Oct 9, 2019 - Science

Saturn beats out Jupiter as king of the moons

Miriam Kramer, author of Space

Saturn as seen by Cassini in 2017. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SScI

Scientists have found 20 never-before-seen moons orbiting Saturn, making it the planet with the most known moons in our solar system.

Why it matters: The newfound natural satellites increase Saturn's moon count to 82, eclipsing Jupiter's 79 known moons.

Details: The new moons are each about 3 miles across, and 17 of them orbit the ringed planet in retrograde — going the opposite direction of Saturn's rotation, according to an announcement from Carnegie Science.

  • Those 17 retrograde moons take more than 3 years to orbit the planet and are thought to be the remnants of a larger moon that broke apart in the past.

Go deeper: Enter a contest to help name the newly discovered moons from now until Dec. 6.

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Rebecca Falconer
18 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Dozens of Confederate symbols removed in wake of George Floyd's death

A statue of Confederate States President Jefferson Davis lies on the street after protesters pulled it down in Richmond, Virginia, in June. Photo: Parker Michels-Boyce/AFP via Getty Images

59 Confederate symbols have been removed, relocated or renamed since anti-racism protests began over George Floyd's death, a new Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) report finds.

Why it matters: That's a marked increase on previous years, per the report, which points out just 16 Confederate monuments were affected in 2019.

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Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10:30 p.m. ET: 20,532,835 — Total deaths: 747,845— Total recoveries: 12,743,275 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10:30 p.m. ET: 5,193,266 — Total deaths: 165,934 — Total recoveries: 1,714,960 — Total tests: 63,252,257 — Map.
  3. Politics: Pelosi says Mnuchin told her White House is "not budging" on stimulus position.
  4. Business: U.S. already feeling effects of ending unemployment benefits.
  5. Public health: America's two-sided COVID-19 response — America is flying blind on its coronavirus response.
  6. Education: New Jersey governor allows schools to reopen — Gallup: America's confidence in public school system jumps to highest level since 2004.
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Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Health

World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

France reported more than 2,500 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours — the largest single-day number since May. French officials said the situation was "clearly worsening," per France 24.

By the numbers: Over 745,600 people have died of the novel coronavirus globally and over 20.4 million have tested positive, per Johns Hopkins. Almost 12.7 million have recovered from the virus.

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