Strictly speaking, there aren’t strict boundaries between Earth and space. Our atmosphere doesn’t just end at a certain altitude; it peters out gradually. A new study from Russia’s Space Research Institute (SRI) shows that our atmosphere extends out to 630,000 km into space.
Continue reading “Did You Know the Earth’s Atmosphere Extends Beyond the Orbit of the Moon?”This is a Dust Devil… on Mars
We live in a time when our spacecraft orbiting Mars at an altitude of about 300 km. can snap photos of a dust devil and transmit them back to us so we can share them on the internet. Not only that, but we have rovers wandering around on the surface taking pictures of the dust storms, too. Big deal, you say? So what, you say?
You’re dead inside.
Continue reading “This is a Dust Devil… on Mars”This Star Has Been Going Nova Every Year, for Millions of Years
A nova star is like a vampire that siphons gas from its binary partner. As it does so, the gas is compressed and heated, and eventually it explodes. The remnant gas shell from that explosion expands outward and is lit up by the stars at the center of it all. Most of these novae explode about once every 10 years.
But now astrophysicists have discovered one remnant so large that the star that created it must have been erupting yearly for millions of years.
Continue reading “This Star Has Been Going Nova Every Year, for Millions of Years”We Hate Long Goodbyes, But Opportunity has Earned One
NASA’s Opportunity rover has reached the end of its life. Initially designed to last 90 days, and to travel only 1000 meters (1100 yards), the rover spent almost 15 years exploring the surface of Mars. During that time, it travelled more than 45 kilometers (28 miles.)
Continue reading “We Hate Long Goodbyes, But Opportunity has Earned One”InSight has Placed its Heat Probe on the Martian Surface. The Next Step is to Jackhammer Down 5 Meters and Hope it Doesn’t Encounter a Large Rock
NASA’s InSight lander has finally placed its heat probe on the surface of Mars. The Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) was deployed on February 12th, about one meter away from SEIS, the landers seismometer. Soon it’ll start hammering its way into the Martian soil.
Continue reading “InSight has Placed its Heat Probe on the Martian Surface. The Next Step is to Jackhammer Down 5 Meters and Hope it Doesn’t Encounter a Large Rock”Another Enormous Crater Found Under the Ice in Greenland
A glaciologist has discovered another enormous impact crater under more than a mile of ice in Greenland. This is on the heels of the November 2019 discovery of an impact crater in the same area under the Hiawatha Glacier. The November discovery was the first-ever crater found under ice on Earth.
Continue reading “Another Enormous Crater Found Under the Ice in Greenland”There’s Evidence that Mars is Still Volcanically Active
A new study shows that Mars may very well be volcanically active. Nobody’s seen direct evidence of volcanism; no eruptions or magma or anything like that. Rather, the proof is in the water.
Continue reading “There’s Evidence that Mars is Still Volcanically Active”Want to Move to Mars? A Round-Trip Ticket Will Only Cost $100,000 According to Elon Musk
Elon Musk just suggested that the price for a trip to Mars and back could be as low as $100,000. He added the qualifier that the price depends on volume. So it looks like the price is anything but astronomical.
Continue reading “Want to Move to Mars? A Round-Trip Ticket Will Only Cost $100,000 According to Elon Musk”Thanks to Gaia, We Now Know Exactly When We’ll be Colliding with Andromeda
Astronomers have known for some time that the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies will collide on some future date. The best guess for that rendezvous has been about 3.75 billion years from now. But now a new study based on Data Release 2 from the ESA’s Gaia mission is bringing some clarity to this future collision.
Continue reading “Thanks to Gaia, We Now Know Exactly When We’ll be Colliding with Andromeda”InSight Just Put a Windshield Over its Seismometer
NASA’s InSight lander arrived on Mars on November 26th, 2018. Since then, it’s been busying itself studying its landing spot, and taking its time to carefully place its instruments. It spent several weeks testing the seismometer and adjusting it, and now it’s placed the domed, protective shield over the instrument.
Continue reading “InSight Just Put a Windshield Over its Seismometer”