Early Solar System May Have Had a 5th
Giant Planet (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
Billions of years ago, when the Sun was still a proto-star that had not
yet ignited, the young solar system may have contained a fifth giant
planet in addition to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. That planet
could have been ejected from the system once the Sun began conducting
fusion in its core, blowing out a cloud of dust from the circumstellar
disk that initially surrounded it.
A 2005 theory known as the Nice Model proposes that gas giants Jupiter
and Saturn and ice giants Uranus and Neptune initially orbited much
closer to the young Sun in circular orbits. These orbits were
subsequently perturbed by an unknown phenomenon that caused all four
planets to migrate outward. (6/4)
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson Helps
Launch Science Learning Kits in Orlando (Source: Orlando
Sentinel)
NASA administrator Bill Nelson and Dr. Frederic Bertley, president of
the Center of Science and Industry of Columbus, Ohio (COSI) “launch”
the COSI-NASA Learning Lunchboxes distribution at New Beginnings Church
in Orlando, Friday, June 3, 2022. Nelson helped hand out the science
education kits as part of NASA’s national partnership with COSI, who
will distribute 30,000 of the Learning Lunchboxes to local charities
across the U.S. (6/3)
What the Voyager Probes Can Teach
Humanity About Immortality and Legacy (Source: Space Daily)
Having spent my career in the field of religion and science, I've
thought a lot about how spiritual ideas intersect with technological
achievements. The incredible longevity of the Voyager spacecraft
presents a uniquely tangible entry point into exploring ideas of
immortality.
For many people, immortality is the everlasting existence of a soul or
spirit that follows death. It can also mean the continuation of one's
legacy in memory and records. With its Golden Record, each Voyager
provides such a legacy, but only if it is discovered and appreciated by
an alien civilization in the distant future. Click here.
(6/3)
The Consequences of Climate Change in
the Alps are Visible From Space (Source: Space Daily)
Global warming has a particularly pronounced impact on the Alpine
region. Like the Arctic, this European mountain range is becoming
greener. Writing in the journal Science, researchers from the
University of Lausanne and the University of Basel have now used
satellite data to show that vegetation above the tree line has
increased in nearly 80% of the Alps. Snow cover is also decreasing,
albeit so far only slightly.
Melting glaciers have become a symbol of climate change in the Alps.
Now, the reduction in snow cover is already visible from space but this
is by no means the biggest change. This is the conclusion of a research
team led by Professor Sabine Rumpf from the University of Basel and
Professor Gregoire Mariethoz and Professor Antoine Guisan from the
University of Lausanne. (6/3)
Lightning Towers Stand Tall at NASA
Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39B (Source: NASA)
The most powerful lightning strike ever recorded at NASA’s Kennedy
Space Center recently put the Florida spaceport’s lightning protection
system at Launch Pad 39B to the test.
On April 2, the system’s high-speed cameras activated after picking up
weather conducive to lightning in the area. NASA’s Space Launch System
(SLS) and Orion spacecraft were on the pad for a wet dress rehearsal
attempt in preparation for the Artemis I launch, raising the stakes for
the protection system’s role.
The storm produced lightning that struck inside the pad perimeter four
times, including one which produced only the second positive lightning
strike at pad 39B since the pad’s new lightning protection system was
installed at Kennedy. Positive strikes, which transfer positive charges
to the ground, are rare and account for less than 5 percent of all
cloud-to-ground strikes. They typically send a more powerful surge of
electricity to the ground, making them more dangerous than the more
common negative strikes. (6/2)
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