Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Monday, July 27, 2015
3-Mile-High 'Pyramid' and Bright Light On Ceres - Unexplained Mysteries
New images of Ceres are the clearest ever taken, but NASA's scientists still haven't figured out the enigmatic dwarf planet. The agency's latest photos of Ceres show multiple bright spots — and a "pyramid-shaped peak towering over a relatively flat landscape."
That's according to an update posted by the space agency, saying that Ceres and its bright spots "continue to mystify." The latest images of Ceres taken by the Dawn spacecraft have captured a fascinating pyramid-shaped mountain on the surface.
As the spacecraft gets closer, more and more features are beginning to reveal themselves.This includes the mysterious bright spots, which appear now as an array of dots scattered across the floor of a crater - but their source remains unknown. Ceres has long been a bit of a mystery, but it began mystifying NASA in earnest earlier this year, when images arrived that showed two unmistakably bright spots in a large crater on the dwarf planet's surface.
The view captured by the Dawn spacecraft this month "shows even more small spots in the crater than were previously visible," NASA says, providing the latest revelations about a dwarf planet that the agency has said "has more in common with Earth and Mars than its rocky neighbors."
"At least eight spots can be seen next to the largest bright area, which scientists think is approximately 6 miles (9 kilometers) wide. A highly reflective material is responsible for these spots — ice and salt are leading possibilities, but scientists are considering other options, too."
Ceres is 590 miles (950 km) across and was discovered in 1801. It is the closest dwarf planet to the sun and is located in the asteroid belt, making it the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system. Ceres is the smallest of the bodies currently classified as a 'dwarf planet'. It lies less than three times as far as Earth from the sun - close enough to feel the warmth of the star, allowing ice to melt and reform. Nasa's Dawn spacecraft made its way to Ceres after leaving the asteroid Vesta in 2012. There is high interest in the mission because Ceres is seen as being a record of the early solar system, and may also have shifting ice on its surface.
The structure is thought to rise about three miles (five km), which is roughly the height of Mont Blanc in France and Italy, the highest mountain in the Alps. Another image reveals the bright spots in greater detail. Several can be seen next to the largest bright area, estimated to be six miles (9km) wide.
Ice and salt are the leading theories for what is causing this odd reflectivity. ‘It is exciting seeing these features come into sharper focus,’ Dr Marc Rayman, Dawn’s mission director and chief engineer. ‘A few months ago, when Dawn began observing its new home from afar, we called it a bright spot. As the explorer closed in and provided better views, we realised it was two bright spots.
‘Now we see it is many. It’s still not clear what is causing these strong reflections, and I think still more data are needed. ‘Everyone has her or his own personal favorite theory, but the ultimate arbiter is nature. That is, we can all speculate, and we can offer arguments, but the answer is going to be clear soon. ‘My money is on the remnants from ice that has sublimated. The salts left behind then could be what’s reflecting the light.
To be fair, the agency offered no suggestion that the towering structure is an offering to some long-lost space emperor or home to our new alien overlords. And, to be even more fair, it's probably just a really tall mountain in a solar system filled with wondrous and strange natural phenomena.
But the Dawn mission has done nothing but stoke imaginations since the discovery of mysterious bright spots on the surface of the dwarf planet in February and the beginning of the probe's orbit in March. Folks have claimed to have spotted giant alien motherships hovering over the planet, bat-winged spaceships parked on its surface and even evidence of alien cities.
Several theories are currently being touted for what the mysterious bright white spots are on Ceres. The Hubble Space Telescope has found more than 10 on the surface, but Ceres has found that the two most prominent - ‘spot 5’ - are in a crater about 57 miles (92km) wide. One theory is that they are salt flats that are reflecting sunlight, left on the surface by saltwater or by other chemical reactions.
Another theory is that they are regions of ice, again reflecting sunlight.
Ceres is thought to have plenty of ice beneath its surface, which could be exposed when a asteroid or comet strikes the surface. The fact these bright spots are in a crater - where such an impact occurred - supports this theory.
Ceres is thought to have plenty of ice beneath its surface, which could be exposed when a asteroid or comet strikes the surface. The fact these bright spots are in a crater - where such an impact occurred - supports this theory.
Another possibility is that they are cryovolcanoes - volcanoes that are shooting out water or ice. However, the lack of a raised area around the spots consistent with a volcano suggests this might not be correct.
And they could even be water vapour ejecting from a liquid reservoir under the ground, although again current observations - namely a lack of additional material near the spots - suggests this is not the case.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
NASA’s Kepler Mission Discovers Bigger, Older Cousin to Earth
NASA’s Kepler mission has confirmed the first near-Earth-size planet in the “habitable zone” around a sun-like star. This discovery and the introduction of 11 other new small habitable zone candidate planets mark another milestone in the journey to finding another “Earth.”
The newly discovered Kepler-452b is the smallest planet to date discovered orbiting in the habitable zone — the area around a star where liquid water could pool on the surface of an orbiting planet — of a G2-type star, like our sun. The confirmation of Kepler-452b brings the total number of confirmed planets to 1,030.
Another Earth
Kepler 452b is 1400 light-years from Earth, orbits its star every 385 days, and is 1.6 times the diameter of Earth. Transit measurements don’t give any information about mass, but, judging from similar exoplanets for which masses are known, the Kepler team estimates it is five times as heavy as Earth, so any visitor would feel twice the gravity we are used to at home.
The NASA team consulted planetary geologists about what conditions there may be like, and they predicted that it would likely have experienced active volcanos for some time. Its higher mass may give it a thicker atmosphere and more cloud cover than Earth has. The greater age of the star means it will be heating up, so Kepler 452b may be experiencing a runaway greenhouse effect similar to the one that is currently toasting Venus.
Aliens
However, because of its size and distance, it is unlikely that we will find out more about Kepler 452b for a considerable time, if ever, unless it’s home to aliens that may visit us in earth!
Forbidden Archaeology forbids the truth about the Piri Reis map
For posting my article about the Piri Reis map on Forbidden Archaeology’s Facebook page, I was blocked from posting on, or even seeing, the page. The article lampoons Robert Schoch’s anti-scientific nonsense about this incredible map.
I suppose some things are forbidden even to those who believe they are searching for the truth. I wonder when the cult of celebrity, which has protected Robert Schoch for years, will stop taking its toll on science.
Here is the astounding truth about the Piri Reis map – a truly ancient map fragment, on gazelle skin parchment, which accurately depicts the continent of Antarctica before it was covered by ice.
“Witchcraft Cartography and Clairvoyant Archaeology: A Review of Robert M. Schoch’s ‘Voices of the Rocks: A Scientist Looks at Catastrophes and Ancient Civilizations'”
