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Although the shuttle program recently came to an end, there are still many career opportunities in space exploration. There are actually hundreds of different career options in the exciting and imaginative field. Here is a look at some of the more popular areas.

Astronaut
This is probably the first career that people think about when thinking about space exploration. Interestingly, very few astronauts will actually fly into space. They may be involved in other aspects of the job such as space apparatus or orbiter operation. Many astronauts are also involved with public relations aspects of the program.

Rocket Scientist
These are professionals with backgrounds in areas such as astronomy and physics. As the title implies, these people design, build and launch rockets for the space program. Rocket scientists have strong backgrounds in areas such as math and engineering.

Aeronautical Engineer
Similar to the rocket scientist, aeronautical engineers design many different aircraft other than rockets. These engineers have a wide range of career choices. They can work on aircraft, as well as other forms of spacecraft.

Astrophysicist
People who work as astrophysicists have strong backgrounds and knowledge about universe’s physical properties. These people must interpret large amounts of complex data about the universe and space.

Astronomer
These professionals work within the scientific aspects of the universe with regard to its composition, movement, origin and such. The also study planets, stars and other astronomical objects. Much like astrophysicists, these scientists also gather and interpret data about the universe.

There are many other career options for anyone looking for an exciting job in space exploration.

 

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When the rovers landed on Mars, they were deployed from the ship in two different places. One rover was deposited at Gusev Crater and the other was deposited at Meridiani Planum, which was on the opposite side of Mars. Scientists thought this was the best way to get an accurate sample of the rocks and minerals on the planet.

Rover Analyzing Equipment

Both of the rovers were equipped with highly-specialized equipment for the collection of specimens and exploration. Here is a list of some of the equipment.

• Panoramic camera.
• Microscopic imager for close-up photos of rocks and minerals.
• Tools for rock abrasion. This is so the rovers could remove dust and other particles so that they could examine things better.
• Spectrometer tools to measure thermal emissions and take x-rays.
• Magnets to collect dust particles that are magnetic.

There was no set ending date for the Mars Rover Exploration Mission as of 2011, and the land rovers will probably never be collected. This was also not the first attempt to explore Mars. Some previous rovers have disappeared or lost contact with Earth for various different reasons. The whole exploration of Mars is going to be a slow process.

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It was an age of curiosity — the continents had all been found; the miles had all been sought; and Earth seemed far less impressive than the previous centuries had claimed it to be (with explorers afraid to travel to its edges, certain they would tumble into oblivion). Land no longer held a fascination for the masses. The sun instead appealed, and men looked to the sky for answers to their many questions.

The year was 1958 and space was deemed a challenge to be conquered.

Such a challenge — of course — demanded action; and July 29 saw the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Act.

Explained simply, the National Aeronautics and Space Act sought to redefine the terms of exploration. Until this time the military controlled all operations regarding the planets; but their influence was too limiting, seeking only ways to develop combat technology (which was deemed far less beneficial to the quest for galaxies). Change had to occur — and it did.

Through the passing of this stature (signed without hesitation by President Eisenhower) separate funding was offered to the cause of the universe; and from this funding rose the beginnings of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: more commonly called NASA. This sparked the creation of new programs — all with the intention of developing ways to enter the atmosphere and discover what waited beyond.

That intention succeeded: in 1969 man walked on the moon.

Since then the efforts of the National Aeronautics and Space Act have resulted in technological advancements and planetary achievements. These are poised to continue in the years to come.

There are billions and billions of stars that one sees up in the sky. These are called the Milky Way and there are many other galaxies that exist around it. There have been several other kinds of radiations like the red shift which is present in the universe. The size of our universe has expanded because of certain cosmic inflation. This cosmic inflation affects diverse kinds of forces.  National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been making numerous researches to help us know more about our universe.  Many of these researches highlight the fact that the universe is expanding day by day. The observations made in the recent years show that the reason for expansion can be attributed to the dark energy present in the atmosphere. Dark energy is responsible for the inflation in the universe.

The astronomical observations show that the age of the universe is more than 13.75 billion years and their diameters have expanded by leaps and bounds over the past few years. The scientists and researchers have expressed the fact the space is expanding at faster rate as compared to the speed of light. It has now become very difficult to indicate the size of universe as it is not very easy to measure it.

Moreover, the planetary arrangement also includes at least 5 dwarf globes and 100s of 1000s of diminutive planetary arrangement carcass. Technical investigation relies on the function of the technical process, a connection of interest. This investigation offer technical in sequence and hypothesis for the enlightenment of the natural world and the assets of the globe around the humanity. It creates realistic functions achievable. Technical investigation is financed by communal establishment, by generous associations and by personal assemblage, together with a lot of corporations. Technical investigation can be separated into unusual classifications according to their intellectual and function regulations. Therefore a technical investigation helps an individual or a group of scientists to discover the various facts hidden in the outer space of the universe. The procedures used in the technical investigation are developed by a number of scientists working on the process.

A star initiate as a breaking up of the cloud of objects tranquil mainly of hydrogen, all along with helium and mark out quantity of heavier rudiments. Once the astral nucleus is adequately intense, a number of the hydrogen particles are progressively transformed into helium during the procedure of nuclear synthesis. The remains of the star’s internal carry power away from the nucleus throughout an arrangement of radioactive and convective procedures. The star’s inner force avoids it from breaking up more underneath its own magnitude. Formerly the hydrogen energy at the nucleus is fatigued, those stars containing at least the mass of the Sun; inflate to turn out to be a red enormous star, in a number of cases mingling heavier rudiments at the nucleus or in shells just about the nucleus. The star then changes into a disintegrate form, reprocessing a segment of the substance into the interstellar surroundings, where it will form a novel creation of stars with a superior quantity of profound rudiments.

The new coming projects of NASA involve a deep survey of Saturn and Mars. As a large and improved laboratory or branch of NASA, they are manufacturing a Laboratory of science for Mars and most probably will be launched in year 2011 as a result of postponement caused due to some hardware problems else it was supposed to be launched in October 2009. NASA is mainly focused to understand more and to protect our planet Earth and to explore the universe in search of different life forms along with providing an inspiration for the next generation of explorers. The highest post held in NASA is the administrator of NASA and holds the power to serve the president as the senior space science advisor. NASA has also started Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation Program as an agency wide program to reduce energy utilization and water pollution, which is in the welfare of mankind. Thus, NASA is contributing a lot in the world of exploration of life and other significant explorations of the universe and also facilitates the new explorers a path to move on with.

NASA shares its researches and data with a number of national and international organizations who seek interest in such information. NASA has undertaken many missions to probe into the heavenly bodies that exist near the surface of Earth. Some of these missions include Mariner program which was designed to investigate the planets like Venus, Mars and Mercury. The pioneer program was another mission which was undertaken to study the planetary bodies and was launched in the year 1978. The Voyager program was another unmanned mission launched by National Aeronautics and Space Administration to study the planetary alignments and different planets. It was designed to study the planets Jupiter and Saturn and their orbits.

There were also manned programs launched by National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Among these was the Space shuttle program launched in 1970’s and 1980’s. The ASTP program was also launched by NASA known as Apollo Soyuz Test Project which took place in 1975 was the last Apollo flight for United States of America. Space Shuttle program was undertaken in the year 1981 in the month of April.

The universe is filled with a number of objects which are named as photons, electrons, protons, neutrons and anti-electrons. The universe was very hot. This heat resulted in breaking smashed atoms with huge forces. These broken pieces scattered all around the universe. They became dense just like the fog. It took more than three lakh years for the matter to cool down and atoms to form. There was a new form of energy discovered known as dark energy which characterized the universe. The universe began to slow down gradually when the dark energy was discovered. This phenomenon gave birth to the solar system. Then there were stars, galaxies and many other objects discovered in the space.

Space and universe is a very wide and interesting concept to study. There are many heavenly bodies that our universe comprises of. One can go on and on exploring them and learning. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been exploring such bodies and launching new programs.

The calendar was used by the Mayans to make tough calculation to find a day of week for a certain date that could be hundred or thousands of years in the past or future. The concept of zero that was accepted by the world much later was already in use by the Mayans. They also used days of the calendar to make complex and accurate astronomical measurements even though they did not have a decimal system or fractions. After observing the revolution of Venus for a thousand years, the Mayan noted that its year lasted 584 days, close to the 583.92 days calculated by modern astronomical methods. It is difficult to decipher the true extent of Mayan astronomical knowledge as most of their astronomy was interlinked with their religion. The Mayans recorded their history, findings, culture and genealogy in the form of highly complex hieroglyphics are still being decoded today. New discoveries are being made every day about the achievements of this great civilization. For reasons yet unknown, at the peak of their advancement, the great Mayan cities were abandoned sometime around 840 AD and their entire culture mysteriously disappeared.

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration popularly known as NASA is one of the biggest organization that has been undertaking many missions to explore space. NASA has launched a number or mission some of which have been successful and some have failed. Yet NASA continues to explore the space and make some researches. It was during the 1990’s decade when National Aeronautics and Space Administration faced a number of problems like reduction in its annual budgets and congressional forces. The administrator of NASA during the 1990’s was Daniel Goldin adopted an approach to reduce the costs incurred. He invented some better and cheaper methods to tackle the problems and deliver the performance.

This methodology was not a success and was widely criticized. This methodology was again evaluated on certain grounds. Therefore after that failure NASA executed an affordable and sustainable program based on robotic and human programs for exploring space and its surroundings. This method used scientific knowledge to develop and acquire systems and fundamentals to learn more about the planet Earth. The future of NASA is very bright as they have many missions yet to undertake. NASA has also become a hub for attracting young talents and youth to learn more about National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The future mission of NASA is to explore planets like Jupiter and cover half of the solar system.

It has a larger and improved Mars Science Laboratory under construction which is to be launched in the year 2011. Although National Aeronautics and Space Administration has faced a number of challenges but it has still conquered its hopes and ideas. The New Horizons mission of NASA plans to explore the planet Pluto and study its existence and features. There are also many job openings at NASA year on year. The youth can easily apply for such openings and can be a part of such a prestigious organization of the world.

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The universe is usually described as the entirety of all that subsists comprising all corporeal substance and power, the planets, luminary, galaxies, and the inside of inter galaxy liberty, even though this treatment may be different with the perspective. The expression universe may be used in somewhat unusual relative sanity, indicating such perceptions as the space, the earth, or environment. Annotations of previous phases in the progress of the universe, which can be seen at immense space, advise that the universe has been ruled by the similar corporal rules and continues all over a large amount of its level and account. The contour or geometry of the universe comprises both limited geometry in the apparent universe and worldwide geometry, which we might or might not be capable to determine. Contour can refer to curve and topology.

Additionally and properly, the issue in perform scrutinize which multiple match up to the spatial segment in commoving synchronize of the 4 dimensional liberty instance of the universe. Cosmologists usually effort with a known liberty like piece of liberty instance called the commoving synchronizes. In expressions of surveillance, the segment of liberty instance that can be pragmatic is the rearward glowing conduit. If the apparent universe is slighter than the whole universe, an individual cannot conclude the worldwide arrangement by surveillance. Therefore the structure of the universe cannot be determined only by surveillance it might need a very much high level of technology which is still not developed. A number of scientists are working on the project to evaluate the actual size and shape of the universe.

On the other hand, it can be connected to extra primary measures. Consequently, like to other primary measures such as instance and accumulation, space can be discovered by means of dimension and testing. The dimension of corporeal space has extensive been significant. Even though previous civilizations had urbanized evaluating methods, the intercontinental method of component, is currently the mainly widespread method of component used in the evaluation of space, and is approximately used across the world. Presently, the typical space gap, called a typical indicator or merely indicator, is described as the space moved by beam in a vacuity through an instance gap. This description united with current description of the moment is based on the particular hypothesis of relativity.

One of the most famous of the Canadian observatories is the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory located in British Columbia. When it opened in the early 1900′s it boasted of having one of the largest telescopes in the world. It is now home to the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics and has a number of telescopes that can be used by the public. They also have an exhibit called the Center of the Universe inside the observatory which is well worth the visit.

Public tours are offered at most of the observatories in Canada. You can search for the one closest to you through Canada 411. In Quebec, the Mont-Megantic Observatory is the largest of all observatories in the eastern half of North America. It opened about 30 years ago and was designed to be a place where university students could study astronomy. The area around the observatory has been designated as a dark sky preserve, making it the perfect spot for studying the skies.

It does not matter when you visit an observatory, there is a great deal to see and do. Even a visit during the day can be a wonderful experience and you can even do some stargazing inside the dark planetarium where images from space are reproduced on the domed ceiling. It can also be fun to plan your visit around upcoming celestial events like a solar or lunar eclipse.

The mass of a star is a principle fact in determination of the age, evolution and eventual fate of a particular star. A star is basically originated by the collapsing clouds of hydrogen along with helium and also has some trace amount of heavier elements. First of all there is a need to become the core denser; as it becomes denser some amount of the hydrogen gas is steadily converted to helium by the process of nuclear fusion. When there are two or more stars got bound due to gravitation then they are known as binary stars or multiple stars and they move around each other in a fixed orbit of revolution. When many stars form a much stable cluster due to gravitational pull of theirs then they tend to form galaxies. A planet is referred as a celestial body which has enough mass to get rounded by its own gravity but do not possess such a huge mass which possess thermonuclear fusion.

The explorations of the outer space are physically done by the means of human space flights and robotic spacecrafts. The most common purposes behind the outer space explorations include the advanced scientific researches, to unite the different nations, to ensure the future survival of humanity and to develop military and strategic advantages against other countries. The stream of science which came into existence by the explorations of outer space in search of life is Astrobiology. Astrobiology is the division of science which is basically focused on the study of the origin, distribution and evolution of life in the outer space. A claim is also made by several astronomical units that staying on the earth for a long time will lead to the extinction of the human life as the reasons behind are the lack of natural resources to be lasted for a large extent. Thus, the explorations of the outer space are as a necessity to serve for humanity and are to be considered in good aspects by space exploration agencies like NASA.

In the world of Giordano Bruno – “There are countless suns and countless Earths all rotating around their suns in exactly the same way as the seven planets of our system. We see only the suns because they are the largest bodies and are luminous, but their planets remain invisible to us because they are smaller and non-luminous. The countless worlds in the universe are no worse and no less inhabited than our Earth.”

Although the concept of life on other planets stirs a great deal of enthusiasm among the modern day people, Bruno was burnt at the stake by his colleagues in 1600 for even making this suggestion! In reality, the truth behind his statement signifies the challenge that astronomers today face while hunting for life or even other solar systems. The very size and expanse of the universe which raises the possibility of extra-terrestrial life makes it terribly difficult to look for other solar systems, despite all our modern technology and equipment.

Not only is it difficult to spot planets that may be revolving around known stars but it is even tougher to observe them. To add to this, just like the Earth, all planets would have to go through the physical changes that it went through since its formation till it finally cooled down and became suitable for the development of organic life. Finding an Earth-like planet is a tough task indeed.

The formation is believed to be about 100 million years old and is expected to disperse in another 250 million years time due to their interaction with other objects around them. They are currently passing through a dust cloud in the interstellar medium which gives them a faint misty look. The Pleiades are located a just 440 light years away from the Earth. Due to the varying techniques of estimating the age of stars, the Pleiades’ stars can be anywhere around 75 to 150 million years in age. Although the cluster contains a total of over 1000 stars, its gets name from its brightest nine – Alcyone, Atlas, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Pleione, Celaeno and Asterope. Although they appear bright, 25% of the Pleiades consist of Brown Dwarfs which are stars that can’t start their own nuclear fusion to ignite their core.

Due to their predominance in the night sky, the Pleiades held great importance in ancient cultures all around the world. They were called Matariki by the Maori, Parveen by the Persians, Tzab-ek by the Mayas, Tianquiztli by the Aztecs, Mul Mul by the Babylonians, Thurayya by the Arabs and are known as Kritika in Hindu mythology. They are also mentioned in Homer’s The Iliad and the Odessey. This shows how the beauty of the Pleiades star cluster has influenced and inspired civilizations the world over.

As with other objects in the universe that keep colliding and merging with others of their own kind, these galaxies too have past histories, present incidents and future predictions of collisions and mergers. It is believed that the Andromeda has previously collided and merged with at least two smaller galaxies while our own Milky Way is in the process of gobbling up seven dwarf galaxies around it. These two galaxies, the largest in mass and size of the local cluster, are headed for each other and are expected to collide in about 3 to 5 billion years time. This is not definite however.

It is known that the Andromeda is headed towards the Milky Way at a speed of 120 km per second. Whether it will collide with our galaxy or pass nearby is something yet to be discovered. So, what will be the fate of the solar system in either case? Even if the two galaxies collide, the chances of their stars (over trillion of Andromeda’s and 200 to 400 billion of the Milky Way’s) colliding are predicted to be as low as 12%. However, there are 50% chances that the solar system will be ejected from the Milky Way should the Andromeda pass nearby. In either case, life on Earth is expected to end within 1 billion years due to the heating of the Sun, so don’t expect to be around to see the fireworks!

Although the Andromeda galaxy is the largest in the local group with over one trillion stars (the Milky Way in comparison has 200 to 400 billion stars), the Andromeda is not the most massive. That honor lies with the Milky Way which is believed to have much larger amounts of the mysterious ‘dark matter’. According to a 2010 report, the Andromeda galaxy is believed to have formed between 5 to 9 billion years ago as a result f the collision between two smaller galaxies. It is believed that the Andromeda is a barred spiral galaxy much like the Milky Way. Recent discoveries show that the galaxy is a massive 220,000 light years in diameter, much larger than earlier estimates.

The luminosity of its nucleus is more that even the brightest globular cluster. The galaxy itself is expected to collide with the Milky Way in about 4.5 billion years time, leading to the formation of a supermassive galaxy! If the galaxies don’t collide, their nearby passing could result in our solar system either being pulled out of the Milky Way or merging with the Andromeda galaxy.

A halo of stars and globular cluster also surrounds the bulge, making the galaxy look like spherical. A bar-like structure can be seen extending from the bulge of almost half of all spiral galaxy. Such galaxies are known as Barred Spiral Galaxies. It was recently discovered that the Milky Way too has this structure, although it cannot be observed from the Earth’s position. Astronomers came to this conclusion after observing the stars present in the center. Spiral galaxies are rarely found in a galaxy cluster and exist in low density areas. Till as late as the 1920s, it was thought that spiral galaxies were just the average nebulae within the Milky Way and not independent galaxies! Instead of being called Spiral galaxies, they were called ‘Spiral Nebulae’ till Edwin Hubble proved the existence of other galaxies and made the term obsolete. Astronomers continue to make new discoveries about spiral galaxies even today.

Dwarf Elliptical galaxies are even more mysterious as despite being as small as globular cluster, they contain high amounts of the mystical dark matter. Despite having an elliptical shape, these galaxies have more like irregular or late spiral galaxies in their properties. As with other galaxies, bright Elliptical galaxies are believed to have supermassive black holes at their center. The mass of a black hole at the core of a galaxy can have a direct and correlated affect of the galaxy’s mass. It is also believed that the presence of such black holes inhibited star formation in Elliptical galaxies, which is why they are rarely found in the early universe.

Elliptical galaxies are formed when two galaxies with similar mass collide and, over a long period of time, merge to form a single galaxy. Though such collisions were common in the earlier days of the universe, it happens less frequently now. It is believed that our Galaxy, the Milky Way, is also in the process of merging with a cluster of much smaller galaxies. It is predicted that it may collide with the Andromeda Galaxy in 3 to 4 billion years time and eventually form an Elliptical Galaxy!

Galaxies are generally classified based on their shape. Elliptical galaxies are the most common while Spiral galaxies look like a many tentacle octopus in a spin! There are also galaxies with irregular shapes and that’s why they are called Irregular galaxies. This irregular shape is usually caused due to the gravitational pull of galaxies around them and can eventually leads to the merger of the weaker galaxy with the one with greater gravity. Such mergers lead to higher rate of star formation which is why the resulting galaxy may be called a Starburst galaxy.

There are over 170 billion galaxies in the known universe. Galaxies themselves form clusters or groups and clusters group together to form superclusters. Despite so much of research and study, galaxies still have a lot of mystery surround them, literally! To begin with, 90% of the mass of a galaxy is formed by ‘dark matter’ which astronomers are still trying to understand. The centers of galaxies have also boggled the mind of scientists. It is believed that supermassive black holes form the core of most galaxies. Even our own galaxy, the Milky Way, may have such an object at its center. However, this is yet to be scientifically confirmed.

Our Earth is getting older and older; and the more of mankind fills every piece of the planet, the quicker the whole aging process becomes. Technological advancement is all part of that as well. Make no mistake: we’re heading into a “greener” state of being where the environment is crucial. As the Earth gets older, resources become scarce. Space exploration and an endeavor to discover more resources out there are actually now an incredible realization — and not just science fiction.

There’s no stopping the progress of technology. In the long run, it will benefit everything and everyone. Soon we will see automobiles that no longer run on petroleum. There will be no more pollution. Vehicles that travel into space will be more extensively convenient and easier to use on a more frequent basis. Non-emission releasing fuels such as Hydrogen and algae will become the future of transportation and the saving grace of the Earth.

How would all of this happen? The fields of study and the countless numbers of people that have a desire to learn will bring it all about. Thanks to some of the most convenient online undergraduate programs, all of these important discoveries will eventually be fully realized not just in theory but in practice by tomorrow’s researchers and scientists. Fostering the development of this education is crucial to the advancement of the environment and green technology that will help benefit things like space exploration and a safer way to travel without burning fossil fuels. Engineering and chemical engineering degrees become the top-of-the-list majors to focus on these days. The future will look incredibly bright so long as we continue to strive for something even better through quality education.

As said before, there’s no stopping the progress of technology. And green technology stands in the front of the line. Our Earth is important; let’s make sure we keep it that way.

Named after Imhotep, an Egyptian from the 27^th century BC who is known to have pioneered the field of medicine. Unlike the other signs that are named after Greek mythological characters, Imhotep is known to have existed in history. The sign is depicted as a serpent and was formerly known as Serpantarius, the Latin translation of its current name. A fairly large constellation, Ophiuchus is located between Scorpius and Sagittarius and can be seem opposite to the constellation Orion in the sky.

There are several bright stars in this constellation which include Alpha Ophiuchi and Eta Ophiuchi. There is also a recurrent novae named RD Ophiuchi who brightness can increases and decrease by as much as 10 times and it could be on the verge of becoming a type 1-a supernova. After the Alpha Centauri binary star system and Proxima Centauri, Ophiuchus has the next closest star to our Solar System named Bardard’s Star. One of Ophiuchus’ stars, GJ 1214, located approximately 42 light years away from Earth, has a small planet revolving around it. The planet has low density and may have the presence of liquid water making it a very attractive object to be studied by astronomers. The massive Ophiuchus Superbubble was discovered in 2005 and is so huge that it extends beyond the galaxy. Kepler’s Supernova, the last observed in the Milky Way in 1604 also occurred in Ophiuchus. Whether it is the thirteenth zodiac sign or not, Ophiuchus is astronomically amazing!

During the formation, the star retains some of the rotational momentum of its parent star. However, since a neutron star is only a tiny fraction of the size of the original star, this makes the neutron star to go into an unimaginably fast spin. It takes a neutron star anywhere between 1.4 microseconds to 30 seconds to complete one rotation and that’s fast! The star’s density is so great that just a tea spoon of its mass would equal 900 times the mass of the Great Pyramids of Giza. Neutron Stars have such high gravitational pulls that a coin dropped a meter away from the surface would impact within 1 microsecond at a speed of 7.2 million kilometers per hour.

A Pulsar is a kind of neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation. As the star is spinning, the beam is only visible when its direction is towards the Earth, giving the Pulsar the appearance of a beacon or pulse and so the name Pulsar. This is also why Pulsars are often known as Space Lighthouses. Neutron stars and Pulsars are tiny but amazing.

Black holes are formed when super massive stars explode and their gravitational pull is so strong that after a point it starts to pull back all the matter towards a central point. The consolidation of matter here is so absolute that it ceases to exist in physical terms and yet has infinite density. The gravitational pull however does not cease and powers itself to a level where even light cannot escape its pull. This why these celestial objects are known as black holes, because, when observed, they do appear black.

Modern astronomy has been able to describe the basic structure of a black hole. The central point of a black hole is known as Singularity. This region of a black hole cannot be seen and astronomers are still trying to fathom its properties. A certain radius around this singularity is the region that is most affected by its gravity. This part of the black hole is known as the Event Horizon. An event horizon defines the size of a black hole and is identified by the limit beyond which light cannot escape its gravity. Matter beyond this point does not get pulled in but can revolve around the black hole like planets around a star.

Black holes vary in sizes and power. Like super massive stars, the universe also has its super massive black holes. They can be seen only due the effect they have on the galaxies containing them and their interaction with objects around them.

Found in the farthest reaches of the universe, quasars are gigantic objects, the nature of which has been debated since the early 1980s. However, the commonly accepted theory now is that these are the centers of super massive young galaxies with a super massive black hole at its core. Although they appear like stars when viewed, quasars the brightest, most powerful and energetic objects in the whole universe. In a single second, a quasar emits enough energy to satisfy the Earth’s electricity requirement for over a billion years or about a thousand times the energy produced by our galaxy, the Milky Way! Over 200,000 quasars have been identified, most of which are as large as our solar system.

Although located several billion light years away from us, these quasars are so luminous that they can still be seen using a medium range amateur telescope. The quasar 3C 273 appears brightest to us and is over 2 trillion times brighter than our sun. However, this light does not come from the core of the quasar. The super massive black hole at its center prevents any light from escaping and what we see is just the energy created outside the event horizon due to immense friction and gravitational stress. Considering that the lights from these objects are billions of years old, they provide astronomers with a great opportunity to learn more about the earliest day of the universe.

On December 21, 1968 Apollo 8 rocketed into space, circled the moon 10 times on Christmas Eve, and then splash landed in the Pacific Ocean on December 27. Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to the moon’s orbit, as this was months before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.

The crew was the first to hold a live broadcast from the moon’s orbit. During the broadcast, the Apollo crew shares pictures of Earth from the Apollo spacecraft, the most famous of which is the “Earthrise” image. This image, captured by Bill Anders, gives the world a whole new prospective of our home planet. This picture is so inspiring; it is still used by many today. The Earthrise image can bee seen on everything from posters to screensavers to bookmarks!

Since this was going to be the most watched and listened to event of all time NASA told the astronauts to do something “appropriate”. The crew decided to read the first ten versus of Genesis because it is the foundation of many religions, and the crew felt it would not offend anyone. Apollo 8 ended the broadcast with a wish for everybody “on the good Earth.” Upon the return home on Christmas Day, mission control waited anxiously to hear that Apollo 8 successfully left the moon’s orbit. Soon, Lovell’s voice boomed over the radio saying “Roger, please be informed that there is a Santa Claus.”

The NASA website is a space lovers dream. Not only can visitors feast their eyes on amazing photographs from outer space, but this website has everything from mission briefs, information on our solar system, and interesting tidbits about the latest space technology.

There are special pages geared towards educators, students, media, policymakers, and employees. These are along the top menu bar. On the right side of the home page, website visitors will see picture links to information about the space shuttles and the International Space Station, the Moon and Mars, the solar system, the universe, NASA’s history, and more.

There is a picture of the day displayed right on the home page, which is always a breathtaking treat. The picture will change very few seconds to continuously delight your eyes. Below that are blocks of various NASA related information and images. There are fun things on here too, such as the ability to send astronauts messages while they are in space.

A favorite spot on the NASA website for many internet surfers are the pictures. The pictures of celestial bodies posted on the website look surreal, amazing, and literally out of this world. Most people would agree that they have never seen pictures like these before. Time will zoom by as you are sucked into the natural beauty of space.

Another great reason to visit the NASA website is that you can learn about all the wonderful space related discoveries taking place every day. You rarely hear about this stuff on the news, but it is very fascinating. With amazing photos and videos, website visitors will learn a lot about the final frontier.

The fuel tank on the Discovery space shuttle holds about 500,000 gallons of liquid oxygen, which is -297⁰F, and liquid hydrogen, which is -423⁰F. These super freezing temperatures are so cold that the fuel tank actually shrinks about half an inch! It is this tank that endured cracking while on the launch pad last month. When the stringers cracked on the fuel tank, the overlying insulation also cracked. Cracked beams are a structural concern and cracked foam insulation can cause the insulation to ultimately fall off. This means that there is no heat protection and could cause a lot of trouble for the shuttle during re-entry.

To put this issue into perspective, in 2003 space shuttle Columbia’s left wing was damaged by foam that broke away from the shuttle. This damage was devastating to the return mission and the sever-person crew, and the shuttle itself, was lost.

The test began at 7 am on December 17, 2010 and ended at about 2:25 pm EST. During the test, more than 6,000 gigabytes of data will be collected and analyzed. NASA is looking to see how the repairs are holding up and to gain general performance information on the fuel tank. Experts immediately began to review the data and will work through the holidays to analyze the data and plan for the next launch window in February.

Space Shuttle Discovery will make its 39th and final flight in February, as long as everything goes as planned and the weather cooperates. It will be an eleven day trip to the International Space Station.

Then, business owners noticed that ad space was selling like crazy. They caught on to the aspect of using social networking websites to market their companies and products. This turned into a very lucrative marketing technique that is still being perfected today. Social marketing experience is a great skill to have on a resume.

Next, professional social networking really took off, adding another layer to the original social networking experience. Nowadays, many people have three or more different social networking accounts, with the majority of Americans having at least 1 social networking account. They are even making movies about social networking websites!

Where is social networking going next, you ask? Well, outer space of course! Most astronauts have a Twitter account and will send Tweets while they are in space. They can provide information on what is going on up in space, let people know of a special event coming up like a broadcast from space, or they will simply tell a joke. They will read and respond to Tweets sent to them by their followers.

Anyone with a Twitter account can follow an astronaut, and an account can be set up very quickly and easily, not to mention it’s free. Kids in school will really enjoy being able to contact a real astronaut. It’s exciting to realize you can sit in front of your home or office computer, type up a message, and it will be read by another person in outer space! It is fun for all ages to follow Twitter Tweets from space.

Different constellations are viewable at different times of the year and from different locations on Earth. A star gazing guide or star chart will help you locate constellations in your area. Free star maps can be printed from the home computer and basic star wheels and star charts can be found in many retail stores. Get a plan together. Have the kids look at the charts and pick a few constellations they’d like to find.

Believe it or not, beginner or novice star gazers will do best without a telescope. Yes, a telescope allows a person to view greater distances into space, and will provide a more detailed view of celestial bodies, but increased amount of visible stars can make it very confusing to identity the stars and constellations you are searching for.

Before it get’s dark, gather all your supplies. To keep your eyes adjusted to the dark, cover a flashlight with red paper so you can still see your notes, charts, and graphs. Turn off all outdoor lights around your house. The less lights that are on Earth, the better the lights are in space.

Go hunt for your constellations! Start with the biggest and brightest stars, as they are easier to spot. Then, look for the other starts in the constellation. After you have spent some time looking at the stars with the naked eye, try binoculars or a cheep telescope. Or, better yet, have both available for family member to take turns using and talk about how the stars look different, depending on how you view them.

Scientists are able to calculate the path of millions of space objects, including comets. Experts agree that the next time Swift-Tuttle will come close to the sun is on July 11, 2126. But, if there is a slight error in the calculations of +15, or the comet changes it’s orbit only minutely, it could collide with Earth around August 14 2126. The odds of a collision are very slim, but Earth does pass through the comet’s orbit.

Swift-Tuttle comet’s scientific name is Comet 109P. It got its real name from two gentlemen who discovered the comet two weeks apart, without realizing it. On July 16, 1862, Lewis Swift found this comet in the Camelopardalis constellation. He reported that is was a bright telescopic object, but assumed he was looking at the Schmidt comet and did not report this sighting. On July 19, 1862, Horace Parnell Tuttle spotted Comet 109P and made a note that it was heading north. Tuttle made an official announcement and when Swift heard, he realized it was the same comet he viewed and made an announcement. As a result, both men are given credit for the discovery of the Swift-Tuttle comet.

Did you know that the Moon was formed when a planet crashed into Earth, stripping away the outer layer and sending it into orbit? The Earth pieces where overtaken by gravity and coalesced together to form the Moon. All of this crashing and pulling and molding vaporized most of the water in the lunar material.

Apollo astronauts brought back lunar rocks, but they are a lot dryer than the rocks found on Earth, which makes sense because of how the Moon was formed. But, experts are still holding out for the possibility of water in a few select places, such as in the deep craters at the lunar poles where the super cold temperatures may be able to trap water as ice.

In October 2009, NASA crashed a spacecraft into the Moon, on purpose, near the lunar South Pole. Scientists wanted to collect some debris from the crash to analyze it. The Centaur hit the Moon at over 5,6000 mph and sent a plume of dust, debris, and other material over 12 miles high. This plume contained mostly water grains, which had to arrive on the Moon from an impact from other celestial bodies, or through a chemical process. Either way, the Moon has large quantities of pure water ice at its southern pole.

Another surprising find was the detection of mercury in the Moon’s soil, which is suspected to be in equal amounts as the water found by the Moon crash. This experiment has shown that the Moon is a complex environment, full of surprises and intriguing chemical processes.

Web users are helping the experts by going through a million images of galaxies that were taken by a robotic telescope, looking for other planets that are like Earth. Meaning, they are about the same distances from a star, with a similar type of orbital path, made up of similar elements. Scientists will then take the data to search for life on those planets.

People can access the Planet Hunters website, log in, and answer a few easy questions about a star’s light curves. This is a graph that shows of the amount of light emitted by a star over a period of time. Yale astronomers will then take the information provided by the user, along with the star’s light curve graph, and determine if the star is displaying a repetitive dimming of its light, with is an indication it might be a planet.

Over the past 15 years, over 500 planets that are orbiting stars other than our sun have been found. But, most of these distant worlds are more similar to Jupiter and are not like Earth at all. Experts are predicting that this process will quadruple the amount of distant planets that have already been found.

With all this data of tiny stars in a vase universe, shining a pinpoint of light with minute variations, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Nonetheless, ordinary people have made extraordinary discoveries while reviewing Kepler data. And they are even listed as co-authors on over 20 scientific articles without prior astronomy schooling or knowledge.

Surrounding the Swift-Tuttle comet is a cloud stream of debris called the Perseid cloud, which is made up of comet particles that are about a thousand years old. A newer stream of debris was pulled off the comet in 1862 and most of the meteors that are seen in the night sky today are from this newer cloud stream.

This yearly meteor shower event received its name because it looks as if the meteors are coming from the constellation Perseus. The word Perseids comes partly from the word Perseides, which can be found in Greek mythology and refers to the descendants of Perseus.

The Perseids meteor shower has been delighting sky watchers for about 2000 years. The earliest record of this meteor shower comes from the Far East. It is the most famous of all the meteor showers. It is also among the fastest moving meteors seen every year. Because the showers take place in the summer, it makes it easy for anyone in the Northern Hemisphere to enjoy the impressive light show.

People in the Southern Hemisphere will have trouble seeing the Perseids meteor showers because it never reaches higher than the horizon. On the busiest night, it is possible for people living down south to see between 10 and 15 meteors per hour rising up from the northern horizon.

If you’ve spotted a shooting star in late July to mid August, trace it back and see if it appears to have originated from the Perseus constellation. If so, it’s a Perseid meteor

Less Light is Best
First, chose a spot with no outside lights to detract from the twinkling stars above. City dwellers will have a harder time stargazing than those in the country. The bright city lights will wash out the night sky, making it hard to see the starts. If you live in the city, trying going on the roof to get a better view of the sky.

Be Prepared
Plan a night gazing event during the day. Decide what you want to look at and find out approximately where it is in the sky. Get out all your charts and notes and have them ready to go. It is also a good idea to stay out of bright light during the day of a nigh sky observation event, so that your eyes will be accustomed to the dark sky and bright stars. Some people will go so far as to wear sunglasses at all times the day they plan to star peep.

Dress Appropriately
You will be outside, at night, when it’s the coldest. Experienced stargazers will recommend that you dress as if its 20 degrees colder than it actually is. Since you will be rather still while looking at the night sky, it always feels colder than it really is.

Preserve Your Dark Adaptation
It can take up to an hour for your eyes to fully adapt to the dark night sky and get the clearest views of celestial bodies. Preserve that adaptation by using a red flashlight to read your notes and start charts. Use several layers of red construction paper to convert a regular flashlight into a red astronomical flashlight.

Constellations Visible at All Times
In the Northern Hemisphere, five constellations can be seen at all times. These are Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Draco, and Cepheus. Those living in the Southern Hemisphere can view Carina, Musca, Apus, Circinus, Cruz, Chameleon, and Octans any time of the year.

Constellations Visible In Autumn
This season starts in mid-September, and the ideal time to see these constellations is between 9 and 10 pm. Sky gazers will be able to see Aquarius, Aquila, Bootes, Cassiopeia, Capricornus, Cygnus, Hercules, Perseus, Lyra, Pegasus, Sagittarius, Scorpius, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor. In the Southern Hemisphere, Crux, Tucana, Hercules, Sagittarius, Cygnus Scorpius, Horologium, Lyra, Pegasus, and Capricornus are visible.

Constellations Visible In Winter
Starting in mid-December, inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere can see Auriga, Aquarius, Orion, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Perseus, Pegasus, Taurus, Gemini, and Pisces. Southern Hemisphere sky watchers will see Aquarius, Auriga, Carina, Cassiopeia, Crux, Cetus, Grus, Hydrus , Orion, Pegasus, and Perseus.

Constellations Visible In Spring
As March rolls in, so does the views of Corvus, Canis, Leo, Bootes, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Gemini, Taurus, Auriga, Major, Orion, and Puppis in the Northern Hemisphere. Canis, Crux, Carina, Vela, Leo, Major, Gemini, Taurus, and Orion are viewable in the Southern Hemisphere.

Constellations Visible In Summer
In mid-June, northerners will spot Bootes, Corvus, Hercules, Lyra, Leo, Virgo, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Sagittarius, and Scorpious. Southerners will be delighted with views of Bootes, Aguila, Leo, Centaurus, Scorpius, and Sagittarius.

Learning about the universe and star gazing can be a very cost effective family activity. Many cities or recreation services are offering a chance for families to learn about the universe together. There are group classes as well as community events that are being held for families. These events often allow families the ability to use telescopes to view the skies, while having a knowledgeable guide to answer any questions the kids or parents might have.

By attending these types of events it can really spark an interest in the universe in children. Ever since schools have been facing budget cuts, children are not being shown the wonders of the universe and they are really missing out. Schools no longer have the ability to offer astronomy classes or even touch on the subject, as they are more focused on writing and reading scores. These community events are a family fun activity that will allow children to learn about the wonders of space.

If the children start to express interest in star gazing beyond these community events, the hobby is fairly cost effective to pick up at home. A powerful telescope can be purchased for a fairly decent amount, which will allow children to be able to explore this hobby outside of the community events.

Next time you find yourself wondering what to do as a family; consider attending a community star gazing event. The universe is huge and you’ll never know what interest you might spark in your children or yourself!

The Orionid Shower is a meteor show filled with hundreds of shooting stars. The shooting stars are pieces Haley’s Comet that are left in a trail like patter all over outer space. These pieces measure no larger than a grain of sand and appear to those people that are living on the planet Earth as a very pretty shooting star exhibit.

For most of the year the Orionid Shower is actually ahead of the planet Earth as it rotates around the sun. However, in late October the Earth will meet up with these fast moving pieces of the comet and make a spictacular display. The display in the year 2010 will be easily seen by those living in North America. The peak of the meteor shower will mostly be on the dates of October 18, 19 and 20th.

On average the Orionid Shower produces anywhere from 20 to 30 shooting stars an hour. That allows star gazers to have plenty of time to view some of the beautiful sights of the shooting stars.

Unforantly some years the Orionid Shower must compete with the moon. 2010 is one of those years where the full moon will be shining brightly in the sky while the meteor shower is going by. This could prevent star gazers from seeing those all important shooting stars.

The best time to see the Orionid Shower is in the early hours of dawn, when the moon is at it’s dullest. Remember, the early bird always get the worm!

Every November a beautiful display of shooting stars and fireballs through the sky occurs. What is known as the Leonids Meteor Shower occurs every year in mid November. This meteor shower is known for it’s large meteor pieces that streak across the sky for a little over a week.

The Leonids Meteor Shower is a meteor shower that is a direct relation to the comet Temple-Tuttle. The Temple-Tuttle comet orbits the sun every 33 years and leaves a trail of dust and particles throughout the universe. This dust and particles falls through the sky and is observed by those on Earth as the Leonids Meteor Shower.

An interesting fact on the Leonids Meteor Shower is that what people are observing in the current year is actually the dust and particles from a comet that flew across the universe almost 300 years earlier. For example the 2001 Leonids Shower was a result of the comet Temple-Tuttle in 1767.

The Leonids Meteor Shower is famous for leaving over 100 tons of particles on the planet Earth every year. The meteors from this shower fall through the sky at a rate of 60 miles per hour. During the shower it is not uncommon for the Leonids Meteor Shower to produce over 1000 meteors in an hour.

This year the Leonids Meteor Shower is predicted to occur sometime during November 10th and 22nd. The best area to view these shower is in the area of Southern Asia, Northern and Eastern areas of Australia. The peak day for the Leonids Meteor Shower is still being predicted. For the past several years the predicted peak shower time has been right on schedule and those who are star gazing fans were able to view a wonderful shower.

For a breathtaking meteor shower filled with thousands of shooting stars and what appears to be fireballs falling across the sky, sit back and watch the Leonids Meteor Shower every November.

Rings. Saturn is mostly known for the number of rings around it. There are nine rings surrounding the planet. The rings that surround Saturn are made up of ice particles and rock dust that give the planet a look as if it has rings around it.

Moons. Earth has one moon. Saturn has over 61 moons. NASA suspects there is a possibility that there could be another 3 moons that surround Saturn but it is unconfirmed at the moment. The largest of the moons, Titan, is about the size of the smallest planet in the solar system.

A Gas Planet. Saturn is a gas planet because it is made up of mostly of the material similar to gas. As a gas plant there is no surface to the planet. There is a core to the plant of Saturn that is like a small lava rock.

Suns Orbit. Saturn is so far away from the sun that it takes almost 30 years to orbit completely around the sun.

The Banded Effect. Saturn has a banded effect to the planet. This is because of the gas clouds that are on the surface of the planet. These gases give off a banded form of the planet and provide with a colored effect.

Tempature. The tempature of Saturn is very very cold. The highest tempature ever recorded by scientists is that of -10 degree Ferenheit.

Unique Storms. Storms on the planet Saturn happen once every 30 years. The last one was known as the Great White Storm and happened in 1990. A white cloud formed and lasted for a short period of time. That is what makes these storms unique.

It’s the largest planet in the solar system and can be seen by the naked eye from Earth. As one of the largest planets in our solar system, it is important to know some of the facts about the planet Jupiter.

Here are some quick facts about the planet Jupiter.

Brightness. Jupiter is one of the brightest elements in the solar system. Only the Earth’s moon and Venus are brighter then Jupiter is.

Moons. There are over 66 moons that orbit and surround the planet Jupiter. Of those moons over 55 of them are tiny elements that are roughly about 5m in diamiter. There are four huge moons known as Galilean moons, based off of the person who discovered them. The four moons in this group include Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Ganymede is the largest moon in the whole solar system.

Surface. Jupiter is made up of gases. It is one of the famous Gas Giants because it is a huge planet that is made of gas. These gases heat up to very high tempatures that prevent anyone from being able to see the core of the planet.

Zones and Belts. Across the planet of Jupiter, the clouds of gas form certain bands. Some are lighter and some are darker. Depending on the color of the bands it changes the name. Ligheter bands are known as zones, while the darker bands are called zones.

Magnetic Zone. Just like Earth, Jupiter has a magnetic field. It is over 10 times stronger then that of the Earth’s. The magnetic field that surrounds the plant of Jupiter is so large and so strong that the planet of Saturn touches the barrier of that magnetic zone.

These are just some of the facts about the fifth planet of the solar system and the largest planet in that system.

It’s the planet that is most like Earth. It’s the second planet from the sun and it known for it’s brown and white clouds that encompass the whole planet. Considering that Venus is known as the sister planet to Earth, the people of Earth know very little about this sister planet.

Here are some quick facts about the sister planet known as Venus.

Sister Planet to Earth. Venus is the sister planet to Earth because it is very similar in shape and structure. The surface is very similar to Earth’s and the size and shape is just a few meters off of what Earth is. Because of this it is known as Earth’s sister planet.

Volcanic Plains. Volcanic plains cover over 70% of the surface of Venus. The other portion of the planet is made up of smooth surface area that is similar to Earth’s surface.

Two Continents. There are two bodies of land that are similar to Earth’s continents on the planet of Venus. One is that of Istar Terra, which houses Venus’s largest volcano and the other is that of Aphrodite Terra. The first one is in the northern hemisphere, the second one is in the southern hemisphere of the planet of Venus.

Carbon Dioxide. The atmosphere of Venus is made up of carbon dioxide like clouds. This would make it virtually impossible for a human to live on the surface of this planet at all.

Orbit around the Sun. It takes over 224 earth day so for Venus to orbit around the sun. One Venus year is equivalent to 224 days on Earth.

Visibility from Earth. Venus is visible from earth by the naked eye. It is nicknamed the North Star because of the fact that it is the brightest during the evening and in the northerly direction. Venus can also be seen on a clear day during the light hours.

The Red Planet. The one that is portrayed in movies as the planet that all aliens and space creatures come from. It’s the fourth planet from the sun and it’s the planet of Mars!

This red planet is probably one of the most unique and special planets in the whole solar system. There are a lot of facts and information out there on Mars and it is one of the most researched and looked at planets by space programs all over the world.

Here are some of the basic facts about Mars to help you better understand the red planet.

Red Color. Mars has a reddish tint to it. This is caused by the iron oxide that is present on the whole planet. This gives it a red look to the human eye and even to that of space shuttles and telescopes.

Surface Features. Mars is what is known as a terrestial planet. That means that the features are very similar to that of Earth. The surface of Mars is a mix of craters that can be found on the Earth’s moon and volcanoes, ice caps, valleys, desserts and other features that make Earth special.

Moons. Mars has two moons that orbit around it. These moons are known as Phobos and Deimos. Each of these moons are unlike the Earth’s moon. They are an irregular shape which makes them unique to the solar system.

Largest Solar Systems Mountain. The solar system’s largest mountain is located on Mars. The Olympus Mons is the largest mountain found on any of the eight planets of the solar system.

Largest Valley. Mars is also home to the largest canyon. This canyon covers over 70% of the planet’s surface and is known as the Valles Marines. This canyon is 4000 kn wide and 7km deep, making it the largest in the whole solar system.

In 2006 it was discovered that the planet did not exhibit the classifications to be considered a planet and got downgraded to a dwarf planet.

At the moment Pluto is the largest member of a group of Kuiper belt. This is a group of particles, comets, dust and dwarf planets that extend from Neptune all the to the backs of the solar system. Pluto is the largest element inside this belt of particles.

People began to question whether Pluto was a planet when in 1970 there was a discovery of another smaller planet known as 2060 Chiron. Chiron forced astonomers and others to look closer at Pluto and see that it has a low space mass and size and did not qualify as a planet. In 2006, Pluto was officially downgraded to a dwarf planet and removed from the solar system as a major planet.

Pluto does have a moon known as Charon. Charon orbits around Pluto while Pluto orbits around the sun. At the moment there is no official definition for a dwarf planet and the structure of the planets and their systems. Until then Charon will be considered a moon but in the future that naming could change or the definition of what Charon is could change.

Pluto also has two very small planets known as Nix and Hydra which were discovered in 2005. The discovery of these moons has caused many people to question why Pluto was demoted as a planet to a dwarf planet.

Until astonomers decide to work on an official definitions of dwarf planets and other space stuff, Pluto will still remain a mystery to many people.

It orbits around the Earth and can be viewed anywhere on the planet Earth. It is one of the most familiar objects in the sky and many people have made stories, legends and movies about it. But what do you really know about the moon?

A lot of earthlings know very little about the moon that orbits right around them. Here is a look at some of the most fascinating facts about the Earth’s Moon.

Fifth Largest Satellite. The Moon is the fifth largest satellite object in the solar system. It is about 1/81 the size of the planet Earth and orbits around the Earth several times throughout a year.

Density. The Moon is the second densest object in the solar system. Only Io is denser then the Moon.

Surface Area. The surface of the moon is very sound. It is made up of rocky craters and rocks. The moon has a crust, core and mantle that are all similar to those of the Earth’s.

Moon’s Impact on Culture. The moon has always had a huge impact on culture. It plays a role in calendars, times of the year, stories, legends, movies and other areas of culture. It is a major part of human’s every day life.

Moon landing. The moon is the only satellite object that humans have been able to land on. There have been over a dozen moon landings with the majority of them happening between the years of 1960 and 1979. These missions allowed humans to land on the moon and collect objects, mostly lunar rocks so that those can be studied and our understanding of the moon can grow.

Orbit. The distance the moon is from Earth causes the moon to appear in the sky to be the same size as that of the sun. This is what causes solar eclipeses because the moon and the sun are the same size and one shadows the other.

In 2006 Pluto was downgraded from a planet in the solar system to a dwarf planet. Many people disagreed with this ruling by the IAU but it also brought up a lot of questions about what a dwarf planet is.

The term dwarf planet was never around until the year 2006. It was invented solely for the purpose of what happened with Pluto. So what exactly are the parameters for what makes a planet a dwarf planet.

Here are some of the characteristics of a dwarf planet.

A dwarf planet is a celestial body that orbits around a star. It is a body that is not considered a satellite orbital which goes around a planet but it orbits around a separate area. It must also have enough mass to be considered large enough on its own and have strength and area.

Currently there are five dwarf planets in the solar system. However at the moment only two of the dwarf planets are actually confirmed dwarf planets. These two confirmed dwarf planets include Pluto and Ceres. The other three dwarf planets are too far away to be observed by a telescope to see if they properly fit the category of dwarf planets. These three planets include Eris, Haumea and Makemake.

At the moment it is estimated that there could be anywhere from 400to 2500 undiscovered dwarf planets out there in the solar system. The largest area to include dwarf planets would be that of the Kuiper Belt. Over 2000 of the dwarf planets could be discovered right in the area of Kuiper Belt which has a lot of particles and objects.

What makes a planet a planet and what makes a dwarf planet a dwarf planet have yet to be discussed. This matter is sure to be discussed at the upcoming IAU general meeting in 2012 in China.

If you want to head into space, you may need to either get a job with NASA or head to the sports betting sites and win big. But, if you want to see some amazing views, you don’t necessarily have to do either. Many people through history have been entranced by the sky and the vastness of space. Even though we now have technology to help us further understand what we are seeing, there are still innumerable amounts of people who gaze into space wonderingly on a regular basis.

If you want to find a great view, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, you’ll want to go out on a clear night. Many people say that fall and spring nights are the best to look at the stars because the air seems much crisper and the views better. No matter when you try to glimpse the heavens, you do need to do it when a storm isn’t coming in, or your view may be obstructed by clouds.

You will also want to get away from the lights of the city. Even if you only live in a small town, the lights of any town can make it difficult to see the beauty of the stars clearly. The bigger the city is, and therefore the more lights to dim the sky, the worse experience you will have trying to see the stars. The further you can get from a city or town, the better. If you can find a spot that has no lights visible in any direction, this is generally seen as the best way to go.

There is debate as to whether being on flat ground, such as on a prairie, or on a mountain is the best way to view the stars. Realistically, both ways are great, as long as you keep the other two pointers in mind.

The most popular planets that are used in science fiction movies and novels are that of the planets Venus and Mars. Why is that?

For starters, Venus is very similar in structure and area to Earth. The continent is made of similar particles and also known as a terrestrial planet which means that there is atmospheres and areas where humans could live in. Because of these similarities it is not hard to understand why someone would choose the planet of Venus as a place for humans to live on if they were doing space exploration and choosing a planet to live on.

Mars is the second choice of planets for where people chose to live and explore. Mars is another planet that is very similar to earth. It has the surface structure and elements that are very similar to that of Earth’s. Mars is also a very interesting and exciting planet all to itself. It is red, cloudy and has huge mountains and canyons. If humans were to ever land on Mars there are certainly huge areas where people could explore and check out areas.

While there are plenty of fictional accounts of space travel and exploration that chose other planets, the similarity to Earth’s structure makes Mars and Venus a more probable choice of where humans would chose to live.

If space exploration or human life were to expand to other planets the first two planets humans would go to would be that of Venus and Mars. Of course the Moon is always a choice but the moon is only an orbiting satallite object and not a planet.

It maybe the smallest of all the eight planets in the solar system and it might be the closest to the sun but when you look at universe facts it’s hard to miss the planet of Mercury.

Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and the smallest of all the planets in the solar system.

Here are some quick facts and little known items about the planet of Mercury.

Surface Type. The surface of Mercury is similar to the Earth’s. It is made up of rocks and solid structures that keep it solid. In fact a lot of Mercury’s surface is made up of craters and boulders that are similar to the moons craters. These craters range in size from tiny little craters to smallish round circles.

The Two Types of Plains on Mercury. Mercury has two types of surface structures and is known for the two distinctive types. One is similar to gently rolling hills and plains while the other is a more rocky, boulder type plain that keeps the planet looking like the surface of the moon.

Moons. Mercury is one of the few planets in the solar system that does not have a moon that orbits around it.

Visible from Earth? Mercury is visible from the Earth but the majority of the times it cannot be seen by the naked eye because of the glare of the sun. For this reason, Mercury can be seen occasionally in the twilight hours of the night but for the most part is unseen by people on Earth. Other times that Mercury can be seen include when there is a solar eclipse and when discovery shuttles are orbiting around it.

Orbit around the sun. Mercury only takes an average of 89 days to orbit around the sun.

Hot and Cold. Mercury has a hot center and two cold poles. Very similar to the Earth’s structure.

Many of our brightest stars draw their names from mythology. These stars have been given their names a long time ago. Since people from every culture around the planet looked up at the same sky, some stars have multiple names. For example, the fifth brightest star is Vega. Vega exists in part of the constellation Lyra. It’s the most brilliant point of that constellation. This illustrious orb of burning gasses has been observed since as early as 1200 BC. Vega aliases include Fidis, Fidicula,Fides and more. The name comes from a lose Arabic translation meaning “falling” or “landing”. In Polynesia, Vega was known by the moniker whetu o te tau, while ancient Assyrians called it Dayan-same(Judge of Heaven).

In the field of astronomy, most stars are given a number. Star catalogs were used by cultures past as a way of logging this data in written form. Ancient Greek, Persians, Babylonians and others, kept this information to help map the sky. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration keeps an electronic catalog on hand. Most stars with names received them through ancient astronomers a long time ago. Many of these names stem from a Greek, Egyptian, or Arabic origin. It wasn’t until 1603 that German J. Bayer proposed the Bayer System of identifying stars. Each orb was given a Greek letter in order of descending brilliance. Later English Astronomer John Flamsteed diverted from the Bayer System, favoring issuing stars a number.

Be cautious of companies offering you a star of your own for a price. The International Astronomical Union doesn’t recognize businesses that offer this service.

Here are a few quick facts to help you better understand Neptune.

A Ring System. Just like Saturn, Neptune has a ring system that surrounds its planet. However, this ring system is not as large or pronounced as that of Saturn’s. The rings are made up of what is believed to be ice particles and at times gives off a reddish glow that can be seen through a microscope.

Moons. It appears as if almost every planet has some type of moon that orbits it. Neptune has 13 moons. The most well known of the moons is that of Triton. There could be several other moons but at the moment they are undiscovered due to the distance of Neptune in the solar system.

Never Visible. Although Neptune is one of the brightest planets in the solar system it is never, ever visable to the naked eye. In order to see Neptune you must travel to a planetarium or use a telescope in order to see it properly.

Ice and Rocks. The inside of Neptune is made up of ice and rocks. That is why astronomers are known for calling it one of the major ice giants. The only other planet that is similar in composition to it is that of Uranus.

Coldest Planet. Due to the distance of Neptune from the sun it is the coldest planet in the whole solar system. While it might be the coldest system on the exterior, the interior of the planet reaches levels of heat that range all the way up to 5000 degrees.

These quick tips and facts about the great blue planet will help you understand more about it.

It’s Blue! The planet of Uruanus is blue. The whole planet is covered in blue clouds. The clouds that make this blue color are made up of methane and are very close to the surface of the planet. These clouds are very active and involved in huge storms that occur regularly on the planet.

The Moons. There are 27 moons that surround the planet of Uranus. The names of the moons are very unique to each other. Each moon that surrounds the planet Uranus is named after a character out of the works of Shakespere and Alexander Pope. It is suspected that there are more then 27 moons surrounding the planet that have yet to be discovered.

Rings. Although Saturn is the one known as the planet with rings. Uranus has over 19 rings around the planet. They are very faint and cannot be seen by the naked eye like Saturns rings can. Each ring is believed to be made up of frozen water or ice.

Make and Size. Uranus is the third largest planet in the whole solar system. It is also made completely up of gas. It is one of the four famous gas giant planets.

Orbiting around the Sun. Uruanus is so far away from the sun that it takes 84 years to orbit around the sun. That is a long time to travel around the sun!

Tilted Planet. Uranus is a bit of a tilted planet. For some reason it is tilted on an axis that gives it a look as if it is tilting over on itself.

From the time it was discovered in 1930 until 2006, Pluto was officially recognized as the ninth planet to orbit the Sun in our Solar System. Current data existing on Pluto shows that it’s made up mostly of rock and ice and is approximately five times smaller in mass than Earth’s moon. The discovery of the minor planet 2060 Chiron in 1977 coupled with a low mass lead to speculation about Pluto’s planetary legitimacy. When Eris, which is logs in at 27% more mass than Pluto, was discovered in 2005, Pluto’s status as our ninth-planet was put under scrutiny again. The International Astronomical Union redefined the definition of a planet in August 24, 2006. Pluto was officially bumped from the list.

Surface conditions of this dwarf planet remain virtually unknown. Being that Pluto exists about 3,647,240,000 miles from the Sun makes it a challenge to study up close. Its difficult to take direct images of the surface. The Hubble Space Telescope currently possesses the highest resolution available to generate images of Pluto. These images are helping to formulate maps of the minor planet.

The atmosphere of Pluto is a primarily a combination of nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide gasses. There are three known moons that orbit Pluto. Charon, the largest of the trio, was discovered in 1978. The other two, Nix and Hydra, were found in 2005. Temperatures on Pluto may be at -375 degrees Fahrenheit and scientists doubt that any form of life exists there.

Many scientists still strongly feel that Pluto should be considered a planet. More information about Pluto should become available to us over the years. The New Horizons spacecraft launched January 16, 2006 is slated to arrive at Pluto July 14, 2015.

The sun shining bright above us is an example of a yellow dwarf star. With a temperature of a scorching 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, this G2 Yellow Dwarf star seems so large to us. Yet others exist that are up to 20 times larger than our golden Sun. In comparison to the massive amount of stars out in space, the Sun is relatively small.

Red Dwarf stars make up a solid number of the star population. They typically have a lower mass that is no more than 40% of the Sun. A red dwarf possesses a cooler temperature of less than 6,740.33 degrees Fahrenheit and burns less bright when compared to other stars. Within their cores, the conversion of hydrogen to helium happens at a slower rate. When a red dwarf loses all of its outer layers, it becomes a white dwarf.

White dwarf stars(degenerative dwarf) are extremely dense and hot. They are seen as the final evolution of a star. When a star burns up all of its fuel, it sheds most of its outer layers and the hot inner core of that star remains. These cores become white dwarf stars. Such stars are smaller than the Sun and only slightly larger than Earth. An odd fact about a white dwarf star is that the more mass it has, the smaller it is. Electrons compact tightly together to help support the mass. The surface gravity of these stars have an impact of 100,000 times greater than that of Earth.

Brown dwarf stars do not possess enough core temperature or pressure to engage in nuclear fusion. Low in luminosity, they may range in size from a small sun, or be as large as a planet like Jupiter. Some scientists call them “failed stars”.

 Black holes are formed when stars that are much larger than our sun die out. When these stars run out of fuel or energy to keep burning they collapse under their own gravity. They form a hole in the fabric of space and time. The gravitational pull of a black hole is so high that not even light can escape from it.

If one were to try and give a clear example of what a black hole is then the best description would be the mathematical one. Mathematically a black hole is an object whose size is zero and density is infinite. Scientists claim that there is a black hole in the center of almost every galaxy, including ours.

 Since black holes do not emit light it is hard to look for them. Scientists and astronomers look for black holes by studying and observing its gravitational effects on nearby objects. Black holes are truly a fascinating part of our universe. Some scientists speculate that the gravity of a black hole is so strong that it curves space and time thereby making it possible to travel from one point to another faster than the speed of light.  Information on black holes however is scarce and due to this they remain a big mystery even to this very day.

Messier 87(M87)is a supergiant elliptical galaxy situated 55 million light years from the Earth. Located in the constellation Virgo, M87 has been a fascinating point of study as far back as 1781. At the center of M87 lies a supermassive black hole, the largest type of black hole in space. Emitting x-ray light, it possess the highest mass yet known of any black hole.

The center of this black hole was recently observed erupting massive amounts of gas plumes. NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s Very Large Array caught the action occurring. The eruption of the super volcano has prevented the formation process of millions of new stars. M87 lies the Virgo Cluster. Chandra has uncovered data that shows how the area is filling with gas in x-ray light. When the gas cools, chances are it will fall to the center of the black hole, cooling it quicker and forming new stars. But radio information of M87 may show that particle-filled jets spewing from the black hole may inhibit this process. The jets elevate cooler gas particles, causing shock waves in its atmosphere. The actual eruption likely happened about 150 million years ago.

The Chandra X-ray Observatory was first launched by NASA on July 23,1999. Named after Subrahmanyan Chanrdasekhar, a Indian-American physicists who successfully determined the maximum mass for white dwarf stars. This satellite is the third of NASA’s four Great Observatories. It observes x-rays which is why it was able to detect the eruption of M87. The information garnered from the Chandra has been pivotal in the advancement of X-ray Astronomy.

Scientists who witnessed the eruption likened it to the volcanic blast in Iceland of Eyjafjallajokull, occurring earlier this year.

A quasar is a faraway galaxy that is intensely active. At the center of it lies an Active Galactic Nucleus(AGN). The measure of brightness at the AGN illuminates substantially higher than over almost all of the electromagnetic spectrum of the object. As a result, quasars are the most brilliant findings in the universe. Their size is estimated to be between 10-10,00 times the gravitational radius of the supermassive black hole at its center.

The light coming from a quasar is called a redshift. This color comes about due to the expansion of the universe away form our planet. Objects that move away from Earth take on this redshift. Energy produced by a quasar can out perform our Milky Way by up to a thousand times. Initially, quasars were thought of as “quasistellar” radio sources, which gives association to the name. The original finding of quasars was due to radio emission. However, only about 10% of them give off significant emissions. Those with substantial radio emissions are known as radio loud quasars. The others are called radio quiet quasars.

The first quasar to be pinpointed is named 3C 273. It’s location is in the constellation Virgo. A radio loud quasar, 3C 273 can be viewed in May in both the northern and southern hemisphere. It’s so bright that it can you can see it with a large amateur telescope. In 1970, 3C 273 was also discovered to be one of the first extra-galactic X-ray sources. Satellites such as NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory are specialized to capture images of X-ray emissions in space.

Controversy over the nature of quasars rattled about as recent as the early 1980s. More than 500 quasars have been discovered, with some of them emitting 100 trillion times more energy than the Sun.

Gravity is a non-contact force. This force is applied to objects that have no direct contact with it. The direction of the force sways towards the source, not toward the object it’s affecting. In physics, this force is classified as one of the four Fundamental Interactions. It’s the only force that acts on anything with mass. Gravity cannot be changed or absorbed.

Galileo Galilei initiated work on our modern knowledge of gravity in the late 16th and early 17th centuries by experimenting with balls dropped off the Tower of Pisa. In 1687, Newton published Principa, in which he lays out his Law for Universal Gravitation. Over the following years, flaws arose in Newton’s gravitational law. It wasn’t until 1915 when Albert Einstein introduced his theory of general relativity that there became a clearer understanding of gravity in modern physics.

Each planet is surrounded by its own gravitational field. As you are being pulled away from one object, gravity of an other object impacts its attraction on you. Masses of planets are calculated by the application of the law of gravity upon measured behavior in orbit. Every object in the universe imparts a gravitational pull on another. The Earth’s own gravitational pull keeps the moon in orbit. The movement of objects traveling through space is affected by this force.

Thanks to gravity, the planets are kept in orbit with the Sun. It also plays a role in the formation of our tides on Earth. With an infinite range of impact, Gravity is the invisible force that holds our universe together.

Spaceflight achieved reality when the Soviet Union’s artificial satellite Sputnik 1 orbited the Earth in October 4, 1975. A few years later on April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin completed one orbit around the Earth. Gagarin became the first human in space. Any spaceflight typically starts with a rocket launch. The momentum of a rocket is able to overcome the force of gravity and be shot into space. Outer space is defined as anything beyond the Karman Line which is located 100 kilometers above Earth’s surface. Most spaceflight circles around exploratory missions to help scientists learn more about the universe. Both reconnaissance and earth observation satellites are examples of non-commercial uses for spaceflight. Space observatories are also used to gather information.

Commercial uses of spaceflight include communications satellite(COMSAT) placement and the recent recreation of space tourism. A COMSAT is an artificial telecommunication satellite that orbit the Earth. Space tourism is exactly what it sounds like. Tourist pay for a little trip into space. But before you plan your next vacation around piercing that Karman Line know that it will cost many pretty pennies to get you there. How many pennies? A jaunt to outer space will tap your wallet of 20-35 million dollars. In the United States, any company offering such a ride must be licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation.

Founded in 2003, Virgin Galactic is working hard to offer future human spaceflights. Guess the name of one of it’s shuttles? Yep, Enterprise.

The sun possesses a powerful magnetic field in constant change. This magnetic range is so vast that it extends throughout our universe, far beyond distant Pluto. At times, the build up of magnetic energy on the surface of the sun becomes overwhelming and needs to be released. This radiation is discharged throughout the entire electromagnetic spectrum of the sun. A solar flare is the name given to these rapid and impulsive bursts of increased brightness in the solar atmosphere.

The first solar flare in record dates back to September 1, 1859. Scientists Richard C. Carrington and Richard Hodgson separately witnessed a solar flare while observing sunspots. The energy emitted from a solar flare is extremely intense. Think about 100-megaton hydrogen bombs igniting all at the same time. That’s the amount of power generated by a solar flare in space.

Solar flares are classified in three levels. C-class Flares are the smallest sized with no noticeable impact to the earth. Medium flares, or M-class, may cause temporary radio blackouts that impinge on earth’s polar regions. X-class flares are big. Their size are unparalleled. X-class flares can trigger radio blackouts encompassing the entire planet, as well as radiation storms that may endure for long periods of time. According to a 2005 article in New Science magazine the first flare recorded is also the largest within 500 years. Scientists keep a steady watch on these space occurrences. Missions such as GOES and Hinode observe these flares.

Myth One: Space is a Completely Empty Vacuum
It’s easy to think of outer space as a vast dark stretch of emptiness. But space is not a perfect vacuum at all. Outer space is filled with low-density hydrogen plasma particles. Matter exists in four stages that include solid, liquid, gas and plasma. On earth, plasma particles are a rare find. However the universe is made up of 99% plasma. Other components contributing to the fabric of space are magnetic fields, electromagnetic radiation and neutrinos.

Myth Two: Zero Gravity
Gravity is defined as the force of attraction acting between all mass in the universe. The term zero gravity gives the idea of a situation devoid of this force. But even though we are familiar with the term “zero gravity”, what we are really associating it with is weightlessness. Moving away from the gravitational pull of the earth will not remove you from gravity’s grasp. This force holds our universe together.

Myth Three: Meteors are Hot When They Hit the Ground
It has been thought that as a meteor travels through the Earth’s atmosphere,heats up and land smoking hot. However, meteors that fall to land on our planet are cold. A meteor traveling through space may make a long journey before it stops. Temperatures in space are extremely cold, dipping -450 degrees below Fahrenheit. Although the speed at which the debris shoots through space is intense enough to melt off its outer layers, the icy cold center remains. It’s velocity can be hampered by atmospheric drag also, giving the meteor time to cool down as it finds its final rest. There have been meteor fragments found covered with frost.

Our universe is a landscape of knowledge both known and yet to be discovered.

The Solar Eclipse
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and Sun. The passing moon obstructs light from the Sun, casting a shadow along the surface of Earth. An eclipse of the Sun happens during a new moon phase only, and can occur up to five times in a year. However, not every solar eclipse fully blocks out the Sun. Annually, no more than two of these types of eclipses will be of the full variety. A total solar eclipse is a rare occasion, with the next one scheduled to occur in November 13, 2012. People often make a pilgrimage to witness these events. No matter how remote the location.

The moon shadow consists of two parts. The Penumbra (faint outer shadow)and the umbra (dark inner shadow). A total solar eclipse is visible within the umbral shadow. Whereas partial solar eclipses takes place in the penumbra. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon and earth are farthest away from each other. Here, since the moon appears smaller than the sun a ring of brilliant light(annulus)is still seen. The next annular solar eclipse is scheduled for May 20, 2012.

The Lunar Eclipse
When the Earth enters the pathway of the Sun and Moon, we have a lunar eclipse. During a lunar eclipse, Earth projects its shadow across the Moon. A lunar eclipse occurs during a full moon. When the moon moves through Earth’s penumbra, a penumbral eclipse is what we see. Total penumbral eclipses are extremely rare. Partial lunar eclipses occur in a portion of the umbra and a total lunar eclipse happens when the Moon completely passes in Earth’s umbra. The next lunar eclipse is scheduled to occur on December 21, 2010.

How Black Holes Are Formed
The mass of a black hole is extreme. Let’s imagine a star 10 times larger than the sun. Now, let’s say that this massive star runs out of fuel, causing a supernova explosion. This occurrence may leave behind a burned up stellar fragment that possesses no gravity to support it. Eventually, the remnant collapses on itself, creating a singularity (center where the curvature of spacetime is maximal). The space around this singularity is affected heavily by a gravitational pull so great that light cannot escape its force. We call this a black hole.

Anatomy Of A Black Hole
The center of a black hole is referred to as the singularity. Created by the endpoint of a massive star, the actual size of the singularity is minuscule, like an atom. Also, since gravitational force diverges in the singularity, it is thought that no matter can survive a collision with it. Since no matter is able to reach the singularity without being impacted upon, it’s difficult to gain information on black holes.

Black holes are truly black. Devoid of light, the surface area of the black hole is called the event horizon. When we refer to the size of the black hole, it is the event horizon that we are thinking about. Once something enters the event horizon, nothing can stop it from passing into the center. The event horizon defines the boundary of the black hole.

Black Holes vs Wormholes
It may be easy to mix up a black hole with wormholes. Wormholes are wonderful tools of story plot. More science fiction than fact. Theoretical points of travel in space, no experimental evidence exist on them.

The distance a star sits from our earthly vantage point varies. For instance, the Sun is 150 million kilometers away from our planet. Our Sun is the closest star to us in the universe. The next one hangs about 4 light years (36 trillion kilometers) away. As a result, the stars we see are farther than we can imagine.

While we are enjoying the twinkle of starlight, a falling star zooms across the sky. Although we commonly call this a shooting star, the streaker is in actuality a meteoroids. A meteoroid can be as tiny as a grain of sand or as large as a boulder. Boulder sized streakers are called asteroids. As these bits of dust and debris shoot through space, they often leave a tail behind them. This tail is a result of the meteoroid burning up as it zooms through space. When a meteoroid enters the atmosphere it becomes a meteor. If a meteor survives the impact of its landing, it’s called a meteorite.

One of the most stunning displays of night sky is a meteor shower. People go out of their way to assure they get a good look as meteoroids go flying off in different direction in space. A comet shakes loose debris that in turn become meteoroids. A large grouping of them zooming about simultaneously causes a meteor shower. The last meteor shower took place on the night of August 12 of this year. Another is scheduled to take place on the eve of October 21, 2010.

A comet becomes most visible when it passes closely to the Sun. The intense heat of the sun begins to change the icy orb from a solid to a gaseous state, causing gas and dust to shake loose. This process results in the glowing circle we see encompassing the comet.

Known as perhaps the most famous comet to date, Halley’s Comet (1P/Halley) is visible in the Earth’s night sky every 75-76 years. Halley’s is a short-period comet, meaning it has an orbital period of less than 200 years. Named after English astronomer Edmund Halley, it’s the only short-period comet that can be seen with the naked eye. Halley’s Comet last passed thought our inner Solar System in 1986. It’s next crossing is scheduled to happen in mid-2061.

On July 23, 1995, Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp of the United States, both discovered the Hale-Bopp comet traveling a substantial distance from the sun. Hale, who was an avid tracker of comets, saw this one in the sky while in his driveway on a New Mexico evening. Over in Arizona, Thomas Bopp spied the object through a friend’s telescope. Both men contacted the proper officials and the next day Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) had an official moniker. In May 1996, Hale-Bopp became visible in the sky. When it passed across our skies in April 1, 1997, this comet was the longest visible display of any comet yet. The Hale-Bopp Comet, dubbed the Great Comet of 1997, will not be seen from Earth again for the next 2,400 years. Hale-Bopp spawned claims of alien spacecraft trailing the tail. Due to the length of visibility time, Hale-Bopp is known as the most viewed comet to date.

A constellation is a term used to describe a grouping of stars that form a pattern. In modern terms, constellations lay out the area of a surface sphere. Patterns of stars not officially categorized as constellations are called an asterism. An asterism may be made up of stars from multiple constellation patterns. The International Astronomical Union lists 88 officially recognized constellations since 1922. This list is based on that of the ancient Greek Ptolemy. Claudius Ptolemaeus lived in a Rome-ruled Egypt as a mathematician, astronomer, poet, astrologer and geographer.

A well-known constellation is Orion. This star grouping is even mentioned in the bible along with the Bear and Pleiades. Also refered to as The Hunter, Orion consists of seven main stars. It’s brightest star Rigel is the sixth brightest star in our sky. The Belt of Orion is one of the most well-known asterisms, consisting of three bright stars lined in a row. Prominent constellations were able to be used a navigational tool, helping sailors orient themselves while journeying the seas.

Constellations were additionally useful to farmers of old who used the position of certain star groupings to tell what season it was in regions where it’s difficult to notice the difference. Other ancient cultures to look up and group the stars were China and India. The Chinese developed their own set of constellations based on their astronomy. In India, 12 zodiac (raasis) formations are rooted in Vedic astrology. The Western zodiac is also represented in the sky.

The telescope got its name back in 1611. Greek mathematician Giovanni Demisiani originated the moniker for an instrument of Galileo’s that had been presented at a banquet at the Italian science academy Accademia dei Lincei. Earliest information depicting a working telescope surfaced in the Netherlands in 1608. The original telescope design is attributed to two Dutch spectacle makers, Hans Lippershey and Zacharias Janssen and Dutch instrument-maker and optician Jacob Metius. The historical Italian astronomer, philosopher, mathematician and physicist Galileo Galilei greatly refined the design the following year.

A refractor telescope is fixed with a glass lens which it uses to gather and focus light. Early telescopes were of this variety. The glass in the scope rarely needs to be cleaned as it is usually efficiently sealed inside the tube. This type of telescope falls under the optical variety. Another optical scope uses a set of curved mirrors instead of glass and is called a Reflector. Almost every large research-grade telescopes are of the reflector variety.

The Hubble Space Telescope was built in the 1907′s as a joint venture between NASA(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and the European Space Agency. This grand scope was launched into space on April 25, 1990. It’s the singular scope to be built with the intent to be serviced in space by astronauts. Servicing missions have been deployed since 1993. After its optics were corrected during that initial service mission, the Hubble is said to be 90 times stronger than when it was originally constructed.

Telescopes are built for amateur and professionals alike. Ranging from a hand held model to a monolith device orbiting space, the telescope is imperative in gazing at our universe.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) and the European Space Agency began working on the HST in the 1970′s. It’s launch was to be scheduled for 1983. However, due to budget, technical issues, and the Challenger disaster, the actual launch date occurred on April 25, 1990. The HST was taken into orbit by the space shuttle Discovery and is charged with exploring the solar system, calculating the size and age of the universe, unraveling universal mysteries and more. The scope is named after dedicated American astronomer Edwin Hubble.

Data from the HST is taken in and then radioed to a nearby satellite in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System(TDRSS). The data is then received by the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, transmitted to the Goddard Space Flight Center, and finally to the Space Telescope Science Institute where it is archived. In 1998 the Hubble Heritage Project was established. This organization shares images from the HST with the public. Traveling at the cruising speed of 5 miles per second,it takes 97 minutes for the scope to complete an orbit of Earth.

Brilliant and breathtaking images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope has continually engaged public interest. Stunning photographs of nebulae, galaxies, and stars are captivating to look at. On September 2, 2010, the HST captured the effects of Supernova 1987A and traced it’s shock waves.

The HST is operated by the Space Telescope Science Institute at John Hopkins University Homewood campus in Baltimore. It is the culmination of an international partnership between scientists, engineers, contractors and organizations worldwide. The scope is planned to be in orbit until 2014, when it’s slated to be replaced with the James Webb Space Telescope. Until then, the HST will continue its mission while no doubt providing us with many fascinating images to marvel at.

Stars start life as a nebula. As it fades and dies, the star dissolves into another nebula. Early astronomers used the term as a catch all referring to any astronomical entity stretching beyond the Milky Way. However, as we gain more information about our universe, nebulae have emerged to be in a specific class all their own.

Planetary nebulae are created when a star’s core becomes unstable. Unable to sustain itself, the inner temperature of the core increases causing the outer layer to be separated from the star. The overheated core remains and imparts a radiant glow onto the ejected dust. The Hubble Space Telescope has captured many images that reveal the complexity of these astronomical objects. The planetary type of nebulae generally form the shape of a ring or bubble.

The Crab Nebula is a well-known interstellar cloud that falls into a combination of categories. A supernova remnant is formed when a star explodes and is accompanied by a shock wave. The shock wave picks up other dust it intersects with when ejected. In addition to falling under this category, the Crab Nebula is a pulsar wind nebula. Meaning it is powered by the heavily magnetized winds of a neutron star.

When a nebula cannot generate its own light and must reflect light from surrounding stars, it’s called a reflection nebula. Reflection Nebulae are often blue in color and are often seen near Emission Nebulae. The Orion Nebula is an example of this. Emission nebulae burn very hot and are found where new stars are being born. Absorption or Dark Nebulae appear black in color since they block light around them. Any ray of light shinning in the pathway of a Dark Nebula will be absorbed and not pass through.

Each of the planets are as different from each other as they can possibly be. Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, is understandably one of the hottest, where temperatures can rise to as much as 430 degrees Celsius. It’s proximity to the sun also means that its orbits are the fastest, due to the higher force of gravity it experiences from the sun. Indeed, the average year on Mercury equates to around 90 days on Earth! At the other end of the spectrum is Pluto. Pluto is a very cold planet, as its distance from the sun means that the sun’s rays have lost a lot of their heat when they reach it. Additionally, the time it takes Pluto to orbit the sun is equivalent to around 250 Earth years!

Our solar system is traditionally thought to be comprised of nine planets. However, scientists have recently discovered a number of other small land masses outside of Pluto which, according to current classifications, could be considered planets. Using these calculations, there could be as many as ten or even fifteen planets in our own solar system. For the most part though, scientists do not tend to include these other land masses in the definition of what is our solar system.

Within each star is a powerhouse of energy. Radiated energy stems from nuclear reactions occurring at the core of every star. This abundant energy fuels the star, sustaining it for many years. However, a star cannot last forever. When it begins to run out of energy, it begins to die. Some stars die in a cataclysmic explosion of brilliant light; a supernova.

The largest type of stars to shatter in supernova are called Hypergiants. Hypergiants are massive. As a result, their large amount of gravity impact its core with so much force that is causes the star to burn up much quicker. These stars have a shorter life span than other stars do, burning up in a few million years. The core of the star undergoes a rapid collapse and blows up. Some supernovae shine with remarkable brilliance for weeks, with others fading out over months or years. Sometimes a black hole can be formed. A neutron star is another byproduct of this great explosion. Neutron stars are very densely compacted collections of neutrons held together by gravity. These stars spin at a higher rate of rotation than other stars in the universe. They also possess uncommon characteristics, making them a point of interest for further study. If the supernova results in a black hole then no remnants of the star remain. Smaller supernovae are called Supergiants.

The Crab Nebula is a left over supernova that was first reported as an explosion in 1054 by astronomers in China. Many centuries later, this nebula can still be viewed today. Supernovae are powerful displays of forceful energy occurring in our universe.

Starry Night is an application available for both Blackberry and iPhone users. iPhone users can check out the mobile site while Blackberry users can install the application on their phone. Starry Night lets users view the night sky and identify planets, stars and constellations. Users can also choose any location on Earth and any point in time and see what the sky looked like then or will look like in the future.

iPhone users have several more applications to choose from. StarMap lets you navigate space and explore objects. GoSkyWatch Planetarium helps you identify planets in the night sky. Star Walk is great for students of astronomy. It lets you browse galaxies and stars as well as watch astronomical events that occurred in the past. APOD Viewer brings the stellar systems that are far away right to your cell phone. You can view amazing pictures of galaxies you did not even know existed.

It does not matter if you are an experienced astronomer or a newbie just starting to explore the wonders of space above and beyond. These applications give you boundless amounts of information accessible at your fingertips. Experts will reinforce their knowledge of the field they love, and newbies will quickly become experts. All it takes is a capable cell phone and a few minutes of web browsing or downloading an application. While you’re at it, download some free ringtones. Try the Star Trek theme to get you in the mood for star gazing.

Planets Beyond Our Solar System
An extrasolar planet is a planet that lies beyond our Solar System. Swiss astronomers Michael Mayor and Didier Queloz observed and uncovered proof of an actual extrasolar planet(51 Pegasi b). Scientists have been able to identify and confirm 490 planets existing outside our galaxy as of August 25, 2010. The limits of space keep expanding into a seemingly boundless quality. Astronomers of the early 19th century first turned their attention towards these extrasolar planets, theorizing their existence but unable to offer solid proof.

Eris
In January 2005, Eris was discovered to be the ninth-largest planetary body orbiting our Sun. This new planet was discovered by Mike Brown and his team at the privately owned Palomar Observatory in San Diego, California. As a result of this finding, in 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined the definition of a planet. Poor Pluto got bumped down from a planet to a dwarf planet. A decision that still incites controversy today.

Water on The Moon
In September of 2009, India’s Chandrayaan-1 satellite validated the presence of water on the Moon’s surface. For a long time, the Moon had been perceived as a dry and desolate landscape. While the surface area of the moon is not flushed with abundant H2O like our planet, it gives play to the idea of colonization. The water on the Moon is not easily accessible, but for decades it was perceived that there was no water there at all. Since this information is relatively new, further analysis is being conducted on the implications of such a find.

The universe is an astronomically expansive field of ongoing study.

Saturn in the second largest planet in our solar system (a distant second) after Jupiter. However, Saturn is classified as a gas giant, just like Jupiter, Neptune, and Uranus, but stands apart because of its famous rings. The Romans named the planet Saturn after their god of agriculture and harvest. In Roman mythology Saturn was also symbolic of peace and abundance, and could be used as a symbol of justice and strength.

Saturn’s most prominent feature is its rings, the element that makes it, perhaps, the most visually interesting planet in the solar system. Saturn’s rings, although they appear to be solid from a large distance away, are actually made up of a combination of ice and carbon. Ice makes up about 93% of the ring’s matter, with carbon and various other materials making up the rest. As well, from a distance, the rings look smooth, but in actuality, the rings are made up of a wide variety of rough-hewn ice crystals that range in size from small sand-like particles to large chunks as big as an SUV. The innermost rings form at about 6,630km from the surface of the planet, and the outermost ring ends at about 120,000km.

In addition to its rings, Saturn also has a number of other satellites or moons. Scientists have discovered at least 62 moons orbiting Saturn, the largest of which is Titan. Titan is about one and half times larger than our moon and is larger than Mercury in volume, if not by mass. Interestingly, Titan accounts for nearly 90% of the mass of all the objects orbiting Saturn, including the rings. The planet’s second largest moon, is Rhea.

Saturn’s rings are a bit of mystery, and there is currently no way to know how they formed or why a massive amount of matter congregated around this planet in particular. One theory suggests that the rings are made out of the debris of a destroyed former moon, and another suggests that the debris is simply leftovers from when Saturn formed in the first place.

Perhaps few scientific debates have raised the ire of so many school children as the reclassification of Pluto as a planet to a new class of heavenly objects called, dwarf planets. Between 1930 and 2006, Pluto was considered a planet, but a definition of the term planet created by the International Astronomical Union in 2006, left Pluto out of the major planet category and downgraded it to the status of a lesser, or dwarf, planet.

In the 1840s, Urbain Le Verrier had observed odd variations in the Uranus orbit around the sun. He theorized that the variations could be caused by another, unobserved planet that was interfering with Uranus path. He made the calculations and subsequently discovered Neptune. Well, history repeats itself, and in the late 19th century astronomers could still not explain some variations in Uranus orbit and hypothesized that, perhaps, there was another planet, besides Neptune, that was exercising pull on Uranus. And thus began the hunt for Planet X. Although calculating the position and orbit of this other body proved difficult, Pluto was finally observed on March 13, 1930, and christened the ninth planet.

But discovering Pluto was not the problem. As our technology improved over the last 80 years, scientists started to discover other planetary bodies in the solar system in the same general area as Pluto. They even discovered a larger object they called Eris that lay among a belt of space debris on the outskirts of out solar system called the Kuiper Belt. In fact the more scientists studied Pluto, the more it became clear that it was a small object that exercised virtually no influence on other heavenly bodies besides its own moon, Charon whose classification is being called into question as well dubbing the two bodies a binary system because they are so close in size and seem to orbit relative to each other, not one around the other.

In retrospect, the inclusion of Pluto as a planet was as much a product of our ignorance of the universe as it was a triumph of our knowledge of the solar system.

If you were to leave Earth on a spaceship headed away from our sun, you’d first pass Mars, the red planet. After Mars you would pass through a large asteroid belt and then you would encounter the largest planet in our solar system: Jupiter. Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun, and it is massive in size. In fact, if you took all the other planets in the solar system and combined them into one big planet, that planet would still not be half the size of Jupiter.

Jupiter is a gas giant which means that it is made mostly out of gas and not rock and solid matter like Earth or Mars. In fact, Jupiter is mostly made out of hydrogen, about 88%, and helium, about 12%. The atmosphere contains other trace elements as well, like water vapor, methane, oxygen, ammonia and more.

Because of its size, it is no wonder that civilizations throughout history have named it after their primary gods. For example, the Babylonians called Jupiter, “Marduk,” the patron deity of Babylon itself. And Hindu tradition has called the planet “Guru,” which means the great or heavy one. The Romans called the planet “Jupiter” because Jupiter was the king of all the gods.

One of the most interesting surface features of Jupiter is its red dot, commonly know as the Great Red Spot. The spot is a massive storm that is considered to be a permanent feature of the planet. The red spot is 2-3 times larger than Earth, depending on its ferocity and goes though a cycle of about 6 days, churning in a counter-clockwise direction. Storms such as these have been shown to be fairly common for gas giants like Jupiter. In addition to the Great Red Spot, Jupiter has a number of other storms that rage on its surface, although they are not as permanent as the spot. These other storms can be ovals of white or brown and are generally made up of smaller, cooler pockets of cloud and gas.

Uranus, the often made-fun-of planet because of its name, is the seventh planet from the sun in our solar system. It is a gas giant (even though some scientists also classify it as an (ice giant), similar to Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune, but it has a very notable characteristic, it is sideways.

Uranus is very similar in composition to its sister planet, Neptune, and slightly different from the other gas giants. The composition of Uranus atmosphere is mainly hydrogen and helium, but it contains much more ice than Jupiter and Saturn, ices such as water, methane, ammonia, and other hydrocarbons. As such, Uranus has much more relative mass than its larger cousins, and is generally thought to contain a more solid core of matter, like ices and rock.

But what most sets Uranus apart from the other planets in the solar system is its sideways rotation. For some reason, Uranus rotates on a horizontal axis compared to the rest of the planets that rotate on a vertical axis. This means that poles exist where other planets have equators. This sideways rotation can be very easily seen because Uranus also has rings, smaller than those of Saturn, but visible on a vertical rotation around the planet. This unique configuration makes Uranus look somewhat like a target, as seen from earth, comprised of a circle in the middle surrounded by concentric circles.

Uranus makes a trip around the sun every 84 years, and as such each pole of the planet experiences approximately 42 years of either summer (complete daylight) or winter (complete darkness), depending on witch pole is facing the sun.

The reason for Uranus skewed axis is unknown. Some speculate that billions (or trillions of years ago), a protoplanet collided with Uranus, giving it its unusual rotational axis, but this is just speculation and there is no evidence for this theory.

Observed by satellites and passing spacecraft, Uranus is basically featureless, round, and smooth with minimal variation in coloration. However as our technology improves, slight variations in the surface appearance of Uranus have started to appear.

The name Venus, perhaps started with the Babylonians, about 1600 BC., who dubbed the planet Ishtar, after their goddess of love, the personification of all womanhood. The Greeks, after the Babylonians, at first believed that the planet was actually two stars, because it appeared in the evening and again in the morning, but was not seen in between. At first, they called the planet Phosphoros (Bringer of Light) and Eosphoros (Bringer of Dawn). But later they realized that the two stars were actually one heavenly body and they named the planet Aphrodite, to honor their god of beauty and love. Because the Romans had taken many of their own religious beliefs from the Greeks, they continued to call the planet after their god of love, but in Latin the name became Venus.

Venus also held special significance for the Mayans, whose religious calendar revolved around the phases and motions of the planet. They called Venus, Noh Ek which means the great star, and they believed that the motions of Venus could be used to determine the best time for war, planting of crops, and more.

In modern times, Venus has become part of a system of astrology and its position relative to other planets and heavenly bodies is held to have influence over love, desire, and sexual fertility. The astrological symbol for Venus is the same that is commonly used to designate female in biology that is, a circle with a cross hanging from the bottom of it.

Because Venus is so bright and alluring, it is no wonder that ancient and modern societies have associated it with beauty and love.

Earth is the third rock from the center if you were looking down on the orbit of all the planets in the solar system revolving around the sun. It is our home and our protector from the harsh extremes of space and the sun. No one knows why Earth came to be the only planet in the solar system to develop life, but it has done just that.

One of the reasons Earth can sustain life is its atmosphere, the thin payer of gasses that keeps the earth from getting too hot or too cold that acts as a shield from meteors and asteroids that without it would pummel the earth. One look at the moon, would give you an idea of how the Earth would look without an atmosphere to protect it.

Earth’s atmosphere is made up mostly of oxygen and nitrogen, more precisely, it is 21% oxygen and a whopping 78% nitrogen with other smaller percentages of carbon dioxide, water vapor, hydrogen, and a number of other gasses and molecules. The thickness of the atmosphere varies depending on the latitude but is generally smaller at the poles and thicker at the equator. In broad terms, the atmosphere is about 8km thick at the north and south poles, and about 17km thick around the middle of the planet.

One of the things that has allowed the earth to develop an atmosphere as it has, was the introduction of photosynthesis, nearly 2.7 billion years ago. Oxygenic photosynthesis was the development of organisms that could take other gasses, like carbon dioxide and turn it into oxygen and nitrogen through biological processes. That development created the relatively thin layer of atmosphere over billions of years that envelops the earth today.

The Earth’s atmosphere keeps the Earth warm through a process that is commonly called the Greenhouse Effect. The Greenhouse Effect is created when warmth from the sun enters our atmosphere and is then trapped by the gasses that surround the planet, preventing the earth from wild extremes in temperature and allowing life to grow and survive in a solar system where no other planet has.

Mars is the fourth planet from our sun, right after Earth, and is probably the most similar planet to Earth out of all the other planets in our solar system. Perhaps it is for this reason that Mars has held a fascination in both scientific and literary circles.

In temperature and atmosphere it is not that different from Earth relatively speaking. Although it has a much thinner atmosphere, it is made of almost 95% carbon dioxide, which is found in abundance on Earth and is part of our atmosphere as well. Some have speculated that, if you could generate a massive photosynthetic effort on Mars, the atmosphere could actually turn mostly oxygen, perhaps even enough for humans to breath. And with polar ice caps full of water and highs in the -44 degrees F range, it isn’t hard to see why our imaginations have run wild with the potential that humans could possibly and potentially live on Mars.

This idea was further teased when Giovanni Schiaparelli, in September of 1877 produced a series of images of Mars that made it appear as if straight lines crossed its planes. Schiaparelli called the lines “canals, which led to wild speculation that Mars was inhabited and that the inhabitants had built trenches and canals across the surface of the planet. However, the lines in Schialarelli’s images turned out to be an optical illusion, and as telescopes became more powerful, the images they produced had no straight lines, so the speculation died down.

However, it didn’t die completely. In 1899, Nikola Tesla, while listening to radio receivers in his lab, heard repetitive patterns that he conjectured might have been communication among the stars, perhaps even from Mars. Tesla and number of other scientists and enthusiasts speculated on these sounds and other sights over the years, which made great fodder for science fiction writers and movie directors.

But most of the excitement and speculation over life on Mars has become more pragmatic the more we learn about the planet. Data from the recent Mars rover revealed that Mars is basically lifeless. But we can still dream.

You may be thinking that a yearly check-up and the necessary shots don’t cost too much. Certainly, that’s affordable for most people. It only takes a split second for something to happen to an animal that means they need serious medical care . Most people wouldn’t hesitate for a second to take their cherished pet to the vet’s office to save their life in the event of an accident, but they are often very surprised when they are handed a bill that could total hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Most pets can also have many of the same chronic health conditions that people have as they age. They have heart disease, cancer, liver disease, arthritis, and lots of other health problems. Of course, they won’t have all of them, but it’s highly likely they will eventually have some type of problem if they live to an old age. Often, people can’t afford the expensive treatments necessary to keep their pet comfortable, or to cure a serious disease, when they have to pay out of pocket. Instead, they have to make the heart-breaking decision to put their pet to sleep.

While most people would cross the universe to help any wounded animal, reality will mean that they can’t help their own pet in their time of need when the vet requires upfront payments for serious healthcare. Purchasing pet insurance ahead of time can remove this potential problem from your pet’s future. After all, you don’t want an empty space in your home  and neither do they.

Neptune, the eighth planet from the sun, was discovered in 1846 by Urbain Le Verrier, though he shares the claim to fame (some say unfairly) with John Crouch Adams, and was the first planet in the solar system to be discovered by calculation rather than observation.

In 1821, Alexis Bouvard published tables regarding Uranu orbital patterns, but upon observation, Uranus fluctuated from the calculations Bouvard had set out. Bouvard, at that point, suggested that maybe another heavenly body was affecting Uranus orbit perhaps another planet. Over 20 years later, John Crouch Adams took Bouvard’s hypothesis and put it to the test, calculating the orbit of a possible eighth planet past Uranus orbit. Adams sent his calculations to the Astronomer Royal of England asking for help in finding the body, but the Astronomer Royal did not think the matter of great importance and never sent a response or help back to Adams.

Meanwhile, completely independent of Adams, a Frenchman, Urbain Le Verrier, had been working on the same calculations and had been spreading them around the scientific community. When the British community saw that Le Verrier and Adam’s calculations were similar, they both began to use the technology available to them to observe the planet according to the predictions. In a letter, Le Verrier urged a German astronomer, Johann Gottfried Galle, to follow the calculations and find the planet. The very night after he received the letter, Galle observed the mysterious planet for the first time.

Of course, upon hearing that Le Verrier had discovered the planet, Adams fought hard to be credited with co-discovery, even though his calculations were not as precise at Le Verrier’s. And eventually he was given credit, though historians are now revising their opinion of him and increasingly in favor of naming Le Verrier the sole discover of Neptune.

From the beginning, Le Verrier wanted to name the new planet Neptune, after the Roman god of the sea. Other names were touted as possible monikers for the new planet, even the name Le Verrier was popular for a while in France, but ultimately the name Neptune stuck.

The Romans named Mercury after a figure in their mythology who was a messenger to the gods. But prior to being called Mercury, the Greeks had given it two names, Hermes and Apollo, because they thought the single planet was actually two planets. But it was probably easy for them to get mixed up because Mercury is never visible constantly throughout the night. As a result of its close proximity to the sun, Mercury only appears in the sky at dusk and at dawn giving the mistaken impression that it was two separate planets.

As stated before, Mercury is the planet closest to the sun in our solar system. It is an extremely dense planet with an iron core, much like that of our moon’s, but its temperature varies significantly during its extremely long days. The surface temperature of the planet can range anywhere from -297 degrees F, on the side away from the sun and in craters at the polar caps, to 801 degrees F directly on the surface facing the sun.

Because the planet has very little atmosphere in which to burn up assaulting asteroids and meteors, the surface of Mercury is pockmarked by a number of craters, similar to our moon. But it also has regions of smooth surface planes as well. We know this because from 1974-1975 the Mariner 10 space probe orbited the planet and mapped nearly 45% of Mercury’s surface. And again in 2008, the Messenger spacecraft mapped an additional 30% before it followed its trajectory to other parts of the solar system, although it is scheduled to return to Mercury in 2011.

Mercury’s surface craters vary in diameter and depth across the entire planet. There are small bowls and there are gigantic impact basins whose creation impacts were so large they caused concentric circles to form outside the initial crater. The largest known crater on Mercury is the Caloris Basin. The Caloris Basin has a diameter of over 1,550 km. The impact was so powerful that it actually caused lava from the core of the plant to burst out of the surface.

Have you ever wanted to fly beyond the atmosphere of earth, feel the weightlessness of space, and just generally be the envy of all your friends? Then maybe space tourism is for yours for only $35 million.

Sounds a little expensive, doesn’t it? Well that’s because space tourism is not yet the reality many people want it to be. From the launch of the first man into space, in 1961, through the moon landing and today, people have been fascinated with going into space without having to be an astronaut first.

There were some early strides toward civilian space travel when, in the 1980s, NASA allowed a handful of non-NASA personnel to accompany and manage specific payloads on space flights. They later allowed a number of influential people at McDonnell Douglass and members of congress to accompany shuttle flights. In 1986, NASA devised the Teacher in Space program to gain more public interest in space flight. Christa McAuliffe was the teacher selected to go into space for the program, but sadly the shuttle that was to take her into space exploded shortly after takeoff, halting all such programs for a number of years. Today, the only real space tourism opportunities lay with the Russian Space Agency, to whom you can pay up to $35 million to take a ride to the international space station and back again.

On the other hand, a number of private companies have sprouted up over the last 15-20 years whose goal is to create affordable, civilian space flights. For example, in October 2004, SpaceShipOne, built by Scaled Composites, won the $10 million X Prize for a private company who could fly to space and back again twice in a two-week period. As well, Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has created Virgin Galactic, an enterprise dedicated to creating the first commercial space-tourism industry and they’ve already sold 80,000 seats for their first flights (which have yet to be scheduled).

Although the legality of commercial space flight is still being debated, you may soon be able to find yourself floating among the stars (for a price).

Discovery’s final mission was scheduled for November 1, but the launch was stopped when fuel tank cracks became evident. The space shuttle is now undergoing repairs and tests to make it space-worthy in time for the next launch window in February 2011.

The historical crew includes Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe, Mission Specialists Timothy Kopra, Dr. Michael Barrat, Alvin Drew, and Nicole Stott.

Discovery is the most flown shuttle in NASA’s fleet. Construction on the space shuttle Discovery begin in 1979 and it was the third shuttle manufactured, after Columbia and Challenger. Discovery’s first mission was on August 30, 1984. Discovery was built in California and then traveled to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at the end of 1983 to prepare for its maiden voyage.

Discovery has had 37 adventures into space since 1984. She has carried satellites, ferried crew, and delivered equipment. There have been countless experiments held within the insulated walls of the Discovery space shuttle.One of Discovery’s most famous missions was in April 1990, when it carried the Hubble Space Telescope into space. Hubble has since astonished the world with its amazing photos of space.

The space shuttle has also undergone a lot of updates over the years, including a 9-month maintenance period in Palmdale, California in 1995, and safety upgrades in 2002 and 2005.

Key mission events, like the final Discovery mission, are shown on NASA TV so the world can take part in these fantastic events. Check online for the NASA TV schedule.

Being the official discoverer of the planet (although other astronomers had inclinations that it was a planet), the duty of giving the planet a name fell to him. When asked what he would call his new discovery, he decided to take a different route than all the other planets, named after Roman gods. He thought the practice of naming the planets after ancient gods was archaic and felt that a new planet deserved a newer, more modern name. So he named the planet, Georium Sidus, Latin for George’s Star, christened after his majesty King George III of England.

This name was not met with much enthusiasm outside of England, and so began a worldwide debate in the scientific community as to what its proper name should be, regardless of the name that had been given it by its discoverer. Immediately, many suggested that the planet simply be called Herschel after the man who discovered it. And other suggested that the planet be called Neptune, to honor the great British Navy. In the end, Johann Elbert Bode, a German astronomer, suggested that if Saturn was named after Jupiter’s father, then the new planet should be called Uranus after Saturn’s father. The name became the most popular in scientific circles and eventually all the astronomical societies acquiesced, making Uranus the official name of the new planet.