Nov 22, 2013 Observations suggest that cosmic rays are not produced by supernova explosions. Cosmic rays are ionized particles, or fragmented atoms. Electrons are stripped from atoms, leaving them free to move, with positively charged nuclei remaining. The majority of cosmic rays are single protons (hydrogen ions), but uranium…
Nov 21, 2013 Structures on Mars that resemble Earth’s hydrothermal vents or eroded mounds have sparked renewed interest in water flowing over the Red Planet. Mounds on Mars are thought to be the remains of ancient hydrothermal vents because they have a similar appearance to fossilized “mound springs” in the Australian Outback, so…
Nov 20, 2013 If distance calculations based on redshift are inaccurate, what does that mean for the consensus opinion about the age or the size of the Universe? In the 1960s astronomers discovered quasi-stellar objects, better known as quasars. They have extremely large redshifts, implying that they are located…
Nov 19, 2013 How big is the Universe? How old is it? Today, cosmology is dominated by the Big Bang theory. The theory’s major premise is that there was once a void containing no matter, no space, and no time. For some reason not explained by the scientists who…
Nov 18, 2013 Elongated craters on the Moon are said to come from “grazing impactors.” In one of the earliest Pictures of the Day by the late Amy Acheson, the question was asked, how do you make a crater? When astronomers began to observe the Moon centuries ago, the…
Nov 15, 2013 A Neptune Year has Passed. The planet Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun. Neptune’s mean diameter is approximately 49,250 kilometers, with a mean orbital radius of 4,503,443,661 kilometers, and a year of 164.79 Earth years. Neptune is a massive planet, with an…
Nov 14, 2013 A University of Michigan press release announces “warped space-time” around a so-called “neutron star”. Could electricity provide a better explanation? The smeared lines of an iron spectrum have given NASA and University of Michigan astronomers another mystery to solve when it comes to explaining the universe. Using the…
Nov 13, 2013 New images of the third largest asteroid reveal etched chasms and deep holes. The Dawn mission continues in orbit around Vesta. Vesta is ranked high among minor planets, with Pallas (531 kilometers) and Ceres (952 kilometers) as its larger cousins. Ceres is also part of the…
Nov 12, 2013 Triton is one of the most mysterious objects in the solar system, with plumes of nitrogen spewing from frozen “geysers” near its south pole. Of Neptune’s thirteen satellites, all but one are irregular in shape and mostly rock and ice. Triton is farthest out and is much larger than…
Nov 11, 2013 Where did the extremely rarified atmosphere on Rhea come from? Relative to Saturn, Rhea is most likely negatively charged. Saturn’s powerful opposite charge is probably initiating an electric discharge, causing the water in Rhea’s icy surface to dissociate, so the presence of oxygen around the moon is…
