Everyone is familiar with the Orion Nebula by now. Even those with binoculars can spot it, albeit small and faint, if it's in a good location. Also known as Messier 42, Orion is vast, located 1,344 light-years away. It's 40 light-years across. For comparison, Earth is 8 light-minutes from the sun, and the Oort layer of our solar system […]
In less than a month, on November 12, 2014, the 100-kilogram Philae lander will separate from ESA's Rosetta spacecraft and land on the dark, dusty, icy surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It has nothing but three legs and rocket boosters to prevent it from hitting the surface or being ejected into space.
Just look at how beautiful this photo is! It looks like a baseball in Saturn's rings, doesn't it? It's a beautiful photo, for sure. Tethys, or Saturn III, is one of Saturn's medium-sized moons. Discovered by GD Cassini in 1684, it takes its name from Tethys in Greek mythology. It's composed of ice and rock. Tethys's surface is very shiny. Among Saturn's moons, it is the second largest after Enceladus […]
There's a strong hypothesis, developed over the last century, that life on Earth originated on Mars, and discoveries and findings are increasingly strengthening this hypothesis. It's likely to become a well-founded theory soon. These latest findings come from research on Martian meteorites conducted at the Westheimer Institute of Science and Technology in Florida. First, let me provide some information about Martian meteorites.
Hello friends. In this article, which is a continuation of my previous Timeline of the Universe - Part 1 - I will cover the remaining five stages. These are, in order: The Death of Stars and New Elements, Protoplanetary Disks, The Formation of Planets and the Condensation of Protoplanets, The Formation of Planets Like Jupiter and Earth, and The Chemistry of Life.
AMS-02, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, is a particle physics detector that was built and tested by 16 countries and 56 institutes under DOE sponsorship, and has been deployed and operational on the space station. It's truly a state-of-the-art device. As of today, according to NASA's website, it has been operating for a total of 1238 days, 2 hours, and 50 seconds (since 2011).
