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Astronomy / Solar System's Family Portrait

« on: October 12, 2016, 07:57:56 PM »

Scientists have discovered a new dwarf planet looping around the sun in the region beyond Pluto.

The dwarf planet, called 2014 UZ224, measures about 330 miles (530 kilometers) across and is located about 8.5 billion miles (13.7 billion km) from the sun, NPR reported today (Oct. 11). For comparison, Pluto's largest moon, Charon, is about 750 miles (1,200 km) in diameter, and reaches a maximum distance of about 4.5 billion miles (7.3 billion km) from the sun.

A year on 2014 UZ224 (the time it takes the dwarf planet to orbit the sun) is about 1,100 Earth years. One Pluto year, for c is about 248 Earth years. The new object was also confirmed by the Minor Planet Center.

Source:http://www.space.com/34358-new-dwarf-planet-found-2014-uz224.html

2

Happiness / Being kind to others boosts your happiness

« on: October 06, 2016, 09:55:12 PM »

Those who help their friends, family or even strangers may lead a happier life than those who do not, suggests new research.
The researchers found that being kind to others causes a small but significant improvement in our well-being.
"Humans are social animals. We are happy to help family, friends, colleagues, community members and even strangers under some conditions. This research suggests that people do indeed derive satisfaction from helping others," said study lead author Oliver Scott Curry from the University of Oxford.
"This is probably because we genuinely care about others' welfare, and because random acts of kindness are a good way of making new friends, and kick-starting supportive social relationships," he noted.
For the study, the researchers carried out a systematic review of scientific literature on the subject.
They analyzed over 400 published papers that had investigated the relationship between kindness and happiness, and identified 21 studies that had explicitly put the claim to the test -- that being kind to others makes us happier.
They then conducted a meta-analysis, which statistically combines the results of these previous studies.
On this basis, they calculate that there is indeed an overall effect of kindness on happiness, but that the size of the effect is relatively modest -- equivalent to less than one point on a zero-10 happiness scale.
The study appeared in the journal Open Science Framework.

Source:en.prothom-alo.com/lifestyle/news/124153/Being-kind-to