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

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

Meteors, Asteroids, and Other Terrifying Things:

In the image pictured here, the dots stand for the various objects that populate the inner solar system…comets, asteroids, and the like. The orange dots are the larger global killers. The blue dots are smaller objects that would only cause local devastation. The Earth’s orbit is pictured in green.

As many of you already know, on Friday February 15, 2013 a meteor blasted into the Earth’s atmosphere and broke apart over Russia, releasing nearly 500 kilotons of energy. The energy released by this explosion is equal to about 30 Hiroshima bombs. The shockwave created by the event injured more than 1,000 people and blew out the windows in more than 100,000 homes (note: this figure does not include schools, hospitals, or office buildings).

On Thursday February 21, scientists confirmed that fragments of the meteor had been recovered. Although the initial size of the object is estimated at about 55 feet (17 meters), and nearly 10,000 tons, the largest fragment is just 7 millimeters. Fortunately, the meteor"s the collisions with the atmosphere (coupled with its fiery dive to Earth) caused it to fragment and break apart into tiny pieces. None the less, this meteor was a fairly sizable object. One seemingly reasonable question I’ve often heard repeated is, “why didn’t we see it coming?”

As you can imagine, it"s never THAT easy. Find out why at: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/meteors-asteroids-and-other-terrifying-things/

Image Credit: NASA.JPL

The Oceans of Jupiter

Most of you probably know that Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system (and if you didn’t, now you do). Its size is simply staggering: Jupiter’s volume is large enough to contain 1,300 Earth-sized planets; it contains 70% of the solar system’s planetary material; and it is so large that it has over 60 moons (67 confirmed so far). This is the king of the planets. So saying that this beast has little in common with planet Earth is rather obvious. But today, I wanted to talk about one commonality between Jupiter and the Earth: oceans.

For starters, this planet is a gas giant that is composed primarily of swirling clouds of hydrogen and helium (90% of the planet is hydrogen and the other 10% is almost entirely helium). Since it is a gas giant, you might suppose that the planet couldn’t possibly have liquid oceans, but you would be wrong. Typically, when we think of oceans, we think of surfers and sail boats, we picture crystal clear waters with softly crashing waves, and imagine coral reefs teeming with strange and exotic life.

But there are many kinds of oceans.

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