Posts treating: "moons"
Thursday, 26 March 2015
Most folks are surprised to know that we have no idea what the surface of Pluto looks like. Even using the Hubble Telescope, we only see a bright star like image, but that is about to change this summer when the New Horizon’s spacecraft flies by it. We are sure to see some strange features on both Pluto and it’s moons. Would you like to help name them? I’ll tell
GeoLog-The official blog of the European Geosciences Union [2014-05-16 12:58:04]
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This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Cassini-Huygens mission to study Saturn and its moons. But what’s 10 years to us is only a fraction of the Saturnian calendar – in the decade we’ve been studying Saturn up close, the planet has only been through a third of its annual cycle. In that short
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has documented the formation of a small icy object within the rings of Saturn that may be a new moon, and may also provide clues to the formation of the planet’s known
I've been dabbling in astrophotography lately. I'm building a "barn-door" mount and also fitting a worm-drive motor to an old equatorial telescope mount. Some follow-up build info and explanations are in progress…
The Andromeda Galaxy and an airplane (300mm f/2.8)
Betelgeuse (300mm, f/2.8)
Jupiter, for moons and a star (300mm, f/2.8)
Orion (17mm, f/4.0)
Orion Nebula (420mm,
Earth isn't the only volcanic body in the solar system. For starters, Io, one of Jupiter's moons, has eruptions of epic
Futurelearn is a network of UK universities offering free online courses, and there is one coming up on Moons starting on 17th March, for 8 weeks - they estimate about 3 hours of study a week. Each week a series of lectures and/or articles is put up on the web, and you can access as and when you choose. There is a quiz at the end, but there is no requirement to do this - or indeed to do any parts that don't interest you. Visit the website for more
The joint NASA-ESA Cassini space probe, exploring Saturn and her moons, has revealed extraordinary lakes and seas of liquid methane around the north pole of Titan. Scientists associated with the Cassini mission described a strange rectangular area of large seas, picked out by imaging instruments aboard the probe. I heard all about it at the
By analyzing the distinctive cracks lining the icy face of Europa, NASA scientists found evidence that this moon of Jupiter likely spun around a tilted axis at some point.
This tilt could influence calculations of how much of Europa's history is recorded in its frozen shell, how much heat is generated by tides in its ocean, and even how long the ocean has been liquid.
"One of the
And only one of those have been touched by human feet and none within my
The International Astronomical Union has approved names for two recently discovered moons of Pluto. They will be named Kerberos and Styx, conforming with a requirement that their names be derived from Greek or Roman
It looks currently like it will miss by 110,000+ kilometers. Closer than the distance of Earth's Moon, but far, far out past Mars' moons.
In a way, I am disappointed. On the other hand, getting replacement hardware onto Mars would
There will be a University of Maryland geology departmental colloquium this week on Friday at 3:00pm in room PLS 1140 (Plant Science building). The speaker will be Dr. Simon Kattenhorn from the University of Idaho . He will present: Marvelous … Continue reading
Many moons ago, I was pleased to discover that one of my posts had been selected for inclusion in the latest iteration of the OpenLab anthology of online science writing. Also included from the Geoblogosphere was one of its most … Continue reading
Outcrop - The Blog of the Avon RIGS Group [2013-01-05 18:51:00]
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Mapping of Volcanic Terrains across the Solar SystemDr Ellen StofanOlympus Mons, Mars. Standing at 22km high (three times the height of Earth's own Mt Everest), it is the tallest volcano in the Solar System. Photo credit: European Space AgencyVenue: @Bristol (Anchor Road, Harbourside, Bristol, BS1 5DB - view map) Date: 8th January, 18.30 - 19.30 Location: Rosalind Franklin Room, At-Bristol Admission: Free, lecture suitable over 12s - booking necessary (Book Online Or phone 0845 [...]
Mapping the Volcanic Terrains across the Solar System 8th JanuaryDr. Ellen Stofan 6.30 - 7.30 p.m.Rosalind Franklin Room, At-BristolMany planets and moons of our solar system show evidence of volcanic eruptions. The early missions to the Moon, Mars, Venus and Mercury were truly missions of discovery, with great debates in the scientific community on the roles of impacts and volcanic eruptions in shaping their surfaces.Discover how these alien volcanic features are mapped and interpreted [...]
Tonight is a much publicized "supermoon,"a celestial event with the moon makes its annual closest approach to the earth and is opposite the sun giving a full moon.** The moon's orbit around the earth is elliptical, coming as close as 222,000 miles (perigee) and as far as 252,000 miles (apogee). It will appear bigger and brighter than other full moons. According to space.com, the moon will appear 14% larger and 30% brighter than other times of the year.The moon will appear most spectacular right [...]
Warm water may be just a few kilometers below the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa – and where there is warm water there could be life. Previous research has speculated the presence of bodies of warm water below other moons in our solar system that account for water jets and ice
A great many moons ago I put up a post with a (possibly laboured) analogy between memory and the fossil record. Prepare to be possibly enlightened with my next ‘great; brainwave – drawing parallels between music and evolution (and a little ecology). Music doubtless started off very simply and grew more complex over time. Various
ASA has selected three science investigations from which it will pick one potential 2016 mission to look at Mars' interior for the first time; study an extraterrestrial sea on one of Saturn's moons; or study in unprecedented detail the surface of a comet's nucleus. Each investigation team will receive $3 million to conduct its mission's concept phase or preliminary design studies and
An article on the New Scientist website explores the idea that Neptune and a super-Earth came into close proximity, allowing Neptune to steal one of the super-Earth’s moons. This might explain why Triton orbits Neptune in the opposite direction of its