Artist's view of a watery asteroid in the white-dwarf system GD 61

Big asteroid will eclipse bright star Thursday

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CAPE CANAVERAL - Skywatchers, get ready to see a rare vanishing act — and don't blink. In the wee hours of Thursday, a 45-mile (73-kilometer)-wide asteroid will eclipse the brightest star in the Constellation Leo. The asteroid is 163 Erigone in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The star briefly disappearing will be Regulus. This...

Palm oil fruit (Illustration)

UGM team turns palm oil dregs into fuel

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, YOGYAKARTA - University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) Yogyakarta recycles fruit bunches of palm oil as raw material alternatives for fossil fuel energy.  "We can use Integrated Authothermal Technology (IAT) to turn palm oil dregs into gasoline and kerosene as liquid material for premium, kerosene and aviation fuel," UGM researcher, Arief Budiman said recently. Around 30 to 40 percent of palm...