We did it, we made it to the end of another year. Once again it’s time to wonder what gifts to get your beloved space nerds. We’ve got some suggestions. Some are brand new this year, others are classics that we just can’t help but continue to suggest. Let’s get into it.
Ion engines are a mainstay of science fiction, featured in both Star Trek and Wars. But this is a very real technology, successfully used on several missions out there in the Solar System right now. How do they work and what are the limits?
Did you hear that astronomers from Harvard think that the interstellar asteroid Oumuamua was actually an alien solar sail? Is it aliens? Of course it’s not aliens. But some day, it’ll actually be aliens.
Today we’ll look at the problem that has puzzled physicists for generations: is there a single equation that explains all the forces we see in the Universe. Is there a theory of everything?
Seismology. A chance to peer into our planet & learn how it works. And we’re about to take that technology to Mars. @astronomycast at #365DaysOfAstro
To really study something you want to reach out and touch it. But what can you do if you’re separated by huge distance. You reach out with electromagnetic or sound waves and watch how they bounce back. Thanks to radar, sonar and lidar.
Scientists manage to map a highly detailed gravity map of our planet. And it turns out, this is very useful for other worlds too.
How do we know what planets lights years away have in their atmosphere? What about the rocks all around Curiosity?
Some of the biggest questions in the universe depend on its shape. Is it curved? Is it flat? Is it open?
Good news! There are hundreds if not thousands of times more of them than worlds like Earth. Bad news? They’re locked in ice.