May 29, 2019, is the 100th anniversary of a total solar eclipse, during which Sir Arthur Eddington observed the bending of light around the sun, thereby proving Einstein’s general relativity theory and catapulting Einstein into rock star fame. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/may-29-1919-solar-eclipse-einstein-relativity…
Tag: Caltech
Researchers demonstrate constraints on symmetries from holography
A pair of researchers, one at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and another at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Tokyo, have recently investigated a set of old conjectures about symmetries in quantum gravity. The specific conjectures of focus: (1) Quantum gravity does not allow for global symmetries; (2) For gauge symmetry, all possible charges must be…
Astronomers find 18 more Earth-sized exoplanets in Kepler data
A new survey algorithm – called Transit Least-Squares – has just caused the number of known, rocky, Earth-sized worlds orbiting distant stars to grow again, as astronomers add another 18 exoplanets to the list. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/18-more-earth-sized-exoplanets-found-in-kepler-data…
Send your name to Mars
Want to send your name to Mars on NASA’s next rover mission in 2020? You’ll get your name etched on a microchip affixed to the rover – and a souvenir boarding pass. Here’s how. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/send-your-name-to-mars-mission-2020…
New evidence for Pluto’s subsurface ocean
Does Pluto have an ocean? That idea seems preposterous at first, but a new study adds to the growing evidence for a subsurface ocean on this distant dwarf planet … and explains how it stays liquid. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/pluto-subsurface-ocean-methane-gas-hydrate-layer…
Why the moon’s near and far sides look different
New research suggests that a wayward dwarf planet collided with the moon in the early history of the solar system, causing the stark difference between the moon’s heavily-cratered far side and the lower-lying open basins of its near side. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/why-the-moons-near-and-far-sides-look-different…
Bound for Mars in 2020
The spacecraft for NASA’s next Mars mission – Mars 2020 – is really beginning to take shape now. Here’s the complete cruise stage, suspended in a cleanroom at JPL. It’ll power and guide the spacecraft on its 7-month voyage to Mars. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photo-mars-2020-spacecraft-cleanroom-jpl-may-2019…
Video: Fly over Curiosity’s route on Mars
Follow the route of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, as it moves to a new part of Mount Sharp, into an area scientists call the “clay-bearing unit”. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/video-fly-over-curiosity-mars-rover-route…
New insights about Haumea’s enigmatic ring
Dwarf planet Haumea orbits in Pluto’s realm of the solar system. It’s the most distant little world known to have a ring. Scientists in Brazil have new insights on how Haumea’s ring maintains its nearly perfect circular shape. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/dwarf-planet-haumea-enigmatic-ring-new-insights…
What Mars’ giant dust storm taught us
Before we send people to Mars, we need to understand more about how Martian dust could affect astronauts and their equipment. Here are 3 things we’ve learned from the planet’s 2018 global dust storm. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/understanding-mars-dust-storms…