Author: M. Özgür Nevres

I am a software developer and a science enthusiast. I was graduated from the Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Computer Engineering. In the past, I worked at the Istanbul Technical University Science Center as a science instructor. I write about the planet Earth and science on this website, ourplnt.com. I am also an animal lover! I take care of stray cats & dogs. This website's all income goes directly to our furry friends. Please consider supporting me on Patreon, so I can help more animals!

NASA and CSA welcomes 13 new astronauts and almost half of them are women

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date January 11, 2020
No Comments on NASA and CSA welcomes 13 new astronauts and almost half of them are women

13 new astronauts - the turtles — NASA's new class of astronauts - the first to graduate since the agency announced its Artemis program - appear on stage during their graduation ceremony at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston on Jan. 10, 2020. The class includes 11 NASA astronauts, as well as two Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronauts, selected in 2017. They will join the active astronaut corps, beginning careers in exploration that may take them to the International Space Station, on missions to the Moon under the Artemis program, or someday, Mars. Pictured from left are: Kayla Barron of NASA, Zena Cardman of NASA, Raja Chari of NASA, Matthew Dominick of NASA, Bob Hines of NASA, Warren Hoburg of NASA, Jonny Kim of NASA, Joshua Kutryk of CSA, Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, Loral O'Hara of NASA, Jessica Watkins of NASA, Jennifer Sidey-Gibbons of CSA, and Frank Rubio of NASA. image: NASA

NASA and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) chose 13 new astronauts, and the good news is, almost half of them are women. Nicknamed “turtles“, six women and seven men were selected from record-breaking 18,000 applicants representing a wide variety of backgrounds and specialties.

Astronomy Astrobiology

NASA’s TESS Space Telescope discovers its first Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date January 8, 2020
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TOI-700 d illustration by NASA — TOI-700 d is an exoplanet, likely rocky, orbiting TOI-700, a red dwarf star 101.4 light-years away in the Dorado constellation. The exoplanet is the first Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone discovered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

Exciting news! NASA’s planet-hunter TESS Space Telescope (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) has discovered its first Earth-sized exoplanet in its star’s habitable zone. The discovery was announced by NASA on January 7, 2020. The planet is named “TOI 700 d”.

Using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers confirmed the discovery and have modeled the planet’s potential environments to help inform future observations.

Animals Life on Earth

20 Amazing Leopard Facts

African Leopard — The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the five "big cats" (Tiger, Lion, Jaguar, Leopard and Snow Leopard) in the genus *Panthera*. Photo: Wikipedia

Leopard (scientific name: Panthera pardus) is one of the five big cat species in the genus Panthera, a member of the Felidae. The other members of the Panthera genus are Lion (Panthera leo), tiger (Panthera tigris), jaguar (Panthera onca), and snow leopard (Panthera uncia). The leopard is the fourth biggest cat in the world, after the tiger, lion, and jaguar. Here are 20 amazing leopard facts.

Space Exploration Astronomy Mars Moon Landing

Top 20 Exciting Advances in Space Science in the 2010s

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date December 31, 2019
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Mars Curiosity Rover Selfie — This self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle at the "Mojave" site, where its drill collected the mission's second taste of Mount Sharp. The scene combines dozens of images taken during January 2015 by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera at the end of the rover's robotic arm. The pale "Pahrump Hills" outcrop surrounds the rover, and the upper portion of Mount Sharp is visible on the horizon. Darker ground at upper right and lower left holds ripples of wind-blown sand and dust. Image: NASA.gov Some conspiracy theorists ask "where is the robotic arm?", "who took this photo?", "who holds the camera" etc. The view does not include the rover's robotic arm. Wrist motions and turret rotations on the arm allowed MAHLI to acquire the mosaic's component images. The arm was positioned out of the shot in the images, or portions of images, that were used in this mosaic. This process was used previously in acquiring and assembling Curiosity self-portraits taken at sample-collection sites "Rocknest" (PIA16468), "John Klein" (PIA16937) and "Windjana" (PIA18390).

Today is the last day of the 2010s – and what a decade it has been for space science and space exploration! Here is a timeline of the top 20 major (and exciting!) advances in space science in the 2010s.

Space Exploration Earth from Space

Astronaut Christina Koch broke the “longest spaceflight by a woman” record

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date December 30, 2019
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On December 28, 2019, NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) Christina Koch broke the record for “longest spaceflight by a woman”.

Earth from Space Space Exploration

An Astronaut’s Christmas Carol – Jewel in the Night (New video by Chris Hadfield)

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date December 24, 2019
No Comments on An Astronaut’s Christmas Carol – Jewel in the Night (New video by Chris Hadfield)

An Astronaut's Christmas Carol - Jewel in the Night. Chris Hadfield with his guitar in the ISS — Chris Hadfield with his Larrivée Parlor guitar in the ISS. Back in December 2012, Hadfield recorded the first-ever musical recording in space: An Astronaut's Christmas Carol - Jewel in the Night.

Retired astronaut (the first Canadian to walk in space), former commander of the International Space Station (ISS), musician, engineer, and former Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot Chris Hadfield published a new music video: “An Astronaut’s Christmas Carol – Jewel in the Night”.

Earth from Space Places Space Exploration

10 Most Beautiful Earth Photos Taken From the International Space Station in 2019

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date December 23, 2019
No Comments on 10 Most Beautiful Earth Photos Taken From the International Space Station in 2019

Most beautiful Earth photos from ISS in 2019 - Issyk-Kul — Without any shadows of doubt, one of the most beautiful Earth photos from space: Issyk-Kul Lake in the central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan is surrounded by the snow-capped Tian Shen mountains. It is the second-largest mountain lake in the world behind Lake Titicaca in South America. The International Space Station was orbiting 252 miles above southeastern Kazakhstan with a ground distance of 72 miles from Issykul-Lake when this photograph was taken. Image (iss061e006705, October 16, 2019): NASA Issyk-Kul is the seventh deepest lake in the world, the tenth largest lake in the world by volume (though not in surface area), and the second largest saline lake after the Caspian Sea. Issyk-Kul means "warm lake" in the Kyrgyz language; although it is surrounded by snow-capped peaks, it never freezes.

Here are the top 10 most beautiful Earth photos taken by the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the orbiting laboratory, in 2019. Which one is your favorite? Or if your favorite image was not listed here, please leave a comment below. To see all images taken from the International Space Station and published by NASA, visit Space Station Images webpage.

Geology Planet Earth

Scale and composition of Earth’s surface

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date December 17, 2019
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Major constituents of the Earth's crust, water, and atmosphere Image: NASA Goddard Planetary Scientist Dr. James O'Donoghue (@physicsJ)

In collaboration with Dr. Christine Houser (@seismodoc), a specially appointed assistant Professor of solid Earth geophysics at the Earth-Life Science Institute in Japan, NASA Goddard Planetary Scientist Dr. James O’Donoghue (@physicsJ) created another amazing animation titled “Scale and Composition of Earth’s surface: Major constituents of the crust, water, and atmosphere” and published on his YouTube channel.

Space Exploration Earth from Space

Space Shuttle Atlantis meets Mir [July 4, 1995, STS-71]

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date December 10, 2019
No Comments on Space Shuttle Atlantis meets Mir [July 4, 1995, STS-71]

Space Shuttle Atlantis Meets Mir Space Station (1995) — NASA and the Russian space agency kicked off a new era in international space cooperation in June of 1995 when the Space Shuttle Atlantis docked with the Russian space station Mir for the first time. Atlantis' mission, STS-71, launched on June 27 and marked the 100th U.S. human space launch. Together, Atlantis and Mir became the largest combined spacecraft ever in orbit, totaling almost half a million pounds. For the docking, Shuttle Commander Hoot Gibson positioned Atlantis directly below Mir, so that the Earth's gravity naturally braked the orbiter's approach "up" to Mir. The final approach rate of about an inch per minute ended 216 nautical miles above Russia's Lake Baikal region, with a nearly perfect docking, off by less than one inch and one half a degree. The Shuttle-Mir program included 11 Space Shuttle flights and 7 astronaut residencies on Mir and helped pave the way for the International Space Station now in orbit. This is a resized and cropped photo. You can see the full-size photo on NASA.gov

An amazing historic photo of the Space Shuttle Atlantis still connected to Russia’s Mir Space Station. It was taken on July 4, 1995, by the Mir-19 crew.

Life on Earth Animals Oceans

“The Deep Sea”: life in the depth of the oceans

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date December 7, 2019
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Frilled shark — The frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus) is one of two extant species of shark in the family Chlamydoselachidae, with a wide but patchy distribution in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This species is found over the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope, generally near the bottom, though there is evidence of substantial upward movements. It has been caught as deep as 1,570 meters (5,150 feet), although it is uncommon below 1,200 meters (3,900 feet). Image: Wikipedia

Young software developer Neal Agarwal (Twitter: @nealagarwal) created an amazing interactive visualization showing life in the depth of the oceans. Named “The Deep Sea” (click here to see the visualization), the interactive webpage shows the living depths and also the maximum diving points of various animals. Be prepared to be amazed!