Scientists from NASA Goddard have discovered that not only are Saturnâs rings younger than previously thought, but also that the rings are actually disappearing at a rapid pace through a process called âring rain.â
Archive for the ‘space’ category: Page 214
Dec 19, 2018
Winter Solstice 2018 Coincides With Both A Full Moon And Meteor Shower
Posted by Michael Lance in category: space
The winter solstice, falling on December 21, 2018, will mark the shortest day of the year as well as a full moon in the night sky. The upcoming full moon named the Cold Moon or the Long Night Moon will be visible during the longest night of the year.
The two events donât perfectly align. The peak full Moon will occur on December 22 at 12:49 p.m. EST while the winter solstice falls a day earlier on December 21. However, to the typical person viewing the moon, it will appear full for several days.
The winter solstice marks a transition period where days begin getting longer in the Northern Hemisphere and shorter in the Southern Hemisphere. The evening of the winter solstice will be the longest of the year for the Northern Hemisphere. This is because Earthâs poles create a maximum tilt away from the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere and maximum tilt toward the Sun in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Dec 19, 2018
Trump Signs Order to Create a U.S. Space Command
Posted by Michael Lance in categories: military, space
The first U.Space Command was founded in 1985 and disbanded in 2002.
The U.Space Command will defend U.S. assets and organize the militaryâs operations in outer space.
Dec 18, 2018
New Horizons spacecraft takes the inside course to Ultima Thule
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space
With no apparent hazards in its way, NASAâs New Horizons spacecraft has been given a âgoâ to stay on its optimal path to Ultima Thule as it speeds closer to a Jan. 1 flyby of the Kuiper Belt object a billion miles beyond Pluto â the farthest planetary flyby in history.
Dec 17, 2018
NASA research reveals Saturn is losing its rings at âworst-case-scenarioâ rate
Posted by SaĂșl Morales RodriguĂ©z in categories: particle physics, space
New NASA research confirms that Saturn is losing its iconic rings at the maximum rate estimated from Voyager 1 & 2 observations made decades ago. The rings are being pulled into Saturn by gravity as a dusty rain of ice particles under the influence of Saturnâs magnetic field.
âWe estimate that this âring rainâ drains an amount of water products that could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool from Saturnâs rings in half an hour,â said James OâDonoghue of NASAâs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. âFrom this alone, the entire ring system will be gone in 300 million years, but add to this the Cassini-spacecraft measured ring-material detected falling into Saturnâs equator, and the rings have less than 100 million years to live. This is relatively short, compared to Saturnâs age of over 4 billion years.â OâDonoghue is lead author of a study on Saturnâs ring rain appearing in Icarus December 17.
Dec 17, 2018
Meet OWL and HIBOU! Japanâs Asteroid Hoppers Get New Names
Posted by Alberto Lao in category: space
Dec 17, 2018
10 mysteries of the universe: Is Earth in a special place?
Posted by Michael Lance in category: space
The BOSS Great Wall is the hugest object ever found â and at one billion light years across it spells big trouble for our cosmic theories.
Dec 16, 2018
This cosmic kaleidoscope is composed of 12,000 star-forming galaxies
Posted by Michael Lance in category: space
With the addition of ultraviolet light imagery, astronomers using NASAâs Hubble Space Telescope have captured the largest panoramic view of the fire and fury of star birth in the distant universe. Take a look: https://go.nasa.gov/2EmeKVU