Our Planet

Finland (Wild Scandinavia) – Amazing Video

An amazing video with scenes from the documentary Wild Scandinavia Episode 5 (Finland), with background music of the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ great work Finlandia, Op. 26.

Curiosity’s new selfie & Mars 2020 stands on its six wheels

Curiosity Rover selfie (October 11, 2019)

On October 24, 2019, NASA has published a new selfie of the Curiosity Mars Rover, which was taken on October 11, the 2,553rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover’s mission. The space agency has also announced that Curiosity’s successor, the Mars 2020 Rover now stands on its own six wheels.

NASA’s AMA (Ask Me Anything) about Van Allen Probes

On October 18, 2019, NASA held an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit. Scientists from the space agency answered questions about Van Allen Probes, two robotic spacecraft that were used to study the Van Allen radiation belts that surround planet Earth.

NASA’s Solar System and Beyond Poster Set [You can download and print for free!]

You can download and print NASA’s “Solar System and Beyond” Poster Set for free. The posters are best printed on 11”x17” paper.

“Impossible Engine” – it is impossible

A good rule of thumb: if you see a headline saying something “breaks the laws of physics” (i.e. the “Impossible Engine”) the headline is flat-out wrong.

Roscosmos publishes declassified documents from the Space Race

Russian space agency Roscosmos started to publish declassified documents from the Space Race, a 20th-century arm-wrestling to achieve firsts in spaceflight capability between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US).

First-ever all-female spacewalk performed by NASA astronauts

NASA astronauts and ISS Expedition 61 Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Jessica Meir have completed the first-ever all-female spacewalk in the history of space exploration. The spacewalk was broadcast live on NASA TV (see the video below).

Habitable Zone explained by astrophysicist

Elizabeth Tasker (@girlandkat on Twitter), the UK astrophysicist working at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the author of the popular science book “The Planet Factory” (see notes 1) says “the habitable zone is the worst name ever in the history of naming anything” in her perfect doodly she published on Twitter.

The best view yet of 2I/Borisov, the first confirmed interstellar comet by the Hubble Space Telescope

On October 12, 2019, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope provided astronomers with their best look yet at the first confirmed interstellar comet – the 2I/Borisov (originally designated C/2019 Q4).

Benefits of Renewable Energy Sources: Is Renewable Energy the Key to Fighting Climate Change?

There is no way of protecting the climate without drastically mitigating fossil fuel combustion. Nearly half of the CO2 pollution comes from power plants burning fossil fuels. But there’s a way to turn things around. Renewable energy cuts down carbon pollution and has a much lower impact on the environment.