The standard three-layer model for the interior of Jupiter and Saturn claims that an outer layer of molecular hydrogen surrounds an inner layer of liquid metallic hydrogen, with a probable rocky, molten core. The Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories has been used to explore the boundary between the insulator and metallic hydrogen layers. At […]
Our solar system frequently seems a beauty competition where each planet proudly exhibits an attractive fingertip. Jupiter is a huge gaseous giant dressing with contrasted belts and zones and an ancient reddish spot. Saturn dances hula hoop with an impressive system of rings while loves to celebrate its birthdays triggering the biggest storms of the […]
The Rosetta mission from the European Space Agency is arguably one of the most successful highlights of 2014. Even though the Philae lander did not have the placid flight we all would like it to have, the team managed to fulfill most of its scientific goals before the batteries get exhausted and there is still […]
Imagine there is another world in the universe similar to the Earth, where there are mountains, rivers and seas. There are also winds, volcanoes, clouds and rains… science fiction, no, such a world does exist and not too far from the Earth if one considers the scale of the universe. This is the largest moon […]
Is it possible to have an asymmetric magnetic field when all boundary conditions are known to be symmetric? The question seems awkward but the counter-intuitive reality is always there to make Science far more interesting, as revealed recently by Hao Cao and collaborators . Today’s story is a good combination of intriguing observations and amazing […]
Our satellite is a magnificent spectacle in the sky. Considering its size, it is only surpassed by the biggest moons of Jupiter and Saturn, in spite of the fact that the giant planets are hundreds of times bigger than the Earth. Relative to its parent body, it is by large the largest satellite in the […]
Climate change due to global warming is usually presented as the Nemesis of our civilization. Day by day, evidences supporting temperature and sea level raise are presented. Numerical models point that CO2 concentration will lead to a new climate not very human friendly in what can be taken as the fastest ever climate change. Still […]
Galileo Galilei was the first person to see rings around a planet. He was unable to understand the image in the eyepiece of his simple, though revolutionary, telescope. Was it a triple planet? Were it handles? Much to his surprise, the unfathomable shape of Saturn changed as years went by. It took some decades to […]
Comets are one of the key components of our Solar System, at least for the Earth’s evolution and humankind point of view. While the inner region of our system was depleted in volatiles due to the high temperatures close to the Sun, the left overs in the outer borders retained water and other condensables in […]
Can you name a polygonal feature in any of the Solar System atmospheres? None? Up to our current knowledge there is only one: Saturn’s Hexagon. Not only it is the one and only of its kind but it is also the longest-lived planetary-scale atmospheric feature in any planet. A recent paper by Agustín Sánchez-Lavega and […]