Science Scanner: NASA Finds New Planets with Twin Suns
Remember when Luke Skywalker watched the double sunset of Tatooine’s twin suns in 1977’s Star Wars “Episode IV: A New Hope?” Well, reality took a page from fiction today as NASA astronomers announced the discovery of two new “twin-sun” planets in Nature. According to NASA’s Kepler Mission, planets which orbit two stars – like the […]
Voyager Goes Where No Human-Made Vehicle Has Gone Before
No human-made object is further out in space than NASA’s Voyager I, which is currently near the edge of our Solar System, more than 33 lighthours – the distance traveled by light in a vacuum in one hour – roundtrip light time from the sun. Its twin, Voyager II, is also headed toward the tip […]
Science Scanner: Discovery Could Explain Color of Pluto
Researchers have found new evidence pointing to the possibility of complex hydrocarbon and/or nitrile molecules lying on the surface of Pluto. Using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, which was installed aboard the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009, the researchers found a strong ultraviolet-wavelength absorber on the distant dwarf planet. The researchers point out that such chemical […]
Comet Survives Fiery Brush with Sun
Late last week scientists witnessed something they wouldn’t have considered possible if they hadn’t seen it for themselves. At about 7:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 15, an icy comet flew right through the multimillion-degree atmosphere of the sun – and survived fully intact. As Comet Lovejoy passed through the solar corona, it came within […]
Clues to Life on Mars Found on Earth
Scientists think they’ve uncovered clues to what life might exist on Mars – from a discovery made right here on Earth. The team from Oregon State University collected microbes from ice within a lava tube found in the Cascade Mountains in America’s Northwest. They found the little life forms not only live, but can actually […]
Human-like Life Could Exist on Newly-discovered Planet
A newly-discovered Earth-like planet could very well contain continental features where normal human-like life could exist. Or it could be more of a water world with an ocean containing life forms similar to dolphins. That’s according to Dr. Alan Boss, of the Carnegie Institution for Science, one of the researchers involved in discovering the new […]
Science Scanner: NASA Telescope Spots Earth-like Planet
The scientific community is buzzing after news broke that NASA’s Kepler telescope has honed in on the most Earth-like planet ever seen outside our solar system. The findings suggest it could be a large, rocky planet with a surface temperature of about 72 degrees Fahrenheit, comparable to a comfortable spring day on Earth. It is […]
Online Catalog Lists Potentially-Habitable Planets
Looking for another planet to live one? A new online catalog might help you with that. Hundreds of possible planets have been discovered outside of our Solar System in the past couple of decades. Since the first confirmed detection of one in 1992, some 707 of these exoplanets have been identified, according to the online […]
Science Scanner: Need a Bone? Just Print One!
If someone told you they’d created a material that looks and feels like bone on an ink-jet printer, you’d probably laugh. But researchers at Washington State University have done just that. The researchers used a 3D printer to create a bone-like material and structure that they say can be used in applications such as orthopedic procedures, […]
Scientists Propose New Search for Extra-terrestrial Life
An international team of scientists is about to embark on a unique search for life on planets far beyond our solar system. So far, astronomers have found 702 planets outside of our solar system and that number is expected to reach several thousand or more within the next few years. As the list of newly […]