Clipmarks | Aribeth's 'space' clips

Could Jupiter wreck the solar system?

Sun, 04 May 2008 12:13:24 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: "So what's the likelihood Mercury could crash into the Earth? If it did, the asteroid that most likely wiped out the dinosaurs will seem like a drop in the ocean compared with a planet 4880 km in diameter slamming into us. There will be very little left after this wrecking ball impact.

But here's the kicker: There is only a 1% chance that these gravitational instabilities of the inner Solar System are likely to cause any kind of chaos before the Sun turns into a Red Giant and swallows Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars in 7 billion years time. So, no need to look out for death-wish Mercury quite yet… there's a very low chance that any of this will happen. But some good news for Mars; the researchers have also found that if the chaos does ensue, the Red Planet may be flung out of the Solar System, possibly escaping our expanding Sun. So, let's get those Mars colonies started! Well, within the next few billions of years anyhow…"

Good stuff for the next science-fiction movie

Clip Source: www.universetoday.com

Could Jupiter Wreck the Solar System?

Happily orbiting the Sun, the eight planets (plus Pluto and other minor planets) appear to have a high degree of long-term gravitational stability. But Jupiter has a huge gravitational influence over its siblings, especially the smaller planets.

The huge gravitational pull of Jupiter seems to be bullying Mercury into an increasingly eccentric death-orbit, possibly flinging the cosmic lightweight into the path of Venus. To make things worse, there might be dire consequences for Earth…

The researchers

Jacques Laskar

Konstantin Batygin

and Gregory Laughlin

formulate four possible scenarios as to what may happen as Mercury gets disturbed:

Mercury will crash into the Sun
Mercury will be ejected from the solar system altogether
Mercury will crash into Venus
Mercury will crash into Earth

The last option is obviously the worst case scenario for us, but all will be bad news for Mercury, the small planet's fate appears to be sealed.

Tags: science, space, astronomy

The man who invented Mars

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:02:29 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: It is Lowell's vision of Mars that has enthralled and inspired earthlings ever since.In 1895, Lowell published a book about what he believed he saw.He became famous and immensely popular.Lowell was born at 131 Tremont Street in Boston on March 13,1855,into a family at the pinnacle of what passed for American aristocracy.

The appearance of Lowell's book about Mars in 1895 came at a time of canal-building on earth. The Suez had recently been constructed; the Panama was in the works. For both Lowell and his adoring public, the prospect of canals on a neighboring planet was too captivating to dismiss.

He published his second book about the Red Planet, Mars and Its Canals, in 1906.In 1908, he published his third and final book on the planet, Mars as the Abode of Life.

Back at his observatory on Mars Hill, Lowell renewed his attention to another matter: the possibility of a ninth planet beyond Neptune, which he called "Planet X."

Clip Source: www.boston.com

The Man Who Invented Mars

Long before the space race and space shuttle, a brilliant, wealthy, charming Boston Brahmin named Percival Lowell popularized the idea that we are not alone in the universe.

At left, a colorized version of a 1905 drawing of Mars by Lowell; at right, an artist’s concept of the Phoenix Mars lander.

AT 7:36 P.M. ON May 25, if all goes well, a stranger from Earth will land near the north pole of Mars. It is called Phoenix.

Somewhere, a 19th century Boston Brahmin named Percival Lowell will be smiling.

Long before NASA was established in 1958

Percival Lowell devoted much of his career and considerable fortune to trying to prove that Mars hosted intelligent life. Viewed through his telescopes, the ancient, baleful Red Planet was about the size of a dime.

Lowell believed he was seeing a network of canals on its surface. Therefore, he declared, Mars holds intelligent life. It is not necessarily like human life, he emphasized, but it is intelligent enough to build canals.

Tags: science, space, astronomy

Crew Earth Observations 'Top Ten' Photos

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 11:09:10 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth

Clip Source: www.nasa.gov

Crew Earth Observations 'Top Ten' Photos

From the International Space Station Astronaut Photography Collection

Eruption of Cleveland Volcano, Aleutian Islands, Alaska

acquired shortly after the beginning of the eruption, captures the ash plume moving west-southwest from the summit vent

this image shows the limb of the Earth at the bottom transitioning into the orange-colored troposphere, the lowest and most dense portion of the Earth's atmosphere

nighttime view of Los Angeles, California

Aurora Borealis and lights in Finland, Russia, Estonia and Latvia

is a glimpse of the barren moon through the Earth’s limb

Mt. Everest and Makalu

green aurora dancing over the night side of the Earth just after sunset on February 16, 2003

Bernese Alps, Switzerland

Nukuoro Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia

Harrat Khaybar, Saudi Arabia

The western half of the Arabian peninsula contains

extensive lava fields known as haraat

One such field is the 14,000-square kilometer Harrat Khaybar

Tags: images, science, space

Strange things happen at full moon

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:09:25 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: On the moon's dayside this effect is counteracted somewhat by sunlight: Photons knock electrons back off the surface, lessening the negative charge. But on the night side, electrons accumulate and the charge can climb to thousands of volts.

The extreme differences in charge might cause dust to fly from the negative night side to the less-negative day side, becoming strongest along the regions where the sun is rising or setting.

Astronauts walking on the charged terrain might get electrified like sock from a hot dryer. "Touching another astronaut, a doorknob, a piece of sensitive electronics — any of these simple actions could produce an unwelcome zap."

Clip Source: www.space.com

Strange Things Happen at Full Moon

At full moon, our favorite satellite is whipped by Earth's magnetotail, causing lunar dust storms and discharges of static electricity.

The effect on the moon was first noticed in 1968, when NASA's Surveyor 7 lander photographed a strange glow on the horizon after dark. Nobody knew what it was. Now scientists think it was sunlight scattered by electrically charged moon dust floating just above the surface.

Clip Source: www.space.com

How it works

Our entire planet is enveloped in a bubble of magnetism generated by the rotating core. The solar wind, a stream of charged particles, pushes the bubble away from the sun and creates a long tail of magnetized material downstream.

At full moon, the moon passes through a huge "plasma sheet" — hot charged particles trapped in the tail. The lightest and most mobile of these particles, electrons, pepper the moon's surface and give the moon a negative charge, the researchers explained.

Clip Source: www.space.com

Tags: science, space

Earth could seed Titan with life

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:24:29 GMT

clipped by: Aribeth
clipper's remarks: Dr Gladman's team calculated that up to 20 terrestrial rocks from a large impact on Earth would reach Titan. These would strike Titan's upper atmosphere at 10-15 km/s. At this velocity, the cruise down to the surface might be comfortable enough for microbes to survive the journey.But the news was more bleak for Europa. By contrast with the handful that hit Titan, about 100 terrestrial meteoroids hit the icy moon.

"It's frustrating if you're a microbe that's been wandering the Universe for a million years to then die striking the surface of Europa," Dr Gladman mused.Asked after his presentation by one scientist whether he thought microbes would be able to survive Titan's freezing temperatures, Dr Gladman answered: "That's for you people to decide, I'm just the pizza delivery boy."

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Terrestrial rocks blown into space by asteroid impacts on Earth could have taken life to Saturn's moon Titan, scientists have announced.

Earth microbes in these meteorites could have seeded the organic-rich world with life, researchers believe.

the impact on Earth that killed off the dinosaurs could have ejected enough material for some to reach far-off moons such as Titan

The theory of panspermia holds that life on planets like Earth and Mars was seeded from space, perhaps hitching a ride on meteorites and comets.

To get terrestrial, life-bearing rocks to escape the Earth's atmosphere and reach space requires an impact by an asteroid or comet between 10 and 50km across.

Million-year journey

One of them is the asteroid strike 65 million years ago, which punched a crater between 160 and 240km wide in what is today the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

targets

Titan and Europa

Titan is rich in organic compounds

potential energy source for primitive life forms

Europa

thought to harbour a liquid water ocean

Tags: science, space

Northern Lights as seen from Space - Picture

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 09:09:18 GMT

clipped by: Lubaska

Clip Source: tivac.com

Tags: aurora, space