Here are a few of my favorite images of the moons of the gas giant planets, all taken by the various probes that have gone through the outer solar system in the past thirty years: Io, the innermost of Jupiter's four large moons, and the body in the solar system that is the most volcanically …
Category: Astronomy
Mars World Wind
I've been enjoying using NASA's WorldWind software to help my 7th/8th grade Physical Science students understand the solar system a little better. Mars especially has an amazing variety of features and landforms formed by tectonic events, meteorites, running water, groundwater, ice, and wind. (I've written about Mars WorldWind before, but I'm having so much fun …
A New Hypothesis Regarding the Ridges and Grooves on Jupiter’s Moon Europa
Jupiter's moon Europa is covered with grooves and ridges. The common hypothesis is that the crust of Europa is composed of thick sheets of ice which float on a liquid water layer deeper in the satellite. As these plates of ice move around, ridges and cracks form. NASA/Astronomy Picture of the Day This is a …
Continue reading A New Hypothesis Regarding the Ridges and Grooves on Jupiter’s Moon Europa
The Purpose of the Universe
This item was originally posted in March, 2006. It is now part of my blog recycling program. Because I have more people reading The Earth is Not Flat! now than I did a year ago, I will occasionally go back and re-use some of my best blog entries. This entry highlights the truth that the …
Seas on Titan
The Cassini probe, which is orbiting Saturn, has mapped part of the surface of the planet's largest moon. Like Venus, Titan is covered by a hazy atmosphere, which makes viewing the surface using visible light impossible. The Cassini probe includes a radar mapping tool, which has made it possible to construct a map of part …
Successor to Hubble
The Hubble Space Telescope is ailing -- its main camera stopped working a few weeks ago, and several of its stabilizing gyroscopes have failed. One more space shuttle servicing mission is scheduled for September 2008. The HST has not only been a marvelous scientific tool, it may well be the best public relations tool astronomy …
Mars and Valentine’s Day
Valentine's Day is just four days away, which makes me wonder... Is Mars the planet of war? After all, Venus was the Roman goddess of beauty and love, while Mars was the god of war. This Valentine's day, let us resolve to think better of the red planet! Mars is really a happy, loving place, …
Galaxies
The Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 8, 2007: Most of the objects in this image are galaxies, even many of the small specks. The only objects that are stars within our own Milky Way Galaxy are those that have spikes. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How …
Viewing Mercury
Most people have never seen the planet Mercury, but it has been known since ancient times. Being close to the sun, it is never found high in the night sky; rather it is viewable only shortly after sunset or before sunrise. This week, Mercury will be visible in the western sky after sunset. Mercury is …
Sponge Moon
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is of Hyperion, one of Saturn's 34+ moons. Here is the APOD discription of this image: Explanation: What lies at the bottom of Hyperion's strange craters? Nobody knows. To help find out, the robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn swooped past the sponge-textured moon in late 2005 and took …
Stellarium
For several years, I have been using Starry Night software in the classroom when teaching about the stars. The students love it, but at $49.95, they were unlikely to be able to do anything with it at home or in our computer lab. I found an excellent substitute for free on the internet: Stellarium. There …
World Wind Mars
Google Earth is great for viewing the Earth, but NASA World Wind is better for viewing the Moon or Mars. Here are some World Wind views of Mars: Like Google Earth, World Wind must be downloaded to your computer. It can be used for viewing the Earth as well, but it doesn't have as much …
Water on Mars
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows two images taken by the Mars Global Surveyor. A comparison of the same crater in 1999 and 2005 shows that there is an active slope process occuring in a crater, and many interpret this to be a brief flow of liquid water down from the rim. Liquid water, …
Viewing Mercury
The next few days are an opportunity to view Mercury in the eastern sky, up to an hour before sunrise. Click here for the story. Most people have never seen this elusive planet, but it isn't all that difficult if you just know when and where to look. Grace and Peace
Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula, from Astronomy Picture of the Day, October 26, 2006.
The Face on Mars
In 1976, the Viking 1 orbiter took a picture of a feature on Mars that had the appearance of a human face. Some people went from "It looks like a human face; isn't that interesting" to "It must have been constructed by aliens!" In 2001, the NASA Mars Global Surveyer took better resolution images of …
The one who caused chaos and strife
2003 UB313 finally has a name, and thankfully it is not named "Xena." Because it is larger than Pluto, this distant object threw the world of astronomy into chaos when it was discovered, eventually leading to the downgrading of Pluto to the lowly status of "dwarf planet." The International Astronomical Union has decided on the …
Eight Planets
Pluto is out! My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos! Grace and Peace
Election Day
Today is election day at the general assembly of the International Astronomical Union. It looks like the 12+ planet proposal could be defeated. Right now, we don't know if the day will end with an 8, 9, or 12-planet solar system. I'm rooting for eight planets. International Astronomical Union Yahoo news story I'm pleased to …
Ceres — Planet #5?
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is about Ceres, which will become the fifth planet from the sun (between Mars and Jupiter) if the International Astronomical Union goes ahead with its proposed definition of "planet." As you can see from the picture at APOD, we don't know much about Ceres, but that will change when/if …
GeoChristian 