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2DCB2RF making a mini sandarium for wild bees, bowl is filled with crocks for drainage, series picture 4/18, Germany

Life

Why putting broken pottery in your plant pot won't help with drainage

Putting a layer of "crocks", or broken pottery, in the base of flower pots won't improve drainage – and may actually worsen it, says James Wong

Regulars

The stunningly simple rule that will always get you out of a maze

Mathematics

The stunningly simple rule that will always get you out of a maze

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https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2017/07/Exploring_Jupiter t may still be some years away from launch, and over a decade before our Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer reaches the gas giant and its icy moons, but preparations are well under way. This new artist?s impression depicts the final spacecraft design, the construction of which is being overseen by Airbus Defence and Space. The spacecraft?s solar wings form a distinctive cross-shape totalling 97 sq m, the largest ever flown on an interplanetary mission. The size is essential to generate sufficient power ? around 850 W ? for the instruments and spacecraft so far from the Sun. The spacecraft is furnished with a laboratory of instruments that will investigate Jupiter?s turbulent atmosphere and vast magnetosphere, as well as study the planet-sized moons Ganymede, Europa and Callisto. All three moons are thought to have oceans of liquid water beneath their icy crusts and should provide key clues on the potential for such moons to harbour habitable environments. Juice?s cameras will capture exquisite details of the moon?s features, as well as identify the ices and minerals on their surfaces. Other instruments will sound the subsurface and interior of the moons to better understand the location and nature of their buried oceans. The tenuous atmosphere around the moons will also be explored. The spacecraft will also include booms such as a 10 m-long magnetometer mast (seen towards the bottom of Juice in the artist impression), a 16 m radar antenna (the long boom across the top), and antennas to measure electric and magnetic fields. Ganymede is the only moon in the Solar System to generate its own internal magnetic field, and Juice is well equipped to document its behaviour and explore its interaction with Jupiter?s own magnetosphere. Juice is scheduled for launch in 2022 on a seven-year journey to the Jovian system. Its tour will include a dedicated orbit phase of Jupiter, targeted flybys of Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, and finally nine months orbiting Ganymede ? the first time any moon beyond our own has been orbited by a spacecraft. In the artist?s impression, which is not to scale, Ganymede is shown in the foreground, Callisto to the far right, and Europa centre-right. Volcanically active moon Io is also shown, at left. The moons were imaged by NASA?s Galileo spacecraft; Jupiter is seen here with a vivid aurora, captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. ESA/ATG medialab; Jupiter: NASA/ESA/J. Nichols (University of Leicester); Ganymede: NASA/JPL; Io: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona; Callisto and Europa: NASA/JPL/DLR

Space

How to spot Jupiter's icy moons

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UK, Essex, Harlow, elevated view of a woman working from home in her garden using a laptop computer

Comment

The unexpected benefits of working outside

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Ostuni, Puglia, Italy - 05 20 2022: Preparation of typical handmade pasta called

Comment

The easy way to make pasta at home

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R126CH Unrecognisable woman in casual clothing holding a box of used coffee ground to use as compost in her garden.

Life

Why used coffee grounds may be doing your plants more harm than good

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woman put products on the line near cashbox. grocery shopping concept

Mathematics

How maths can help you pack your shopping more efficiently

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2CNWGJN Ophiuchus star constellation, Night sky, Cluster of stars, Deep space,?Serpentarius, Serpent bearer

Space

How to spot Ophiuchus, the thirteenth zodiacal constellation

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Half length portrait of trendy female millennial in electronic spectacles looking at camera during time for listening audio book and walk in metropolitan downtown, generation z in earphones; Shutterstock ID 1722211435; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Mind

How listening to audiobooks may be making us more gullible

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GDX76B Allium ursinum. Foraging wild garlic in an English woodland - spring, UK

Life

Foraging for wild garlic: how, when and what to watch out for

The pungent flavour of wild garlic probably evolved as a defence against herbivory, but it doesn’t deter garlic-loving humans, says Sam Wong

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Life

Why watering your plants at midday won't damage their leaves

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Mathematics

How maths reveals the best time to add milk for hotter tea

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Space

How to spot Mars travelling through Gemini this week

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Humans

What is really going on when we microwave our food?

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