Yellow Magpie » Science and Technology

An Azure-Blue world, planet Neptune is the fourth largest planet in the Solar System. It is also the farthest away from our Sun. Yet, this freezing world contains many oddities that remain for now puzzlingly unexplained.

Planet Neptune orbits our Sun from a distance of 30.1 astronomical units. Highlighting just how vast these distances are, it takes Neptune just under 165 Earth-years to complete one orbit. At over 49,500 kilometres (30,900 miles) in width, it takes just over 16 hours for the planet to complete one day.

Planet Neptune is an an icy giant with unbelievably cold temperatures. The average temperature on the surface of Neptune is minus 201 degrees Celsius (minus 330 degrees Fahrenheit).

Planet Neptune’s Interior

Planet Neptune’s internal structure is very similar to Uranus. It is differentiated into four layers. The outermost is the upper atmosphere which consists of clouds, the next layer in is the atmosphere which is composed of helium, hydrogen and methane, all in gaseous form.

The second innermost layer is the mantle which consists of water, ammonia and methane ices. The innermost layer is the core which is thought to be comprised of silicates and nickel-iron.

At its outermost layers the atmosphere of planet Neptune is comprised of 19 per cent helium and up to 80 per cent hydrogen with traces of methane also being present.

Planet Neptune’s atmosphere has many clouds at differing altitudes and Voyager 2 has captured some remarkable images.

Strange Heating

One of the most startling aspects of planet Neptune’s atmosphere is the heat of its thermosphere. Measuring 426 degrees Celsius (800 degrees Fahrenheit), it is a far cry from the Earth’s which can reach 2,500 degrees Celsius (4,500 degrees Fahrenheit) but is highly unusual for a planet so far from the Sun.

Scientists maintain that either gravitational waves emanating from the planet’s interior or an atmospheric interaction in the magnetic field must be responsible for the abnormal heating.

Fragile Ring System

In 1968, a team of scientists discovered that planet Neptune had a planetary ring system. It was not until Voyager 2′s fly-by in 1989 that a proper image of the rings was taken.

Recent evidence by observatories on Earth has shown that these rings are much more unstable than those found in other planets. It is now believed that some come and go over short periods of time, as little as a century in some cases.

Chaotic Climate

The climate of planet Neptune is very different from its sister planet, Uranus. Huge storm systems hurl winds at near supersonic speeds. Winds at the equatorial regions speed around the planet at 400 metres per second. While they only travel at 250 metres per second in the polar regions.

One of planet Neptune’s most famous features is The Great Dark Spot. Sometimes measuring roughly the size of the Earth, The Great Dark Spot is a name given to enormous anticyclonic storms.These storms are relatively short-lived in comparison to the long term feature that is Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.

The Great Dark Spot holds the record for the fastest winds found in the Solar System which were recorded at 2,400 kilometres (1,500 miles) per hour.

Unknown Heat Source

Planet Neptune is internally heated by an as of yet unknown mechanism. Despite being the farthest planet away from the Sun in the Solar System, it produces the fastest winds and radiates out more than two and a half times the energy that it receives.

Several ideas have been put forward to explain this heating phenomenon with gravity waves and radioactive decay from deep within the planet’s core heating planet Neptune being proposed.

Migratory Formation

It is thought that planet Neptune formed out of a gas disc that was left over after the formation of the Sun.

Originally much closer to the Sun, Neptune and the other giant planets are thought to have migrated to where they currently reside.

Neptune’s Moons

Planet Neptune has 13 known moons including one major moon, Triton. Yellow Magpie will soon be taking a closer look at Triton.

Voyager And Beyond

The last time a spacecraft visited planet Neptune was through Voyager 2 in 1989. So far there are no definite plans for a spacecraft to visit the planet in the immediate future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWv5eNzK28E

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s Uranus: The Coldest Ice Giant for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System.

You may also wish to take a gander at The Solar System And Beyond: A Guide To The Cosmos.

Cosmos is a highly recommended book. It contains large, full-page pictures of the asteroids and writing on the subject by the highly competent author, Giles Sparrow.

Amazon.co.uk

For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca

For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de

For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr

For France: Cosmos.

Planet Neptune: The Mysterious Azure-Blue

Miranda Uranus’s Moon: Home Of Colossal Canyons

Yellow Magpie — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:12:07 +0000

Uranus’s Moon Miranda

Voyager 2’s fly-by, as it undertook its long journey out of the confines of the Solar System, has presented us with the only close-up images that we possess of the Uranus’s moon Miranda.

Miranda is named after the character in William Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest.

Formation Of Uranus’s Moon Miranda

There are two main hypothesis of when the accretion disk was formed. Either it was left over after Uranus’s formation or it was formed by a huge impact that may have resulted in the planet’s very peculiar axial rotation.

The low-density of Uranus’s moon Miranda suggests that the satellite is made up mainly of water ice but it also probably has a rocky core.

A Small Freezing Cold Satellite

Uranus’s moon Miranda takes just under one and a half days to complete a trip around Uranus. It does so at a distance of 129,000 kilometres (80,000 miles).

Miranda, like Uranus’s other moon, Ariel, has average surface temperature of minus 213 degrees Celsius (minus 351 degrees Fahrenheit).

At just 470 kilometres in width, Miranda is the smallest of Uranus’s five major moons.

Uranus’s Moon Miranda: Geologically Busy

Uranus’s moon Miranda shows more evidence of past geologic activity than any of the other Uranian satellites.
Miranda’s surface may be mostly water ice, with the low-density body also probably containing silicate rock and organic compounds in its interior.

The previous geological activity is believed to have been powered by tidal heating. Uranus’s moon Miranda is thought to have had a much more eccentric orbit than it does today. It would have warmed due to the gravitational pull exerted by both Uranus and other Uranian moons.

Scientists maintain that Uranus’s moon Miranda previously was in an orbital resonance with both Umbriel and Ariel. This resonance would have also helped to heat Miranda’s interior.

Craters Canyons And Chasmata

The surface of Uranus’s moon Miranda is laden with canyons, hilly terrain, coronae and scarps.

Coranae are found throughout the moon. These grooves surround upland areas where warmed ice rose up to create highland areas. These upland features are known as diapirs.

However, by far the most attention-grabbing geological feature found on Uranus’s moon Miranda is its canyons. Some of these are thought to be up to 12 times deeper than the Grand Canyon.

Another impressive feature is Verona Rupes which at up to ten kilometres (six miles) is the largest known cliff in the Solar System.

Miranda And Future

Not since over two decades ago has a spacecraft visited Uranus’s moon Miranda. Unfortunately, there are no planned missions for the foreseeable future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y486QawTdVk

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s Uranus: The Coldest Ice Giant for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System.

You may also wish to take a gander at The Solar System And Beyond: A Guide To The Cosmos.
Cosmos is a highly recommended book. It contains large, full-page pictures of the asteroids and writing on the subject by the highly competent author, Giles Sparrow.

Amazon.co.uk

For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca

For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de

For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr

For France: Cosmos.

Miranda Uranus’s Moon: Home Of Colossal Canyons

Ariel Uranus’s Bright Moon

Yellow Magpie — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:04:13 +0000

Uranus’s Moon Ariel

Uranus’s moon Ariel is a half-charted mysterious world that may have harboured a liquid water ocean in its past. Our only pictures of this far-away satellite are over two decades old – yet they have revealed a lot about this cold world.

The brightest of all the Uranian moons, Ariel is the forth-largest of Uranus’s 27 satellites at over 1,100 kilometres (over 700 miles) in width. The moon is named after a character in Alexander Pope’s poem, The Rape of the Lock.

A Tidally Locked Frozen World

Uranus’s moon Ariel orbits Uranus at a distance of 190,000 kilometres (118,000 miles) taking two and a half days (Earth-days) to do so. The satellite is one of the coldest moons in the Solar System with an average surface temperature of minus 213 degrees Celsius (minus 351 degrees Fahrenheit).

Infrared spectroscopic observation has confirmed that Uranus’s moon Ariel has water ice present on its surface. It is thought that the moon is differentiated into an icy mantle and an inner rocky core.

Like our own Moon, and many of the other satellites in the Solar System, Uranus’s moon Ariel is tidally locked. This means that one side of the moon always faces Uranus while the other is always pointed away from the planet.

Uranus’s Moon Ariel And The Voyager Fly-by

Voyager 2 flew by the satellite in 1986 imaging 35 per cent of the moon’s surface in the process.

The relatively close Voyager 2 fly-by has allowed more detailed mapping than those of Oberon or Umbriel. This has allowed scientists to build a fairly good picture of the type of geological features found on Uranus’s moon Ariel.

Formation

Scientists maintain that the moon is roughly equally made of ice and rock. The moon was more than likely formed from an accretion disk that was either left over after Uranus’s formation or the result of debris arising from the likely impact which resulted in the planet’s very odd tilt.

Uranus’s moon Ariel was also the subject of expansion which created many of its geological features. The expansion of the interior is estimated to have lasted 200 million years.

Odd Orbit And Long, Long Seasons

Uranus’s moon Ariel’s orbit resides completely within the magnetosphere of Uranus. This means that the moon is continuously struck by magnetospheric plasma which causes its trailing hemisphere to be darkened by charged particles.

Due to the unusual rotational tilt of Uranus, Ariel’s seasons are very extreme. The polar regions experience either complete darkness or continuous sunlight for periods of 42 years.

Uranus’s moon Ariel is extensively cratered and also has ridges and scarps as well as canyons. It is thought that geological activity probably arising from internal heating created some of these features.

The Chasmata

The main surface features of Uranus’s moon Ariel include canyons, ridges, scarps, troughs as well as impact craters.

The terrain of craters is thought to be Ariel’s oldest geological feature. The canyons, or chasmata, are believed to have been created by the freezing of liquid water deep within the moon. The longest chasmata is Jackina Chasma. This canyon is over 620 kilometres (385 miles) long.

The rigid terrain of ridges and troughs form a cris-crossing network hundreds of kilometres in size. Some of the ridges and troughs are up to 200 kilometres (124 miles) in length. These features are thought to be the result of failures of the crust.

The Craters

The plains are the youngest geological feature on Uranus’s moon Ariel. These are smooth, low-lying areas that took a long period of time to form as can be extrapolated by the differing levels of cratering. These plains are thought to be the result of volcanic activity.

The impact craters on the moon are not as large as those found on other Uranian moons. This suggests that Ariel’s surface is much younger than the date of the Solar System’s formation. Therefore, the moon must have undergone resurfacing after Ariel’s formation.

It is believed that tidal heating must have been the force behind this reshaping. It is thought this occurred when Ariel’s orbit was much more eccentric than it is today.

Ariel’s largest crater at 78 kilometres (48 miles) across is called Yangoor.

Liquid Ocean?

Like Umbriel, Uranus’s moon Ariel may once have had a frozen liquid-water ocean at the boundary layer between the icy mantle and the rocky core. The presence of ammonia and other anti-freezes would have helped to prevent freezing. If this ocean did exist it would long since have become frozen.

Ariel And The Future

So far Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to visit Uranus’s moon Ariel over two decades ago. Currently, there are no planned missions to the satellite for the foreseeable future.

It may be many more decades before this moon is visited again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkyEmVQfbJs

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s Uranus: The Coldest Ice Giant for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System.

You may also wish to take a gander at The Solar System And Beyond: A Guide To The Cosmos.

Cosmos is a highly recommended book. It contains large, full-page pictures of the asteroids and writing on the subject by the highly competent author, Giles Sparrow.

Amazon.co.uk

For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca

For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de

For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr

For France: Cosmos.

Ariel Uranus’s Bright Moon

Umbriel Uranus’s Blue Moon

Yellow Magpie — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:37:39 +0000

Uranus’s Moon Umbriel

A dark, somewhat blue sphere, is on a continuous journey around the Icy Giant, Uranus. Despite being photographed up close once and the great distance of over two billion kilometres that separates us – we have quite a good picture of what the world of Uranus’s moon Umbriel looks like.

Umbriel, the darkest of all the Uranian moons was named after a character in the poem The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope.

Uranus’s Moon Umbriel: A Sub-Zero World

Taking just over four days to complete one trip around Uranus, Umbriel orbits the planet at a distance of 266,000 kilometres (165,000 miles). Uranus’s moon Umbriel is a very cold world with an average surface temperature of minus 198 degrees Celsius (minus 324 degrees Fahrenheit).

Like many other moons in the Solar System, including our own Moon, Uranus’s moon Umbriel is tidally locked. This means that one side continually faces Uranus while the other is always pointing away from the planet.

Uranus’s moon Umbriel is comprised mostly of ice though it is thought to have rocky core and an icy mantle. The density of Umbriel indicates that the moon is comprised of 60 per cent water ice and 40 per cent non-ice. The non-ice component is thought to be a combination of rock and carbonaceous material.

42-Year Seasons

Uranus’s moon Umbriel’s orbit resides completely within the magnetsphere of the planet which means the moon is subject to magnetsopheric plasma which has resulted in the darkening of its trailing hemisphere.

Like Oberon, Uranus’s Umbriel has an extraordinarily extreme seasonal cycle. The poles of the moon spend 42 years in either complete darkness or continuous sunlight.

Presence Of Carbon Dioxide

Carbon dioxide has been observed to be present on the moon’s surface. Although its origins are not fully understood several possible hypotheses have been offered as an explanation. One is that the carbon dioxide is being formed through either organic material or carbonates being bombarded by either charged particles or ultraviolet radiation emanating from the Sun.

The second explanation is that primordial carbon dioxide once trapped in the ice is escaping from Uranus’s moon Umbriel.

Uranus’s Moon Umbriel: A Blue Moon

Uranus’s moon Umbriel’s dark surface reflects only about half as much light as Ariel which is of a similar size. The surface of the moon has a blue tint while sites of fresh impacts have a much stronger blue colour. The leading hemisphere appears to be redder than the trailing hemisphere.

The red colour may be attributed to weathering from a combination of tiny meteorites known as micrometeorites and charged particles from Uranus’s magnetosphere striking the surface.

Cratered Satellite

As of yet, no canyons, or chasmata, have been discovered on the surface of Uranus’s moon Umbriel. This is chiefly because of the poor quality of the images provided to scientists. The only geological features found so far have been craters. Many of these craters have peaks at their centres.

It is thought to have gotten its dark appearance from heavy impacts with comets and asteroids. In fact, the moon is the second most heavily cratered satellite in the Uranian system after Oberon. The largest of its craters measures an impressive 210 kilometres (130 miles) across.

The most prominent of all the craters on Uranus’s moon Umbriel is Wunda crater. Measuring 131 kilometres (81 miles) across its basin it is very bright and creates a highly visible contrast next to the dark surface of the moon.

Formation And Future

Like the other Uranian moons, Umbriel is believed to have been born out of an accretion disc either left over after the formation of Uranus or after the likely impact that gave Uranus its bizarre tilt. This process is thought to have taken several thousand years to complete.

In its past, Uranus’s moon Umbriel may have had a liquid water ocean at the boundary between the icy mantle and the rocky core. However, this liquid ocean, if it had existed, would have long since frozen.

Uranus’s moon Umbriel has only been photographed up-close once by a space probe during a fly-by. In 1986, on its way to the far reaches of the Solar System and beyond, Voyager 2 mapped roughly 40 per cent of the surface of Uranus’s moon Umbriel.

The Voyager probe is the only spacecraft that has been in close proximity to the moon. No other missions have been planned to visit the moon in the foreseeable future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkyEmVQfbJs

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s Uranus: The Coldest Ice Giant for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System.

You may also like to take a gander at The Solar System And Beyond: A Guide To The Cosmos.

Cosmos is a highly recommended book. It contains large, full-page pictures of the asteroids and writing on the subject by the highly competent author, Giles Sparrow.

Amazon.co.uk

For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca

For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de

For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr

For France: Cosmos.

Umbriel Uranus’s Blue Moon

Uranus’s Moon Oberon: A Cold Unknown World

Yellow Magpie — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:18:06 +0000

Uranus’s Moon Oberon

It is a world that remains only partly seen. A flying-probe took a few images as it shoots past the far-away satellite. From these paltry pictures we have garnered much of our present picture of the Uranus’s moon Oberon.

Uranus’s moon Oberon is the second largest moon of Uranus. Like many of the other satellites orbiting Uranus, Oberon is named after characters from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Uranus’s moon Oberon orbits Uranus at a distance of 584,000 kilometres (362,000 miles) taking roughly 13.5 days to complete one trip around the planet. The moon is a very cold world with temperatures as low as minus 203 degrees Celsius (minus 333 degrees Fahrenheit)

Uranus’s Moon Oberon: Violent Origins

It is thought that the moon was created from an accretion disk that was left over after Uranus’s formation. This field of debris coalesced over thousands of years and formed the satellite. Like the other Uranian moons, Uranus’s Oberon is composed mainly of nearly equal amounts of ice and solid rock.

Scientists believe that the moon has an icy mantle and an inner rocky core. There is considerable speculation as to whether or not there is a layer of liquid water present at the boundary between the core and the mantle.

Heavily Cratered Canyon Surface

From the 25 per cent that Voyager 2 mapped in sufficient detail scientists have noted two types of features on Uranus’s moon Oberon’s surface. These are canyons called chasmata and craters. Oberon’s surface is thought to be the most heavily cratered of all the Uranian satellites. In fact, it is almost saturated with craters which means that a new impact is likely to erase older impacts.

The largest canyon so far discovered on Uranus’s moon Oberon is Momur Chasma. Oberon’s canyons were created quite early in its history and are the result of tectonic activity when the moon expanded.

Uranus’s moon Oberon’s surface is pockmarked with scars from heavy impacts from both comets and asteroids.Unfortunately, only 40 per cent of the entire moon’s surface has been mapped. This was done by Voyager 2 in 1986 as the probe navigated its way past the planets on its long trip out of the Solar System.

However, just 25 per cent of the surface was mapped in sufficient detail as to allow geological mapping. The entire northern hemisphere was shrouded in darkness during Voyager 2’s mapping so its features are completely unknown.

One of the largest craters so far discovered on the moon’s surface is 210 kilometres (130 miles) across.

Uranus’s Moon Oberon: A Hostile Orbit

Uranus odd orbital tilt means that the Uranian moons are subject to extreme seasons. Each of the hemispheres of Uranus’s moon Oberon experience complete darkness and complete sunlight for 42 years at a time.

The moon is tidally locked, like our own Moon. This means that one side continuously faces Uranus while the other always points away from the planet’s surface.

Like Titania, a substantial portion of the orbit of Uranus’s moon Oberon’s resides outside the magnetosphere of Uranus. This means that Oberon is bombarded by magnetospheric plasma. Nevertheless, the darkening of the trailing hemisphere, which is typical of the Uranian moon system, is not found on Oberon.

Scientists know this because of the density of the moon. One theory proposed for this departure from the other satellites is that the trailing hemisphere of Uranus’s moon Oberon has more water ice compared to its leading hemisphere. This is completely at odds with all the other Uranian satellites.

One theory proposed to explain this anomaly is impact gardening. Impact gardening is the creation of fine soil through heavy impacts.

A Liquid Ocean?

Uranus’s moon Oberon may have a liquid ocean at the core-mantle boundary. This is heavily reliant on there being enough of an anti-freeze material present to stop the water freezing. If the ocean does exist it could be up to 40 kilometres (25 miles) deep. At this stage, given the dearth of information, it is impossible to say whether this is the case or not.

It may be quite some time before a spacecraft is sent to explore either Uranus or Oberon. As of now there are no planned missions to Uranus’s moon Oberon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkyEmVQfbJs

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s Uranus: The Coldest Ice Giant for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System.

Amazon.co.uk

For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca

For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de

For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr

For France: Cosmos.

Uranus’s Moon Oberon: A Cold Unknown World

Titania: Uranus’s Largest Secretive Moon

Yellow Magpie — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:25:00 +0000

Uranus’s Moon Titania

A potential liquid ocean, seasons that last 42 years and a possible tentative atmosphere are just some of the reasons why Uranus’s moon Titania is worthy of our attention.

Uranus’s moon Titania orbits Uranus, within its magnetosphere, at a distance of 435,000 kilometres (271,000 miles), taking just under eight days and 17 hours to complete one trip around the Icy Giant.

Named after the queen of the fairies in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, at 1,578 kilometres (986 miles) in width, Titania is the largest of Uranus’s moons.

Core And Composition

Given the fact that scientists know how dense it is, it is believed that Uranus’s moon Titania is composed of nearly equal measures of rock and ice. The core is thought to be comprised of rock, with a potential boundary layer of liquid water separating the core from the mantle.

The mantle consists of ice. The surface is quite dark and red in appearance with the sites of newer impacts, being blue in colour.

The fact that Uranus’s moon Titania’s orbit resides wholly inside Uranus’s magnetosphere has meant that the satellite has been subjected to plasma. Some scientists maintain that this caused the darkening of its hemisphere.

Colossal Canyons And Capacious Craters

The surface of Uranus’s moon Titania is pock-marked by large craters resulting from heavy impacts with huge objects. Some of the larger craters are over 300 kilometres (180 miles) in width. At 326 kilometres (203 miles) across, Gertrude is the largest crater to have been found on the surface of the moon.

Nonetheless, Uranus’s moon Titania is no where near as cratered as one might expect. This suggests that the satellite underwent some sort of resurfacing.

Other surface features include colossal canyons which are thought to have been created by expansion. The largest canyon, Messina Chasma, is 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) long travelling virtually from the equator to the south pole.

All throughout the moon’s surface a serious of massive faults, known as scarps, reside. Surface features on Uranus’s moon Titania are named after characters from Shakespeare’s works.

A Liquid Ocean?

As mentioned previously, scientists believe that Uranus’s moon Titania may harbour a layer of liquid water separating the mantle from the core. It has been speculated that this layer may be an ocean of water kept unfrozen by the presence of ammonia. This ocean could be anything up to 50 kilometres in thickness.

Atmosphere? To Have Or Not To Have?

We still don’t know how the Uranus’s moon Titania came to have carbon dioxide present in its atmosphere. Several hypotheses have emerged seeking to explain its origin. One idea is that either organic matter or carbonates is producing carbon dioxide through the aid of ultraviolet radiation being emitted from the Sun.

Scientists highlight the potential of ancient carbon dioxide trapped deep within its interior that is slowly making its way to the surface. This leaking could have been made possible through geological activity at some point in Uranus’s Titania’s past.

Others using infrared spectroscopy to determine what elements and compounds reside on the surface of Uranus’s moon Titania found that the moon may have what is called a tentative atmosphere. The spectroscopy revealed the presence of both liquid water and carbon dioxide. If there is an atmosphere on Titania it is billions of times less dense than our own.

Regardless of how the carbon dioxide got there, Titania is believed to have originally had much larger quantities of the compound than it has now.

Uranus’s Moon Titania A Hot Formation

Like many of the moons in the Solar System, Titania is thought to have been born from an accretion disc of particles that orbited Uranus. Gradually, over a long period of time, the particles coalesced to form larger and larger bodies until eventually satellites such as Uranus’s moon Titania were formed.

It is thought that Uranus’s moon Titania would have taken several thousand years to reach its size. During that time the outer layer of the moon would have been heated due to the friction generated by the impacts caused by coalescence. However, after the satellite was formed the outer layer would have cooled and a new heating process would have started deep within the moon’s core.

The decay of radioactive elements in the core would have heated Uranus’s moon Titania causing its interior to expand. Eventually cracks and fault lines would have occurred on its surface as a result of this expansion and the subsequent contraction when it cooled down. This would have caused the canyon and scarp features that are present on Titania’s surface.

Scientists maintain that this heating phase of the interior would have only lasted roughly 200 million years or so. Nevertheless, this time would have been more than enough to separate the ice from the rock and so the moon became differentiated.

Titania And Tomorrow

Who knows what the future will bring for mankind and Uranus’s moon Titania. As of yet very little is known about the moon. Up to 2011 only 40 per cent of the satellite’s surface had been mapped. We still don’t know whether it has a tentative atmosphere or not. Neither do we know if it contains a liquid ocean deep within its surface. Who knows what other secrets it harbours? Perhaps we will eventually find out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtKKVpONlgs

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s Uranus: The Coldest Ice Giant for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System.

You may also like to take a gander at The Solar System And Beyond: A Guide To The Cosmos.

Cosmos is a highly recommended book. It contains large, full-page pictures of the asteroids and writing on the subject by the highly competent author, Giles Sparrow.

Amazon.co.uk

For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca

For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de

For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr

For France: Cosmos.

Titania: Uranus’s Largest Secretive Moon

Planet Uranus: The Coldest Ice Giant

Yellow Magpie — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 06:18:32 +0000

Planet Uranus

Planet Uranus has become the butt of many jokes mainly due to its oft-mispronounced name. However, this iced giant offers far more than one-dimensional scatological humour. Planet Uranus has a unique place in astronomy. The first of the planets to be discovered using a telescope by William Hershel it also possesses one of the most unique and oddest magnetic fields in the Solar System.

Planet Uranus, at 51,000 kilometres in width, is four times the diameter of our own Earth and has 14.5 times the mass of our planet. Which means it is not very dense, in fact it has the second lowest densities of all the planets in the Solar System after Saturn. The Earth is the most dense planet.

Planet Uranus orbits the Sun at a distance of 19 astronomical units (AU) or 2.8 billion kilometres (1.8 billion miles) taking 84 Earth-years to complete just one trip. While one day on the Icy Giant takes just over 17 hours.

Planet Uranus Composition

Planet Uranus is classed as an ice giant which means it is composed mostly of materials that are frozen. This also means that its bulk composition is not hydrogen and helium, the two lightest elements.

The outermost layer of the planet consists of cloud that is methane-rich. Below that it has an inner atmosphere of helium, methane and hydrogen which becomes liquid as the pressure increase farther in.

Planet Uranus has a frozen mantle with a mixture of frozen chemicals which include methane, ammonia and water. Deep at its heart is a core of a mixture of rock and ice.

Atypical Tilt

One of the most singular aspects of planet Uranus’s rotation is the angle at which it tilts. The planet is effectively spinning on its side with its polar regions laying at the equators. This gives rise to a curious phenomenon when it comes to seasonal variations on the planet.

During its 84 year trek around the Sun one of its hemispheres is plunged into darkness while the other experiences daylight.

The Cold Planet

Planet Uranus, despite not being as far away from the Sun as Neptune, is the coldest planet in the Solar System. It’s atmosphere is minus 224 degrees Celsius (minus 371 degrees Fahrenheit).

The actuality of planet Uranus being colder than Neptune has created a puzzle. The planet that is the furthest away from the Sun should be the coldest. Somehow Uranus had less internal heat than astronomers anticipated.

Two of the most credible hypotheses state that either this peculiarity was a result of a massive impact in which much of its core heat was lost to Space while some scientists believe that there is some insulating barrier that is preventing the heat of the core from reaching the surface. The impact hypothesis could also account for planet Uranus’s strange tilt.

Magnetic Mystery

The magnetic field of planet Uranus is in a league of its own when its comes to strangeness. Unlike the magnetic fields of either the terrestrial planets or the Gas Giants, Uranus magnetic field does not originate in the polar regions. The strength of the magnetic field also varies according to the hemisphere with the northern being much weaker than the southern.

A hypothesis has been formulated to explain this phenomena as a product of magnetic fields being created through motion quite close to the surface of the planet. It is thought that if this is the case the magnetic fields are likely formed in oceans of water-ammonia mixtures.

Clear Climate

The wind on planet Uranus is unlike anything the Earth experiences with speeds of 900 kilometres per hour (560 miles) caused by the planet’s rapid rotation.

Unusually Uranus has very few clouds. In fact, in any given time there would be only a handful of clouds on the surface of the entire planet.

The Ring System

Planet Uranus has a comprehensive ring system with 13 distinctly segregated rings. They consist of dust particles in micron scale right up to larger boulders of 20 metres (65 feet) or more.

These particles and objects orbit planet Uranus at a distance of between 38,000 and 98,000 kilometres (23,600 to 60,800 miles).

The Moons Of Planet Uranus

As of today, astronomers have identified 27 moons orbiting planet Uranus. All of these satellites are either based on the characters of William Shakespeare of Alexander Pope. There are a five large moons with the largest being over 1,500 kilometres in width (900 miles). All the satellites are composed of a mixture of rock and ice.

Yellow Magpie will delve into more detail on Uranus’s moons soon.

Planet Uranus is a strange planet with many of its secrets yet to be revealed. Perhaps in time we may find out for certain why it is so cold and why it has such a funny tilt. Until now we will have to be content with educated and reasoned guesses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ElXNcGxNMo

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s The Planet Saturn: The Ringed Wonder Of The Solar System for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System.

You may also wish to take a gander at The Solar System And Beyond: A Guide To The Cosmos.

Cosmos is a highly recommended book. It contains large, full-page pictures of the asteroids and writing on the subject by the highly competent author, Giles Sparrow.

Amazon.co.uk
For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca
For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de
For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr
For France: Cosmos.

Planet Uranus: The Coldest Ice Giant

Titan: Saturn’s Atmospheric Moon

Yellow Magpie — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:18:28 +0000

Saturn’s Moon Titan

It stands out. Alone, a one-of-a-kind, unique. The only moon in the Solar System, the only one to have an atmosphere. A colossal satellite compared to our own Moon, Saturn’s moon Titan has for decades defied revealing its true identity. It resides under a haze of orange-tinged cloud. A thick, noxious layer that refuses to let us get even a brief glimpse of what lies underneath.

Until recently we knew virtually nothing about it. A lot can change in a few short years however and Saturn’s moon Titan has finally given up some of its mysteries.

Second only in size to Jupiter’s Ganymede, Saturn’s moon Titan is twice the size of the Moon. The satellite measures 5,100 kilometres (3,200 miles in width) and orbits Saturn from a distance of 1,200,000 kilometres (760,000 miles) taking just under 16 days to complete a trip around the ringed planet.

Titan’s surface is a slightly chilly minus 179 degrees Celsuis (minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit). Although this is almost incomprehensibly cold Saturn’s moon Titan in fact should be much colder. It is its methane that keeps the temperature of its surface warmer than it otherwise would be.

Saturn’s moon Titan was previously considered to be the largest satellite in the Solar System. Its very thick atmosphere makes it appear larger than it is. Even though it is just over 100 kilometres (65 miles) shorter than Ganymede it is still larger than the planet Mercury.

A Strange Kind Of Familiarity

In many ways, Saturn’s moon Titan is much closer to a planet than a typical moon. Of course its most startling aspect is its atmosphere.
Like the Earth, Titan also is geologically active. It is believed that radioactive decay deep beneath the surface is responsible for such geological processes.

Saturn’s moon Titan closely resembles early Earth. Full of methane and organic molecules many scientists believe that the moon is a lot like a lifeless version of our planet with elemental organic building blocks present.

Saturn’s Moon Titan: Lakes Of Methane

After the Cassini mission a long held hypothesis that Saturn’s moon Titan contained seas and lakes of methane was confirmed.

The Kraken Mare is the largest of these bodies with a width of 1,170 kilometres (730 miles). This is roughly the same as the Caspian Sea.

Volcanoes Of Ice

Saturn’s moon Titan is thought to be filled with cryovolcanoes. Instead of lava these volcanoes spew out water and ammonia.

Nevertheless, as of yet there is no conclusive evidence to prove that the cryovolcanoes exist on the satellite.

Two unusual bright spots were discovered by astronomers in Titan’s atmophere in December 2008.

Perhaps the strongest evidence for these types of volcanoes comes from the geology of Saturn’s moon Titan. Despite the assumption that much of the moon’s surface was formed by impacts, this was dispelled when a large mountain range 150 kilometres by 30 kilometres (94 miles by 19 miles) was found.

The Thick Earth-Like Atmosphere

The atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan is dense, nearly 1.5 times denser than that of the Earth. It’s atomsphere is also slightly larger than the Earth, despite the fact that Titan is only half as wide as our home planet.

The reason why the atmosphere is so large is due to the low gravity of the moon’s surface allowing it to extend quite a distance.

Apart from the Earth, Saturn’s moon Titan’s atomsphere is the only one to be nitrogen-rich. It is comprised of 98 per cent nitrogen, 1.4 per cent methane and the rest hydrogen.There are also plenty of trace amounts of other compounds. It is thought that one of these compounds, hydrocarbons are thought to be created when the methane gets broken down by the Sun’s ultraviolet rays. It is this process which creates the distinct orange haze.

One of the most intriqing aspects of the atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan’s is its methane. By scietist’s estimation Titan should have had all its methane converted into hydrocarbons by the Sun in just 50 million years. This has led to the belief that somhow the moon is replenishing its supply of methane.

Two hypotheses have been proposed to explain this phenomenon The first is that there is a huge store of methane somewhere witin Saturn’s moon Titan itself. The second is that the methane is created by biological organisms.

Organic Matter And Potential Life

Through the Cassini-Huygen’s probe complex organic molecules were discovered on Saturn’s moon Titan’s surface.

Five nucleotide bases, the foundations of DNA and RNA, were produced in an experiment by using the same chemical ingrediants as found on Titan.

If Saturn’s moon Titan contains sub-terrean oceans of water and ammonia it could be possible that microbial life exists on the moon.

Currently, there are plenty of circumstantial indications of potential sources of primitive lifeforms on Saturn’s moon Titan. The apparent disappearance of hydrogen near the surface has led to speculation that methanogenic (organisms that produce methane) microbes consume the hydrogen.

Although such speculations must be taken with a healthy degree of scepticism as possibilities other than life may account for this anomaly.

What Will Happen Titan?

When the Sun eventually starts to near the end of its lifecycle and enters its red giant phase it will expand greatly. This expansion will cause Saturn’s moon Titan to become much warmer than it is is today. Six or more billion years from now – Titan may indeed heat up to above zero temperatures. Furthermore under such conditions complex life could emerge.

Whether or not Saturn’s moon Titan currently harbours primitive microbial life is a question that will probably only be answered when humans set foot on the moon’s surface. Until then we can only speculate. Whatever happens it appears that Titan will always have a special place in the human imagination.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ0hwTzOMPE

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s The Planet Saturn: The Ringed Wonder Of The Solar System for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System.

You may also wish to take a gander at The Solar System And Beyond: A Guide To The Cosmos.

Cosmos is a highly recommended book. It contains large, full-page pictures of the asteroids and writing on the subject by the highly competent author, Giles Sparrow.

Amazon.co.uk
For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca
For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de
For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr
For France: Cosmos.

Titan: Saturn’s Atmospheric Moon

Hyperion: Saturn’s Irregular Moon

Yellow Magpie — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:55:13 +0000

Saturn’s Moon Hyperion

Sometimes words fail us in describing panoramas. Odd, weird, bizarre, strange, these words just seem incapable of doing justice to the vista of Saturn’s moon Hyperion. The physical appearance of the moon just defies easy classification. A unique place in a Solar System filled with singular objects, there are occasions when the phrase a picture speaks a thousand words is highly apt.

The Frozen Sponge

Saturn’s moon Hyperion is a frozen place with a mean temperature of minus 180 degrees Celsius (minus 292 degrees Fahrenheit). The satellite is 370 kilometres (230 miles) in length taking just over 21 days to complete an orbit of Saturn at a distance of 1,480,000 kilometres (919,000 miles).

The Chaotic Satellite

To describe the rotation of Saturn’s moon Hyperion as irregular would only half hint at its true nature. The moon is so chaotic that so far it is impossible for scientists to predict its rotation. As you would probably imagine this means that its orbit is also very difficult to predict with any of the sort of fine precision usually associated with astronomy.

Odd-Shaped Wonder

Saturn’s moon Hyperion’s weird shape is all the more bizarre given its size. For its dimensions, this world should never have been the shape that it is. A colossal explosion of energy must have occurred. Many believe that Hyperion was once a much larger body that was fragmented in a massive impact with a huge object.

Like many of the satellites of the gas and ice giants, Saturn’s moon Hyperion is largely composed of ice-water. Though it may have a small interior rocky core. Strangely, despite being composed mainly of ice, Saturn’s moon Hyperion is not the most reflective object in the Solar System. This may be due to the moon’s deep pockmarked appearance.

Another factor is the dark layer of material which was deposited on the surface. The colour of this dark layer suggests that its sister moon, Iapetus, may have had something to do with this.

The surface of Saturn’s moon Hyperion is stunning. Its sponge-like appearance was first observed by the Cassini spacecraft in 2005. The darker areas of the satellite that gives rise to its low albedo are red in colour.

Saturn’s Moon Hyperion: Tidally Free

Saturn’s moon Hyperion is the only moon in the entire Solar System that is not tidally locked. This means that unlike our own Moon, where only one side is visible from the Earth with the other remaining permanently hidden, all sides of Saturn’s Hyperion are visible from the surface of Saturn.

We may never know what caused the massive impact that resulted in Saturn’s moon Hyperion’s stunning shape. Likewise, we may never fully understand the specifics of its chaotic rotation. In time though a select few may get the opportunity to see its wonderful surface for themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk8r85lM3SY

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s The Planet Saturn: The Ringed Wonder Of The Solar System and The Minor Moons Of Saturn: The Smaller Saturnine Satellites for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System and its moon.

You may also wish to take a gander at The Solar System And Beyond: A Guide To The Cosmos.

Cosmos is a highly recommended book. It contains large, full-page pictures of the asteroids and writing on the subject by the highly competent author, Giles Sparrow.

Amazon.co.uk
For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca
For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de
For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr
For France: Cosmos.

Hyperion: Saturn’s Irregular Moon

Iapetus: The Two-Faced Ridged Moon Of Saturn

Yellow Magpie — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:29:15 +0000

Iapetus is a dazzling sight. Possessing some of the largest mountains in the Solar System it is full of strange features. One of the most recognisable is its two-coloured appearance as well as an enormous ridge running along its equator. It also has a huge 580 kilometre (360 miles) wide crater called Turgis.

Not A Sphere

A sphere with a ridge, Iapetus is 1,470 kilometres in width (913 miles). It takes 79 days for the moon to complete a trip around Saturn, orbiting at a distance of 3.5 million kilometres (2.1 million miles).

Iapetus is an ice world with an average temperature of minus 190 degrees Celsius (minus 310 degrees Fahrenheit) and the satellite is mainly made up of water-ice with a substantial portion comprised of rocky materials.

Although on first viewing the moon appears to be spherical this is not quite the case. The two poles are compressed and along the equator a large ridge is present.

Light And Dark

Iapetus is a two-coloured satellite. The poles and the trailing hemisphere (the side facing away from Saturn) are brightly coloured wheras the leading hemisphere (the side facing the ringed-planet) is a dark red colour. The same red colour is also found on Iapetus’s sister moon, Hyperion. The dark side of the planet is named the Cassini Regio. Together these two colours create one of the most striking features of the Solar System.

Scientists believe that the difference in temperature between the distinct regions caused the formation of the bright and dark sides.

They maintain that the slow, 79-day rotation of the satellite means that much of the surface ice would have been sublimated leaving a dark residue in its stead.

However, it is important to emphase that this was not a fast process by any means and took hundreds of millions of years. According to scientists at NASA, it would have taken over one billion years for 20 metres of ice to have been sublimated in the dark region. While over the same period of time only ten centimetres would have been lost in the bright region.

The Ridge

One of the most impressive features of Iapetus is its equatorial ridge which is a huge structure at 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) in length, 20 kilometres (12 miles) in width and 13 kilometres (eight miles) in height. The ridges have peakes that are more than 20 kilometres in height (12 miles).

Although there are several ideas that have been put forward by theorists none explain why this ridge is confined to Cassini Regio so at best the thoughts are incomplete.

Breaking The Orbital Pattern

As one of the Saturn’s biggest moons (the third largest), Iapetus should have an orbit much closer to the ringed-planet. However, it doesn’t. The satellite’s orbit is very far out. As of yet, no one knows why this is the case.

Like all of the objects in the Solar System, mysteries still remain about Iapetus. We still do not know how one of the most striking features, its equatorial ridge was formed. Nor do we know why it orbits so far away from Saturn. Perhaps, like all great mysteries the answers will come in good time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQgUndcvTGQ

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s The Planet Saturn: The Ringed Wonder Of The Solar System for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System.

Cosmos is a highly recommended book. It contains large, full-page pictures of the asteroids and writing on the subject by the highly competent author, Giles Sparrow.

Amazon.co.uk
For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca
For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de
For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr
For France: Cosmos.

Iapetus: The Two-Faced Ridged Moon Of Saturn

Rhea: Saturn’s Mysterious Ringed Moon

Yellow Magpie — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:02:27 +0000

Saturn’s Moon Rhea

A moon that raises more questions than anything else, Saturn’s moon Rhea is a world that does not give up its mysteries easily. Does it have a rocky core? Does it have a ring system? Is there a liquid ocean underneath its icy crust? The se are all questions that scientists desperately want to answer.

Core Or No Core?

Saturn’s moon Rhea is a relatively large moon. At 1,500 kilometres (937 miles) in width, the satellite is the ninth largest in the Solar System. 527,000 kilometres (335,000 miles) out from Saturn, it takes Rhea just over four and a half Earth-days to complete an orbit.

It is still unclear as to whether or not Saturn’s moon Rhea has a rocky core. There have been several attempts to verify this but each time the data produced a different result. Like other moons, it is thought that Saturn’s moon Rhea may possess a liquid water ocean. If this is true the heat source is likely to be radioactive decay.

With an average surface temperature of minus 197 degrees Celsius (minus 322 degrees Fahrenheit) Saturn’s Rhea is a cold world.

The moon is heavily pockmarked. Two massive collisions resulted in the formation of impact basins between 400 and 500 kilometres (250 to 310 miles) in width.

The Exosphere

According to Wikipedia, Saturn’s moon Rhea has a partial atmosphere called an exosphere. This atmosphere, which contains oxygen and carbon dioxide, is very different from that of the Earth. On our own planet the exosphere is found at a distance of 600 kilometres above the surface. At this height molecules escape gravity quite easily.

Saturn’s Moon Rhea Another Ring System?

One of oddities of Saturn’s moon Rhea is its possible ring system. Although there is yet to be any conclusive proof as to the existence of tenuous rings, in 2008 NASA announced that they believed a ring system existed. This still has to be confirmed.

Someday, hopefully in the not-too-distant-future, we will have answers to the mysterious Rhea. Undoubtedly, there will be more puzzles to solve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_fT_A03XwA

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s The Planet Saturn: The Ringed Wonder Of The Solar System for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System.

You may also wish to take a gander at The Solar System And Beyond: A Guide To The Cosmos.

Cosmos is a highly recommended book. It contains large, full-page pictures of the asteroids and writing on the subject by the highly competent author, Giles Sparrow.

Amazon.co.uk
For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca
For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de
For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr
For France: Cosmos.

Rhea: Saturn’s Mysterious Ringed Moon

Saturn’s Moon Dione: The Ice-Cliffed Satellite

Yellow Magpie — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:28:14 +0000

Saturn’s Moon Dione

A spherical ball with numerous scars, we are only beginning to understand the frozen world of Saturn’s moon Dione. As of yet we do not know what it is made from, what structures lay beneath its surface or what other secrets its harbours. But we are beginning to get there…

Just over 60 kilometres (38 miles) less in width than Tethy’s, Saturn’s moon Dione is a substantial satellite of Saturn. A world of water-ice, at minus 186 degrees Celsius (minus 302 degrees Fahrenheit), to say that Saturn’s Dione is chilly is an understatement.

1,120 kilometres (700 miles) in width, Saturn’s moon Dione orbits the planet every 65 and a half hours from a distance of 377,000 kilometres (235,000 miles).

Although the bulk of Dione’s mass can be attributed to frozen water its high density indicates that it must have a rocky core. Saturn’s moon Dione has two features that particularly stand out. These are its ice cliffs and craters.

Saturn’s Moon Dione: Cliffs Of Ice

A strange, odd-looking characteristic of the moon is its ‘wispy terrain’. Originally thought to be snow caused by volcanoes spewing out ice, this highly reflective material, much brighter than the surrounding surface, was worth further examination.

It wasn’t until the Cassini mission that things became a lot clearer. The Cassini probe photographed enormous vertical cliffs of ice. A new theory had to be formulated to explain their creation and scientists now believe that in the past great tidal forces caused the formation of tectonic fractures.

A Place Of Craters

Saturn’s moon Dione is pock-marked by impacts with extra-terrestrial bodies. Many of these objects were quite large, going by the size of some of the craters which often exceed 100 kilometres (60 miles) in width.

At this point in time very little is known about Saturn’s Dione apart from superficial details. We still do not know what its core is comprised of and the moon may be holding many more secrets.

The same Cassini probe which photographed the Ice Cliffs is due for another photographing fly-by in December of 2011. Who knows, it may reveal a lot more this time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnyJi5suOJU

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s The Planet Saturn: The Ringed Wonder Of The Solar System for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System.

You may also wish to take a gander at The Solar System And Beyond: A Guide To The Cosmos.

Cosmos is a highly recommended book. It contains large, full-page pictures of the asteroids and writing on the subject by the highly competent author, Giles Sparrow.

Amazon.co.uk
For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca
For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de
For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr
For France: Cosmos.

Saturn’s Moon Dione: The Ice-Cliffed Satellite

3-D Printing: A Glimpse Into The Future

Yellow Magpie — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:03:25 +0000

We are living in a century of great changes. Our technology has never been as advanced. We finally have a practical replacement for the wasteful burning of petrochemicals in our vehicles. This alternative will only become better and more affordable as battery chemistries become refined. In the area of medicine, researchers are working on new treatments that will forever change modern medicine.

In terms of services and the world of information, we have never been better connected with one another. Ideas are being shared like never before. The costly expense of producing paper for our newspapers and books will be greatly reduced as all types of information is read on digital formats.

These developments are all wonderful but one area has seen less progress than others until recently. That is the area of manufacturing and the food industry. While the face of our service industry has forever changed, the manufacturing and transportation of goods is still incredibly expensive and inefficient. Huge amounts of resources and equipment are needed to bring goods to consumers – journeys of tens of thousands of miles are now routine and commonplace.

A Star Trek Solution To A Modern Problem

However, with the advent of something more akin to Star Trek than real life, all this is about to change with a new invention that promises a radically different business world. Since 2003 scientists and engineers have been working on 3-D printing.

Unlike normal, two-dimensional printing, 3-D printing creates proper functional objects. It works by putting down layer upon layer of different substances, depending on the application. Each layer can be as thinner than one hundred microns (one-tenth of a millimetre). Gradually, all the layers add up to create the three-dimensional object.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GcC2vcFiQw

Limitless Uses

As of yet the technology is still in its infancy but already it is being used by many business sectors including the aerospace and automobile industries. There are currently open source projects working on better ways to create a wider range of different products and applications that are free to the general public.

The costs of constructing 3-D printers are roughly the same as what the prices of 2-D printers were originally. You can construct your own 3-D printer with free plans from as little as €1,200 and the cost will only go down as they become more common. The applications for such printers are really limitless. Already people have built car panels, batteries, biscuits, bicycles, and specialised fabricating parts.

What does the future have in store for 3-D printing? In the future, people will be able to recreate many types of food. They will choose from pre-programmed recipes and select which meal they would like to eat today. Virtually anything of object will be able to be produced at home. People will not need to go to hardware shops. Instead they will have the ability to create anything from the comfort of their own home.

The Dawn Of A New Reality

All of these changes will result in a cataclysmic shift in economics. Whole manufacturing industries will be reduced to highly specialised sectors. The real demand will be for the raw materials required for 3-D printing. This will be one of the last frontiers of global commerce.

Like all technologies, 3-D printing will become more advanced in time. As it becomes more and more refined. a wider array of products, each more sophisticated than the last, will be added to home manufacturing.

3-D printing promises to herald one of the most interesting ages in human history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmxjLpu2BvY

3-D Printing: A Glimpse Into The Future

Tethys: Saturn’s Moon Of Mystery

Yellow Magpie — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:51:09 +0000

Saturn’s Moon Tethys

Saturn’s moon Tethys is a mid-sized frozen world that is deeply cratered. Yet not much is know about this icy world or how it comes to have such a large amount of water.

At just over 1,000 kilometres (650 miles) across, Saturn’s Tethys is the 16th largest moon in the Solar System. It takes the moon just under two days to make the journey around Saturn at a distance of 294,000 km (184,000 miles).

Core Or No Core?

The exact composition of Saturn’s moon Tethys remains a mystery although the vast majority of its mass is at least composed of frozen water.

Unlike some of the other moons of Saturn and Jupiter, Tethys is considered an unlikely candidate to have a liquid ocean underneath its crust. If it does have a rocky core, given its known density, it cannot be larger than six per cent of the satellites total mass.

Saturn’s Moon Tethys A Brightly Cratered World

Apart from the Sun, Saturn’s moon Tethys is one of the brightest objects in the Solar System. Its high albedo is due to the icy crust being continuously sanded by the fine grit of Saturn’s E-Ring.

The moon’s surface is greatly pockmarked by tens of thousands of craters. Many of the craters are quite large, in excess of 40 kilometres (25 miles across).

Most scientists believe that Saturn’s moon Tethys was formed by the coalescence of ice particles orbiting Saturn. However, this has yet to be proved and it is still a mystery why the moon has such large amounts of water.

Saturn’s moon Tethys may not be on NASA’s top five places to visit right now. Nonetheless, if the patterns of history are anything to go by sometimes the most surprising things are found in the unlikeliest of places.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MsVGqgpjSc

Highly Recommended Reading

Check out Yellow Magpie’s The Planet Saturn: The Ringed Wonder Of The Solar System for more insight into the largest planet in the Solar System.

You may wish to take a gander at The Solar System And Beyond: A Guide To The Cosmos.

Cosmos is a highly recommended book. It contains large, full-page pictures of the asteroids and writing on the subject by the highly competent author, Giles Sparrow.

Amazon.co.uk
For people living in Ireland or the United Kingdom, you can access: Cosmos from here.

Amazon.ca
For those who live in Canada, you can obtain: Cosmos here.

Amazon.de
For Germany: Cosmos.

Amazon.fr
For France: Cosmos.

Tethys: Saturn’s Moon Of Mystery