Space and astronomy news
[/caption] Let’s compare and contrast the two most different planets in the Solar System, Mercury and Jupiter. Of course, you probably know that Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System while Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System. First, let’s just take a look at the physical measurements of Jupiter and …
[/caption] When you look up into the sky, if you are lucky, you see shining stars on a field of blue-black. Not all of these objects are stars though. Venus, which can be seen with the unaided eye from Earth, is the brightest planet in our Solar System. Venus was given the nickname evening star and …
[/caption] Want to know about the atmospheres of planets around other stars, and the stars themselves? Start at home. A pair of papers in this week’s issue of Nature is advocating continued studies of both lunar eclipses, when the Moon transits Earth’s shadow, and solar eclipses — when the Moon comes directly between Earth and …
Continue reading “Lunar, Solar Eclipses Hold Secrets to Other Worlds”
[/caption] Compared to Earth, Mercury doesn’t have much of an atmosphere. The smallest rocky planet has weak surface gravity, only 38% that of Earth. And the scorching-hot daytime surface temperatures of 800 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 450 degrees Celsius) should have boiled away any trace of Mercury’s atmosphere long ago. Yet recent flybys of the MESSENGER …
Continue reading “How Magnetic Tornadoes Might Regenerate Mercury’s Atmosphere”
Celestial impacts can bring life as well as wipe it out, say the authors of a new study out of the University of Colorado at Boulder. A case in point: the bombardment of Earth nearly 4 billion years ago by asteroids as large as Kansas would not have had the firepower to extinguish potential early …
Continue reading “A Benevolent Sort of Asteroid Bombardment?”
Astronomers are announcing a newly discovered exoplanet in the habitable zone of its star, and another one — in the same system — that’s just twice the size of Earth. The Gliese 581 planetary system now has four known planets, with masses of about 1.9 (planet e, left in the foreground), 16 (planet b, nearest …
Continue reading “Nearly Earth-sized Planet, Possible Watery World Spotted Near Another Star”
[/caption] On April 7th, commands were sent to NASA’s exoplanet-hunting Kepler telescope to eject the 1.3×1.7 metre lens cap so the unprecedented mission could begin its hunt for Earth-like alien worlds orbiting distant stars. However, one UK astronomer won’t be using the Kepler data to detect the faint transits of rocky exoplanets in front of …
Continue reading “Kepler Will Be Used to Measure the Size of the Universe”
[/caption]The cosmos is a very big place, how do you begin the search for exoplanets orbiting other stars? Astronomers have a few tricks up their sleeves to work out how to spot these tiny specks of distant alien worlds. Astronomers can look for the gravitational “wobble” of a star as a massive exoplanet tugs on …
Continue reading “Looking For Extraterrestrials Looking At Us”
[/caption] When Mars and Jupiter migrated to their present orbits around 4 billion years ago, they left scars in the asteroids belt that are still visible today. The evidence is unveiled in a new paper in this week’s issue of the journal Nature, by planetary scientists David Minton and Renu Malhotra from the University of …
Continue reading “Jupiter, Saturn Plowed Through Asteroids, Study Says”
[/caption] The CoRoT satellite has found the smallest terrestrial exoplanet yet, — with a diameter just under twice that of Earth — complete with a rocky surface you could walk on and possibly even oceans to sail across. However, if you traveled there, you might want to bring some protection, as the temperature of this …
Continue reading “Smallest Terrestrial Exoplanet Yet Detected”