Recent content by rod

  1. rod

    How science gets tested on alien worlds: 'We quickly realize how much there is yet to discover

    Interesting report. The exoplanet.eu site shows 7444 exoplanets now. The NASA site shows 5867. IMO, the direct way to test science on these exoplanets, is to travel there and measure :) Space.com report concludes, "These new insights at the intersection of chemistry and physics are thus helping...
  2. rod

    What's the difference between a young exoplanet and an old one?

    "The team divided the observational subjects into two age groups: young planets (10 million – 100 million years old) and intermediate-age planets (100 million years to 1 billion years old). They then compared the occurrence rates of these planets using data from NASA's TESS, or Transiting...
  3. rod

    SpaceX Fram2 astronauts see 'pure white' Antarctica from polar orbit: Space photo of the day

    Very good pics. Apparently these are the first astronauts to view from space both poles from orbiting above Earth. Given the report and images here, I suspect flat earth community folks may not like this report or pictures shown :)
  4. rod

    Meteorites and asteroids tracked back to their place of origin in the solar system

    A recent past report is similar here. Unlocking cosmic origins: Researchers trace 70% of meteorites to 3 asteroid families, https://phys.org/news/2024-10-cosmic-meteorites-asteroid-families.html My note, beside the long age and recent break up time model interpretations, most of the meteorites...
  5. rod

    Oxygen discovered in most distant galaxy ever seen: 'It is like finding an adolescent where you would only expect babies

    Interesting report. I note this about z = 14.0 using cosmology calculator. My note, z = 14.0 using cosmology calculators show "It is now 13.722 Gyr since the Big Bang. The age at redshift z was 0.300 Gyr. The light travel time was 13.422 Gyr. The comoving radial distance, which goes into...
  6. rod

    The far side of the moon was once a vast magma ocean, Chinese lunar lander confirms

    Space.com report stated, "New research from scientists with the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences and published in the journal Science found that sample analysis backs up an established model of the moon as a global liquid magma ocean in the early days after its formation and likely lasted...
  7. rod

    How did Earth get such a strange moon? Exploring the giant impact theory

    My note, a series of fortuitous events in nature must unfold for the giant impact model to be plausible and this report points to some. Example, "With an impact velocity of somewhere around 20,000 mph (32,000 km/h) — relatively slow as impacts go — what happened next was nothing short of...
  8. rod

    Total lunar eclipse March 2025: Best photos of the "Blood Worm Moon

    Helio, the 104 arcminute or so angular size for Earth as seen from the Moon is accurate. However I see this answer as a better explanation from Sky & Telescope report. FYI. "Mike Howard March 15, 2025 at 5:59 pm Total Solar Eclipse—from the Moon. Several news agencies are reporting an...
  9. rod

    Total lunar eclipse March 2025: Best photos of the "Blood Worm Moon

    Helio, you have captured images of Mare Crisium during the total lunar eclipse, I was observing that area too when viewing with my telescope. Blue Ghost lander was in Mare Crisium taking pictures of Earth blocking out the Sun, a total solar eclipse as viewed from the Moon...
  10. rod

    Total lunar eclipse March 2025: Best photos of the "Blood Worm Moon

    Outstanding job Helio! I posted some geeky notes here, https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/catch-a-spectacular-total-lunar-eclipse-on-march-13-14/, I had difficulty with low level clouds while viewing.
  11. rod

    Does exoplanet K2-18b host alien life or not? Here's why the debate continues

    Helio et al. Barnard's star now has 4 small exoplanets confirmed :) https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/confirmed-at-last-barnards-star-hosts-four-tiny-planets/ https://phys.org/news/2025-03-tiny-planets-orbiting-nearest-stars.html
  12. rod

    Does exoplanet K2-18b host alien life or not? Here's why the debate continues

    Glad to see some more reporting on K2-18b. Here are some past reports attempting to sort out if the exoplanet has life on it or not :) Webb discovers methane, carbon dioxide in atmosphere of K2-18 b, https://phys.org/news/2023-09-webb-methane-carbon-dioxide-atmosphere.html Exoplanet's surface...
  13. rod

    I want to believe — but yet another massive search for alien technosignatures just turned up nothing

    The exoplanet sites, I am still waiting for life to be confirmed on any of them. NASA or exoplanet.eu sites. https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/index.html, https://exoplanet.eu/home/ Looking at the exoplanet masses at .eu site, 104 are 2 or less earth masses. Example, AU Mic, all 7 of...
  14. rod

    Exoplanet with iron rain has violent winds 'like something out of science fiction

    "Many of the extraordinary features of WASP-121 b arise from the fact that it is an ultra-hot Jupiter, a gas giant planet with around 1.2 times the mass of its solar system namesake. WASP-121 b actually orbits so close to its star that a year there lasts just 30 Earth hours." Another report I...
  15. rod

    Hypervelocity star drags fastest exoplanet through space at 1.2 million mph

    "In this case, the team detected a microlensing signal that indicated two cosmic objects. They determined one of these lensing bodies has a mass around 2,300 times greater than its companion, but weren't able to determine the exact masses of the objects because they were simply too far away."...