TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| Accepted Notion of Mars as Lifeless Is Challenged Some scientists suggest carbon-based molecules may have been destroyed before the Viking landers could find them. feeds.nytimes.com |
Spacewatch: Jupiter's extraordinary moons This January brought the 400th anniversary of Galileo's discovery of the four main moons of Jupiter, a finding that helped to demolish the idea that all celestial objects circled the Earth. His crude telescope would be no match for those widely available now, and even decent binoculars are enough to glimpse the Jovian moons. Check for yourself as Jupiter climbs brightly through the E and SE this evening (15 September).Since the first flyby of the planet by Pioneer 10 in 1973, those moons, named Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in order from Jupiter, have become recognised as interesting worlds in their own right. Io is the most hostile: bathed in an intense belt of radiation and tidally squeezed between Jupiter and the other moons, it is the most geologically active body we know. More than 400 volcanoes spew lava and towering sulphurous plumes that paint and repaint the surface in hues that range from yellow and green to white and red.Ganymede surpasses Mercury in diameter, while Callisto comes close: both may harbour oceans of water under their rocky and icy surfaces. It is the likely subsurface ocean of Europa that is usually seen as a possible location for extraterrestrial life, though it may be decades before anyone gets to drill through its icy crust to investigate directly. Meanwhile, Nasa and ESA are considering a joint mission for launch in 2020 to discover whether habitable conditions might exist on Jupiter's moons.Alan Pickupguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Research shows 'Hobbit' deformed human, not new species The row over the so-called "hobbit" found on the Indonesian island of Flores has flared again. abc.net.au |
Lovesick humpback beats long-distance record A humpback whale has broken the world record for travel by any mammal, swimming at least 9,800 kilometres from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean in search of a mate, marine biologists said. abc.net.au |
Astronomers say they've found oldest galaxy so far By SETH BORENSTEIN 2010-10-20T21:17:28ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Astronomers believe they've found the oldest thing they've ever seen in the universe: It's a galaxy far, far away from a time long, long ago.... hosted.ap.org |