May 25, 2017 The Sun is a mysterious force. NASA launched the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft on October 25, 2006 from Cape Canaveral. Its mission is to study the solar weather, including coronal mass ejections (CME) and solar flares. The twin STEREO satellites are in orbit around…
May 24, 2017 Brown dwarf stars are another class of stellar object that emit jets of material. A recent press release reports detecting a jet of material erupting from a brown dwarf star. A brown dwarf star earns its name because it is too small to sustain hydrogen fusion reactions…
May 23, 2017 Many phenomena could be due to something astronomers do not expect. Some things are familiar, even though they are not easily explained. The aurorae at each of Earth’s poles are familiar to most people, although the way they form is not completely understood. Similarly, lightning bolts…
The Summer Thermopile By Andrew Hall In a previous episode, we talked about Nature’s Electrode. . . how a cold plasma corona is the proper electronic model for lightning genesis, and how mechanisms for ionization in a thunderstorm work. Now let’s take in the bigger picture to get a more coherent…
Astronomers are still puzzling over the unprecedented discovery of an asteroid with its own ring system. The asteroid Chariklo, which is 250 kilometers in diameter, and orbits between Saturn and Uranus, displays two rings that are said to be similar in nature to those of Saturn. The leader of a…
May 19, 2017 Phenomena on Earth, as well as in deep space, share similar characteristics. “I have always believed that astrophysics should be the extrapolation of laboratory physics, that we must begin from the present Universe and work our way backward to progressively more remote and uncertain epochs.” —…
May 18, 2017 Crater chains do not necessarily indicate impact features. It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere. — Voltaire According to a recent press release, a new study finds that the grooves on Phobos “…are the result of debris ejected by impacts eventually falling…
May 17, 2017 Computer simulations cannot correctly model supernova explosions. Contemporary astrophysical models of stellar evolution rely on the mechanical action of cold gas collapsing from gravitational impetus. Stars are seen as whirling vortices of compressed matter heated to fusion temperatures by pressure, alone. Clouds of gas and dust a…
In this episode, Thunderbolts colleague Andrew Hall explores the evidence that lightning is the product of the electromagnetic circuitry connecting the earth and the Sun. On planet Earth, the most obvious and dramatic display of electricity in nature is lightning. But what causes lightning? Although there currently is a consensus…
May 16, 2017 Many smaller celestial objects are associated with the Milky Way. The Milky Way galaxy does not travel space, alone, it is accompanied by dozens of smaller galaxies with more diffuse and irregular structures. Conventional theories suggest that there are too few dwarf companions in orbit, as…
