How long will take humans to evolve? What will we evolve into?

Generally speaking, when talking about the evolution of our species, there are two modes of thought. Some people go on and on about how we will transition into super human-humans that have brains the size of small cars, amazing psychic capabilities, and Superman-like physical prowess. Others claim that humans are no longer evolving physically—that technology has put an end to the brutal logic of natural selection and that evolution is now (essentially) dead.

So, what"s the real answer? Find out at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/how-long-will-take-humans-to-evolve-what-will-we-evolve-into/

Image:
http://machineoverlords.com/in-case-you-missed-robots-can-evolve/

Astronomy Picture of the Day: 12/12/13 - War and Peace Nebula

This stunning picture shows the War and Peace Nebula, otherwise known as NGC 6357. This nebula is located in the constellation Scorpius and is located some 8,000 years from Earth.

The Nebula gets its name because, in infrared, the western section resembles a dove and the eastern section has the shape of a skull. NGC 6357 is a diffuse nebula and contains many proto-stars.

The open cluster Pismis 24 is located within the nebula; this cluster contains several massive stars. Originally, scientists thought the brightest object in the cluster – called Pismis 24-1 – was the most massive star on record as it was thought to be between 200-300 solar masses. Later surveys showed Primis 24-1 to be a binary system containing two stars, each between 100-150 solar masses.

Sources and further reading can be found here: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/astronomy-picture-of-the-day-121213-war-and-peace-nebula/

A Day in Space…without a Spacesuit

Today, I want to talk to you about what it would be like to spend a day in space without a spacesuit. Spending a day in the cosmic vacuum—sans spacesuit—might seem like a questionable life choice. After all, in the movies, whenever people end up in the intergalactic void without proper protection either their heads explode or they instantaneously freeze solid...neither outcome is particularly appealing.

However, your death in space won’t be nearly as spectacular as Hollywood would have you believe.

To find out what would really happen to you, see:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/a-day-in-space-without-a-spacesuit/

Space is Big. You just won"t believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big

When the Hubble Space Telescope celebrated its twentieth anniversary of scouring the stars, this image was released to celebrate the millions of observations Hubble has made. These images provided us with a plethora of information that wasn"t available beforehand. Hubble has literally revolutionized many aspects of astronomy and physics; however, one thing it cannot do is help us wrap our minds around the sheer size of some of these deep-space regions. But let’s try!

Give it a go at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/space-is-big/

Images:
NASA/ ESO

Guess The Planet - Answer and Explanation

Can you identify which planet was photographed in this image?

To find out, see:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/guess-the-planet-answer-and-explanation/

Image:
NASA

Behemoths of the Universe: Hypergiant Stars

We’ve told you about all about VY Canis Majoris, the most sizable star in the known universe. Lurking in the cosmos some 4,900 light-years from earth (about 28.8 quadrillion miles from our home), Canis Majoris is a mammoth without compare. If this star were in the center of our solar system, it would extend far beyond the orbit of Saturn (so let’s be glad that it’s a few quadrillion miles away).

To give you some hard figures, the circumference of our Sun is approximate 2.7 million miles (4.3 million km), while Canis Majoris is approximately 1.9 billion miles (3 billion km). This means that, when circling around the sun, light clocks in at about 14.58 seconds. However, it takes almost 8 hours for photons to travel around Canis Majoris.

Learn about the biggest known stars at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/behemoths-of-the-universe-hypergiant-stars/

Image via NASA/wikimedia

The Largest Known Spiral Galaxies:

212 million light-years from Earth, NGC 6872 drifts silently through the cosmos. At first glance, NGC 6872 seems like any other spiral galaxy. And in truth, it is like any other spiral galaxy, except that NGC 6872 is amazingly massive. In fact, NGC 6872 is one of the largest known spiral galaxies.

To learn about this amazing galaxy, see:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/astronomers-find-the-largest-known-spiral-galaxy/

Image:
NASA