NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft just barely reached its goal – the asteroid Bennu, but has already made significant discoveries. One of them is that there is water inside the asteroid, the space agency said. The data of the device show that in the structure of Bennu there are molecules of oxygen and hydrogen that are connected to each other. Scientists say they are abundant in the clay minerals of the asteroid. This means that at some point in its story, Bennu had a touch of water. The asteroid itself is too small to have ever had liquid water. But such was...
The Parker Spacecraft has successfully passed its first approach to the Sun, NASA reported. This happened on Monday 5th of November, when the device flew 24 million kilometers from the surface of the Star. This makes Parker the only spacecraft that was so close to the Sun. 24 million km. look very much from Earth’s point of view, but for the scale of the Sun and Space is very small. They have exposed Parker to serious heat, strong solar radiation and a solar wind. “The Parker Probe is designed to be able to take care of itself while approaching the...
According to NASA scientists, involved in the New Horizons project, the definition of Planet should be changed. They are ready with a new classification which, if accepted, will add more than 100 new Planets in the Solar System, reported the online edition of Science Alert. Currently as a “Planet” is defined a single cosmic body that orbits the Sun and meets certain orbital criteria. Scientists say this is not correct. “While respecting intelligent scientific classification and people’s intuition, we offer a geographically based definition of a “Planet” that focuses primarily on its physical properties rather than on orbital”, the...
The story of Pluto continues to become increasingly unclear. Some time ago, the space object lost its status on a Planet and it was put into the Dwarf Planet. Some science, however, dispute and this definition, and a new study points to the idea that Pluto might actually be a giant comet, reported the online edition of CNET. The study was done by scientists from the Institute “Southwest” (SwRI), which used data from the NASA’s ”New Horizons,” and the mission “Rosetta” from European Space Agency (ESA), which landed on the comet 67R. They compared the data with what is known...
Scientists believe they have confirmed how the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter was formed Although many astronomers are studying the deep Cosmos, there are still many things that humanity does not know about the Solar System. For example, what is the origin of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists at the University of Florida believe they have found the answer to this question, the online Engadget reported. According to them, 85% of all asteroids in the inner main belt originate from the remains of 5 or 6 small, disintegrated Planets. They are Flora, Vesta, Nysa, Polana and...
Online 3D model of the Solar System and night sky in real-time – the Sun, Planets, dwarf planets, comets, stars and constellations. Solar System Scope is a amazing way of Exploring, Discovering and Playing with the Solar System and Outer Space. Welcome to the Space Playground Solar System Scope contains many views and celestial simulations, but most of all – it brings you closer to the furthest reaches of our world and lets you experience lots of fantastic space sceneries. It aspires to be the most illustrative, easy to understand and simple to use space model. 3D Encyclopedia In Solar’s unique encyclopedia...
For decades, scientists have been debating how would it be if a piece of Earth broke down and shaped our Moon about 4.5 billion years ago. Now, new chemical evidence directs science to the theory that events were actually much more turbulent than we had imagined. Scientists describe the impact that “freed” the Moon using the metaphor “hammer struck a melon.” Science has established the theory that the Moon was once part of the Earth before it was cut off and sent into orbit, but the exact circumstances in which it happened were still unclear. So far, the popular theory...
Scientists have confirmed the presence of ice on the Moon, Agency France-Press reported. For years, researchers have reported such a possibility, but so far there was no clear evidence. “For the first time, scientists have clear evidence of the presence of frozen water on the surface,” said Shuai Li of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetology in Hawaii. The ice, which is mostly in craters of the moon’s poles, was spotted by the Indian probe Chandrayaan – 1, launched in 2008. NASA scientists have analyzed the chemical charts that “surely prove that there is frozen water on the surface of the moon,” he...
Scientists have long been aware of the fact that galaxies are growing in volume when they swallow up other, smaller galaxies. This process is part of the cosmic evolution. Evidence of this is the cosmic auras (halo) in which the stars of the cannibalized galaxies can be spotted, Science Alert writes. All this applies in full force for Andromeda (also known as M31) – our closest neighbor. The galaxy has a huge and virtually invisible halo of stars that is bigger than itself. For a long time, scientists thought it had come from a number of small mergers. However, thanks...
