Study: Pluto Should Be a Planet!
In 2006, members of the International Astronomical Union or the IAU, an organization recognized as the authority for naming celestial bodies, voted on a set of characteristics that define what makes a planet a planet. One of those traits required a planet had to “clear” its orbit; meaning it had to provide the greatest gravitational force in […]
Astronomers Discover A Dozen New Jovian Moons
As a team of astronomers was looking beyond Pluto for the mysterious Planet 9. So far they haven’t located the giant hypothetical planet, but they did wind up discovering a dozen new moons orbiting Jupiter. “Jupiter just happened to be in the sky near the search fields where we were looking for extremely distant Solar System […]
Don’t Smoke; Space Blob Mystery; Near Earth Asteroid Watch
Yet Another Reason Not to Smoke The American Heart Association released a new study that uncovers yet another reason not to smoke. The study, published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, suggests that smoking can have a wide-ranging and long-term effect on our DNA. The research shows that smoking leaves a “footprint” on the human […]
New Sunspot Index Breaks Link Between Solar Activity and Climate Change
A newly updated analysis of sunspot numbers over the last 400 years suggests solar activity has nothing to do with climate change, a discovery that eliminates a key argument used by those who question human caused climate change. Some of those who suggest that climate change is not anthropogenic in nature contend that changes in the […]
Science Scanner: Voters Say Pluto is a Planet, Sense of Touch Explored, Promising New Way to Stop Spread of Cancer, High-Tech Bracelet Secures Computers
People Vote to Make Pluto a Planet Again Until 2006, school children were taught – and most people considered the matter settled – that Pluto is one of the nine planets of the solar system. But that year members of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) – which is responsible for naming and classifying celestial objects […]
Hubble Watches and Records Rare Asteroid Disintegration
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured some amazing and breathtaking images since it began scanning the cosmos in 1990. But, from late last year into early this year, the space telescope was able to capture and record something that, until now, had never been seen before; the breakup of an asteroid located in the asteroid […]
Evidence of Water Vapor Found on Dwarf Planet Ceres
Scientists have found signs of water vapor on the dwarf planet known as Ceres. “This is the first time water vapor has been unequivocally detected on Ceres or any other object in the asteroid belt and provides proof that Ceres has an icy surface and an atmosphere,” said Michael Küppers of the European Space Agency. […]