Globe-trotting: Earth bids adieu to temporary ‘mini moon’
Planet Earth is parting company with an asteroid that’s been tagging along as a “mini moon” for the past two months. The harmless space rock will peel away on Monday, overcome by the stronger tug of the sun’s gravity. But it will zip closer for a quick visit in January. NASA will use a radar antenna to observe the 33-ft (10 m) asteroid then. That should deepen scientists’ understanding of the object known as 2024 PT5, quite possibly a boulder that was blasted off the moon by an impacting, crater-forming asteroid. AP
Mars had water from beginning: Research
Perth: Australian researchers have discovered the oldest direct evidence of hot water activity on Mars, revealing that the planet may have once been habitable. A team led by researchers from Curtin University in Western Australia analysed a 4.45 billion-year-old zircon grain from the famous Martian meteorite NWA7034, also known as Black Beauty, that was found in the Sahara Desert in 2011. The researchers found that the grain of zircon, a type of mineral, contained geochemical fingerprints of water-rich fluids, suggesting that water was present during early Martian magmatic activity.
Uruguay votes for next president
MONTEVIDEO: Voters in South America’s laid-back Uruguay, known for its beaches, legalised marijuana and stability, headed to the polls on Sunday for a second-round presidential race between moderates that closes out a bumper year for global elections. The vote in the small nation of 3.4 million people sees opposition center-left candidate Yamandu Orsi take on continuity conservative runner, Alvaro Delgado, who has the backing of a third-placed ally. Ahead of Sunday’s election, opinion polls suggested the November 24 runoff promised to be razor tight, with fewer than 25,000 votes potentially separating the two contenders. Unlike sharp right-left divides in recent elections in Argentina, Brazil or Mexico, Uruguay’s political arena is relatively tension-free, with significant overlap between the conservative and liberal coalitions vying for office. Reuters
