Jun 15, 2016 Stars do not age according to modern ideas. “It is reasonable to hope that in the not too distant future we shall be competent to understand so simple a thing as a star.” — Arthur Eddington, Astrophysicist T Tauri stars take their name from the original…
Jun 14, 2016 Electrical effects drive pulsars. When any charged particle follows a curved trajectory, or is accelerated in a straight-line, it will emit electromagnetic radiation, otherwise known as synchrotron radiation. Synchrotron radiation creates X-rays and gamma-rays, a phenomenon demonstrated in laboratory experiments. Gamma-rays are a class of theoretical “electromagnetic…
Jun 10, 2016 Does electricity energize the galaxies? In the cosmos there are regions where stars range in thousand light-year lines. Elsewhere, rings of stars can be found, along with galaxies stretching in filaments for enormous distances. The Milky Way contains over 200 billion stars in its spiral arms…
Jun 9, 2016 Astronomers see magnetism but not electricity. According to a recent press release from Princeton University’s Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPL), scientists working with dynamos (an abbreviation of the nineteenth century term, electric-dynamo) think they found clues to “an enduring mystery…how stars and galaxies acquire their magnetic fields.” As…
Jun 8, 2016 Supernova remnants align with the Milky Way. Recently, astronomers found a connection between what they refer to as supernova remnants (SR) and the rest of the galaxy. When data from several instruments was inserted into their computerized model-maker, it was found that bipolar SRs, in particular,…
May 7, 2016 Was Mars once warm and lush? NASA launched the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) on November 18, 2014 on a year-long investigation of Mars’ upper atmosphere, its ionosphere, and how it interacts with the solar wind. The spacecraft is fitted with instruments that are…
Jun 6, 2016 Are spiral galaxies really elliptical? Dr. Anthony L. Peratt, a plasma physicist and protégé of the Nobel laureate Hannes Alfvén, studied plasma formations in the laboratory for many years, monitoring short-duration z-pinch effects, as well as creating particle-in-cell animations using the best supercomputers available. He concluded that galaxies, rather…
Jun 3, 2016 Does tectonic activity form the mountains on Io over eons of time? South Boösaule Montes is approximately 18 kilometers high and covers 17,900 square kilometers, making it one of the tallest mountains in the Solar System. It happens to be located on Jupiter’s moon, Io. How did…
Jun 2, 2016 A star with a spot out of proportion to its size. According to a recent publication, “starspots” are seen on the surface of XX Trianguli, otherwise known as HD 12545. The puzzling aspect is that there is only one spot visible and it covers almost one-third…
Jun 1, 2016 Electricity is the active agent on Enceladus. A previous Picture of the Day announced that the Cassini space probe, currently orbiting Saturn, was about to fly through one of the plumes of vapor that erupt from the southern plains of its moon, Enceladus. Enceladus is a…
