Dec 30, 2015 Different classes of celestial bodies orbit the Sun. In the deepest regions of the solar system, billions of kilometers from the Sun, are several asteroid-sized icy rocks that are difficult for astronomers to classify. In a previous Picture of the Day article about Kuiper Belt Objects,…
A fundamental theoretical difference between traditional solar physics/astronomy and plasma physics is introduced. The Standard Model holds that magnetic field lines move or merge and frequently break and reconnect. Many solar physicists claim magnetic reconnection is responsible for enormous energetic outbursts like solar flares. Conventional astronomers also state that magnetic…
Dec 29, 2015 Why some stars shed their atmospheres is a mystery. For many years, astrophysical models of stellar evolution have relied on mechanical action. The forces that shape the stars are attributed to the collapse of cold gas under gravitational influence. Common viewpoints see stars as whirling vortices of…
Dec 28, 2015 Interpreting observations should include an electrical perspective. According to a recent press release, astronomers discovered a galactic filament extending outward from galaxy CGCG254-021 on a scale never before observed. As the announcement states: “This ribbon, or X-ray tail, is likely due to gas stripped from the…
Recent science news headlines have proclaimed that the intriguing mystery of the bright spots on the dwarf planet Ceres has been resolved. According to a paper recently published in the journal Nature, investigators with NASA’s DAWN mission have ruled out that the source of the bright spots is ice, and…
Dec 25, 2015 Editor’s Note: The Picture of the Day will be enjoying a brief hiatus over the holidays, returning December 28. Lights on a Christmas tree depend on electric power. So do the lights in space. The Christmas Tree cluster contains about 40 stars and lies in…
Dec 24, 2015 Kuhn’s 1962 essay (The Structure of Scientific Revolutions) exploring the nature of changes in scientific theories, and a plethora of commentaries since, have made it out to be a Big Deal and to be also somewhat mysterious: “revolution”, “incommensurability of paradigms”, “new world”, etc. It seems to…
In recent years, Dr. Franklin Anariba, a specialist in electrochemistry at Singapore Universe of Technology and Design, has investigated the evidence for electrochemical reactions on comets. In this video compilation of 5 recent interviews, Dr. Anariba analyzes the latest papers from the Rosetta mission, which provide stunning, direct evidence for…
Dec 23, 2015 Uranus is like the other gas giants. Uranus is 50,724 kilometers in diameter at the equator, although its equator is tilted almost 90 degrees past horizontal when compared to other planets in the Solar System. Most of them are tilted no more than 24 degrees past…
Dec 22, 2015 Something near M82 started sending out powerful radio waves more than five years ago and has been holding steady ever since. Energy emissions in radio wavelengths are shining from somewhere near galaxy M82, otherwise known as the Cigar Galaxy. The fact that nothing like them had ever…
