Different faces of exoplanets

April 7, 2010

 To date, 443 exoplanets (extrasolar planets) are discovered orbiting other stars in our Milky Way galaxy. In  1992 the discovery of planets around another pulsar was announced. After 3 years the first definitive detection of an exoplanet orbiting an ordinary main-sequence star (51 Pegasi) was confirmed.
 Many known exoplanets are hot Jupiters: planets of  Jupiter-like mass on very [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

A new geological time interval

March 31, 2010

The Earth has entered a new age of geological time. The dawning of this new Epoch may include the sixth largest mass extinction in the Earth’s history. The scientists propose that, in just two centuries, humans alter the planet for millions of years.
Recent human activity, including stunning population growth, sprawling megacities, increased use of fossil fuels, [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

What is Large Hadron Collider (LHC)?

March 30, 2010

The most expensive machine in the world
Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a tunnel to the beginning of time. The Universe started with a Big Bang, but nobody fully understand how or why it developed the way it did. The LHC is built to let scientist see how matter behaved a tiny fraction of a second [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

The global switch off lights

March 27, 2010

Major cities and global landmarks will be plunged into darkness as millions of people switch off lights for an hour to protest against climate change. Maybe some of them will watch stars in their cities for the first time.
Earth Hour 2010 takes place on Saturday 27 March at 8.30pm (local time) and is a global [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Obama against NASA: the end of the race to the moon

March 15, 2010

It has already been over 37 years since man left the lunar surface. In January 2004, President Bush announced plans to return to the Moon by 2020.  It was the start for the new race to the Moon.  Traveling to it will still be expensive, but benefits can outweigh the cost. The technology that are available [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Space missions in 2010

February 18, 2010

*Three surviving shuttle orbiters will each make their final flights in 2010. After Discovery’s wheels hit the runway next September they will head for museums.
*The first Falcon 9 rocket built by SpaceX is slated to launch in March on its maiden test flight during a demonstration mission.
 *French solar orbiter PICARD will be launched in early 2010. [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

How to buy a telescope

February 14, 2010

 
The most important aspect of any telescope is its aperture, the diameter of its objective – lens or a mirror. The bigger the aperture the better – image will appear bright and sharp.  your telescope should have at least 2.8 inches (70 mm) aperture. 
 Magnifications depend on the eyepieces you put into telescope. Top useful magnification is 50 [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Militarists in space

February 10, 2010

Iran launched a new rocket with several live animals aboard into space on  February 3, 2010  raising fresh fears over its nuclear ambitions. President Ahmadinejad also unveiled three domestically made satellites, a booster rocket that can carry a satellite and a study center for satellite data, local news media reported. Iran sent its first satellite into [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

Where does the most distant galaxy cluster hide?

February 4, 2010

Speed of light is very important in astronomy. Due to the vast distances involved, it can take a very long time for light to travel from its source to Earth.  The fact that farther-away objects appear younger (due to the finite speed of light) allows astronomers to infer the evolution of stars, of galaxies, and [...]

0 comments Read the full article →