provides them with incorrect information about some enrollees, repeatedly enrolls and cancels the enrollments of others, and simply loses the enrollments of still others. .... CGI Federal, a unit of the CGI Group, ... has the biggest contract and is responsible for the architecture of major parts of the system, but not for its integration.

Submission + - Small-scale biomass energy projects are not a solution to climate change (thebulletin.org) 1

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: Roberto Bissio has an excellent piece in a roundtable on biomass energy, pointing out that small scale biomass energy projects designed for people in poor countries aren't really a solution to climate change. After pointing out that patent protections could impede wide-spread adoption, Bissio adds that the people in these countries aren't really contributing to climate change in the first place: 'Why? Because poor people, whose carbon emissions these technologies would reduce, produce very little carbon in the first place. As I mentioned in Round One, the planet's poorest 1 billion people are responsible for only 3 percent of global carbon emissions. The 1.26 billion people whose countries belong to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development account for 42 percent of emissions. The rich, if they reduced their emissions by just 8 percent, could achieve more climate mitigation than the poor could achieve by reducing their emissions to zero. The rich could manage this 8 percent reduction by altering their lifestyles in barely noticeable ways. For the poor, a reduction of 100 percent would imply permanent misery.'

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