Moon •

Titan’s Peaks Explored by Cassini

March 25, 2016 By Sebastian Mc’Mannen Leave a Comment

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon has 3,000 meters tall peaks

STATES CHRONICLE – The Cassini spacecraft has been sent out in space to explore different cosmic objects in our galaxy. Lately, the spacecraft has been focusing its research on Saturn and its moons in particular. At the moment, Cassini has approached Titan, Saturn’s largest moon and it has identified the highest points of this moon.

According to the images and data, Cassini sent to NASA, Titan’s highest peak is 3,337 meters tall and can be found in a mountainous ridge called the Mithrim Montes. All of the peaks there, three in total, are approximately 3,000 meters tall.

Luckily, the Cassini probe has technology advanced enough and a radar that can see through the smog of the moon’s atmosphere and reveal pretty clear and detailed images of the surface. According to NASA scientists, this is most probably the highest point on Titan as they don’t believe they can find another one.

The moon’s tallest mountains are located near the equator. Some other peaks of similar height were found both in the Mithrim Montes as well as in Xanadu and some isolated peaks near the landing site of ESA’s Huygens spacecraft.

The peaks were found as a result of a search for active zones within the moon’s crust. In other words, NASA was looking for places where dynamic forces shaped the landscape, maybe similar to how our relief was formed. They were looking both for the highest peaks and the deepest places.

But the relief is not formed only by dynamic forces within the crust, but also by erosion made by wind or rain. It turns out that on Titan, just as on Earth, rain and rivers have also eroded the landscape. However, the process is a slower one than what happens on Earth. This is because the energy coming from the sun is too little to power erosive processes in the atmosphere of the moon, mainly because it is located ten times farther from the sun than the Earth.

Nevertheless, seeing that the landscape on Titan is mostly formed in a way similar to the landscape on Earth is a very interesting discovery and sheds light over how this moon has evolved in time. It also shows that some tectonic forces have also contributed to the process of forming mountains.

However, the existence of such tall peaks comes as a surprise because Titan is made up entirely of a huge ocean covered in ice so that NASA researchers will be looking further into the matter.

Image source: www.bing.com

Scientists propose new age of moon, say it’s much younger than thought

September 24, 2013 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

A new study of the moon has suggested a new age of the Earth’s satellite, which is 100 million years younger than thought.

According to the scientists, the Moon is about 4.4 billion to 4.45 billion years old. It means the celestial body is 100 million years younger than previously thought.

According to a popular theory on the formation of the Moon, it was created when a mysterious planet slammed into Earth’s surface about 4.56 billion years ago. But the new study suggests that the Moon, which likely coalesced from the debris blasted into space by this huge impact, is actually between 4.4 billion and 4.45 billion years old.

Researchers said the discovery, may change our understanding of the early Earth as well as its natural satellite.

Richard Carlson of the Carnegie Institution for Science, said, “There are several important implications of this late
Moon formation that has not yet been worked out. For example, if the Earth was already differentiated prior to the giant impact, would the impact have blown off the primordial atmosphere that formed from this earlier epoch of Earth history?”

The Moon is believed to have harbored a global ocean of molten rocks shortly after its formation. The most accurately determined age for the lunar rocks that arose from that ocean is 4.360 billion years, researchers said.

Get ready for an amazing sight as it’s Full Harvest Moon

September 18, 2013 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

Get ready for an amazing sight in the sky on Wednesday and Thursday night as the full Harvest Moon is all set to mesmerize the sky watchers.

The Harvest Moon is the name given to the full moon that rises closest to the autumnal equinox. Notably, the equinox i.e. the official start of autumn is from September 22 this year.

Many wonder that why this full moon is referred as a harvest moon. NASA’s Dr Tony Phillips explains, “In the days before electric lights, farmers depended on bright moonlight to extend the workday beyond sunset. It was the only way they could gather their ripening crops in time for market. The full moon closest to the autumnal equinox became the Harvest Moon, and it was always a welcome sight.”

In the United States the Harvest Moon will peak at 7:13 AM on the East Coast. But the Harvest Moon will be shining all night on Wednesday, September 18.

The special thing about Harvest Moon is that during this time moon gets a jump on the calendar by rising only 30 minutes later. Normally, the moon rises on average 50 minutes later everyday as the year moves on. This slightly earlier rise is what offered more light to busy farmers.

The size of the moon in the sky is dependent on its orbit. When the moon is particularly close to Earth, a full moon will appear noticeably larger in the sky. This is what is known as a super moon. The most recent super moon was in last June.

NASA’s LADEE spacecraft carries unexpected friend ‘small frog’ during launch: Report

September 14, 2013 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

NASA’s latest launch of Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft is again in news and this time not for its scientific probe reports or any technical loophole.

The unmanned LADEE rocket headed to the moon with an unexpected passenger, a small frog, which was caught on camera while the rocket was being launched.

The rare moment was captured by a camera taking pictures of the launch of LADEE spacecraft. The picture has went viral on the web.

One of three still-cameras setup around the launch site caught the small frog in the air. The frog was clearly visible in the photo with its arms and legs spread wide. The photo was posted to NASA’s Instagram account.

“The photo team confirms the frog is real and was captured in a single frame by one of the remote cameras used to photograph the launch,” Nasa said on its Instagram page.

NASA said, “It is likely that it mistakenly strayed into a “high-volume water deluge pool” thinking it a giant pond.

“The rocket launch pad is within the 3,000 acres of Wallops Island, much of which is the wildlife refuge. Nasa’s launch facilities, roads and facilities take up a small percentage of the area. The rest of the area remains undeveloped and provides excellent habitat for wildlife,” the space agency said.

The rocket is carrying the NASA Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) for a 100-day probe mission to moon. The purpose of the mission is to gather measurements and explore the moon’s atmosphere.

The robotic lunar explorer ‘LADEE’ was launched on Saturday 0327 GMT aboard a Minotaur V rocket — a converted peacekeeping missile – from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Notably, the ambitious moon mission developed some technical glitch soon after its launch last week.

Water on moon originated on Earth, scientists suggest

September 11, 2013 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

Water on Moon may have originated on Earth, a new study has suggested. According to the study, water found in ancient rocks on Moon may have actually originated on the proto-Earth and even survived the lunar-forming collision event.

The study led by Jessica Barnes and colleagues at The Open University, UK, investigated the amount of water present in the mineral apatite, a calcium phosphate mineral found in samples of the ancient lunar crust.

“These are some of the oldest rocks we have from the Moon and are much older than the oldest rocks found on Earth, said Barnes.

“The antiquity of these rocks makes them the most appropriate samples for trying to understand the water content of the Moon soon after it formed about 4.5 billion years ago and for unravelling where in the Solar System that water came from,” Barnes said.

Researchers found that the ancient lunar rocks contain appreciable amounts of water locked into the crystal structure of apatite.

They also measured the hydrogen isotopic signature of the water in these lunar rocks to identify the potential source(s) for the water.

According to the researchers the remarkable consistency between the hydrogen composition of lunar samples and water-reservoirs of the Earth strongly suggests that there is a common origin for water in the Earth-Moon system.

This research has been funded by the UK Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC).

NASA’s LADEE spacecraft to study Moon’s atmosphere develops snag after launch

September 7, 2013 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

The ambitious moon mission led by NASA developed some technical glitch soon after its launch early on Saturday.

The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft quickly ran into equipment trouble after the launch. However, NASA on early Saturday assured everyone that the lunar probe was safe and on a perfect track for the moon. Meanwhile, officials acknowledged the problem needs to be resolved in the next two to three weeks.

NASA’s robotic lunar explorer ‘LADEE’ was launched on Saturday 0327 GMT aboard a Minotaur V rocket — a converted peacekeeping missile – from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

NASA is hopeful of unraveling more of the Moon’s mysteries by the unmanned mission to study its atmosphere. Notably, it is US space agency’s third such probe in five years.

After launch, LADEE aims to hurtle itself beyond Earth’s orbit so it can circle the Moon, first cruising at a height of about 250 kilometres for just over a month, and then moving lower to 20 to 60 kilometres from the surface for the science portion of its mission.

It is carrying an Earth-to-Moon laser beam technology demonstration and three main tools, including a neutral mass spectrometer to measure chemical variations in the lunar atmosphere and other tools to analyse exosphere gasses and lunar dust grains, NASA said.

“These measurements will help scientists address longstanding mysteries, including: was lunar dust, electrically charged by solar ultraviolet light, responsible for the pre-sunrise horizon glow that the Apollo astronauts saw?” NASA said.
Other instruments will seek out water molecules in the lunar atmosphere.

Since US astronauts last walked on the moon four decades ago, rocket scientists have learned that there is more to the Moon than just a dusty, desolate terrain.

Recent NASA robotic missions such as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have returned troves of images detailing the Moon’s cratered surface, while NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) revealed how being pummelled by asteroids resulted in the Moon’s uneven patches of gravity.

A previous NASA satellite, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite(LCROSS) discovered water ice when it impacted in 2009, the space agency said.

The Moon’s atmosphere is so thin that its molecules do not collide, in what is known as an exosphere.

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