All about Earth's Atmosphere | Astronotes. Where does space begin? Let’s look up into our planet’s atmosphere, that shell of nitrogen (about 78%), oxygen (about 20%), various other gases (2%) that makes life on Earth possible, to find out. The atmosphere gets thinner as you go further up, in fact 90% of the Earth’s atmosphere by weight is in the bottom 10 miles (16 km). A view of the crescent moon through the top of the Earth's atmosphere. Photographed by International Space Station crew Expedition 13 over the South China Sea, just south of Macau. The atmosphere is stratified, that is divided into layers based the bulk properties and behaviours of the air at that altitude. Just to put things into perspective, Mt. A diagram showing the layers of the Earth's atmosphere (Image credit: NASA) Rising through the tropopause we come to the second best –known layer of the atmosphere, the stratosphere.
Above the stratopause we have the mesosphere which extends upwards to 80–85 km (50–53 mile) above the surface. Things You Do Not Know About Outer Space. Life's Little Mysteries - A Daily Investigation of the World Around You. The Planetary Society. Heavy Boots. Editorial note: I received this as an email from a friend who got it from a friend who ...
I do not know who the original author is, but I do believe this to be true. Who could possibly make it up? Heavy Boots About 6-7 years ago, I was in a philosophy class at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (good science/engineering school) and the teaching assistant was explaining Descartes. He was trying to show how things don't always happen the way we think they will and explained that, while a pen always falls when you drop it on Earth, it would just float away if you let go of it on the Moon.
"No it wouldn't. " the TA explained calmly, "because you're too far away from the Earth's gravity. " I countered, "why didn't they float away? " "Because they were wearing heavy boots. " he responded, as if this made perfect sense (remember, this is a Philosophy TA who's had plenty of logic classes). As we left the room, my friend Mark was raging. 1. About 47 percent got this question correct. 2. 13. Stellarium. Have We Found The Universe That Existed Before The Big Bang?
Is the Universe a Holographic Reality? The Universe as a Hologram by Michael Talbot Does Objective Reality Exist, or is the Universe a Phantasm? In 1982 a remarkable event took place. At the University of Paris a research team led by physicist Alain Aspect performed what may turn out to be one of the most important experiments of the 20th century. You did not hear about it on the evening news. In fact, unless you are in the habit of reading scientific journals you probably have never even heard Aspect's name, though there are some who believe his discovery may change the face of science. Aspect and his team discovered that under certain circumstances subatomic particles such as electrons are able to instantaneously communicate with each other regardless of the distance separating them. University of London physicist David Bohm, for example, believes Aspect's findings imply that objective reality does not exist, that despite its apparent solidity the universe is at heart a phantasm, a gigantic and splendidly detailed hologram.
ASTR 1230, Whittle [Fall 2009]. Lecture Notes. Bitesize Astronomy. Supernova 1987A: The Three Ring Circus Week of March 6, 2000 Last week's Snack talked about why the star that was to become Supernova 1987a (what astronomers call the precursor) exploded. I concentrated on the core of the star, because for supernovae that's where the action is.
I mentioned the outer layers a few times because they play their role in the explosion too: they provide the pressure for the core so it can fuse elements, and in the end it's the ejection of those outer layers that creates the supernova event. I didn't talk much about what those outer layers are doing while the core is going through its evolutionary gyrations. As it happens, for me, this is the most interesting part. It has also led to all sorts of new ideas about supernovae and how they behave long after the explosion. Again, my apologies. As helium piles up in the core, it gets very hot. Nothing last forever, especially a star. When a star is a red supergiant, it doesn't just sit there. That was in 1990. The Astronomy Cafe : Dr. Sten Odenwald - A resource for learning about astronomy.
NASA Telescope Confirms Alien Planet in Habitable Zone. This story was updated at 12:15 p.m. ET. MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft has confirmed the discovery of its first alien world in its host star's habitable zone — that just-right range of distances that could allow liquid water to exist — and found more than 1,000 new explanet candidates, researchers announced today (Dec. 5). The new finds bring the Kepler space telescope's total haul to 2,326 potential planets in its first 16 months of operation.These discoveries, if confirmed, would quadruple the current tally of worlds known to exist beyond our solar system, which recently topped 700. The potentially habitable alien world, a first for Kepler, orbits a star very much like our own sun. "We're getting closer and closer to discovering the so-called 'Goldilocks planet,'" Pete Worden, director of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., said during a press conference today.
The newfound planet in the habitable zone is called Kepler-22b. Earth has more than one moon, astronomers confirm | The Sideshow. There are at least two moons orbiting Earth at any given time Researchers at Cornell University say that what we know as the Moon is in fact not the only one orbiting our planet at any given time. Smaller objects regularly inhabit the Earth's orbit, usually leaving after a few months to continue on their celestial journeys. The discovery is considered a major breakthrough for space research because scientists had been working toward visiting asteroids outside of Earth's orbit for research.
While these temporary moons are too small for a shuttle landing, they are prime for research from a relatively close distance. However, it's still to be determined whether the announcement will capture the public's attention like previously revealed New Moons. The new paper titled "The population of natural Earth satellites," from Cornell University's Mikael Granvik, Jeremie Vaubaillon and Robert Jedicke states that these "secret moons" enter and exit the Earth's orbit without notice. Tonight. Tonight’s chart shows Polaris and the Big and Little Dippers for a September evening. You can use the Big Dipper to find Polaris, which is also known as the North Star. Notice that a line from the two outermost stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper points to Polaris.
And notice that Polaris marks the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper. The northern sky is a large clock, with Polaris at its center. The Big and Little Dippers: All you need to know EarthSky astronomy kits are perfect for beginners. View larger. | Keith Breazeal’s photo of a meteor streaking past the Big Dipper during the 2015 Perseid meteor shower. The Big Dipper swings full circle – 360 degrees – around Polaris in about 23 hours and 56 minutes. If you’re in the northern U.S., Canada or at a similar latitude, the Big Dipper is circumpolar for you – always above the horizon. A month from now at mid-evening, the Big Dipper will be noticeably lower in the northwest. Module E : Space Science : Astronomy Dictionary.