Jupiter’s Watery Moon

Posted on March 16, 2015 by abbeyrstephens

Recent evidence has shown that Jupiter’s largest moon (and the largest moon in our solar system), Ganymede, has a massive ocean lying underneath a thick layer of ice. In fact, it’s believed to have more water than all of Earth!

Ganymede, which is just slightly larger than the planet Mercury, has long been suspected of harboring liquid water. The Hubble Space Telescope has given the latest evidence in favor of this – changes in the auroras that are produced by the moon’s magnetic fields.

What is it that is allowing Ganymede, a moon so far away from the Sun, to harbor liquid water? It is small, like Mercury, and far away from the intense sunlight that the terrestrial planets face. Also, the water is under thick layers of ice, which shows that the inner layers of the planet must be warmer than the outer layers. How can this be so, when the planet is roughly the size of Mercury, which long ago lost its heat?

ganymede

(A cross-section of Ganymede, with size comparisons to the Moon and Mercury)


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NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Orbits Ceres

Posted on March 16, 2015 by conorastr201
Photo taken from Dawn

Photo taken from Dawn

That’s no moon! Just this past week, the Dawn spacecraft entered orbit around Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt. The dward planet is one of the oldest planetary object left in our solar system, and as such could provide valuable information about the early formation of the planets; it is an in-between step, a half-way formed planet that began it’s life just like Earth. Dawn will not orbit around to the bright side of Ceres until mid April, at which point we can expect to receive hundreds of high resolution images.


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Moonquakes

Posted on March 15, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

Although the moon’s tectonic plates are no longer active, the moon does experience “moonquakes” not due to tectonic plates. There are four types of “moonquakes”, which can generally be explained by non-tectonic factors: tidal forces, meteoric impacts, and “the expansion of the frigid crust when first illuminated by the morning sun after two weeks of deep-freeze lunar night.” The vibrations from moonquakes last much longer than those from earthquakes, because the earth’s rock is tempered by chemical weathering, so it acts as a sponge, deadening the impact of a quake’s vibrations, while the moon’s rock is dry and rigid. We usually think about the moon as being unchanging, but the absence of tectonic forces does not imply that the moon’s geology is stagnant.

A11setup5_med

Astronauts using a seismometer on the moon (Photo cred)

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Moonquakes

Posted on March 15, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

Although the moon’s tectonic plates are no longer active, the moon does experience “moonquakes” not due to tectonic plates. There are four types of “moonquakes”, which can generally be explained by non-tectonic factors: tidal forces, meteoric impacts, and “the expansion of the frigid crust when first illuminated by the morning sun after two weeks of deep-freeze lunar night.” The vibrations from moonquakes last much longer than those from earthquakes, because the earth’s rock is tempered by chemical weathering, so it acts as a sponge, deadening the impact of a quake’s vibrations, while the moon’s rock is dry and rigid. We usually think about the moon as being unchanging, but the absence of tectonic forces does not imply that the moon’s geology is stagnant.

A11setup5_med

Astronauts using a seismometer on the moon (Photo cred)


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Our Place in the Universe

Posted on March 15, 2015 by lindenmuthadam

When Carl Sagan requested that NASA redirect its Voyager 1 camera towards Earth from the edge of the Solar System, he knew that it would be of little scientific value. The image taken, “Pale Blue Dot” proved to be one of the most iconic and powerful space photographs ever taken. The sheer magnitude of space surrounding Earth speaks volumes to the both the vastness of the universe, and the pettiness of human problems. Sagan put it best when he said “Consider again that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives.”


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Hot off the Press: Enceladus’ Heated Core

Posted on March 15, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

Recent findings suggest that Enceladus, the sixth-largest of Saturn’s 62 satellites, may have heats of up to 190 degrees Celsius in its interior. NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft encountered dust particles near Saturn which originated from Enceladus. Instruments on the spacecraft found that the particles were high in silicon, but lacking in metals like sodium and magnesium. The University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics performed experiments to find what conditions could produce the silica particles, and the results suggested that these particles are likely the result of water heated to at least 194 degrees Celsius.

Given what we have learned about the heat of planets, this suggestion of heat on Enceladus is intriguing. The diameter of Enceladus is only 313 miles, which is too small for it to still be producing heat through radioactive decay. What other forces might be responsible for Enceladus’ unexpected heat? Does the presence of heat in Enceladus suggest that life forms may be present in our solar system?

enceladus_geysers

Photo credit: Geysers erupting from Enceladus

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Hot off the Press: Enceladus’ Heated Core

Posted on March 15, 2015 by alyssasolarblog

Recent findings suggest that Enceladus, the sixth-largest of Saturn’s 62 satellites, may have heats of up to 190 degrees Celsius in its interior. NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft encountered dust particles near Saturn which originated from Enceladus. Instruments on the spacecraft found that the particles were high in silicon, but lacking in metals like sodium and magnesium. The University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics performed experiments to find what conditions could produce the silica particles, and the results suggested that these particles are likely the result of water heated to at least 194 degrees Celsius.

Given what we have learned about the heat of planets, this suggestion of heat on Enceladus is intriguing. The diameter of Enceladus is only 313 miles, which is too small for it to still be producing heat through radioactive decay. What other forces might be responsible for Enceladus’ unexpected heat? Does the presence of heat in Enceladus suggest that life forms may be present in our solar system?

enceladus_geysers

Photo credit: Geysers erupting from Enceladus


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Stonehenge: A Place of Death

Posted on March 15, 2015 by lukegchapman

Stonehenge, found in England’s Salisbury plain, is thought by many to be a calendar of sorts that tracked the movement of the Sun. But through my research I found out a few things about Stonehenge that would surprise anyone. First of all, Stonehenge took 3 million man hours to create and was built over the span of 1,500 years. The massive stones found there came from all over England and some of the blue stones were found to come from Wales. Some of the bodies found buried around Stonehenge date back to 4200 B.C. and are said to be the bodies of Neolithic men and women.

Where Stonehenge strays from the assumption that it was used mainly to track movement of the Sun was determined by researchers and archaeologists who found the bodies buried near Stonehenge with their skulls pointing towards the North towards the Moon. It is said that these people saw the Moon as a symbol of death. Also found at Stonehenge were the bodies of women and children, suggesting this was a place for sacrifices of the most brutal kind.

I was stunned to find out that a place like this is surrounded by so much death and this is discussed very little when talking about Stonehenge and its history.

Sources: Stonehenge video


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Potential Ocean Underneath Jupiter’s Surface

Posted on March 15, 2015 by leedd1

JUPITER

Scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope have found out that there is an ocean beneath the surface of Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede. According to NASA officials, this ocean that is buried under a thick crust of ice may hold more water than the collective amount of water on Earth. Scientists think the ocean is 10 times deeper than Earth’s ocean. The reason why this discovery is exciting is because this is the first step in looking for large bodies of water on celestial which may have strong indications of life. This conclusion was made by observing the auroras on Ganymede’s surface which did not show much movement, thus leading them to conclude that an ocean is responsible for causing this change compared to Jupiter. Looking exclusively for auroras on other bodies could help us find other planets with large bodies of water in the universe. This is another exciting step in finding life outside of Earth!


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Signs of Warm Water Found on Enceladus

Posted on March 15, 2015 by leedd1

NASA’s spacecraft, Cassini, has made an astonishing discovery about one of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus. This spacecraft has entered Saturn’s orbit and is sending information to the space center about Saturn and its moons. The purpose of sending this spacecraft was to make an effort of finding another celestial body that have habitable traits similar to Earth. After years of staying in Saturn, Cassini found a possible sign of life. It found thermal activity on the floor of Enceladus which indicates a possibility that that there is life in Enceladus. This belief was found when Cassini’s Cosmic Dust Analyzer found microscopic dust grains orbiting Saturn that measured 4-16 nanometers in diameter full of silicon, which is abundant on Earth’s crust. The presence of Silicon is a strong indication that the silicon has a single origin which supports the possibility of life on Enceladus.


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