Note: The Picture of the Day will be on hiatus until December 26, 2018. In the interim, please enjoy these articles from the archive. Dec 19, 2018 More evidence for the Electric Star theory. Betelgeuse is one of the largest stars in the observable Universe. If it were in the…
Dec 18, 2018 Nebulae are not what you may think they are. The prevailing opinion about planetary nebulae is that they are created when shockwaves “blow” through them. Those shockwaves are said to be “winds” from exploding stars. In some cases, a nebula might be described as “star forming”,…
Dec 17, 2018 Stone spheres are found all over the world. Stone spheres were worshipped by some past civilizations, especially if they dropped out of the sky. They were often placed on plinths and were thought to be messengers from heaven. People in Greece, Rome, Arabia, and many other locations,…
2018 has witnessed the deepening of an ongoing astronomical mystery. Last year, we reported on the discovery of the first asteroid which is believed to have originated from outside the solar system. The possible interstellar traveler called Oumuamua has challenged astronomers to explain its origins and nature. Debates have raged…
Dec 14, 2018 Jupiter is the king of planets. On August 5, 2011 NASA launched the Juno spacecraft. After a five-year flight, Juno entered orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016. Jupiter is so large that all of the other planets could fit inside its 1.77 X 10^15 cubic kilometer…
Dec 13, 2018 Matter in the plasma state is electrically active. According to a recent press release, collimated jets result from matter falling into the putative gravity field of a black hole. As stellar matter orbits closer, it is said to accelerate, causing violent collisions among the jet particles,…
Dec 12, 2018 How did the uncountable numbers of iron oxide spherules form on Mars? The Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity rolled across the face of Mars for many years. Opportunity was launched on July 7, 2003. After a six month journey, it bounced to a landing inside a…
Dec 11, 2018 Dark theories challenged again. “It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien Previous Picture of the…
Dec 10, 2018 “Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.” — Erasmus Previous Picture of the day articles take issue with the theory of dark matter. Astronomers think that an undetectable kind of matter must exist in space, because stars on the edges of spiral galaxies revolve with…
A new scientific paper attempts to explain a mystery at our planet’s South Pole. A team of investigators from the British Antarctic Survey discovered a localized area where the Antarctic Ice sheet is melting “unexpectedly quickly.” Using radar, they found that some of the ice in a three kilometer thick…
