James' World 2

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The nation’s flagship public universities — large, taxpayer-funded institutions whose declared mission is to educate residents of their states — enroll far smaller proportions of black students than other colleges, and the number appears to be declining, according to federal records and college enrollment data analyzed by The Hechinger Report and The Huffington Post.

On average, just 5 percent of students at the nation’s flagship public universities are black. As recently as a decade ago, that figure was higher, although changing methods of counting racial categories makes a precise comparison difficult.

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Meredith Kolodner / The Hechinger Report

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Scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia have made a stellar and rare discovery: The closest habitable planet to Earth is located 14 light-years away, which is eight light-years closer than scientists previously thought. The discovery is the result of a study from UNSW researchers, who found the planet located as part of a cluster of three others, all of which orbit the red dwarf star Wolf 1061. The new world is more than four times the size of Earth; researchers have named it Wolf 1061c.

“It is a particularly exciting find because all three planets are of low enough mass to be potentially rocky and have a solid surface, and the middle planet, Wolf 1061c, sits within the ‘Goldilocks’ zone where it might be possible for liquid water – and maybe even life — to exist,” said the UNSW study’s lead researcher Duncan Wright. “It is fascinating to look out at the vastness of space and think a star so very close to us — a near neighbor — could host a habitable planet.”

Prior to UNSW scientists’ discovery, the closest known habitable planet to Earth was Gliese 667Cc, according to the study, and is a planet four and a half times the size of earth that orbits another red dwarf star located 22 light-years away.

“The close proximity of the planets around Wolf 1061 means there is a good chance these planets may pass across the face of the star,” said Rob Wittenmyer, a member of the study’s research team at UNSW. “If they do, then it may be possible to study the atmospheres of these planets in the future to see whether they would be conducive to life.”

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Planet X

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For everyone whoever answered “Astronaut!” to the “What Are You Going to Be When You Grow Up?” question, now is the time to make that dream come true: NASA is “looking for the best candidates to work in the best job on or off the planet,” according to a Dec. 14 job post. Until Feb. 18, 2016, all qualifying U.S. citizens may apply to join the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s next class of astronauts on a red planet adventure.

 “NASA is on an ambitious journey to Mars and we’re looking for talented men and women from diverse backgrounds and every walk of life to help get us there,” said Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator and real, live (former) astronaut, according to the job listing. “Today, we opened the application process for our next class of astronauts, extraordinary Americans who will take the next giant leap in exploration.

“The mission: According to Bolden, “this group will launch to space from U.S. soil on American-made spacecraft and blaze the trail on our journey to the Red Planet,” specifically, onboard Orion and two commercial crew space vehicles. 

“NASA astronauts will again launch to the International Space Station from Florida’s Space Coast on American-made commercial spacecraft — Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and the SpaceX Crew Dragon. These spacecraft will allow NASA to add a seventh crew member to each station mission, effectively doubling the amount of time astronauts will be able to devote to research in space, expanding scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies,” Bolden said in the listing.

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The Stars

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