Colonization of Space is Now

When we think of space exploration, we generally think of excitement and entertainment--of all the interesting things that await us out in the cosmos. What we often fail to consider is the evolution and advancement of our species. And when I say "evolution," I mean it literally.

Learn how space exploration may fuel our evolution at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/colonization-of-space-is-now/

Image can be purchased here:
http://www.redbubble.com/people/gus3141592/works/5874730-jetpack-evolution

The Era of Exploration:

While browsing the internet, I stumbled across a rather alarming idea. It was in the form of a quote, and it read, “You were born too late. You will never explore Earth. You were also born too early. You will never explore the stars.” I find this assertion a tad depressing.

According to this quote, there is little hope that we will ever trek across the surface of unexplored mountains, deserts, volcanic plains, or what have you. No matter how remote a place may be someone, somewhere has already explored it.

Similarly, chances are, we will never boldly trek out into space and go where no man (or woman) has gone before. We lack the technology. We lack the drive. So the exploration of this final frontier will be left to those who are not yet born. But is our outlook really this dismal?

Find out what the future of exploration really holds for us at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/the-era-of-exploration/

Image:
NASA

Tonight, Meteors will light up the winter sky:

If you"re in the Northern Hemisphere, you"re in luck! Tonight, turn your eyes towards the Big Dipper"s handle and look to the west of the bright star Arcturus. If the weather is favorable (and light pollution isn"t clouding the skies and obscuring your view), then you should be able to see some 80-200 meteors per an hour streaking through the sky. If you"ve never seen a meteor shower before, be sure to check it out this evening starting at midnight and carrying on until dawn. They are truly glorious events, and definitely worth a little lost shut-eye.

These meteors will blast into Earth"s atmosphere at about 90,000 miles per hour (144,800 km/h), but you"ve no need to fear any deadly cataclysms. The typical bright meteor is produced by a particle with a mass less than 1 gram...no larger than a pea. So even if the Quadrantids set the sky aglow, you"ve nothing to fear.

Want to learn more amazing facts about meteors and how to find them? See:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/tonight-meteors-will-light-up-the-winter-sky/

Image via
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73449134@N04/8343003942/in/photolist-dHf5py-dH9EGv-dH6aWh-97BHji-b7byEF-b7byVX

Making the Moon Habitable

Being the brightest and most prominent feature of the night sky, Earth"s Moon has long been the source of relaxation, inspiration and wonderment. Romanticized through poetry and demonized through Science-Fiction likenesses, it still leaves modern society in awe as much as it did in the primitive stages of human culture as Anthropology study has revealed.

Furthering this fascination, ever since the late Neil Armstrong laid his footprints in the electrically charged and abrasive dust on the lunar surface, humanity has had the desire and ambition to further itself - to be a multi-planetary species. Through very popular movies, such as Aliens, Red Planet and Total Recall, we have the idea of terraformation - that is, turning extraterrestrial worlds into suitable planets for humanity to thrive upon.

But how does the moon fit into the equation? See: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/making-the-moon-habitable/

Larger Image: http://www.infiniteunknown.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/earth_and_moon.jpg

The Sun"s Magnetic Field is Expected to Flip Soon. The End of Earth?

According to NASA, over the course of the next few months, the sun"s magnetic field will flip -- just as it does every 11 years (like clockwork). This event will not be catastrophic but it does sound kind of daunting, so what exactly happens when the sun"s magnetic field flips?

Find out here: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/the-suns-magnetic-field-is-expected-to-flip-soon-the-end-of-earth/

Image Credit: Karen Teramura [UH IfA]

Lake Vostok: Life in one of the most Inhospitable Places on Earth:

Located on the seemingly inhospitable continent of Antarctica (a place with the lowest recorded temperature on the Earth at -89 degrees Celsius), lies a subglacial lake that is 160 miles wide and 30 miles across. This lake has been dubbed Lake Vostok. It is believed that the lake formed some 20 million years ago. Isolated from the rest of the world for at LEAST 100 000 years, Lake Vostok was one of the last untouched places on this globe.

The lake presents itself as an analog for the study of both extremophilic microbial life (and possibly larger organisms) and evolutionary isolation. This inhospitable environment parallels some environments that we think might exist elsewhere in the solar system – either in the subsurface of Mars or on icy moons like Enceladus or even Europa. Ultimately, the search for life on other planets could start here on Earth at Lake Vostok.

Find out how here: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/lake-vostok-life-in-one-of-the-most-inhospitable-places-on-earth/

Image Credit: Nicolle Rager-Fuller / NSF

New Research Suggests Our Sun Won"t Form a Planetary Nebula

You have probably heard that the Sun will turn into a red giant in about 5 billion years. And you probably know that this will result in not-so-fun times for any being still on planet Earth. As it transitions from a main sequence star into a red giant, the outer layers of the Sun will expand across the solar system. When this happens, our life-giving star will turn into an object of utter destruction. The Sun will expand beyond Mercury. It will expand beyond Venus. It will sweep across the entirety of the inner solar system in a mere 5 million years. When it finally stops its expansion, the searing tips of the solar surface will rest beyond the bounds of Earth’s orbit. In short: if we aren’t knocked out of the solar system as the Sun expands, or moved into a larger orbit as it loses mass...we will be consumed.

But what happens to the Sun after it becomes a red giant? We have a pretty good handle on the fate of our own world...but what about the Sun itself?

We once thought it would turn into a planetary nebula, but we might be wrong on that one.

Read More: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/new-research-suggests-our-sun-wont-form-a-planetary-nebula/

Image Credit: ESO/S. Steinhöfel

Earthrise: 45 Years Later

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the famous Earthrise picture. This picture was taken by William Anders on the Apollo 8 mission on December 24th, 2968 . Today, we celebrate the 45th anniversary of this humbling image. This is possibly one of the most profound images a human has ever taken; the renowned nature photographer Galen Rowell even went to so far as to say that this is "the most influential environmental photograph ever taken." The Earthrise picture is one of the first images of Earth ever taken where the entire globe is visible, showing the Earth as a small blue ball over the lunar horizon.

To learn more about this iconic image, and see more amazing images and videos, visit: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/earthrise-45-years-later/

The Anatomy of a Tornado

Anyone who has lived through a tornado will tell you that these are the most terrifyingly beautiful things on Earth. The amount of power that a tornado wields is equal parts impressive, mesmerizing, and horrifying. We all love witnessing their raw power through the images and videos captured by storm chasers, and we wait with bated breath to see the cost of their passing. The amount of devastation that just one tornado can cause is hard to comprehend. Since these beasts are so deadly and destructive, we have put an uncharacteristic amount of time and effort into understanding them.

After all, the only way to protect yourself from something is to get to know it…

Learn about these amazing structures at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/the-anatomy-of-a-tornado/

Image:
NOAA

On Doomsday and Humanity"s Role in the Destruction of Earth:

Doomsday was supposed to happen in 1999 when we discovered the West Nile virus in the United States. When summer passed and the world didn’t end, we pushed the apocalypse back to 2000 and focused all our fears on the dreaded Y2K. Once we made it through the first days of the new millennium, we quickly convinced ourselves that the Bird Flu epidemic would surely bring an end to civilization. Somehow, we managed to muddle through all of this, only to face the ancient Maya prophecy which claimed that the world would end in 2012.

Now, my throat may be a little scratchy from seasonal allergies, and I might have a burn on the top of my mouth from drinking tea that was a tad too hot, but other than that, it seems that I’ve made it through the end of the world relatively unscathed. In fact, it seems that nearly everyone made it through these doomsday scenarios pretty much intact. So although I hate to make sweeping generalizations, I have to say that we might be just a *little* obsessed with the end of the world.

In some respects, our fascination with the apocalypse is understandable. After all, the end of the world would be one of the most important events in the history of, well, the world. But our obsession is borderline maniacal.

Read about this obsession, and whether humans can really destroy the Earth, at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/on-doomsday-and-humanitys-role-in-the-destruction-of-earth/

Image:
NASA/Colum Five Media
http://www.columnfivemedia.com/

The World Contained in a Strawberry:

The internet has increasingly become a large part of our lives, especially in the past decade. It"s hard to deny. At the end of 2012, there were about 17 billion devices connected to the internet (yes, billion). These numbers are staggering, even when compared to other technologies. For starters, it took four years for there to be 50 million devices connected to the internet. If you think that"s a long time, it took TV 13 years to reach the 50 million mark. But don’t feel too bad for the small shrines we have set up in our living rooms and bedrooms, because it took radio *38 years* to hit the same 50 million mark.

Learn more about the internet and what it means to us at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/the-world-contained-in-a-strawberry/

Nebraskan supercell

This is an utterly fantastic image, taken by Jeremy Holmes, of a Nebraskan supercell.

A supercell (also known as a rotating thunderstorm) is a type of thunderstorm that forms in the presents of rotating updraft. Overall, supercells are less common than a classic run-of-the-mill thunderstorm, which is fortunate since supercells have the potential of being very severe. They are most commonly identified by their ominous rotating structure and usually occur in arid climates (such as the Great Plains of the United States), but supercells can form anywhere in the world under the right conditions.

Sources and further reading: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/nebraskan-supercell/

Image credit: Jeremy Holmes
http://www.irvisions.com/

What If Gravity No Longer Existed?

Gravity is one of the primary life forces of the universe. Without it, not only would pretty much everything cease, but the very production of everything would fall apart. No more stars, no more planets, and nothing to keep us tethered to our home planet. Floating about may sound cool for a split second, but let me assure you, that would be a very, very bad thing (space is scary and we would die). Despite gravity being the very essence of our physical universe (it provides the attraction that ultimately allows things to come together and coalesce), our understanding of how it operates is poor at best. It"s believed to be the consequence of the warping of spacetime allotted by objects that have mass. At least, that"s what general relativity postulates, but the jury is still out on that one.

Anyhow, per our theories, gravity on Earth can"t just "turn off" (well, not without the planet and everything on it becoming obsolete). Nevertheless, we can still deal in hypotheticals. So if gravity did turn off (with the three remaining forces of the universe kept in check), what would happen?

Find out at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/what-if-gravity-no-longer-existed/

Image:
http://zbush.deviantart.com/art/Chaos-of-2012-110574677

TW Hydrae: The Planet That Shouldn"t Exist

In a physical world that contains phenomena such as pulsars, neutron stars, and black holes, one would think that we have a pretty good grasp on the basics--how our universe evolves and functions; however, you might be surprised to know that some of the basics are actually difficult to discern. One of those problematic areas is planetary formation. That"s right.. .we really have a somewhat-amateur understanding of how planets form, despite actually living (and evolving) on one.

Our current models say that our solar system, and other planetary systems circling other stars, form from a protoplanetary accretion disk encircling a young star. This elliptical disk of material is typically comprised of gas, ice, rock, and grain. These build up slowly before ultimately coalescing into a planet, shaped by gravity. This process is thought to take tens of millions of years to occur from start to finish, and of course the amount of material concentrated around the protoplanetary disk dictates the number of planets a star has (and their size), which means that the planets should all form during a similar time-frame and there should also come a period when planetary formation is no longer possible.

However, we may have to rethink this theory. Find out why at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/tw-hydrae-the-planet-that-shouldnt-exist/

Image:
NASA

Earth"s Magentic Shield and the Van Allen Radiation Belts:

Some of you may not be aware of this, but the Earth is shrouded in a doughnut shaped, magnetic force field! Okay, that aforementioned statement is *a bit* sensationalist, but it is more or less true. The Earth is protected by a "shield" of magnetism. This magnetic shield is generated from the rotating, metallic, liquid iron core at the center of the Earth -- a dynamo.

And as many of us already know, the Sun can be temperamental and cruel. It is the giver of life, but it can also be the harbinger of death. The chaotic sphere of rotating plasma in the Sun emanate charged particles in all directions; occasionally producing violent flares. If powerful enough, these flares can release energy that can soar through our magnetic shield and cripple modern infrastructure.

Learn how the Earth is able to protect us at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/recent-news-on-earths-van-allen-radiation-belts/


Image:
NASA

Death & Decomposition in Space

To read the full article, see: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/death-decomposition-in-space/

Image Credit; TheCharles on deviantart.com

Larger Image: http://thecharles.deviantart.com/art/Space-Death-212736240

A Ring System of our Own:

When the moon was formed after a collision between Earth and another a celestial body, it should have left lot of debris around Earth. The debris within the Roche"s limit *should* have formed rings around Earth.

In truth, it"s quite likely that Earth *did* have a ring (or a system of rings) sometime in the VERY distant past; however, any such rings would have only been possible for a short period of time after the collision between Earth and Theia (the hypothetical planet that struck Earth to form our moon). Unlike the rings that belong to Saturn, Earth"s rings would have dissipated pretty quickly.

Find out why, and learn what our planet would be like with rings at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/if-earth-had-rings/

Image source:
NASA

If One of Jupiter"s Moons Replaced Our Own...

Life is messy. It is turbulent and chaotic. However, in a world that is constantly evolving, there are a few things that we can rely on -- things that help keep life stable and keep us all sane. First, there is the Sun. It rises each day, giving us the light and energy that we need to survive, and then slowly slips behind the horizon (like clockwork).

The same is true of the Moon. Each night, it silently creeps through the sky; acting as a beacon of light in an increasingly dark world. Then, the sun peeks back up on the horizon, causing the moon"s presence to become less apparent for several hours -- until the cycle starts anew. One thing is for sure.. the moon is much more than a hunk of rock.. it"s a familiar, friendly figure. But what if the Moon wasn"t our moon? Furthermore, what would it be like if the Moon was replaced by another celestial body?

Like, one of Jupiter"s moons: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/if-jupiters-moon-replaced-our-own/

Image Credit: Lights in the Dark: https://www.facebook.com/LightsInTheDark

Astronomy Picture of the Day: 12/10/13 - Comet Garradd

This is the comet Garradd, pictured as it appeared while in the sky within 0.5 degrees of M92 (the bright star cluster to the left of the comet) on February 3rd, 2012. The comet is currently more than 12.5 light-minutes from Earth.

One of the first things you’ll notice about this particular image is that the comet appears to have two tails. As comets get near the sun, the solar energy heats it up and the comet loses small amounts of matter, creating the iconic comet tail. Solar winds then blow the particulate matter in the direction facing away from the Sun, resulting in gas particles moving effortlessly, whereas rock particles tend to linger behind. All of this give way to the illusion of two tails.

For References, see: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/astronomy-picture-of-the-day-121013-comet-garradd/

Image Credit: Rolando Ligustri (CARA Project, CAST)

For some Perspective: The Moon Compared to the United States

For the most part, our moon is nothing particularly special. It isn"t home to a series of active volcanoes, a thick atmosphere chalked full of nitrogen (with oceans of liquid hydrocarbons) or cryovolcano plumes, which other moons in our solar system are known to contain. But regardless, it is very special to us. Not only is our planet the only one capable of experiencing a total solar eclipse, the moon also helps regulate the tides here on Earth, as well as helps to stabilize our planet"s tilt. Both of those are important, but most importantly is the moon"s relative size to Earth, as the moon is just about a quarter of Earth"s diameter with about 1/81th of its mass, with most moons being much, much smaller.

To learn more interesting facts about the moon, see: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/the-moon/

Image source:
boredboarder8 or reddit