Posts tagged space
The Sun, as shot by Alan Friedman
“ In something called the Orion Molecular Cloud, truly vast amounts of water are being produced. How much? Incredibly, Fishman explains, “the cloud is making sixty Earth waters every twenty-four hours”—or, in simpler terms, “there is enough water being formed sufficient to fill all of Earth’s oceans every twenty-four minutes.” This is occurring, however, in an area “420 times the size of our solar system.”
![Cassini is revealing some amazing details about a Saturnian moon:
“More than 90 jets of all sizes near Enceladus’s south pole are spraying water vapor, icy particles, and organic compounds all over the place,” says Carolyn Porco, an award-winning planetary scientist and leader of the Imaging Science team for NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. “Cassini has flown several times now through this spray and has tasted it. And we have found that aside from water and organic material, there is salt in the icy particles. The salinity is the same as that of Earth’s oceans.”
Thermal measurements of Enceladus’s fissures have revealed temperatures as high as -120 deg Fahrenheit (190 Kelvin). “If you add up all the heat, 16 gigawatts of thermal energy are coming out of those cracks,” says Porco.
The watery plumes of Enceladus come from icy fissures nicknamed “tiger stripes.” [more]
She believes the small moon, with its sub-surface liquid sea, organics, and an energy source, may host the same type of life we find in similar environments on Earth.
(Via NASA)](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1lk8fIEo31qz95glo1_1280.jpg)
Cassini is revealing some amazing details about a Saturnian moon:
“More than 90 jets of all sizes near Enceladus’s south pole are spraying water vapor, icy particles, and organic compounds all over the place,” says Carolyn Porco, an award-winning planetary scientist and leader of the Imaging Science team for NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. “Cassini has flown several times now through this spray and has tasted it. And we have found that aside from water and organic material, there is salt in the icy particles. The salinity is the same as that of Earth’s oceans.”
Thermal measurements of Enceladus’s fissures have revealed temperatures as high as -120 deg Fahrenheit (190 Kelvin). “If you add up all the heat, 16 gigawatts of thermal energy are coming out of those cracks,” says Porco.
The watery plumes of Enceladus come from icy fissures nicknamed “tiger stripes.” [more] She believes the small moon, with its sub-surface liquid sea, organics, and an energy source, may host the same type of life we find in similar environments on Earth.
(Via NASA)
“ Our Milky Way galaxy contains a minimum of 100 billion planets, according to a detailed statistical study based on the detection of three planets located outside our solar system, called exoplanets.”
Glass plate image of the Moon, taken at the Lick Observatory on July 28th, 1891.
Family portrait (Via Bad Astronomy)
NASA Graphic Standards Manual, 1976 (Via Aisle One)
France (and a bit of Italy) as seen from the International Space Station. Taken from 60 degrees off straight down, 400 miles away. (via Discover Magazine)
