Space Exploration Moon Mars Interstella Video Documentary

July 22, 2009 by James Hewson  
Filed under Science Videos

Giovanni Bignami, former Chairman of the Space Science Advisory Committee of the European Space Agency, and author of the ESA Cosmic Vision 2015-25 ten year planning document, speaks about the future of space exploration. How is his vision document being implemented? Should we try and go back to the Moon? Should we go to Mars instead? Should we try and settle Mars? How quickly can we get a Mars mission up and running? Can we engineer an interstellar mission? And he tells his opinion about …

Which Planets Are Visible From The Night Sky?

April 3, 2009 by James Hewson  
Filed under Stargazing

Five of the major planets in our solar system are adequately bright enough to be visible from the night sky. These planets comprise of Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Mars the Red Planet, along with Saturn. In spite of the fact that their luminosity alters as their locations comparative to the Earth fluctuate, however, they all, with the exclusion of Saturn, come to be clearer in our sky than the clearest star.

At the furthest point, the gradient amongst the Sun and Venus is approximately 45 degrees when Venus can rise or set longer than 3 hours ahead of, or following, the Sun. However, Mercury, which is positioned considerably nearer to the Sun than Venus, continues to be at all periods very close to the Sun in the sky and generally can be viewed with the naked eye, under good environmental conditions for only a handful of days close to each elongation.

Considering that Mercury’s trajectory is more noticeably elliptic than that of any of the additional planets which can be viewed with the naked eye, its largest extension can radiate beginning with as brief as 15 degrees to the largest of around 27 degrees. Jupiter, Saturn and mars the red planet are located further from the Sun than Planet Earth given these planets motions are slower along their trajectories than Earth. Consequently, the planets intermittently apprehends and passes, each of them. When this occurs, the planet that is being passed by the Earth, is positioned on the opposed side of Planet Earth from the Sun. This position which the planets find themselves is referred to as ‘opposition’.

When ‘opposition’ occurs, a planet is observable for the majority of the night-time, ascending close to the period of sunset and setting around the period of sunrise when it is, at its nearest to the Earth.

From then on, as planet Earth manoeuvres in advance of the planet, the planet looks to drift closer to the Sun in the sky, setting in the west increasingly earlier up to the time it is lost in the brightness of the setting Sun. Observed from the Earth, the planet next crosses behind the Sun before starting to develop on its westerly side and becoming noticeable in the easterly sky ahead of the sunrise.

Constellations Libra Names of Stars

March 30, 2009 by James Hewson  
Filed under Star Constellations

The two constellations Libra names of Stars in Libra, Alpha along with Beta Librae are both astronomical highlights meriting seeing with the naked eye, field glasses and scopes. Furthermore, these two Libran stars are a portion of the romance and secrets of Libra.

Alpha Librae is a colourful twin typically depicted as radiant by viewers. The stars are conventionally characterized as bright white and radiant yellow and Beta Librae has for many periods been specified as the unique single star perceptible in the celestial sphere. Beta Librae for many eras has been referred to as the exclusive green star observable to the naked eye.

The majority of observers and many astronomers conceive there are no perceivable green stars. The agreed wisdom is that the human optical structure will translate ranges climaxing at concise wavelengths as white with a blue shade and ranges culminating at long wavelengths as white with a reddish-orange hue. However, characteristically green stars are practically never referred to. But seasoned astronomers understand that Beta Librae has subsisted as a green star over several eras. This brings us to the occasional green quality of Bea Librae takes leads to the past to a pair of the old enigmas connected with Libra.

In spite of the fact that astronomers understand the two clearest stars of Libra as Alpha and Beta, the stars have been studied for so long that they have favoured titles. Furthermore, their favourite names are two of the most interesting in the heavens.

Alpha Librae is called, “Zubenelgenubi,” and Beta Librae is known as, “Zubeneschamali.” These are both derive from the Arabic language and from a very peculiar age when the Roman empire controlled the known world. Those two designations touch on one of the biggest puzzles of the zodiac. The designation Zubenelgenubi stands for ‘The Southern Claw’ and Zubeneschamali designates ‘The Northern Claw.’ At some spot throughout the supremacy of Rome, the academics of the period agreed to modify the zodiac and for rationales as yet unknown decided to remove the group of stars Libra by uniting the stars of Libra with the stars of Scorpius.

Libra continues to be unequalled amid the zodiac signs and it is the only zodiac symbol that is lifeless, if you analyse all the other characters you will see they are persons, creatures, bugs and so forth – only Libra is not a living object.

clearest stars in Libra, Alpha along with Beta Librae is both astronomical highlights meriting seeing with the naked eye, field glasses and scopes. Furthermore, these two Libran stars are a portion of the romance and secrets of Libra.

Alpha Librae is a colourful twin typically depicted as radiant by viewers. The stars are conventionally characterized as bright white and radiant yellow and Beta Librae has for many periods been specified as the unique single star perceptible in the celestial sphere. Beta Librae for many eras has been referred to as the exclusive green star observable to the naked eye.

The majority of observers and many astronomers conceive there are no perceivable green stars. The agreed wisdom is that the human optical structure will translate ranges climaxing at concise wavelengths as white with a blue shade and ranges culminating at long wavelengths as white with a reddish-orange hue. However, characteristically green stars are practically never referred to. But seasoned astronomers understand that Beta Librae has subsisted as a green star over several eras. This brings us to the occasional green quality of Bea Librae takes leads to the past to a pair of the old enigmas connected with Libra.

In spite of the fact that astronomers understand the two clearest stars of Libra as Alpha and Beta, the stars have been studied for so long that they have favoured titles. Furthermore, their favourite names are two of the most interesting in the heavens.

Alpha Librae is called, “Zubenelgenubi,” and Beta Librae is known as, “Zubeneschamali.” These are both derive from the Arabic language and from a very peculiar age when the Roman empire controlled the known world. Those two designations touch on one of the biggest puzzles of the zodiac. The designation Zubenelgenubi stands for ‘The Southern Claw’ and Zubeneschamali designates ‘The Northern Claw.’ At some spot throughout the supremacy of Rome, the academics of the period agreed to modify the zodiac and for rationales as yet unknown decided to remove the group of stars Libra by uniting the stars of Libra with the stars of Scorpius.

Constellations Libra Names of Stars and Libra in particular continues to be unequalled amid the zodiac signs and it is the only zodiac symbol that is lifeless, if you analyse all the other characters you will see they are persons, creatures, bugs and so forth – only Libra is not a living object.

Big Bang Theory Doppler Redshift Effect

March 23, 2009 by James Hewson  
Filed under Science

The big bang speculation is the most modern variant of speculation about the origins of our universe which dates back over 25 centuries, ever since the Greek philosophers Thales and Anaximander questioned what the universe was constructed of and where it derived. The Big Bang Theory is realistic sciences favoured interpretation for the origins of the universe and is a generally agreed theory for the origin and development of our cosmos. Establishment of galaxies and great scale structure, the Big Bang template provides a outline in which to grasp the collapse of matter to shape galaxies and other wide-ranging structures studied in the universe to this day.

The expression “Big Bang” is used both in a restricted understanding to relate to a point in time when the studied enlargement of the universe (also known as Hubble’s law) started, and in a more universal maanner to refer to the predominant cosmological archetype illustrating the origin and development of the universe. The theory depicts that the cosmos was once a compact, hot body of material that blew up and has been increasing in size since the outset, some 10 to 20 billion years previously. One cosmologist has proposed that the substance shaping our universe blasted out from the “Big Bang” at a velocity quicker than the speed of light.
Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity revealed that the cosmos must be contracting given that Einstein proved gravity transforms the direction of light but failed to speculate that gravity can therefore, increase or decrease the speed of light. Einstein realized that his calculations revealed that the universe must be either expanding or contracting, but that it would not be standing still, considering that if it were then gravity would draw all the galaxies towards one another. Einstein ultimately came to embrace a restricted universe and would later express this was his biggest error in his conviction that velocities above the speed of light were unobtainable.

The original revelation that galaxies shaped clusters was a great surprise to astrophysicists seeing that the Big Bang theory would foretell otherwise. The Big Bang theory disobeys many laws of science that are verified daily by theory, observation and experimentation.

The hypothesis was first founded by Edwin Hubble and Milton Humason in 1929 and came to be recognized as the Hubble Redshift Hypothesis. Hubble discovered that extremely vague galaxy clusters were emanating light with a redshift. The redshift of remote galaxies means that the Universe is almost certainly increasing. The Redshift Theory ultimately has the planet Earth at the core of the universe considering that almost all galaxies are moving apart from the Earth and white light discharged by a static object will develop as redshift light if the speed is decelerated for any reason. This is precisely what experts believe the redshift calculations display. To put it in simpler terms, if the light from a considerably distant solar system is white, the galaxy is in fact travelling toward us given that a light from a stationary galaxy at that distance would have a regular redshift.

The opposing science to the Redshift Theory is vast and the Big Bang Theory is therefore suffering grave vulnerability amongst experts. The redshift is expressed to be the additional “evidence” that a Big Bang took place. There are three potential interpretations to the redshift viewed in the spectra of further remote stars, Evolutionists assert that the velocity redshift theory is the only motive of the spectral redshift. However, there are two other sources of redshifts, which have been substantiated by science, and these better illustrate the various anomalies accompanying redshifts. The first being the tired light redshift in which light progressively decelerates as it journeys over long expanses and secondly the gravitational redshift in which light loses drive as it crosses the gravitational ranges of stars.

The fact that we can gauge redshift in the light from remote constellations informs us that the galaxies are growing less visible to us, and from each other. As the universe increased and chilled, so the method of matter building commenced which induced the construction of stars, planets, constellations etc.

In spite of the fact that the big bang theory is well known, many believe the concept to be greatly misconstrued. This renders one of the biggest and significantly most important aspects of our existence being constantly researched, updated and cultivated. Because of these apprehensions and difficulties, along with others, some scientists now sense that the Big Bang Theory is deeply unacceptable as an interpretation of the universes beginnings.

Saturn Ring Loss

March 20, 2009 by James Hewson  
Filed under Space

Some observers have commented that Saturn’s ring loss maybe increasing however recent research suggests the rings may be more enormous than formerly thought, and potentially considerably older, and far from decreasing in size according to computations that imitate impacting particles in Saturn’s rings and their deterioration by meteorites. These outcomes aid in the probability that Saturn’s rings were shaped billions of years ago, conceivably at the time when goliath collisions hollowed out the great basins on the Moon. The discoveries also propose that giant exoplanets may also also have rings.

It is thought that the rings of Saturn are billions of years old which means we as humans are not just lucky to see rings encircling Saturn. This would lead us to anticipate huge rings also to envelop giant planets encircling other stars,’ said Dr Esposito of the University of Colorado.

Further research by Esposito’s colleagues at the University of Colorado, have calculated the gravitational magnetism and clashes amid more than 100,000 particles, representing a example of those in Saturn’s rings. They pursued the orbit and history of each specific particle, and calculated the quantity of starlight that would cross through the ring. These outcomes have been in comparison to Cassini examinations of starlight obstructed by the rings, which has conventionally been used to guess the entire quantity of matter in the ring system. Esposito used this approach in 1983 to appraise that rings of Saturn include as much matter as Saturn’s little moon Mimas, which is around 250 miles in diameter. The brand new simulations reveal Saturn’s ring particles mix into clumps, which would influence the earlier approximation being low by a element of three or more.

Estimations by Esposito and his undergraduate Joshua Elliott disclosed that meteorites steadily crush and crack the fragments within the ring. Progressively, a blanket of dust and particles build up and encases each fragment. This covering contains both ice (from the fragment) and meteoritical fine powder. As time passes, the ring structure becomes more contaminated and blackened by meteoritic dust.

Considering that the rings look so clean and illuminated, it was disputed that the rings of Saturn were considerably younger than Saturn. It was computed from Voyager calculations that the rings are only about 100 million years old, roughly the time when dinosaurs dwelled upon the Earth. The new estimations indicate that if the rings are more immense, they look less contaminated, and consequently could be proportionately older. Recycling of ring matter prolongs their lifespan and diminishes the probable darkening.

One difficulty with this suggestion for more immense and ancient rings is that the Pioneer 11 space operation to Saturn in 1979 calculated the ring mass circuitously by studying charged particles produced by cosmic rays attacking the rings.

These aggregate approximations were similar to the ones from Voyager star occultation’s, evidently strengthening the earlier low mass value. Nevertheless, it is now recognized that the charged fragments are double valued. This means they may possibly appear from either a small or large accumulation and that the larger mass value could be consistent with the disparages due to ring clumpiness. Clearly, Saturn’s ring loss is not considered to be an identifyable concern at this point in time and until further data concerning the true size and mass of the ring is apparent we cannot with any certainty conclude that the rings are encountering any form of ring reduction.

10 Facts About Jupiter Including How Did Jupiter Get Its Name

March 10, 2009 by James Hewson  
Filed under Space

If you wanted to know 10 facts about Jupiter then read on, our research has uncovered some amazing information around this fascinating planet.

Planet Jupiter is the second most significant body in our solar system. With enormous gravity, Planet Jupiter is probably the most captivating planet in our neighbourhood and is composed principally of hydrogen, a assumption exists that within the core of the planet the force is so great that metallic hydrogen is created from solid molecular hydrogen. This effectively means that humans could never live on Jupiter given the lack of a tangible surface, the immense winds and other human defying conditions.

How did Jupiter gets its name? The original name derives from the Greek word ‘Jove’ which is also the Greek name for ‘Zeus’, the mythical Greek god.

When did Galileo discover Jupiter? In 1610 Galileo published an explanation of his telescopic examinations of the moons of Jupiter giving rise to the date of 1609 which is around the time Galileo is thought to have first identified the planet.

Jupiter was explored in flybys in the 1970s by NASA’s Pioneer 10, 11 and Voyager 1 & 2, and is currently being studied by the Galileo spacecraft. This huge planet is comprised of 90% hydrogen and 10% helium and contains small amounts of methane, water and ammonia. It’s winds are the strongest at middle northern latitudes, reaching about 370 miles per hour. Jupiter has a small set of three rings that were created by the dust and rock remnants of its innermost moons and meteor collisions. The rings are made up of three ring patterns, the halo, which is the innermost ring, the main ring in the middle and finally the gossamer ring, which is the outermost one. Jupiter, in fact, is often cited as a micro Solar System, due to the many small objects it controls via its gravity.

It in addition has around 63 recognized satellites comprising the four Galilean moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto many of the additional satellites are not named, and it is likely that there are some still to even be detected. These satellites are collectively named the Galilean Moons following the man who detected them through the first astronomical scope over four hundred years ago.
The planet Jupiter measures in a 142,984 kilometres in diameter and is considered one of the great gas planets of our solar system.

The planet has long been familiar for the Great Red Spot, a complicated storm active in a counter-clockwise bearing, right across the planet. This monstrous storm is a huge oval shaped physical characteristic on Jupiters surface that measures around 12,000 by 25,000 kilometres, sizeable enough to house 2 to 3 Earth sized planets. Individuals on Earth have studied the colourful and famous Great Red Spot on the surface of Jupiter for over 400 years and it has recently been revealed that Jupiter is now growing a new red spot.

This recent storm is about half the dimension of the present Great Red Spot and virtually the same colour. The official title of this storm is ‘Oval BA’, additionally referred to as ‘Red Jr’ for obvious reasons. Oval BA first presented itself in 2000 when three smaller spots clashed and merged, and it is thought that similar merger centuries ago may have produced the first Great Red Spot, some 300 years ago.

The structure of Jupiter’s surfaces is comparable to stars, made virtually of liquid and gas. Astrologers deduce that when a planet causes a significant quantity of heat internally, such as is the case for Jupiter, convection in the atmosphere can convey thermal energy from the higher temperature interior to the surface. Since Jupiter is a gas planet lacking a solid surface, what we view when we study the surface of Jupiter is the atmosphere that continues deep into the planet.

How Many Days Does it Take Mercury To Orbit The Sun?

March 4, 2009 by James Hewson  
Filed under Space

Many of our readers have asked the question “how many days does it take mercury to orbit the sun?” which led us to do some research on this largely unfamiliar planet.

The Planet Mercury is the second smallest planet in our solar system and is frequently mentioned as the most difficult of the five bright planets to view. It is the nearest planet to the Sun within the solar system similar to Venus, and appears to go through phases similar to the Moon.

In past times the name Mercury was used for the planet when in the night sky, but was also known as Apollo when it appeared in the morning. However, it was originally named Mercury by the Romans in tribute to thier infamous god, Mercury.

The atmosphere is extremely thin and is founded of helium and sodium and is not readily observed from Earth due to its small angular separation from the sun and additionally manoeuvres around the sun quicker than any other planet. Interestingly, Mercury travels about 48 km (30 miles) per second, and it takes 88 days to orbit the sun. It has in the past been proposed as one potential target for space colonisation of the inner solar system, along with Mars, Venus, the Moon and asteroid belt, although with surface temperatures varying more than those of any other major body in the solar system, with a maximum range of about 650°C (hot enough to melt tin) between the hottest and coldest extremes, colonization seems unlikely to be suitable for humans.

The gravity on the surface is 2/5 th of the Earth’s, and it is roughly 40% the size of the planet Earth. Another interesting point is how long it takes Mercury to rotate on its axis which is 59 days (unlike Earths rotation of around 24 hours), meaning that it’s entire surface experiences significant periods of extreme hot and cold.

Astrologers have always experienced difficulties studying Mercury due to the fact it is always so close to the sun meaning only half of the Planets surface has been mapped to date.

In summary therefore the answer to the question “how many days does it take mercury to orbit the sun?” is 88 days!