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Astronomy Science Fiction

The Planet with Three Suns: KELT-4Ab

Can a planet have three suns? In March 2016, astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics discovered a Jupiter-sized hot planet with three suns: KELT-4Ab. The planet orbits the star KELT-4A, in the star system KELT-4 system that is 680 light-years away from us.

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Solar System Astronomy

A Scale Model of the Solar System Drawn in the Desert [the Result is Stunning]

On a dry lake bed in Nevada, the United States, a group of friends built a scale model of the solar system with complete planetary orbits. They first put a Sun with a diameter of 1.5 meters (5 feet) in the center, and then draw the planets’ orbits accordingly.

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Astronomy Planet Earth Solar System

Earth to scale [See How Tiny our planet is in the Grand Scheme of the Universe]

When we look up at the night sky, we may feel small and insignificant compared to the vast expanse of space. However, our sense of smallness is put into perspective when we consider the true scale of the universe. Our planet Earth is just a tiny speck in a vast and complex system of planets, stars, galaxies, and beyond. In this article, we will explore just how small Earth is when compared to the larger structures of our solar system, the Milky Way galaxy, and the universe as a whole. By understanding our place in the universe, we can gain a greater appreciation for the sheer magnitude and complexity of the cosmos.

Categories
Solar System Astronomy

There might be a 9th planet beyond Pluto [and it’s a giant!]

Astronomers now think there’s a 9th planet in the solar system almost certainly (hint: it’s not Pluto). The farthest planet from our Sun is probably a giant, smaller than Neptune but likely larger than the Earth. It is informally called Phattie, but commonly known as Planet Nine.

Categories
Solar System Astronomy

If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel [The most accurate map of the Solar System]

The Solar System is vast and complex, encompassing countless celestial bodies such as planets, dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, and comets. To visualize the vastness of our cosmic neighborhood, we often use maps and models that represent the planets and their orbits in a scaled-down form. However, even the most detailed models can fail to convey the true scale of the Solar System. One intriguing way to explore the scale of our cosmic surroundings is to imagine if the Moon were only one pixel in diameter on a map. This thought experiment can help us appreciate the sheer enormity of the distances and sizes involved in our Solar System.

Categories
Astronomy Planet Earth Solar System Space Exploration

10 Fascinating Earth Facts Linked to the Solar System

Our home planet, Earth, is the third of the four smaller inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars). It is also the only planet in our solar system known to harbor life. Our planet is full of diverse and complex systems that sustain life as we know it. But it is also just one small part of a much larger cosmic neighborhood, the solar system.

There are numerous ways in which the Earth is intricately linked to the other planets, moons, and celestial bodies that make up our solar system, each of which has fascinating implications for our understanding of our planet and the universe as a whole. In this article, we’ll explore 10 of the most interesting Earth facts that are intimately tied to the solar system in which we reside.

Categories
Astrobiology Astronomy Life on Earth Physics

New Study Suggests 92% of Earth-Like Planets Have Yet to Be Born

A recent study led by Peter Behroozi of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland suggests that the vast majority of Earth-like planets in the universe have yet to be born. Using computer simulations to model planet formation around stars in the Milky Way galaxy, Behroozi and his team found that only 8% of potentially habitable planets have already formed. This means that the remaining 92% are yet to be born. The study’s findings have significant implications for our understanding of the prevalence of life in the universe and the prospects for finding it beyond our solar system.

Categories
Astrobiology Astronomy

Kepler-452b: The Earth’s Twin?

NASA’s space observatory Kepler may have discovered a possibly Earth-like planet, named Kepler-452b, a rocky world orbiting a Sun-like star at almost the exact same distance Earth orbits our own Sun.

“The new Earth” is located 1,400 light-years from us. It orbits a Sun-like star that is 4% more massive and 10% brighter than our Sun. Kepler-452b is 1.6 times the size of Earth and scientists are fairly sure that it is a rocky world.

Categories
Space Exploration Astronomy

New Horizons’ amazing Pluto flyover [video]

Last week, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft began sending stunning shots of Pluto on its flyover back to the Earth. Here is a beautiful Pluto flyover video created from the images from New Horizons’ closest approach to the dwarf planet on July 14, 2015.

Categories
Earth from Space Astronomy Life on Earth Solar System Space Exploration

Pale Blue Dot

The farthest spacecraft from Earth, NASA’s Voyager 1 (see notes 1) probe took a photo of planet Earth on February 14, 1990, from a record distance of about 6 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles, 40 AU (see notes 2) from Earth. The photo is known as the Pale Blue Dot. In the photograph, Earth is shown as a fraction of a pixel (0.12 pixel in size) against the vastness of space. It was a part of the Solar System Family Portrait series of images.

The Voyager 1 spacecraft, which had completed its primary mission and was leaving the Solar System, was commanded by NASA to turn its camera around and take a photograph of Earth across a great expanse of space, at the request of Carl Sagan (see notes 3).

It quickly became the most iconic photo of Earth taken from space.