May 24, 2012 Gamma-rays are said to be particles with no mass, yet possessed of extreme momentum. According to a recent press release, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has detected several unidentified sources of intense gamma-ray emissions that are not … Continue reading →

May 23, 2012 One of the largest “active galaxies” is thought to be powered by a supermassive black hole. Electrical energy is a more likely driving force. A recent press release from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) announces that the … Continue reading →

May 18, 2012 A galaxy-wide filament connects two galactic clusters. The Herschel Space Observatory possesses the largest mirror ever launched into space: 3.5 meters in diameter. Herschel entered orbit around LaGrange point L2 (behind Earth in relation to the Sun) … Continue reading →

May 17, 2012 Do the features on Europa indicate subsurface lakes? I care not what the sailors say: All those dreadful thunder-stones, All that storm that blots the day Can but show that Heaven yawns; Great Europa played the fool … Continue reading →

May 16, 2012 Recent analyses suggest that Saturn’s moon Phoebe resembles a planet. Saturn’s moon Phoebe is comparatively small, roughly 220 kilometers in diameter. Its surface gravity is 0.224m/s^2, compared to the 9m/s^2 on Earth. Phoebe is also as black … Continue reading →

May 14, 2012 After a long winter, the Mars Exploration Rover B is starting to roll through the Martian terrain. The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity has been traveling across the face of the Red Planet since Sunday, January 5, … Continue reading →

May 10, 2012 Neptune is the Solar System’s most remote planet. What drives its extraordinary winds? The winds on Jupiter average about 400 kilometers per hour, with the fastest streaming around the Great Red Spot at 635 kilometers per hour. On Saturn, … Continue reading →

 May 9, 2012 Is this Algerian crater the result of an asteroid impact? Previous Picture of the Day articles have taken up the question of cratering on planets and moons. In the larger sense, that of the Solar System as … Continue reading →

May 08, 2012 Dione exhibits some unusual features that may indicate electrical forces at work. Recently, the Cassini-Solstice spacecraft made a close flyby of the moon Enceladus. As the Picture of the Day from May 3, 2012 discussed, the bright … Continue reading →

May 07, 2012 Uranus recently erupted with a new bright region in its lower latitudes. Could electrical effects be responsible? The planet Uranus revolves around the Sun at a mean orbital radius of 2,870,990,000 kilometers, 19 times as far as … Continue reading →