A Road Trip with Commander Chris

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There Was a 15 Minute Warning Before Tonga Volcano Exploded November 21, 2024
Volcanoes are not restricted to the land, there are many undersea versions. One such undersea volcano known as Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai off the coast of Tonga. On 15th January 2022, it underwent an eruption which was one of the most powerful in recent memory. A recent paper shows that seismic waves were released 15 minutes […]
Mark Thompson
Main Sequence and White Dwarf Binaries are Hiding in Plain Sight November 20, 2024
Some binary stars are unusual. They contain a main sequence star like our Sun, while the other is a “dead” white dwarf star that left fusion behind and emanates only residual heat. When the main sequence star ages into a red giant, the two stars share a common envelope. This common envelope phase is a […]
Evan Gough
What a Misplaced Meteorite Told Us About Mars November 20, 2024
11 million years ago, Mars was a frigid, dry, dead world, just like it is now. Something slammed into the unfortunate planet, sending debris into space. A piece of that debris made it to Earth, found its way into a drawer at Purdue University, and then was subsequently forgotten about. Until 1931, when scientists studied […]
Evan Gough
Uranus is Getting Colder and Now We Know Why November 20, 2024
Uranus is an oddball among the Solar System’s planets. While most planets’ axis of rotation is perpendicular to their orbital plane, Uranus has an extreme tilt angle of 98 degrees. It’s flopped over on its side, likely from an ancient collision. It also has a retrograde orbit, opposite of the other planets. The ice giant […]
Evan Gough
How Scientists Repurposed a Camera on ESA’s Mars Express Mission November 20, 2024
A camera aboard the Mars Express orbiter finds a new lease on life. Sometimes, limitations can lead to innovation. A recent paper highlights how researchers are utilizing the VMC (Visual Monitoring Camera) aboard the European Space Agency’s (ESA) venerable Mars Express orbiter. The work is a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the […]
David Dickinson