Category Archives: SolarSystem

If Earth had Rings

Posted on April 6, 2015 by pMurs

One of the most distinctive astronomical features of our solar system is the brilliant ring system of Saturn. Due to their position, scale and material composition, Saturn’s rings have a visibility and tone not present in the ring systems of other planets. I wondered what it would look like if earth had rings and what […] Continue reading →

Posted in Jovians, Planet Rings, Terrestrials | Tagged , , | Comments Off on If Earth had Rings

Io being squeezed

Posted on April 6, 2015 by lindenmuthadam

We all know that Jupiter exerts tremendous tidal squeezing on Io, but we need images to truly grasp the magnitude of this force. This image shows Io spewing a 200 mile high volcanic plume! For reference, that is greater than the distance from Nashville to Knoxville! It is baffling to think that tidal squeezing alone […] Continue reading →

Posted in Moons | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Io being squeezed

An End to the Discovery of Bright Kuiper Belt Objects?

Posted on April 6, 2015 by adyacob

Check out this image from Universe Today: This shows the largest known objects in the Kuiper Belt. Pretty interesting to …

Continue reading →

Continue reading →

Posted in Class, Dwarf Planets, Universe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on An End to the Discovery of Bright Kuiper Belt Objects?

Blog Post #7: Comets Can Be Artists Too

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Elizabeth D.

bbc.com A new study shows that Mercury may have been “painted” black by passing comets. In class, we have learned to compare …

Continue reading →

Continue reading →

Posted in Small SS Objects | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Blog Post #7: Comets Can Be Artists Too

Saturn’s Titan doesn’t have it’s own magnetosphere!

Posted on April 5, 2015 by drgrundstrom

So whilst finding out some information about Saturn’s orbiter Cassini, I came across this story: Cassini Catches Titan Naked in the Solar Wind.  We’ve been talking a lot about magnetospheres when we discuss the giant worlds so this whole thing is really interesting! The space probe Cassini was going by Titan in 2013 when a big […] Continue reading →

Posted in Jovians, SolarSystem | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Saturn’s Titan doesn’t have it’s own magnetosphere!

Colliding with Jupiter

Posted on April 5, 2015 by willymanng

The Shoemaker–Levy 9 collision with Jupiter was the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects. Shoemaker–Levy 9 disintegrated in to 21 fragments during a close encounter with Jupiter in July 1992 and finally collided with Jupiter two years later in July 1994. The remarkable collision lasted a week and left large, … Continue reading Colliding with Jupiter → Continue reading →

Posted in Jovians | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Colliding with Jupiter

Colliding with Jupiter

Posted on April 5, 2015 by willymanng

The Shoemaker–Levy 9 collision with Jupiter was the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects. Shoemaker–Levy 9 disintegrated in to 21 fragments during a close encounter with Jupiter in July 1992 and finally collided with Jupiter two years later in July 1994. The remarkable collision lasted a week and left large, … Continue reading Colliding with Jupiter → Continue reading →

Posted in Jovians | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Colliding with Jupiter

Saturn 2.0

Posted on April 5, 2015 by jamej00

So all the planets know that Saturn’s rings give it a really over-inflated ego.  But now there’s good news!  Maybe it’ll quit bragging now that it looks like there’s another planet with a bigger ring system.  Scientists think they’ve found an extrasolar planet with an elaborate ring system, the first discovery of a planet with… Continue reading →

Posted in Exoplanets, Planet Rings | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Saturn 2.0

Ganymede’s Ocean

Posted on April 5, 2015 by pgolemanska

When we think of Earth we tend to associate it very strongly with water and life. It makes sense since water covers up 75% of Earth’s surface. Water in liquid form seems to be unique to our world … or does it? … As it turns out, Earth’s salty water oceans may not be the […] Continue reading →

Posted in Instruments, Moons | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Ganymede’s Ocean

The Cosmic Snowball

Posted on April 5, 2015 by jamej00

Halley’s Comet This video tells us about the history of Halley’s Comet, which turns out to have actually been documented in medieval history in previous passes by the sun.  Because of the rarity with which comets actually appear in our night sky, they used to be tied to ancient superstitions; for example, to the ancient Chinese they signaled a… Continue reading →

Posted in Historical, Small SS Objects, SolarSystem | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Cosmic Snowball