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: 12/14/13 - Close Encounters of the Moon Kind

As Jupiter danced with the Moon on July 15 of last year, European observers had the spectacular chance to watch Jupiter pass behind the lunar disk. Cristian Fattinnanzi managed to capture this beautiful picture -- taken through light cloud cover over Montecassiano, Italy -- as the gas giant reemerged (with its four Galilean moons in tow).

The Galilean moons are names as such because Galileo discovered them while making his observations of our largest planet. The moons, pictured left to right, are Callisto, Ganymede, Io, and Europa; with Jupiter as the centerpiece.

References & Further Reading: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/astronomy-picture-of-the-day-121413-close-encounters-of-the-moon-kind/

Photo credit: Cristian Fattinnanzi

Volcanism on Io (Jupiter"s Moon)

If there was a contest for the most un-Earth like world, Io would be one of the top contenders. Without a doubt, the most interesting thing about Io is its huge quantity of active volcanoes. As you can see, this volcanism makes the moon look more like a large ball of cheese (or a terribly unappealing pizza) than an actual world.

Find out just how many volcanoes Io has at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/volcanism-on-io-jupiters-moon/

Image source:
NASA

6 Mysteries of Our Solar System

In this day and age, our species has accomplished several note-worthy feats. We"ve sent human beings into space and touched down on the moon. We"ve been able to visit and probe each and every one of the gas-giants that reside in our solar system, revealing our local neighborhood to be full of many incredible worlds. We"ve even sent two separate probes on their way into interstellar space. A accomplishment that is slightly sullied considering the fact that we"ve even been able to figure out the mass and composition of planets and stars that are hundreds of thousands of light-years away from home. Even with our book of knowledge growing by the second, we would be naive to think we have all the answers, so much still needs to be uncovered about our own back yard.

Here, we dive into 6 of the most intriguing mysteries of our solar system: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/mysteries-of-our-solar-system/

Image Source (before editing): http://ow.ly/qTZ1v

Drops of Jupiter

Earth is quite picturesque from a few thousand miles away. It is equipped with beautiful hues of green that are spread between large gaps of rolling seas of blue, and of course, there are large collections of fluffy white clouds that dance across the face of the planet. The images taken from this vantage point remind us that Earth is quite stunning. Out of the rest of the planets in our solar system, only one other planet (Jupiter) has the variety of colors that we are accustomed to seeing when viewing space-based images of our home planet. In all other cases, the bland, colorless worlds are a stark reminder that our planet is very much alive. Ultimately, Earth"s colors signify its abundance of life. However, in Jupiter"s atmosphere, the intense colors signify something entirely different...



So what do these colors mean? How does Jupiter stack up against our own planet?

To read the full article, see: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/drops-of-jupiter/