Archive for the ‘Space’ Category
Meteor Showers!!!
August 11th, 2009 | 
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Seeing one shooting star on a clear night is amazing but imagine seeing a whole bunch of them, in quick succession and over the course of hours! Meteor showers are actually predictable, annual phenomena that even seasoned astronomers still get excited about. Mainly just specks of dust or grains of rock, meteors are visible because of the high speeds with which they are thrown at the Earth. On the eve of the annual Perseid meteor shower, we bring you some amazing pictures of meteor showers past and let you know when you can spot the next ones.
Meteor showers occur when the Earth moves through a meteor stream, namely the particles left from the passage of a comet. On its path around the Sun, the Earth is bound to move through meteor streams and predictably so, which is why the time of occurrence of a certain meteor shower can be calculated quite accurately. So-called shower calendars help stargazers plan the year ahead.
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http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/meteor-showers/14319
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One of the Mars rovers found something on the Red Planet.
This view of a rock called “Block Island,” the largest meteorite yet found on Mars, comes from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.
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This iron-nickel meteorite found near Fort Stockton, Texas, in 1952 shows a surface texture similar to some portions of the surface of an iron-nickel meteorite that NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity found on Mars in July 2009.
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NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its microscopic imager to get this view of the surface of a rock called “Block Island” during the 1,963rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover’s mission on Mars (Aug. 1, 2009).
Full image and caption PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s Mars Rover Opportunity is investigating a metallic meteorite the size of a large watermelon that is providing researchers more details about the Red Planet’s environmental history.
The rock, dubbed “Block Island,” is larger than any other known meteorite on Mars. Scientists calculate it is too massive to have hit the ground without disintegrating unless Mars had a much thicker atmosphere than it has now when the rock fell. An atmosphere slows the descent of meteorites. Additional studies also may provide clues about how weathering has affected the rock since it fell.
Full Story…
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/news/mer-20090810.html
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NASA One of the Mars rovers found something on the Red Planet. Check it out at: http://www.nasa.gov/rovers
