Kepler’s unusual orbit

A couple more interesting things about the just-launched Kepler telescop e – then we’ll let it get on with the business of searching for distant planets. The spacecraft will be controlled, at times, by college kids working alongside professional operators.

New research shows Ceres may have vanishing ice volcanoes

A recently discovered solitary ice volcano on the dwarf planet Ceres may have some hidden older siblings, say scientists who have tested a likely way such mountains of icy rock – called cryovolcanoes – might disappear over millions of years. This is Ahuna Mons seen in a simulated perspective view.