Archives for the 'planets' Category
Plutoids
Published on 11 Jun 2008 at 12:40 pm.
8 Comments.
Filed under planets, solar system.
We have yet another new word to describe some of the things out there beyond Neptune: Plutoids. As you may recall, a couple of years ago, the International Astronomical Union finally defined the word “planet.” It was something of a shock to many people in the public, but astronomers had never actually […]
Neptune in Conjunction
Published on 10 Feb 2008 at 6:28 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under astronomy, planets.
According to my Observer’s Handbook, Neptune will be in conjunction with the Sun in less than two hours. So, I thought that I’d take a moment to explain what we mean by the terms conjunction and opposition when we are talking about planets. For this discussion, I’ll focus on superior planets, which are […]
Hellas Planitia
Published on 4 Feb 2008 at 3:35 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under Mars, planets.
A few days ago, I wrote about Mercury’s Caloris Basin. It is mind boggling huge. Naturally, as Darnell Clayton of Colony Worlds asked, it is natural to wonder if this is the largest impact basin in the Solar System. As it turns out, there are larger impact structures. The largest may […]
Mercury’s Weird Terrain
Published on 3 Feb 2008 at 12:03 am.
5 Comments.
Filed under Mercury, planets.
Two days ago, I wrote about Mercury’s Caloris Basin, a massive impact site on the planet. Mariner 10 only say part of the Caloris Basin. However, by good fortune, Mariner 10 did see the antipodal (exactly opposite) side of Mercury from the Caloris Basin. And, what Mariner 10 saw was quite a […]
Read ‘Mercury’s Weird Terrain’
So, where is Mercury?
Published on 2 Feb 2008 at 8:53 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Mercury, observing, planets.
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve posted several things about the planet Mercury. So, you might be tempted to ask, “Can I see Mercury in the sky tonight?” Unfortunately, the answer is, “Probably not.”
In the image below, I show the view to the western sky right at sunset. The Sun is […]
Caloris Basin
Published on 1 Feb 2008 at 1:52 pm.
6 Comments.
Filed under Mercury, planets.
Caloris Basin (officially, Caloris Planitia) is a giant impact feature on the planet Mercury. I find it hard to use the word “crater” for something this large. It is about the size of the state of Texas! The structure was first discovered by the Mariner 10 spacecraft in the 1970s. When […]
Old rings?
Published on 28 Jan 2008 at 5:16 pm.
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Filed under planets.
Saturn’s rings are always fascinating to look at. Whenever I do a public star party when Saturn is visible, people are always so amazed by looking at Saturn through a telescope. The planet is great, but it’s the rings that they are looking at. They are simply fascinating.
But, the rings have also […]
