Feb 7, 2019 Capacitance, resistance, and induction power the Sun. What are stars? And, by extension, what is the Sun? Consensus opinions state that the Sun is composed of elements formed in the Big Bang; other elements created in dying stars; and elements formed in supernovae explosions. Primordial hydrogen and…
It has been one of the greatest surprises of the Space Age – powerful magnetic fields pervade the cosmos. Mainstream astronomers and astrophysicists do indeed acknowledge pervasive cosmic magnetism, but they did NOT predict it, and the realization has come begrudgingly. In this episode, we explore why powerful magnetic fields…
Feb 6, 2019 There is supposed to be a supermassive black hole in the core of the Milky Way that is tearing stars apart. Black holes cannot be directly seen, but astrophysicists continue to maintain that they exist because of their putative effects. They assume that matter can accelerate and…
Feb 5, 2019 Are blazars close-by and not far away? Twin lobes of gamma-rays extending beyond the Milky Way’s central bulge highlighted a previous Picture of the Day. The formations, each about 65,000 light-years in diameter, are a sign that Birkeland currents form z-pinches in galactic plasmas. Electromagnetic fields accelerate…
Feb 4, 2019 Dark, opaque structures are common in the Universe. The Interstellar Medium (ISM), through which the Solar System and all other star systems are moving, is mostly hydrogen and helium. Dust particles, a combination of carbon and silicates, account for about 1% of the ISM. Those particles are,…
The latest image released by NASA’s New Horizons mission of the Kuiper Belt object nicknamed Ultima Thule reveals several intriguing features. These include what appears to be an improbably huge crater, which likely would have destroyed the object if it was caused by an impacting object. In this episode, Wal…
Feb 1, 2019 Io’s rotation creates radiation that is 1000 times stronger than is needed to kill an unprotected human being. “Io is the same size as our moon. And should be a cold dead world. Yet our first glimpses of Io revealed it seething with heat, alive with volcanic activity…Something else…
Jan 31. 2019 Cold gas does not give birth to stars. “A very great vision is needed, and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky.”— Crazy Horse The Eagle nebula is located in the constellation Serpens, approximately 7000 light-years away, as…
Jan 30, 2019 Plasma is the fourth state of matter. “Without electricity, the air would rot.”— Ralph Waldo Emerson By definition, “plasma” means that electrons are stripped from atomic nuclei, so they can move within a material. This happens because electron orbital dynamics are overcome by thermal or other energy…
Jan 29, 2019 Planetary nebulae sometimes reveal bifurcated jets emanating from their interior stars. More often than not, those jets reveal an indication of helical shapes. Common astronomical theories propose that red giant stars expand because they “burn” most of their primordial hydrogen, and begin consuming the helium that was…
