M Thomas Apple Author Page

Science fiction, actual science, history, and personal ranting about life, the universe, and everything

Venus used to have as much water as Earth. What happened?

May 7, 2024
MThomas

Over time, that water has nearly all been lost. Figuring out how, when and why Venus lost its water helps planetary scientists like me understand what makes a planet habitable — or what can make a habitable planet transform into an uninhabitable world.

https://theconversation.com/venus-is-losing-water-faster-than-previously-thought-heres-what-that-could-mean-for-the-early-planets-habitability-229342

The process in which Venus lost most of its water is called “hydrodynamic escape.” When Venus got too hot, the hydrogen in its atmosphere left. (The linked article explains this using a metaphor of having too many blankets on your bed.)

However, Venus is still losing hydrogen, even though there is too little of it for hydrodynamic escape to work. So, logically, there must be another process at work: “HCO⁺ dissociative recombination,” in which individually positively charged atoms of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen in the atmosphere react with negatively charged electrons. The process was first examined on Mars, and based on a reexamination of results from previous missions (Pioneer Venus 1 and Pioneer Venus 2), the same research group thinks it’s time to try it on Venus…perhaps a first step to seeing whether Venus had life at some point.

Well, hello, Voyager 1! The venerable spacecraft is once again making sense

April 23, 2024
MThomas

NASA says it is once again able to get meaningful information back from the Voyager 1 probe, after months of troubleshooting a glitch that had this venerable spacecraft sending home messages that made no sense.

https://www.npr.org/2024/04/23/1246392066/nasa-voyager-1-spacecraft-talks-back

Hmm. Just a short while ago, Voyager’s days were numbered.

I guess these things were built to last… (also built when NASA got a lot more funding…)

Get ready for the 2024 totality, North Americans!

April 8, 2024
MThomas

Researchers will fly rockets into the path of the eclipse, stand in zoos watching animals, send radio signals across the globe, and peer into space with massive cameras. 

And you don’t need to be a scientist to take part.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68742516

If you’re lucky enough to have no clouds or rain, that is.

Things the eclipse affects:

  • Radio waves
  • Animal behavior
  • The birds and the bees (seriously; read about what tortoises did last time)

Things scientists can view thanks to an eclipse:

  • The solar wind (plasma on the surface of the Sun)
  • Coronal mass ejections (which interfere with satellites)
  • Dust rings around the Sun and possibly even new asteroids

The East Coast of North America, where most of my relatives live, is currently 13 hours behind me in Japan. So the event will be long over by the time I wake up.

Hope to see video of it on the morning news show tomorrow!

How to photograph a solar eclipse

March 29, 2024
MThomas

The eclipse begins as a small notch slowly appears along one edge of the Sun. During the next hour, the Moon gradually covers more and more of the Sun’s bright disk. You’ll need a Solar Filter to both view and photograph the partial phases. 

https://www.mreclipse.com/SEphoto/SEphoto.html

On April 8, 2024, there will be a total solar eclipse across parts of North America. It starts on Mexico’s Pacific coast and ends on Canada’s Atlantic coast. (So, no, it’s not just “from San Antonio to the Canadian border” as one article puts it).

I’m a little jealous of friends and family in the path. The eclipse lasts for over four minutes this time — if you’re in the area, enjoy!

And send me a photo or three if you can 😁

Bringer of Light – pre-order now!

March 13, 2024
MThomas

See Children of Pella (series) for details.

Water molecules detected on the surface of an asteroid in space for the first time

March 13, 2024
MThomas

Water molecules have been detected in asteroid samples returned to Earth, but this marks the first time that the molecules have been discovered on the surface of an asteroid in space. The team studied four silicate-rich asteroids using data from the now-retired Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy(SOFIA). 

https://www.popsci.com/science/water-asteroid-space/

The asteroids in question are Iris (124 miles / 200 km in diameter) and Massalia (84 miles / 135 km). Both are in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Iris is about the size of the US state of Maryland, while Massalia is roughly the size of Connecticut.

Note that the same observatory also found water on the Moon, about a “12-ounce bottle” worth. Not nearly enough for a settlement, but where there’s surface water (albeit trapped in soil on the surface), there’s likely to be more underneath.

(See also https://www.swri.org/press-release/swri-scientists-identify-water-molecules-asteroids-the-first-time — the PopSci linked article above essentially plagiarised almost its entire text. Bad scientist, bad.)

Original article here: Arrendono et al. (2024) Detection of molecular H20 on nominally anhydrous asteroids. Planet. Sci. J. 5. 37 doi 10.3847/PSJ/ad18b8 – good luck trying to read it!

Yet another “super-Earth” – maybe with a sibling?

February 28, 2024
MThomas

So, astronomers need to know both mass and diameter to determine whether a planet is truly similar enough to ours to host some form of Earth-like life. If the planet has a low mass and a large radius, it is likely like a so-called mini-Neptune with a gassy atmosphere and little rock. If it has a higher mass but a smaller radius, it’s probably a rocky planet like ours.

The possibility that TOI-715 b is rocky “would be exciting because that supports it being more of a habitable planet versus some sort of other world,” says Moran.

https://www.astronomy.com/science/recently-discovered-super-earth-might-be-habitable/

TOI-715 orbits a red dwarf star around 137 light years away, so we won’t be getting there any time soon. But after finding this planet last year, astronomers also are trying to confirm the existence of another smaller, closer to Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone (i.e., in an orbit that permits liquid water necessary for life to evolve).

And the name of the possibly new “sibling” planet?

“TIC 271971130.02”

Uh. We gotta come up with cooler names, folks.

For starters, they orbit a dwarf star.

Eat a sun a day…

February 26, 2024
MThomas

Astronomers have discovered what may be the brightest object in the universe, a quasar with a black hole at its heart growing so fast that it swallows the equivalent of a sun a day.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/black-hole-devouring-sun-day-may-universes-brightest-object-rcna139507

Have a nice day!

That’s no m…no, wait, sorry, it is!

February 25, 2024
MThomas

Astronomers have found three previously unknown moons in our solar system — two additional moons circling Neptune and one around Uranus.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/astronomers-spot-new-tiny-moons-neptune-uranus-rcna140285

One takes nearly 27 years to circle Neptune.

The “new” moon of Uranus is only 8 kilometers (5 miles) in diameter.

And there are likely many more yet to be discovered.

Intuitive touches down…is a bizarre sentence…

February 23, 2024
MThomas

A robotic spacecraft made history Thursday becoming the first privately built craft to touch down on the lunar surface, as well as the first American vehicle to accomplish the feat in more than 50 years.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/moon-landing-odysseus-touches-down-lunar-surface-n1308924

Congratulations! 🎉

You now have one week before shutting down permanently.

Jeez. Really? That’s a very expensive week at $118,000,000. Glad the taxpayers approve (?)

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