In this image, channels on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (left) are superimposed with channels in Mars’ Maumee Valles region (right). The shapes and overall networks are quite similar. Image via Cal-Tech CTX mosaic/ MAXAR/Esri/ UBC. EarthSky’s yearly crowd-funding campaign is in progress. In 2020, we are donating 8.5% of all incoming revenues […]
Maps of the sun’s corona could help us predict dangerous solar storms
By Leah Crane The magnetic field of the sun’s corona has been mapped for the first time Yang et al. 2020 The outermost layer of the sun, called the corona, is extraordinarily difficult to study, but now researchers have made the first map of its magnetic field. This will help us predict solar flares that […]
After nearly a century, elusive CNO neutrinos are finally seen from the Sun
For the first time, scientists have detected neutrinos coming from the Sun’s core that got their start via the CNO process, an until-now theorized type of stellar nuclear fusion. This is really cool, but it’ll take a bit of explaining. More Bad Astronomy Neutrinos are subatomic particles. Unlike the ones you’re more familiar with like […]
What’s Left Behind When You Boil A Gas Giant?
When we take a look at the planets in our Solar System, there’s a pretty clear difference between the four inner, rocky worlds and the outer, gaseous, giant planets. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are all small, low in mass, and dense, with atmospheres that represent only a tiny fraction-of-a-percent of the planet’s overall matter. […]
The Perseid Meteor Shower
By Kevin Schindler, Lowell Observatory Historian The passing of July to August signals the arrival of one of the most prominent and reliable meteor showers, the Perseids. It has wowed observers for centuries and inspired many to capture their awe in writing, from the Chinese observer who in 36 AD made the first written record […]
The Universe is the Same, Everywhere We Look. Even More than Cosmologists Predicted
No matter which direction you look in the Universe, the view is basically the same if you look far enough. Our local neighborhood is populated with bright nebulae, star clusters, and dark clouds of gas and dust. There are more stars toward the center of the Milky Way than there are in other directions. But […]
Was Early Mars "Wet and Warm"? Or Wet and Cold?
The western edge of the Devon ice cap on the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The similarity between many Martian valleys and the subglacial channels on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic motivated the authors to conduct their comparative study.A. Grau Galofre / ASU According to new research, early Mars was wet, but rarely warm. Ancient Mars […]
Because the Universe isn't weird enough: Black hole planets may exist.
We know that planets like the ones in our solar system form in flat disks of gas and dust called protoplanetary disks. We can actually see that happening all over the galaxy. But a team of astronomers wondered if that were the only place they could be born. So they figured why not see if […]
Perseverance Went Into Safe Mode Shortly After Launch, But it’s Fine
On Thursday, July 30th, NASA launched the most sophisticated Mars rover ever built atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.This mission includes the Perseverance rover (Curiosity‘s sister vehicle) and the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, both of which are being flown on a […]
Sub-glacial melting, not flowing rivers, may explain martian channels
A collage showing Martian valleys (in grey) at top superimposed with glacial meltwater channels on Devon Island in the Canadian arctic (in tan) at bottom. The similarity of the channels is striking, prompting research suggesting many valleys on Mars were carved by glacial meltwater, not flowing rivers. Image: Composite by Anna Grau Galofre/Arizona State University […]