Podcaster: Fraser Cain & Dr. Pamela Gay Title: Astronomy Cast Ep. 626: Terrestrial Planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth & Mars Organization: Astronomy Cast Link: http://www.astronomycast.com Description: We continue our refreshed tour of the solar system, checking in on the inner terrestrial planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. What have we learned about the formation, evolution […]
Join us today and listen to @AstronomyCast end of the year review for 2021 and what we’re looking forward to in 2022. #365DaysOfAstro
There’s a surprising variety of rocky material in the Solar System, and each object has a story to tell about the history and formation of the planets, moons and other rocky bodies.
Are asteroids dangerous? Well, just ask the dinosaurs and they’ll tell you a sad story of fiery death. Should we be worried? Or are the risks so minimal to be irrelevant.
So a rock is a rock is a rock. Right? Across the solar system there are giant rocky asteroids and even “gianter” rocky moons. What is the difference between these two families of objects and where do they come from?
For the longest time the only gas giant planets that we knew about were Jupiter and Saturn. But now, in the age of extrasolar planets, astronomers have discovered thousands of gas giants across almost as many star systems. What new discoveries have been made about gas giants, both here in the solar system and across the Milky Way
Over the next few years new missions headed to Jupiter & Saturn. Why aren’t we seeing more missions to the outer planets like Uranus and Neptune, even Pluto? Today @AstronomyCast talks about the challenges of exploring the outer, outer solar system.
The outer Solar System is far enough from the Sun that water doesn’t get blasted away into deep space. In this icy realm, there are many worlds with vast quantities of water ice. Today let’s look at the icy outer moons and dwarf planets.
Uranus & Neptune are Ice Giants, filled with water and other volatiles that we’d consider ice if it was here on Earth. What’s inside these worlds and what can we expect to find across the Milky Way as we find more?
Funding for basic science has always been a tricky business. But who knows how many fascinating discoveries were never made because of a lack of funding. And we now live in an era where regular people can come together to fund scientific discoveries.