Mars Express, the first planetary mission of the European Space Agency, was sent to the Red Planet in 2003. It sent a lander down to the surface, and although it failed to fully deploy , the orbiter has been taking pictures and mapping the surface ever since. It has produced high-resolution mineralogical maps, radar soundings of permafrost, and probing the composition of the atmosphere.
Its images, now released for general use, show the dramatic landscapes of Mars, sculpted by ancient volcanoes, water flows, and the scouring action of dust storms. Now we an revel in these cinematic images and imagine what it’s like to fly over the surface of Mars.
This is the story of a discovery made on St. Patrick’s Day, 2015. We learned just how much Mars is at the mercy of our sun. During a solar outburst that hit Mars that day, the NASA spacecraft Maven measured an accelerated loss of molecules in its upper atmosphere.
In its early days, Mars appears to have had enough surface water to cover the entire planet to a depth of 140 meters, and an atmosphere that was thick enough to hold it there. But a more active sun in those days began a long slow process of steadily eroding the Martian air and sending it out into space. The water dried up, and whatever life forms had developed had no chance to thrive and evolve on the surface.
Among the methods astronomers have used to discover extra solar planets, the most successful is a technique called transit photometry. It measures changes in a star’s brightness caused when a planet crosses in front of its star along our line of sight.
Astronomers using NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope have employed this technique to become the most successful planet-hunting spacecraft to date, with more than a thousand established discoveries and many more awaiting confirmation. Future missions carrying improved technology are now in the works.
How much can they tell us about alien planetary systems similar to our own?A great deal, according to a recently published study. It shows that in the best-case scenarios, these upcoming missions could uncover planetary moons, ringed worlds similar to Saturn, and even large collections of asteroids.
NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has used this technique to become the most successful planet-hunting spacecraft to date, with more than a thousand established discoveries and many more awaiting confirmation. Missions carrying improved technology are now planned, but how much more can they tell us about alien planetary systems similar to our own?
A great deal, according to recently published studies by Michael Hippke at the Institute for Data Analysis in Neukirchen-Vluyn, Germany, Continue reading Finding Earth’s Twin→
From Hubblecast. Using images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ESO’s Very Large Telescope, astronomers have discovered unique and totally unexpected structures within the dusty disc around the star AU Microscopii. These fast-moving wave-like features are unlike anything ever observed, or even predicted. What are they, and what do they tell us about the restless early years of a solar system in the making?
Dr. Robert Stein, professor of Physics and Astronomy at Michigan State Universe has long envisioned a day when he could use supercomputer programs to “see” through the roiling surface of the sun and glimpse its dynamic interior. He describes his quest and offers ideas about what drives the violent outbursts known as coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, known to disrupt the electrical systems that power our civilization.
What are the odds of life on planets orbiting nearby stars? Scientists, wielding sensitive new telescopes and “big data” tools, have detected planets around thousands of stars; some Sun-like and some very different from our star. Many newly discovered “exoplanets” lie in “habitable zones,” where liquid water may support the chemistry that enables biology. How will astronomers discover if we have company in the cosmos…and where they live?
Narrator: Perry Anne Norton
Writer / Director: @DavidSkyBrody
Executive Producer: Thomas Lucas
A startling collision in an ancient galaxy slews Earth’s largest telescopes to a spot in the Hydra constellation. Two rapidly spinning neutron stars have violently merged to form a possible black hole. And, for the first time, astronomers see its electromagnetic flash and hear its gravitational thunder as they watch new elements being born.
Narrator: Perry Anne Norton
Writer / Director: @DavidSkyBrody
Executive Producer: Thomas Lucas
There is a strand in contemporary astronomy that aims to survey and map the universe on larger and larger scales, going all the way back to the beginning of time. In this video, Josh Frieman, Director of the Dark Energy Survey and Astrophysics Professor at the University of Chicago, describes the promise these projects hold for understanding the hidden dynamic of the cosmos, including the identity and influence of Dark Matter and Dark Energy, and whether Albert Einstein’s theories are correct.
As the Cassini-Huygens mission winds down to its Grand Finale, we recognize it as one of the greatest voyages of discovery in the history of science. We have learned and discovered more things about a previously unknown dynamic system–a system that’s a billion miles from us: the Saturn system–than we ever could have imagined.
One of the pinnacles of that has been the discoveries on Titan. Titan has turned out to be a very complex world. It has geology. It has methane rain. It has lakes and seas. It has dunes of organic molecules. And it has a lot more secrets that it’s still hiding from us. I think that really what makes people so excited about Titan is this combination of familiarity and alienness.
After dumping tens of trillions of gallons of water on Texas, Hurricane Harvey swamped millions out of their homes. No one was spared: Black, White, Asian, Latino, Rich, Poor, and scraping by. The men and women of the Armed Services led battalions of volunteers who set to work with only one thought in mind: I Will Rescue You. The expressions on faces tell stories ranging from quiet heroism, to despair and profound relief.
