Dione’s Dance

Dione crossing Saturn's ring plane

  Apr 17, 2013 Dione exhibits some unusual features that may indicate electrical forces at work. Recently, the Cassini-Solstice spacecraft made a close flyby of the moon Enceladus. As the Picture of the Day from May 3, 2012 discussed, the bright plumes emanating from the 500 kilometer moon are most…

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The Pioneer Anomaly

  Apr 16, 2013 Scientists have found a small but significant deceleration in the Pioneer spacecraft as it makes its way through interstellar space. For several years, NASA analysts have reported a slow but steady “tug” on the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft as they head outward in opposite directions from the…

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Galactic Superwinds

Apr 15, 2013 Radial filaments within galaxies identify them as plasma phenomena. “If a man does not know what port he is steering for, no wind is favorable to him.” — Seneca The irregular galaxy M82—otherwise known as the Cigar Galaxy—forms a pair with M81, Barnard’s Galaxy in the constellation…

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Island Universes

  Apr 10, 2013 Galactic magnetic fields were discovered more than 50 years ago. Astronomers continue to ask basic questions about galaxies: what generates their magnetic fields? What gives those fields their shape and their strength? Researchers using the latest computer simulations think they have found the answers. Cool gas…

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Pits and Chains

  Apr 09, 2013 Rather than volcanic vents, pits in craters could be a sign of electrical activity. On August 3, 2004, NASA launched the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) experiment from the Cape Canaveral facility on a 7-year mission to study the Solar System’s innermost planet. The last…

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Let it Rain

Apr 08, 2013 External electric flux influences Earth’s climate According to a recent press release, ten years of data analysis has revealed that cloud height changes over time in response to an electric field generated by “global thunderstorms”. Although Earth’s electric field is brought into the discussion, and the electric…

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Tiwanaku

  Apr 04, 2013 Did this ancient site experience a catastrophic end? Tiwanaku, or Tiahuanaco in Spanish, is a ruined citadel occupying almost 10 square kilometers in the Bolivian Andes at an altitude greater than 3800 meters. Carbon-14 dating methods suggest that the site is no more than 3700 years…

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