04.30.07
Posted in Space at 1:14 am by bobbyjoe
Both Jupiter and Saturn have magnetic fields much stronger than Earth’s (Uranus, Neptune and Mercury are also magnetic), and both have large radiation belts. Aurora has been observed on both, most clearly with the Hubble Space Telescope.
These auroras seem, like Earth’s, to be powered by the solar wind. In addition, however, Jupiter’s moons, especially Io, are also powerful sources of auroras. These arise from electric currents along field lines (”field aligned currents”), generated by a dynamo mechanism due to relative motion between the rotating planet and the moving moon. Io, which has active volcanism and an ionosphere, is a particularly strong source, and its currents also generate radio emissions, studied since 1955. - wiki
Credit: All images are provided by NASA and the ESA
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03.05.07
Posted in Space at 4:21 am by stark
The Cassini spacecraft, which is currently in high orbit around the planet Saturn, has taken some amazing photographs that have never before been seen. The photos show detailed shots of the plants distinctive ring system and both above and below the planet.
‘Sailing high above Saturn and seeing the rings spread out beneath us like a giant, copper medallion is like exploring an alien world we’ve never seen before. It just doesn’t look like the same place. It’s so utterly breath-taking, it almost gives you vertigo.’ The spacecraft will eventually return to its standard orbit parallel to the ring plane in late June.”
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02.24.07
Posted in Science, Space, World News at 12:40 am by bobbyjoe
At 8:57 p.m. ET time the Rosetta space probe will be entering a critical phase in its epic journey to land on Comet Churyumov- Gerasimenko. The probe will attempt a flyby of Mars using the planets gravity to reduce its speed and adjust its course back to earth. The probe will need to pass Earth three times and Mars once before reaching the comet in 2014.
Like the planets, comets are thought to have spun out of the sun during the formation of the solar system 4½ billion years ago. But unlike planets, comets have remained largely unchanged in composition, making them a unique time capsule of the process and elements at work during the formation of the planets.
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