Space and astronomy news
The gas (and ice) giant known as Uranus is a fascinating place. The seventh planet from out Sun, Uranus is the third-largest in terms of size, the fourth-largest in terms of mass, and one of the least dense objects in our Solar System. And interestingly enough, it is the only planet in the Solar System …
[/caption]In an effort to understand how organic chemicals might survive after a period in the vacuum of space and then violent re-entry through the atmosphere, scientists have uncovered some interesting results. Last year, the ESA/Russian Foton-M3 mission was launched to test the effects of microgravity on various biological samples. However, a sample of Orkney rock …
Continue reading “Meteorites Could Preserve Evidence of Alien Life”
[/caption] While Jupiter and Saturn are mostly composed of hydrogen and helium, the ice giant Uranus is much different. Instead, it is mostly composed of various ices, like water, ammonia and methane. The mass of Uranus is roughly 14.5 times the mass of the Earth. Astronomers think that between 9.3 and 13.5 Earth masses of …
[/caption] We’ve all wondered at some point or another what mysteries our Solar System holds. After all, the eight planets (plus Pluto and all those other dwarf planets) orbit within a very small volume of the heliosphere (the volume of space dominated by the influence of the Sun), what’s going on in the rest of …
A debate today between astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson and planetary scientist Mark Sykes, moderated by NPR’s Ira Flatow, addressed the issue of Pluto’s planetary status. There was lots of arm-waving and finger-pointing, endless interruptions, disagreements on details big and small, and battling one-liners. The two scientists sat at a table with the moderator between them …
Continue reading “Tyson and Sykes Duke Out the Great Planet Debate; Flatow Almost Flattened”
[/caption] If you thought Pluto was going quietly and giving up its planetary status without a fight, think again. Leading astronomers have spoken out against the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decision to classify the dwarf planet as a “Plutoid,” described by some critics as a “celestial underclass.” The IAU decision was made after it was …
[/caption] The European Space Agency’s COROT spacecraft has discovered an unusual exoplanet orbiting a star slightly more massive than our Sun. The planet, currently called COROT-exo-4b, is about the same size as Jupiter, and it takes 9.2 days to orbit its star. Most peculiar however, is that the planet and the star are in sync: …
Continue reading “Unusual Exoplanet Dances in Sync With Its Sun-Like Star”
Over the weeks we’ve taken a look at some very curious objects which have often raised some wonderful questions. One such question dealt with what could be observed should a supernova event involve a planetary system. In this case, it’s not quite the explosive mass destruction scenario – but a planetary nebula that consumed its …
Continue reading “Cosmic Mystery: NGC 7008 by Dietmar Hager”
Scientist know that Saturn is made up of 96% hydrogen and 3% helium with a few other elements thrown in. What they have never been able to confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt is the answer to does Saturn have a solid core. According to the core accretion theory, the most widely accepted theory …
The Solar System’s outer reaches still contain many minor planets yet to be discovered. Ever since the search for Planet X began in the early 20th Century, the possibility of a hypothetical planet orbiting the Sun beyond the Kuiper Belt has fuelled many Doomsday theories and speculation that Planet X is actually the Sun’s long …