What Space Facts Do You Want To Know?

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Why is Mars Red?

The Red planet - JPL image 

The Mars is the beautiful neighbouring planet to Earth, and it is known for its unique and striking red surface. Even as a little spot in the nights sky you can see the faint red glow of the Martian surface. So what causes this distinctive colour? Why is it so different to any of the other planets in our solar system?

John Klein Drill Hole Sol 182 - NASA  image

The colour of the surface is actually caused by something very common on Earth, rust! It turns out Mars is just one big clump of rock with a red rust covering. 

This is a form of iron rust and is caused from iron rich soil reacting with oxygen in the atmosphere. However it isn't all red. The red dust covers only a few millimetres of the top soil, and everything beneath looks a little more familiar. 

Once the thin red dust is removed, grey rocks are revealed.  The surface is mostly comprised of volcanic basalt rock, rich in sodium, potassium, chloride and magnesium. The Mars rover Curiosity imaged one of its drill holes,  and it shows just how different in colour the actual rocks are! 

So there you have it! Mars is our beautiful rusty planet and it hides many surprises under the surface. 

- Stay Curious

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Mars Curiosity at Namib Dune!

Mars - Nambi Dunes image was taken by Mastcam: Left (MAST_LEFT) onboard NASA's Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 1194 (2015-12-16 01:59:11 UTC).

Curiosity's 1194th day on Mars ended with the beautiful image above. The rover is beginning to approach the steep hill at Namib dune at Gale Crater, getting closer every day to the target of Mount Sharp. 

So far Curiosity has travelled approximately 8.6 Kilometres since its 2012 landing. This doesn't sound like very far, considering we could walk this in just a few hours, so why has it taken so long?

Curiosity is a $2.5 billion dollar, 1 tonne rover, which is over 2 years from Earth with no option of calling a tow truck if times get tough. So I don't blame NASA for wanting to take good care of her! The Martian surface is a rough and unpredictable mixture of sand, dirt, rocks and dunes. Each surface must be carefully manoeuvred slowly to insure minimal damage to the rover and its wheels. 

Although the journey to Mount Sharp will be a long one, the images captured on the way will continue to give a first hand view at our neighbouring alien planet.

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You Won't Believe How Big Our Galaxy Is!

The Milky Way is our home galaxy, it's our comfy little spot of the universe and I think it's fair to say it's a pretty good neighborhood! 

So where are you in this giant mass of stars? 

Well... there you and I are! The little blue dot contains our solar system and a few thousand others. 

Now if that doesn't make you feel small, to get to the closest star to us, Alpha Centauri A, would take 4.3 years traveling at the speed of light (which we can't do). 

Right so just about now you should feel like a pea in the bottom of the ocean. So unsurprisingly it would take an extremely long time to cross over the entire galaxy. 

In fact, it would take 100,000 light years! Again, traveling at the speed of light.

BUT! If we were traveling at the fastest speed any spacecraft has gone, it would take 255,700,000,000 years. 

Needless to say, we won't be taking a family road trip across the Milky Way, and our neighboring stars anytime soon. 

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Beautiful New 'Earth Rise'

This is the breathtaking new photo of 'Earth Rise' taken from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and it is holding all that see's it in complete awe. The new photo's detail is impressive allowing vast details of Africa's shape peering through the clouds. A huge improvement from the original 'Earth Rise'. 

The first photo of 'Earth Rise' was taken in 1968 when Apollo 8 completed its round trip orbit of the Moon. This image has captured the hearts of mankind for over 45 years, becoming a timeless iconic symbol of our home, Earth. 

                 

There is no doubt however, that both photos will continue to inspire many generations to come. 

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Seeing Into a Blackhole?

Blackholes are the silent and massive monsters amongst us in the universe, but why can't we see them? 

Firstly let's recap, blackholes are indeed black... very black. Not even light, traveling at the fastest speeds in the universe, can escape their gravity. 

They are created when a star comes to its violent death, imploding and pulling all of the close matter into its centre. The mass within the centre becomes so great, the fabric of Space Time it's self begins to bend under its pressure, contorting it's self into a (currently theoretical) single point deep inside the hole. 

But here's a fun fact, They aren't actually holes, but spheres just like anyother star. 

So with no light escaping their spherical surface, we physically can't see them though any forms of electromagnetic light!

But what we can see is the stuff around them. This stuff is usually massive dusty donuts of matter surrounding them, being gradually drawn into their gravitational field. However this galactic dust is very dense, which makes seeing anything more then the blackness of the dust walls incredibly difficult. 

But there is hope!

Today the NuStar survey has penetrated and began examining the dusty donut around NCG 1068. Not a catchy name, but in months to come exciting research will begin, hopefully uncovering the secrets held by blackholes. 

- Stay Curious 

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