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Solar System’s Edge Redefined

By Guest PostMay 1, 2014Scienceantibody staining techniques, berghexe, bioassays, brain inspired, chazara briseis, dark energy camera, dharmendra s modha, earth, gemini observatory, gewaessertyp, giant planets, gravity, jim brase, johannes robalotoff, jupiter, kuiper belt, lawrence livermore, linda elkins tanton, llnl program, mars, neptune, noao, saturn, scott sheppard, sean james, sequoia supercomputer, solar system, stickstoffbelastung, uranus

Washington, D.C.—The Solar System has a new most-distant member, bringing its outer frontier into focus.

New work from Carnegie’s Scott Sheppard and Chadwick Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory reports the discovery of a distant dwarf planet, called 2012 VP113, which was found beyond the known edge of the Solar System. This is likely one of thousands of distant objects that are thought to form the so-called inner Oort cloud. What’s more, their work indicates the potential presence of an enormous planet, perhaps up to 10 times the size of Earth, not yet seen, but possibly influencing the orbit of 2012 VP113, as well as other inner Oort cloud objects. (more…)

NASA’s Spitzer Detects Comet Storm in Nearby Solar System

By Guest PostOctober 20, 2011Sciencealien solar system, almahata sitta meteorite, bright star in the northern sky, carey lisse, comets, dark seas, earth, Epoch, eta corvi, hailstorm, kuiper belt, late heavy bombardment, man in the moon, maria, NASA, solar system, spitzer space telescope

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has detected signs of icy bodies raining down in an alien solar system. The downpour resembles our own solar system several billion years ago during a period known as the “Late Heavy Bombardment,” which may have brought water and other life-forming ingredients to Earth.

During this epoch, comets and other frosty objects that were flung from the outer solar system pummeled the inner planets. The barrage scarred our moon and produced large amounts of dust. (more…)

Space Observatory Provides Clues to Creation of Earth’s Oceans

By Guest PostOctober 8, 2011Scienceasteroids, astronomers, comet hartley 2, cosmic source, dariusz lis, deuterium, earth, earth oceans, Environment, european space agency, geoffrey blake, heavy hydrogen isotope, heavy water, herschel space observatory, icy bodies, kuiper belt, oceans, oort cloud, solar system, sun, vaporized water

PASADENA, Calif. — Astronomers have found a new cosmic source for the same kind of water that appeared on Earth billions of years ago and created the oceans. The findings may help explain how Earth’s surface ended up covered in water.

New measurements from the Herschel Space Observatory show that comet Hartley 2, which comes from the distant Kuiper Belt, contains water with the same chemical signature as Earth’s oceans. This remote region of the solar system, some 30 to 50 times as far away as the distance between Earth and the sun, is home to icy, rocky bodies including Pluto, other dwarf planets and innumerable comets. (more…)

CU Student-Built Dust Counter Breaks Distance Record As It Heads for Pluto

By Guest PostOctober 13, 20101 commentSciencealan stern, andrew poppe, boulder, dust grains, johns hopkins university, jupiter, kuiper belt, mihaly horanyi, NASA, neptune, new horizons mission, orbit, pluto, satellite, sdc, sme, solar mesosphere explorer, solar system, space dust, student dust counter, university of colorado, uranus, venetia burney

A University of Colorado at Boulder space dust counter designed, tested and operated by students that is flying aboard NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto now holds the record for the most distant working dust detector ever to travel through space. (more…)

Tag Archives: kuiper belt

Solar System’s Edge Redefined

NASA’s Spitzer Detects Comet Storm in Nearby Solar System

Space Observatory Provides Clues to Creation of Earth’s Oceans

CU Student-Built Dust Counter Breaks Distance Record As It Heads for Pluto