Sunday, June 8, 2014

Hulk Smash! Collision That Formed Our Moon Shows Up In Lunar Rocks, Study Says

Hulk Smash! Collision That Formed Our Moon Shows Up In Lunar Rocks, Study Says:

Artist's conception of two celestial bodies smacking into each other. Such a collision is believed to have formed Earth's moon. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Artist’s conception of two celestial bodies smacking into each other. Such a collision is believed to have formed Earth’s moon. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Billions of years ago, so the theory goes, a Mars-sized body (sometimes called “Theia”) smashed into our young planet and caused a near-catastrophe. Earth fortunately survived the risk of blowing apart, and the fragments from the crash gradually coalesced into the Moon that we see today.

Even though this happened a heck of a long time ago, scientists believe they have found traces of Theia in lunar rocks pulled from the Apollo missions.

(...)

Read the rest of Hulk Smash! Collision That Formed Our Moon Shows Up In Lunar Rocks, Study Says (253 words)

© Elizabeth Howell for Universe Today, 2014. |
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Saturday, June 7, 2014

MAGIC MUSIC WITH PRELUDE - THE BEATLES STYLE by Nelio Guerson and Carlos Guerson




Youtube video similar to The Beatles Style, Beatles Lyrics and all Youtube Beatles videos. The Beatles Band : Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

MAGIC MUSIC WITH PRELUDE
( Words and Music By Nelio Guerson & Carlos Guerson )
(P) 1990 All Rights Reserved SR 200441
FREE MUSIC MP3 DOWNLOAD Direct From Artist
WEBSITE :
http://palcomp3.com/nelioguerson/magic-music/
SONG FILE :
http://almora.palco.fm/b/8/4/f/nelio-guerson-carlos-guerson_magic-music.mp3


( Prelude )
This kind of magic is you, it's me...

This Magic Music
Comes to take care of me
And every one can see
How much it means to me
This kind of magic
Comes down to shine on me
This magic music is good to me

Magical mistery
Part of you part of me
Magical song for us
A delight for all of us
This magic music
Comes down to enlighten me
This kind of magic is you, it's me

Magical mistery
Part of you part of me
Magical song for us
A delight for all of us
This magic music
Comes down to light on me
This kind of magic is you. It's me

Tags : youtube, video, the beatles style, beatles style, beatles lyrics, youtube beatles, the beatles, lyrics the beatles, the beatles youtube, john lennon, paul mccartney, george harrison, ringo starr, imagine, the beatles videos, the beatles band, the beatles songs, beatles, paul, mccartney, george, harrison, ringo, starr



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Saturday, May 17, 2014

Where Are The Aliens? How The ‘Great Filter’ Could Affect Tech Advances In Space

Where Are The Aliens? How The ‘Great Filter’ Could Affect Tech Advances In Space:

Kepler-62f, an exoplanet that is about 40% larger than Earth. It's located about 1,200 light-years from our solar system in the constellation Lyra. Credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech

Kepler-62f, an exoplanet that is about 40% larger than Earth. It’s located about 1,200 light-years from our solar system in the constellation Lyra. Credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech
“One of the main things we’re focused on is the notion of existential risk, getting a sense of what the probability of human extinction is,” said Andrew Snyder-Beattie, who recently wrote a piece on the “Great Filter” for Ars Technica.

As Snyder-Beattie explained in the article, the “Great Filter” is a response to the question of why we can’t see any alien civilizations. The “Great Filter” deals with similar issues as the Drake Equation, which talks about the probability of communicating civilizations outside of Earth, and the Fermi Paradox, which asks where the civilizations are.

Simply speaking, the idea is that if a civilization continues to expand (especially at the technological pace we humans have experienced), it wouldn’t take all that long in the lifespan of the universe for artificial processes to be visible with our own telescopes. Yes, this is even taking into account a presumed speed limit of no more than the speed of light. So something could be preventing these civilizations from showing up. That’s an important part of the Great Filter, but more details about it are below.

Here are a few possibilities for why the filter exists, both from Snyder-Beattie and from the person who first named the Great Filter, Robin Hanson, in 1996.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 3:52 PM 0 comments

14 Red Dwarf Stars to View with Backyard Telescopes

14 Red Dwarf Stars to View with Backyard Telescopes:

An artist's conception of a red dwarf solar system. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

An artist’s conception of a red dwarf solar system. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
They’re nearby, they’re common and — at least in the latest exoplanet newsflashes hot off the cyber-press — they’re hot. We’re talking about red dwarf stars, those “salt of the galaxy” stars that litter the Milky Way. And while it’s true that there are more of “them” than there are of “us,” not a single one is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye from the skies of Earth.(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 3:51 PM 0 comments

Earth’s Lightning Ramps Up With The Solar Wind: Study

Earth’s Lightning Ramps Up With The Solar Wind: Study:

Time-lapse photo of several lightning strikes at night. Credit: NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)

Time-lapse photo of several lightning strikes at night. Credit: NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
As the northern hemisphere enters the hazy days of summer, thunderstorms will freckle many of our nights and days. What causes these sudden bursts of light that flash through the sky? Previous research showed that one cause is cosmic rays from space, generated by supernovas. But a new paper shows that something much closer and powerful is also responsible: solar wind from our own Sun.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 3:51 PM 0 comments

Venus Express Prepares to Descend into Hell

Venus Express Prepares to Descend into Hell:

Artist's impression of an active volcano on Venus. One long-term study of the planet showed that sulphur dioxide is being continually put into the atmosphere. One explanation for that could be volcanic activity, although others exist (such as changes in atmospheric circulation). Credit: ESA/AOES

Artist’s impression of an active volcano on Venus. One long-term study of the planet showed that sulphur dioxide is being continually put into the atmosphere. One explanation for that could be volcanic activity, although others exist (such as changes in atmospheric circulation). Credit: ESA/AOES
Venus is definitely not a friendly planet for humanity. Soviet landers that arrived on the surface a few decades back were crushed pretty quickly. Its surface temperature is more than 842 degrees Fahrenheit (450 degrees Celsius) and the atmosphere is full of noxious gases.

But descending into this pressure-filled cooker is exactly what Venus Express is going to do shortly. The European Space Agency spacecraft will conclude eight years of orbital operations with an attempt to fall into the planet. The maneuvers are complicated, and there’s no guarantee they will go as planned, but ESA plans to make the plunge by the end of this year.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 3:50 PM 0 comments

Spitzer Mission Extension Not Approved In NASA Senior Review; Officials Say Budget Rewrite Possible

Spitzer Mission Extension Not Approved In NASA Senior Review; Officials Say Budget Rewrite Possible:

Artist's impression of the Spitzer Space Telescope. Credit: NASA

Artist’s impression of the Spitzer Space Telescope. Credit: NASA
“Constrained budget conditions” have prompted NASA to not approve a funding extension for the 11-year-old Spitzer Space Telescope after fiscal 2015, but Spitzer officials emphasized that doesn’t necessarily mean the mission is terminated.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 3:50 PM 0 comments

Astrophoto: Space Station Creates a Zipper on the Sun

Astrophoto: Space Station Creates a Zipper on the Sun:

A mosaic of 46 images showing the transit of the ISS across the sun visible from southwest London on May 16, 2014 at 06:23 UT. Credit and copyright: Roger Hutchinson.

A mosaic of 46 images showing the transit of the ISS across the sun visible from southwest London on May 16, 2014 at 06:23 UT. Credit and copyright: Roger Hutchinson.
“I’ve been wanting to get one of these for ages!” said astrophotographer Roger Hutchinson from London, England. This awesome image of the International Space Station transiting across the Sun earlier today — which creates a “zipper”-like effect on the Sun’s surface – is a composite of 46 images, taken from Southwest SW London on May 16, 2014 at 06:23 UT. Roger used a Lunt LS60 Ha telescope and a Skyris 274C camera.

Amazing.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 3:49 PM 0 comments

Future Uncertain For WISE Spacecraft After Review Declines Extension

Future Uncertain For WISE Spacecraft After Review Declines Extension:

Kevin Luhman discovered the brown dwarf pair in data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE; artist's impression). Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Artist’s impression of the WISE satellite
A repurposed spacecraft may be put out to pasture in the coming years following the results of a NASA Senior Review, released Friday (May 16). The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), which is now in the midst of a three-year NEOWISE mission searching for potentially hazardous asteroids, has not been approved for another mission extension called MaxWISE.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 3:49 PM 0 comments

Assembling and Launching Boeing’s CST-100 Private Space Taxi – One on One Interview with Chris Ferguson, Last Shuttle Commander; Part 2

Assembling and Launching Boeing’s CST-100 Private Space Taxi – One on One Interview with Chris Ferguson, Last Shuttle Commander; Part 2:

Boeing CST-100 manned space capsule in free flight in low Earth orbit will transport astronaut crews to the International Space Station. Credit: Boeing

Boeing CST-100 manned space capsule in free flight in low Earth orbit will transport astronaut crews to the International Space Station. Credit: Boeing
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – Boeing expects to begin “assembly operations of our commercial CST-100 manned capsule soon at the Kennedy Space Center,” Chris Ferguson, commander of NASA’s final shuttle flight and now director of Boeing’s Crew and Mission Operations told Universe Today in an exclusive one-on-one interview with Universe Today. In part 1, Ferguson described the maiden orbital test flights to the ISS set for 2017 – here.

In part 2, we focus our discussion on Boeings’ strategy for building and launching the CST-100 ‘space taxi’ as a truly commercial space endeavor.

To begin I asked; Where will Boeing build the CST-100? (...)

Read the rest of Assembling and Launching Boeing’s CST-100 Private Space Taxi – One on One Interview with Chris Ferguson, Last Shuttle Commander; Part 2 (1,613 words)

© Ken Kremer for Universe Today, 2014. |
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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

AMAZING PHOTO Earth From Space: The Moon Over Mexico

Earth From Space: The Moon Over Mexico:

The Moon over Mexico, taken March 12, 2014 from the International Space Station by astronaut Rick Mastracchio. Credit: NASA/Rick Mastracchio.
AMAZING PHOTO Earth From Space: The Moon Over Mexico
The Moon over Mexico, taken March 12, 2014 from the International Space Station by astronaut Rick Mastracchio. Credit: NASA/Rick Mastracchio.
Happy Cinco de Mayo! This beautiful image of Earth from Space was taken earlier this year, but today is a perfect day to share it. ISS astronaut Rick Mastracchio snapped this photo of the waxing gibbous Moon on March 12, 2014.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:31 AM 0 comments

PHOTOS Unprecedented Images of the Intergalactic Medium

Unprecedented Images of the Intergalactic Medium:

Comparison of Lyman alpha blob observed with Cosmic Web Imager and a simulation of the cosmic web based on theoretical predictions. Credit: Christopher Martin, Robert Hurt - See more at: http://www.caltech.edu/content/intergalactic-medium-unveiled-caltechs-cosmic-web-imager-directly-observes-dim-matter#sthash.3bs0Xl3d.dpuf
PHOTOS Unprecedented Images of the Intergalactic Medium
Comparison of Lyman alpha blob observed with Cosmic Web Imager and a simulation of the cosmic web based on theoretical predictions.
Image Credit: Christopher Martin, Robert Hurt
An international team of astronomers has taken unprecedented images of intergalactic space — the diffuse and often invisible gas that connects and feeds galaxies throughout the Universe.

Until now, the structure of intergalactic space has mostly been a matter for theoretical speculation. Advanced computer simulations predict that primordial gas from the Big Bang is distributed in a vast cosmic web — a network of filaments that span galaxies and flow between them.

This vast network is impossible to see alone. In the past astronomers have looked at distant quasars — supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies which are rapidly accreting material and shining brightly — to indicate the otherwise invisible matter along their lines of sight.

While distant quasars may reveal the otherwise invisible gas, there’s no information about how that gas is distributed across space. New images, however, from the Cosmic Web Imager are revealing the webs’ filaments directly, allowing them to be seen across space.



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:30 AM 0 comments

PHOTOS Surprise Gamma-Ray Burst Behaves Differently Than Expected

Surprise Gamma-Ray Burst Behaves Differently Than Expected:

This artist's impression of a gamma-ray burst shows the two intense beams of relativistic matter emitted by the black hole. To be visible from Earth, the beams must be pointing directly towards us. (Image: NASA/Swift/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith and John Jones)
PHOTOS Surprise Gamma-Ray Burst Behaves Differently Than Expected
This artist’s impression shows a gamma-ray burst with two intense beams of relativistic matter emitted by the black hole. Image Credit: NASA/Swift/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith and John Jones
Roughly once a day the sky is lit up by a mysterious torrent of energy. These events — known as gamma-ray bursts — represent the most powerful explosions in the cosmos, sending out as much energy in a fraction of a second as our Sun will give off during its entire lifespan.

Yet no one has ever witnessed a gamma-ray burst directly. Instead astronomers are left to study their fading light.

New research from an international team of astronomers has discovered a puzzling feature within one Gamma-ray burst, suggesting that these objects may behave differently than previously thought.



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:26 AM 0 comments

GIANT DRAGONS This Was the Best Watched Solar Flare Ever

This Was the Best Watched Solar Flare Ever:

X1-class solar flare on March 29, 2014 as seen by NASA's IRIS (video screenshot) Credit: NASA/IRIS/SDO/Goddard Space Flight Center
GIANT DRAGONS This Was the Best Watched Solar Flare Ever
X1-class solar flare on March 29, 2014 as seen by NASA’s IRIS (video screenshot) Credit: NASA/IRIS/SDO/Goddard Space Flight Center
Are giant dragons flying out of the Sun? No, this is much more awesome than that: it’s an image of an X-class flare that erupted from active region 2017 on March 29, as seen by NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spacecraft. It was not only IRIS’s first view of such a powerful flare, but with four other solar observatories in space and on the ground watching at the same time it was the best-observed solar flare ever.

(But it does kind of look like a dragon. Or maybe a phoenix. Ah, pareidolia!)

Check out a video from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center below:


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:25 AM 0 comments

PHOTO The Newest ‘Earthrise’ Image

The Newest ‘Earthrise’ Image, Courtesy of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter:

The Moon, tiny Earth and the vastness of space,as seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide Angle Camera (WAC). Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University.
PHOTO The Newest ‘Earthrise’ Image
The Moon, tiny Earth and the vastness of space,as seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide Angle Camera (WAC). Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University.
That’s Earth. That’s us. Way off in the distance as a fairly small, blue and swirly white sphere. This is the newest so-called “Earthrise” image, and it was taken on February 1, 2014 by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

“LRO experiences twelve earthrises every day, however LROC is almost always busy imaging the lunar surface so only rarely does an opportunity arise such that LROC can capture a view of the Earth,” wrote LROC Principal Investigator Mark Robinson on the instrument’s website. “On the first of February of this year LRO pitched forward while approaching the north pole allowing the LROC WAC to capture the Earth rising above Rozhdestvenskiy crater (180-km diameter).”

Robinson went on to explain that the Earth is a color composite from several frames and the colors are very close to what the average person would see if they were looking back at Earth themselves from lunar orbit. “Also, in this image the relative brightness between the Earth and the Moon is correct, note how much brighter the Earth is relative to the Moon,” Robinson said.

Gorgeous.

Below is a gif image that demonstrates how images are combined over several orbits to create a full image from the Wide Angle Camera.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:24 AM 0 comments

PHOTOS The Hunt for KBOs for New Horizons’ Post-Pluto Encounter Continues

The Hunt for KBOs for New Horizons’ Post-Pluto Encounter Continues:

An artist’s conception of a KBO encounter by New Horizons. Credit: JHUAPL/SwRI.
PHOTOS The Hunt for KBOs for New Horizons’ Post-Pluto Encounter Continues
An artist’s conception of a KBO encounter by New Horizons. Credit: JHUAPL/SwRI.
Are you ready for the summer of 2015? A showdown of epic proportions is in the making, as NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is set to pass within 12,500 kilometres of Pluto — roughly a third of the distance of the ring of geosynchronous satellites orbiting the Earth —  a little over a year from now on July 14th, 2015.

But another question is already being raised, one that’s assuming center stage even before we explore Pluto and its retinue of moons: will New Horizons have another target available to study for its post-Pluto encounter out in the Kuiper Belt? Researchers say time is of the essence to find it.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:23 AM 0 comments

PHOTOS Eta Aquarid Meteors Streak By in Stunning Astrophotos

Eta Aquarid Meteors Streak By in Stunning Astrophotos:

Porters at Mt. Bromo in Indonesia warm themselves by a fire as an Eta Aquarid meteor streaks overhead on May 6, 2014. Credit and copyright: Justin Ng.
PHOTOS Eta Aquarid Meteors Streak By in Stunning Astrophotos
Porters at Mt. Bromo in Indonesia warm themselves by a fire as an Eta Aquarid meteor streaks overhead on May 6, 2014. Credit and copyright: Justin Ng.
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower has graced the skies this week and while this hasn’t been an exceptionally active shower, here are a few beautiful photos we’ve received. Above astrophotographer Justin Ng climbed Mount Bromo in Indonesia on May 6, and had to contend with interference from the active volcano.

“After having visited Mt. Bromo several times over the past two years, I must say it’s definitely much more active now and part of the night sky was obscured by the sulphur dioxide gas emitted from Mount Bromo when I took this shot,” Justin said via email. “At times, I was ‘consumed’ by the sulphur gas for several minutes due to the occasional change in wind direction and I could hardly breathe or kept my eyes opened when that happened. Despite these challenging shooting and viewing conditions, the natives or tourists will still ascend the steep stone staircase (approximately 253 concrete steps) that leads to the brim of the steaming, sulphurous, gaping caldera to catch a glimpse of the scenic sunrise every morning.”

Wow! This beautiful image is a result of stacking 4 images taken at different times facing at the same direction.


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:22 AM 0 comments

PHOTOS Why Earth’s Spores Could Survive A Trip to Mars

Why Earth’s Spores Could Survive A Trip to Mars:

Artist's conception of Mars, with asteroids nearby. Credit: NASA
PHOTOS Why Earth’s Spores Could Survive A Trip to Mars
Artist’s conception of Mars, with asteroids nearby. Credit: NASA
Here’s a finding to give planetary protectionists pause: two species of spores mounted on the International Space Station’s hull a few years back showed a high survival rate after 18 months in space.

Providing that they are shielded against solar radiation, it appears the spores are quite hardy and could easily transport on a spacecraft headed for Mars — which is concerning since so many scientific investigations there these days are focused on habitability of Martian life (whether past or present). The experiment was published in 2012, but highlighted in a recent NASA press release about planetary protection.



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:21 AM 0 comments

PHOTOS Can Super-Fast Stars Unveil Dark Matter’s Secrets?

Can Super-Fast Stars Unveil Dark Matter’s Secrets?:

Artist's conception of a hyperveloctiy star heading out from a spiral galaxy (similar to the Milky Way) and moving into dark matter nearby. Credit: Ben Bromley, University of Utah

Artist’s conception of a hyperveloctiy star heading out from a spiral galaxy (similar to the Milky Way) and moving into dark matter nearby. Credit: Ben Bromley, University of Utah
Zoom! A star was recently spotted speeding at 1.4 million miles an hour (2.2 million km/hr), which happened to be the closest and second-brightest of the so-called “hypervelocity” stars found so far.

Now that about 20 of these objects have been found, however, astronomers are now trying to use the stars beyond classifying them. One of those ways could be probing the nature of dark matter, the mysterious substance thought to bind together much of the universe.



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:20 AM 0 comments

PHOTOS Saturn Disappears Behind the Full Flower Moon

Saturn Disappears Behind the Full Flower Moon May 14 – Watch it Live:

Simulation of the moon closing in on Saturn just prior to occultation. Credit: Gianluca Masi using SkyX software
PHOTOS Saturn Disappears Behind the Full Flower Moon
Simulation of the moon closing in on Saturn just prior to occultation. Click to go to the Virtual Telescope website where you’ll be able to watch the May 14 event live. Credit: Gianluca Masi using SkyX software
Funny thing. Skywatchers are often  just as excited to watch a celestial object disappear as we are to see it make an appearance. Early Wednesday morning (May 14) the Full Flower Moon will slip in front of  Saturn, covering it from view for about an hour for observers in Australia and New Zealand. If you don’t live where the dingoes roam, no worries. You can watch it online.(...)



Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:19 AM 0 comments

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Kepler Has Found the First Earth-Sized Exoplanet in a Habitable Zone!

Kepler Has Found the First Earth-Sized Exoplanet in a Habitable Zone!:

Artist's rendering of Kepler-186f (Credit: NASA Ames/SETI Institute/Caltech)

Artist’s rendering of the Earth-sized Kepler-186f (Credit: NASA Ames/SETI Institute/Caltech)
It’s truly a “eureka” moment for Kepler scientists: the first rocky Earth-sized world has been found in a star’s habitable “Goldilocks” zone, the narrow belt where liquid water could readily exist on a planet’s surface without freezing solid or boiling away. And while it’s much too soon to tell if this really is a “twin Earth,” we can now be fairly confident that they do in fact exist.

The newly-confirmed extrasolar planet has been dubbed Kepler-186f. It is the fifth and outermost planet discovered orbiting the red dwarf star Kepler-186, located 490 light-years away. Kepler-186f completes one orbit around its star every 130 days, just within the outer edge of the system’s habitable zone.

The findings were made public today, April 17, during a teleconference hosted by NASA.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 6:00 PM 0 comments

Ancient Martian Life May Be Preserved in Glass

Ancient Martian Life May Be Preserved in Glass:

A fresh impact left this 30-meter-wide crater on Mars, imaged by HiRISE in Nov. 2013 (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona )

A fresh impact left this 30-meter-wide crater on Mars, imaged by HiRISE in Nov. 2013 (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona )
When large asteroids or comets strike the Earth — as they have countless times throughout our planet’s history — the energy released in the event creates an enormous amount of heat, enough to briefly melt rock and soil at the impact site. That molten material quickly cools, trapping organic material and bits of plants and preserving them inside fragments of glass for tens of thousands, even millions of years.

Researchers studying impact debris on Earth think that the same thing could very well have happened on Mars, and that any evidence for ancient life on the Red Planet might be found by looking inside the glass.

(...)


Posted by Nelio Inacio at 6:00 PM 0 comments

The Planets in Our Solar System in Order of Size

The Planets in Our Solar System in Order of Size:

A montage of planets and other objects in the solar system. Credit: NASA/JPL

A montage of planets and other objects in the solar system. Credit: NASA/JPL
If you’re interested in planets, the good news is there’s plenty of variety to choose from in our own solar system. From the ringed beauty of Saturn, to the massive hulk of Jupiter, to the lead-melting temperatures on Venus, each planet in our solar system is unique — with its own environment and own story to tell about the history of our Solar System.

What also is amazing is the sheer size difference of planets. While humans think of Earth as a large planet, in reality it is dwarfed by the massive gas giants lurking at the outer edges of our Solar System. This article explores the planets in order of size, with a bit of context as to how they got that way.

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Read the rest of The Planets in Our Solar System in Order of Size (811 words)




Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:58 PM 0 comments

How Far Are The Planets From The Sun?

How Far Are The Planets From The Sun?:

Artist's impression of the planets in our solar system, along with the Sun (at bottom). Credit: NASA

Artist’s impression of the planets in our solar system, along with the Sun (at bottom). Credit: NASA
The eight planets in our solar system each occupy their own orbits around the Sun. They orbit the star in ellipses, which means their distance to the sun varies depending on where they are in their orbits. When they get closest to the Sun, it’s called perihelion, and when it’s farthest away, it’s called aphelion.

So to talk about how far the planets are from the sun is a difficult question, not only because their distances constantly change, but also because the spans are so immense — making it hard for a human to grasp. For this reason, astronomers often use a term called astronomical unit, representing the distance from the Earth to the Sun.

The table below (first created by Universe Today founder Fraser Cain in 2008) shows all the planets and their distance to the Sun, as well as how close these planets get to Earth.

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Read the rest of How Far Are The Planets From The Sun? (552 words)




Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:57 PM 0 comments

How Far Is A Light Year in Miles Or Kilometers?

How Far Is A Light Year in Miles Or Kilometers?:

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this vivid image of spiral galaxy Messier 77 — a galaxy in the constellation of Cetus, some 45 million light-years away from us. The streaks of red and blue in the image highlight pockets of star formation along the pinwheeling arms, with dark dust lanes stretching across the galaxy’s starry centre. The galaxy belongs to a class of galaxies known as Seyfert galaxies, which have highly ionised gas surrounding an intensely active centre. Credit: NASA, ESA & A. van der Hoeven

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this vivid image of spiral galaxy Messier 77 — a galaxy in the constellation of Cetus, some 45 million light-years away from us. The streaks of red and blue in the image highlight pockets of star formation along the pinwheeling arms, with dark dust lanes stretching across the galaxy’s starry centre. The galaxy belongs to a class of galaxies known as Seyfert galaxies, which have highly ionised gas surrounding an intensely active centre. Credit: NASA, ESA & A. van der Hoeven
We hope you have a big suitcase if you’re planning a trip across the cosmos. At the speed of light — a speed that no technology yet can achieve — it would take you about four years to get to the Alpha Centauri star system, the nearest group to our own. Zipping to the nearest galaxy, the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, would take you about 25,000 light-years.

As the phrase “light year” implies, that’s the distance that light travels in a year. It’s as fast as anything can travel, at least as best as we can understand it. Sometimes referred to as a “cosmic speed limit“, going as fast as light (or even faster) is impossible for a physical object, according to Albert Einstein’s measurements a century ago. As you get faster and faster, he showed, your mass increases to infinity. But there’s still discussion around that.

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Read the rest of How Far Is A Light Year in Miles Or Kilometers? (537 words)




Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:57 PM 0 comments

How Many Moons Does Venus Have?

How Many Moons Does Venus Have?:

A radar view of Venus taken by the Magellan spacecraft, with some gaps filled in by the Pioneer Venus orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL

A radar view of Venus taken by the Magellan spacecraft, with some gaps filled in by the Pioneer Venus orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL
There are dozens upon dozens of moons in the Solar System, ranging from airless worlds like Earth’s Moon to those with an atmosphere (most notably, Saturn’s Titan). Jupiter and Saturn have many moons each, and even Mars has a couple of small asteroid-like ones. But what about Venus, the planet that for a while, astronomers thought about as Earth’s twin?

The answer is no moons at all. That’s right, Venus (and the planet Mercury) are the only two planets that don’t have a single natural moon orbiting them. Figuring out why is one question keeping astronomers busy as they study the Solar System.

(...)
Read the rest of How Many Moons Does Venus Have? (419 words)




Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:56 PM 0 comments

Views of Earth From Space on Earth Day 2014

Views of Earth From Space on Earth Day 2014:

NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured this stunning view of the Americas on Earth Day, April 22, 2014 at 11:45 UTC/7:45 a.m. EDT. The data from GOES-East was made into an image by the NASA/NOAA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Credit: NASA/NOAA.

NOAA’s GOES-East satellite captured this stunning view of the Americas on Earth Day, April 22, 2014 at 11:45 UTC/7:45 a.m. EDT. The data from GOES-East was made into an image by the NASA/NOAA GOES Project at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Credit: NASA/NOAA.
It’s been said that one of the reasons Earth Day was started back in 1970 was because of the images of Earth from space taken during the Apollo missions to the Moon. So, what better way to celebrate than to see how Earth looks today from space?

NOAA’s GOES-East satellite captured this stunning view of the Americas on Earth Day, April 22, 2014 at 11:45 UTC/7:45 a.m. EDT.

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The Inner and Outer Planets in Our Solar System

The Inner and Outer Planets in Our Solar System:

Artist's impression of the solar system showing the inner planets (Mercury to Mars), the outer planets (Jupiter to Neptune) and beyond. Credit: NASA

Artist’s impression of the solar system showing the inner planets (Mercury to Mars), the outer planets (Jupiter to Neptune) and beyond. Credit: NASA
In our Solar System, astronomers often divide the planets into two groups — the inner planets and the outer planets. The inner planets are closer to the Sun and are smaller and rockier. The outer planets are further away, larger and made up mostly of gas.

The inner planets (in order of distance from the sun, closest to furthest) are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. After an asteroid belt comes the outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The interesting thing is, in some other planetary systems discovered, the gas giants are actually quite close to the sun.

This makes predicting how our Solar System formed an interesting exercise for astronomers. Conventional wisdom is that the young Sun blew the gases into the outer fringes of the Solar System and that is why there are such large gas giants there. However, some extrasolar systems have “hot Jupiters” that orbit close to their Sun.

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Saturn at Opposition: Our 2014 Guide

Saturn at Opposition: Our 2014 Guide:

Saturn as imaged from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico on April 15th. Credit: Efrain Morales.

Saturn as imaged from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico on April 15th. Credit: Efrain Morales.
Planet lovers can rejoice: one of the finest jewels of the solar system in returning to the evening night sky.

The planet Saturn reaches opposition next month on May 10th. This means that as the Sun sets to the west, Saturn will rise “opposite” to it in the east, remaining well positioned for observation in the early evening hours throughout the summer season. In fact, we’ll have four of the five naked eye planets above the horizon at once for our evening viewing pleasure in the month of May, as Jupiter also rides high to the west at sunset, Mars just passed opposition last month and Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation on May 25th. Venus is the solitary holdout, spending a majority of 2014 in the dawn sky.(...)
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Posted by Nelio Inacio at 5:55 PM 0 comments

How Many Moons Does Saturn Have?

How Many Moons Does Saturn Have?:

A collage of Saturn (bottom left) and some of its moons: Titan, Enceladus, Dione, Rhea and Helene. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

A collage of Saturn (bottom left) and some of its moons: Titan, Enceladus, Dione, Rhea and Helene. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Saturn’s moons have such a variety of environments between them that you’d be forgiven for wanting to spend an entire mission just looking at its satellites. From the orangy, hazy Titan to the icy plumes emanating from Enceladus, studying Saturn’s system gives us plenty of things to think about.

Not only that, the moon discoveries keep on coming. As of April 2014, there are 62 known satellites of Saturn (excluding its spectacular rings, of course). Fifty-three of those worlds are named. While this sounds like a large number of satellites, there’s another planet that has even more — Jupiter, with 67 to its name.

Most of these moons are pretty small ones, just a few miles across, but on the other hand there are larger ones such as the moon Titan. Below are descriptions of some of the more prominent moons.

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