Other Solar Systems Might Be More Habitable Than Ours
Our Earth feels like a warm and welcoming place for us life forms, but beyond our little planet, the majority of the solar system is too cold for us to live comfortably. But a new study suggests that planets in other solar systems might be more habitable than our own because, on the whole, they…
NASA’s 2020 Plan for Mars Makes the Old New Again
The Curiosity rover is just four months into its primary two-year mission on Mars, and already NASA is planning sequels. The Agency announced yesterday plans for a series of Martian missions that will culminate in 2020 with the launch of a new robotic science rover based largely on Curiosity’s design. If its mission outline unfolds…
An absolutely incredible raw image of Saturn’s swirling north pole
Ok, are you ready for this? I know… WOW. This swirling maelstrom of clouds is what was seen over Saturn’s north pole yesterday, November 27, by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. This is a raw image, acquired in polarized light, from a distance of 238,045 miles (383,097 kilometers)… all I did was remove some of the hot…
The mysterious case of Makemake’s missing atmosphere
It turns out there’s no air up there: the distant dwarf planet Makemake is surprisingly lacking in an atmosphere, according to findings made by astronomers using telescopes at ESO’s La Silla and Paranal observatories. An international team of astronomers used the mountaintop telescopes to observe Makemake [pronounced mahk-eh mahk-eh] as it passed in front of…