Communications of the ACM
Why the Simplex Method, at Age 75, is Still the Go-To Algorithm
Daniel A. Spielman and colleague Shang-hua Teng solved the mystery of the Simplex Method using a technique called smoothed analysis… From ACM NewsAn edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.
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Two Voyagers Taught S How to Listen to Space
As NASA's twin Voyager spacecraft were changing our understanding of the solar system, they also spurred a leap in spacecraft communications.
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Nasa's Voyager Spacecraft Still Reaching For the Stars After 40 Years
Humanity's farthest and longest-lived spacecraft, Voyager 1 and 2, achieve 40 years of operation and exploration this August and September. Despite their vast distance...
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Large, Distant Comets More Common Than Previously Thought
Comets that take more than 200 years to make one revolution around the Sun are notoriously difficult to study.
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Saturn Surprises As Cassini Continues its Grand Finale
As NASA's Cassini spacecraft makes its unprecedented series of weekly dives between Saturn and its rings, scientists are finding—so far—that the planet's magnetic...
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From Mars Rover: Panorama Above 'perseverance Valley'
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity recorded a panoramic view before entering the upper end of a fluid-carved valley that descends the inner slope of a large...
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Nasa Video Soars Over Pluto's Majestic Mountains and Icy Plains
In July 2015, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft sent home the first close-up pictures of Pluto and its moons – amazing imagery that inspired many to wonder what a...
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Nasa's Juno Spacecraft Spots Jupiter's Great Red Spot
Images of Jupiter's Great Red Spot reveal a tangle of dark, veinous clouds weaving their way through a massive crimson oval.
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Curiosity Mars Rover Begins Study of Ridge Destination
The car-size NASA rover on a Martian mountain, Curiosity, has begun its long-anticipated study of an iron-bearing ridge forming a distinctive layer on the mountain's...
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Nasa's Juno Spacecraft Completes Flyby Over Jupiter's Great Red Spot
NASA's Juno mission completed a close flyby of Jupiter and its Great Red Spot on July 10, during its sixth science orbit.
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Sleuthing For Seismic Answers in the Sooner State
Oklahomans are no strangers to Mother Nature's whims.
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Nasa Completes Study of Future 'ice Giant' Mission Concepts
A NASA-led and NASA-sponsored study of potential future missions to the mysterious "ice giant" planets Uranus and Neptune has been released—the first in a series...
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Nustar's First Five Years in Space
Five years ago, on June 13, 2012, Caltech's Fiona Harrison, principal investigator of NASA's NuSTAR mission, watched with her team as their black-hole-spying spacecraft...
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Nasa Finds Evidence of Diverse Environments in Curiosity Samples
NASA scientists have found a wide diversity of minerals in the initial samples of rocks collected by the Curiosity rover in the lowermost layers of Mount Sharp...
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Nasa's Asteroid-Hunting Spacecraft a Discovery Machine
NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission has released its third year of survey data, with the spacecraft discovering 97 previously...
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Curiosity Peels Back Layers on Ancient Martian Lake
A long-lasting lake on ancient Mars provided stable environmental conditions that differed significantly from one part of the lake to another, according to a comprehensive...
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Cassini Finds Saturn Moon May Have Tipped Over
Saturn's icy, ocean-bearing moon Enceladus may have tipped over in the distant past, according to recent research from NASA's Cassini mission.
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High-Silica 'halos' Shed Light on Wet Ancient Mars
Pale "halos" around fractures in bedrock analyzed by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover contain copious silica, indicating that ancient Mars had liquid water for a long...
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A Whole New Jupiter: First Science Results from Nasa's Juno Mission
Early science results from NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter portray the largest planet in our solar system as a complex, gigantic, turbulent world, with Earth-sized...
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Nasa Asks Scientific Community to Think on Possible Europa Lander Instruments
NASA is asking scientists to consider what would be the best instruments to include on a mission to land on Jupiter's icy moon, Europa.
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