A new study by Northwestern University astronomers, using recent data from the 300 planets discovered orbiting other stars, turns that view on its head.The study illustrates that if early conditions had been just slightly different, very unpleasant things could have happened - like planets being thrown into the sun or jettisoned into deep space.
While assessing the hazards of hydrazine re-entry from space, a journalist discovers the hazards of media commentary as well.
Cassini will zoom past the tiny moon a mere 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the surface. Just after closest approach, all of the spacecraft’s cameras — covering infrared wavelengths, where temperatures are mapped, as well as visible light and ultraviolet — will focus on the fissures running along the moon’s south pole.
It is also the month of “The Tears of St. Lawrence,” more commonly known as the Perseid Meteor Shower. Laurentius, a Christian deacon, is said to have been martyred by the Romans in 258 AD on an iron outdoor stove. It was in the midst of this torture that Laurentius cried out:
During a total solar eclipse, the Sun’s extensive outer atmosphere, or corona, is an inspirational sight. The subtle shades and shimmering features of the corona that engage the eye span a brightness range of over 10,000 to 1, making them notoriously difficult to capture in a single picture.
The much-anticipated Mythbusters episode that will take on the moon-landing-was-a-hoax (ahem) theory is scheduled for Aug. 27, but there is a video available now that shows Adam and Jamie preparing the model lunar surface and a kick-ass lunar lander. Meanwhile, a new season of the show debuts tonight.