Important Innovations

  Jupiter and Saturn Will Align Source:  Image of the Christmas Star Christmas Light Show On this year's winter solstice December 21, Jupiter and Saturn will align so closely that, from Earth, they will appear as though they have merged.  This radiant point of light from the two planets hasn't been seen in 800 years or since March 4, 1226.  The celestial phenomenon is known as the Christmas Star and The Star of Bethlehem. Space Phenomena According to astronomers, alignments between Jupiter and Saturn are very rare.  The alignment is known as the Great Conjunction and happens every twenty years.  But this year's light show is exceptionally rare and was last seen in the Middle Ages. As one astronomers put it, the two planets will appear to have a distance between them of less than the diameter of a full moon.  From Earth, they will look as though they have converged into a brilliant flash of light. Viewing Venue Experts say check out the southwest sky about 45 minutes after s

NASA Tech: Ground and Space Observations Source:  NASA - 6 cyclones on Jupiter Place in the Universe Where the Weather is Never Pleasant The image is one of the highest resolution, infrared views of the Planet Jupiter ever taken.  And, the view is simply  amazing.  Jupiter is lite up in huge thunder storms. This image is the result of the most highly advanced  space technology and the scientists behind it teaming up.  NASA's  Hubble Space Telescope, the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii and the Juno spacecraft came together to explore the fiercest storms in the solar system.  The location of some of the Universe's worst  weather is Jupiter, more than 500 million miles from Earth. It appears weather is never pleasant there. Stormy Weather A team of researchers led by U-CAL Berkeley's Michael Wong are using the images coming in to learn how Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere and weather work.  Storms are constant on Jupiter and much more powerful than on Earth. The

ESA SAT To Explore Jupiter & Its Moons Source:  ESA JUICE'S Search for Signs of Alien Life The European Space Agency (ESA) is putting the final touches on a new spacecraft specifically designed to search for alien life.  The first place that it will search for extraterrestrial life is Jupiter and its Moons . The spacecraft is called JUICE or Jupiter  Icy Moons Explorer.  JUICE's purpose is to find alien life or determine if the planet and its Moons are capable of sustaining life. This is yet another example of how seriously global space agencies, are taking the search for life beyond Earth. NASA with its upcoming Mars probe is leading the exploration along with ESA. JUICE's Timeline Right now in Germany, JUICE is being outfitted with highly advanced communications systems, navigation sensors and onboard computers. Next stop is The Netherlands, where it will go through rigorous testing. JUICE's lau

Jupiter Hit by Massive Planet in Early Years of Our Solar System Source:  Astrobiology Center Japan - Jupiter Collision US-Chinese Astronomers' Research on Ancient Interplanetary Collision An international team of scientists have just reported that an ancient planet ten times bigger than the Earth may have crashed hard into Jupiter in the early stages of the solar system.  That cataclysmic collision may be the cause of Jupiter's less dense and more extended core, proportions different than previously thought and just discovered.  The astronomers are working on and analyzing data from the Juno probe that's been circling Jupiter for three years.  It's providing significant new information about our galaxy's largest planet, including the new discovery of the less dense and more extended core of Jupiter. US-Chinese Astronomers Collaborating Astronomers from Rice University in Texas and Sun Yat-sen University in China have just released a new theory.  They thi

Big Discovery in Space Source:  Rice University.  Image on left is color enhanced to show planet and disk First Observation of a Moon Forming Disk Around a Planet Astronomers from Rice University have scored a first.  They have documented for the first time a moon forming disk around a planet.  They did so by using the world's most powerful telescopes at ALMA Observatory in Chile.  This is important science because it has been believed by astronomers that the moons orbiting Jupiter were created by a similar disk four billion years ago.  For a news blog with more details, go to  Important Innovations Collection: Distant Big Discovery in Space : Moon Forming Disk 370 Light Years Away Source:  Rice University World First Astronomers from Rice University have just spotted a moo...

Nuclear Powered Robots for the Moon Europa Source:  NASA photo of Europa Proposed to Explore One of Jupiter's Moons for Signs of Life A group of scientists who advise and solve problems for NASA have come up with a unique proposal.  They want to deploy a tunnelbot that would use nuclear power to melt a path through one of Jupiter's frozen moons.  The moon is called Europa and it's the 4th largest of Jupiter's 53 moons.  It's considered a great place in the solar system to host life. Powered by Nuclear Reactor or NASA's Radioactive Heat Bricks The scientists unveiled their proposal to the American Geophysical Union.  They said the tunnelbot could use an advanced nuclear reactor or some of NASA's radioactive heat bricks to generate heat and power.  The robot would carry a payload to search for evidence of life, extant or extinct.  The researchers believe Europa's ice hides open oceans and that life may exist there.  The robot would go down to