Beyond Earth, the general scientific consensus is that the best place to search for evidence of extraterrestrial life is Mars. However, it is by no means the only place. Aside from the many extrasolar planets that have been designated as “potentially-habitable,” there are plenty of other candidates right here in our solar system. These include the many icy satellites that are…
Tag: Mars
Perseverance rover gives high-definition panoramic view of landing site
NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover got its first high-definition look around its new home in Jezero Crater on Feb. 21, after rotating its mast, or “head,” 360 degrees, allowing the rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument to capture its first panorama after touching down on the Red Planet on Feb 18. It was the rover’s second panorama ever, as the rover’s Navigation Cameras, or…
Martian dust storms may spark electric purple glow
Colliding dust particles on Mars probably produce static electricity, a new experiment reveals. Source: https://www.livescience.com/mars-electric-dust-storm-glow.html
Scientist captures evidence of dynamic seasonal activity on a Martian sand dune
A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientist examined 11 Mars years of image data to understand the seasonal processes that create linear gullies on the slopes of the megadune in the Russell crater on Mars. In early spring images, captured by two different cameras on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, SwRI’s Dr. Cynthia Dinwiddie noticed airborne plumes of dusty material associated with the…
Best observing targets for binoculars
What are the best solar system and deep-sky objects to view to get the most out of your binoculars? From moon-encircled worlds to starry knots in the Milky Way, our list makes the sky’s wonders easy to find. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/best-targets-for-binoculars-moon-planets-nebula-clusters…
Mars rover’s giant parachute carried secret message
The huge parachute used by NASA’s Perseverance rover to land on Mars contained a secret message, thanks to a puzzle lover on the spacecraft team. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-mars-rover-giant-parachute-secret.html…
There’s a secret code in the Mars rover’s parachute
NASA scientists teased the code’s existence on Monday. The Internet solved it within 6 hours. Source: https://www.livescience.com/nasa-perseverance-rover-parachute-secret-code.html
Martian moons have a common ancestor
Mars’s two moons, Phobos and Deimos, have puzzled researchers since their discovery in 1877. They are very small: Phobos’s diameter of 22 kilometers is 160 times smaller than that of our moon, and Deimos is even smaller, with a diameter of only 12 kilometers. “Our moon is essentially spherical, while the moons of Mars are very irregularly shaped—like potatoes,” says Amirhossein…
Incredible video shows rover landing on Mars
NASA has revealed breathtaking video footage showing Perseverance’s descent onto the Martian surface. For the first time ever, actual video footage ha… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/344141/incredible-video-shows-rover-landing-on-mars…
Video: Perseverance Landing on Mars
What would it look like to land on Mars? Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html…