June 6, 2022

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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