A Road Trip with Commander Chris

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Eris Could be Slushier Than Pluto December 2, 2023
In 2005, astronomer Mike Brown and his colleagues Chad Trujillo and David Rabinowitz announced the discovery of a previously unknown planetoid in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune’s orbit. The team named this object Eris after the Greek personification of strife and discord, which was assigned by the IAU a year later. Along with Haumea and […]
Matt Williams
A Planetary System With Six Sub-Neptunes Locked in Perfect Resonance December 1, 2023
Researchers using TESS and Cheops data found a system with six sub-Neptune-sized planets, all orbiting in direct resonance with each other. The post A Planetary System With Six Sub-Neptunes Locked in Perfect Resonance appeared first on Universe Today.
Beth Johnson
After Stalling Out for 40 Years, the Largest Iceberg in the World is on the Move December 1, 2023
In 1986, a gigantic iceberg separated from the Fichner-Ronne ice shelf in West Antarctica. It was so big that it became grounded, stuck to the seafloor, and remained in position for 40 years. Finally, it has now been pushed off the seafloor and has begun drifting in the Weddell Sea to a region in the […]
Nancy Atkinson
Should We Send Humans to Europa? December 1, 2023
Universe Today recently examined the potential for sending humans to the planet Venus despite its extremely harsh surface conditions. But while a human mission to the clouds of Venus could be feasible given the environmental conditions are much more Earth-like, a human mission to the second planet from the Sun could be (at minimum) decades […]
Laurence Tognetti
Europe is Working on a Multi-Purpose Habitat for the Moon December 1, 2023
With NASA gearing up to send humans back to the Moon in the next few years with the Artemis missions with the goal of establishing a permanent outpost at the lunar south pole, nations are making efforts to contribute to Artemis and a permanent presence on our nearest celestial neighbor. Recently, the Italian Space Agency, […]
Laurence Tognetti