Apr 12, 2012 Planetary scientists admit that the central mound in Gale crater was not created by crustal rebound. On November 6, 2011 NASA launched the Mars Science Laboratory rover, otherwise known as “Curiosity.” The new rover will touch down inside the 154 kilometer wide Gale crater on August 6,…
Apr 11, 2012 Black hole theory contradicts itself. Most astrophysicists try to explain narrow jets erupting from various sources by using words like “nozzle” or “high pressure,” contradicting the known behavior of gases in a vacuum. For example, according to a recent press release, “flares” have been discovered jetting from a…
Apr 09, 2012 Million-degree plasma in the Orion Nebula comes not from the kinetic excitation of cold gas, but from the electric currents of space. For many years astrophysical theories of stellar and galactic development have been relegated to the processes of mechanical action. Everything we see and all the…
Apr 05, 2012 Lunar colonization awaits a benefit that exceeds the cost. A recent Picture of the Day article discussed the new GRAIL mission to the Moon. Two satellites will orbit the Moon together, with a range-finding system that will detect gravity variations on the lunar surface. On September 14, 2007, the…
Apr 04, 2012 A European Southern Observatory study claims there are billions of rocky planets in the Milky Way. Human beings have wondered about other planets for centuries. “Are we alone?” is probably one of the earliest questions after “where do we come from?” According to a recent publication from…
Apr 3, 2012 The Milky Way is connected to the rest of the Universe. According to a recent press release, astronomers have found “…evidence for the cosmic thread that connects us to the vast expanse of the Universe.” By examining the positions of dwarf galaxies and globular clusters around our…
Mar 30, 2012 Astrophysicists are beginning to acknowledge the role that electricity plays in space. The Cassini-Huygens mission (now called Cassini-Equinox) was launched from Cape Canaveral on October 15, 1997. Its primary mission is the exploration of the Saturnian system, including Saturn’s atmosphere, its rings, its magnetosphere and a number…
Mar 29, 2012 What drives star formation in various nebulae? Australian astronomer Colin Stanley Gum compiled an extensive catalog of nebulae before his death in 1960. A Study of Diffuse Southern H-alpha Nebulae comprises 85 images that reveal intense activity within a variety of objects and structures embedded in them: extreme ultraviolet and X-ray…
March 28, 2012 Are the bright crater rims and striations on Vesta the mark of discharge “vents”? Are asteroids and comets close cousins in the Solar System’s family? Comets are usually called “dirty snowballs” in the scientific press, although missions like Giotto and Deep Impact observed them to be blackened,…
Mar 27, 2012 Could an ocean of liquid water exist on Europa? According to a recent press release, “Sending a submarine to the bottom of the ocean on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa is the most exciting potential mission in planetary science…” Is it a forlorn hope? Europa is the fourth…
