Apple announces iBooks 2, a ‘new textbook experience for the iPad’

Via Scoop.it – internetbillboards Apple has just announced iBooks 2 for the iPad at its education event in New York City, calling them a “new textbook experience.” The newly designed books are graphical, interactive, and make use of features like 3D imaging, embedded video, and multitouch gestures. The company seems to be taking cues from [...]

Earth, Meet Your Long-Lost Sibling: The Christmas Planet

It may sound like something from a very special episode of Doctor Who, but the Christmas planet is real. What’s more, it’s the most Earth-like world yet discovered.The planet, more properly known as Kepler 22-b, was revealed to the world Monday via a press conference at NASA Ames Research Center. It is one of thousands [...]

Astronomers discover 18 new alien planets—and they’re huge

Astronomers have found 18 new alien planets, all of them Jupiter-size gas giants that circle stars bigger than our sun, a new study reports.The discoveries increase the number of known planets orbiting massive stars by 50 percent. The exoplanet bounty should also help astronomers better understand how giant planets form and grow in nascent alien [...]