Space Science 2.0
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Air & Space (SU2012)
Earth has more than one moon, astronomers confirm | The Sideshow
There are at least two moons orbiting Earth at any given time Researchers at Cornell University say that what we know as the Moon is in fact not the only one orbiting our planet at any given time. Smaller objects regularly inhabit the Earth's orbit , usually leaving after a few months to continue on their celestial journeys. The discovery is considered a major breakthrough for space research because scientists had been working toward visiting asteroids outside of Earth's orbit for research. While these temporary moons are too small for a shuttle landing, they are prime for research from a relatively close distance. However, it's still to be determined whether the announcement will capture the public's attention like previously revealed New Moons . Either way, it should be a decidedly more pleasant experience for all involved.
This story was updated at 12:15 p.m. ET. MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — NASA 's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft has confirmed the discovery of its first alien world in its host star's habitable zone — that just-right range of distances that could allow liquid water to exist — and found more than 1,000 new explanet candidates, researchers announced today (Dec. 5). The new finds bring the Kepler space telescope 's total haul to 2,326 potential planets in its first 16 months of operation.These discoveries, if confirmed, would quadruple the current tally of worlds known to exist beyond our solar system, which recently topped 700 . The potentially habitable alien world , a first for Kepler, orbits a star very much like our own sun.
NASA Telescope Confirms Alien Planet in Habitable Zone
Space Science Lessons/WS
Mike Brown On August 24th 2006 the word "planet" was given its first-ever scientific definition by a vote of the International Astronomical Union. With the raising of a few yellow cards in Prague, Pluto was demoted from full-fledged planet to "dwarf planet." Eris, originally called 2003 UB313 , sometimes called Xena, sometimes called the "10th planet," which in many ways precipitated this final debate, becomes the largest known dwarf planet. Unless astronomers revisit this issue at some point in the future, it is unlikely that there will ever be more than eight planets. While some still continue to mourn the loss of Pluto from the pantheon of planets, it is much more interesting to consider this new class of dwarf planets, instead.
Eight planets
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<a href="http://www.burstnet.com/ads/ad15743a-map.cgi/ns/v=2.3S/sz=468x60A|728x90A/" target="_top"><img src="http://www.burstnet.com/cgi-bin/ads/ad15743a.cgi/ns/v=2.3S/sz=468x60A|728x90A/" border="0" alt="Click Here" /></a> Supernova 1987A: The Three Ring Circus Week of March 6, 2000 Last week's Snack talked about why the star that was to become Supernova 1987a (what astronomers call the precursor ) exploded.
Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy: Bitesize Astronomy
The Universe as a Hologram by Michael Talbot Does Objective Reality Exist, or is the Universe a Phantasm? In 1982 a remarkable event took place.
Is the Universe a Holographic Reality?
Last modified September 2008 by rwo Text copyright © 1998-2008 Robert W. O'Connell. All rights reserved. Opening fisheye lens picture of comet Hale-Bopp and night sky from Ujue, Spain, April 1997, copyright © J. C.
ASTR 1230, Whittle [Fall 2009]. Lecture Notes
Editorial note: I received this as an email from a friend who got it from a friend who ... I do not know who the original author is, but I do believe this to be true. Who could possibly make it up? Heavy Boots About 6-7 years ago, I was in a philosophy class at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (good science/engineering school) and the teaching assistant was explaining Descartes. He was trying to show how things don't always happen the way we think they will and explained that, while a pen always falls when you drop it on Earth, it would just float away if you let go of it on the Moon.
Heavy Boots
Have We Found The Universe That Existed Before The Big Bang?
Click To Enlarge The current cosmological consensus is that the universe began 13.7 billion years ago with the Big Bang. But a legendary physicist says he's found the first evidence of an eternal, cyclic cosmos. The Big Bang model holds that everything that now comprises the universe was once concentrated in a single point of near-infinite density. Before this singularity exploded and the universe began, there was absolutely nothing - indeed, it's not clear whether one can even use the term "before" in reference to a pre-Big-Bang cosmos, as time itself may not have existed yet. In the current model, the universe began with the Big Bang, underwent cosmic inflation for a fraction of a second, then settled into the much more gradual expansion that is still going on, and likely will end with the universe as an infinitely expanded, featureless cosmos.
Space Science Interactive