My Very Easy Method Just Shows Us Nine Planets (8 without pluto)

Have you ever been one of those people who can never remember the order of the planets or all of their names? How many planets are there anyway? Basic knowledge is often easily forgotten when you don’t think about it consistently. I mean I know I can’t solve SIN or CoSin math problems because I haven’t done so in years. Well, this is a similar situation. We learn about the planets and their order and their meaning when we are in our early years. Its part of the core curriculum. Unless you were to specialize in the field and study cosmology, you could easily forget as the years pass and be hesitant to answer- How many planets and what order are they in? Is it 7? Wait is it 9? 8? Does mars come before mercury? Whats the planet with the J?

Don’t be embarrassed if these are questions that rise in your head? We have all been there. Im here to make it really simple to remember, something I do to help me study periodic facts.

LETS HEAR IT FOR THE ACRONYMS!!! THE BEST WAY TO REMEMBER THINGS!

 Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

(sometimes the dwaft planet Pluto is included)

My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos

Many Very Elderly Men Just Snooze Under Newspapers

My Vicious Earthworm Might Just Swallow Us Now

Make Very Easy Mash Just Smash Up New Potatoes (if you want to count pluto)

My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nuts

My Very Early Jam Sandwiches Usually Nauseate People (pluto)

{My favorite and most useful one}

My Very Easy Method Just Shows Us Nine Planets

•  If this is something that interests you, then don’t be shy!
• If you use twitter, then it’s really simple! Just hashtag the words ORDER OF THE PLANETS and follow the updates and fun facts about our solar system.
  #orderoftheplanets
• OR if you prefer Instagram, check out some cool pictures by following the handle-
  @mysolarsystem
• Not interested in Twitter or Instagram? How about FACEBOOK?
  Check out this page!

Phases of the Moon explained

Are you as fascinated by the moon as I am? Well if so, then keep on readin’.

While I do wish I was a moonchild, i’m simply not. But that doesn’t mean the moon doesn’t interest me or intrigue me. So let’s get started!

It takes our Moon about 29.5 days to completely cycle through all eight phases. Occasionally (about every 2.7 years) there are two Full Moons in the same month. This is referred to as a Blue Moon. Hence the saying “Once in a Blue Moon”.

Phase 1:New Moon	The side of the moon facing the Earth is not illuminated. Additionally, the moon is up through out the day, and down through out the night. For these reasons we can not see the moon during this phase.
Phase 2:  Waxing Crescent	During this phase, part of the Moon is beginning to show. This lunar sliver can be seen each evening for a few minutes just after sunset. We say that the Moon is “waxing” because each night a little bit more is visible for a little bit longer.
Phase 3:First Quarter	During first quarter, 1/2 of the moon is visible for the first half of the evening, and then goes down, leaving the sky very dark.
Phase 4:Waxing Gibbous	When most of the Moon is visible we say it is a Gibbous Moon. Observers can see all but a little sliver of the moon. During this phase, the Moon remains in the sky most of the night.
Phase 5:Full Moon	When we can observe the entire face of the moon, we call it a Full Moon. A full moon will rise just as the evening begins, and will set about the time morning is ushered in.
Phase 6:Waning Gibbous	Like the Waxing Gibbous Moon, during this phase, we can see all but a sliver of the Moon. The difference is that instead of seeing more of the Moon each night, we begin to see less and less of the Moon each night. This is what the word “waning” means.
Phase 7:Last Quarter	During a Last Quarter Moon we can see exactly 1/2 of the Moon’s lighted surface.
Phase 8:Waning Crescent	Finally, during a Waning Crescent Moon, observers on Earth can only see a small sliver of the Moon, and only just before morning. Each night less of the Moon is visible for less time.

Information found here 

(credited to NASA Image of the day)

10 things you need to know about Pluto

As you all know, our beloved little Pluto was kicked out of our planet list and considered a dwaft planet. Until recently, I wasn’t really sure as to why that was, other than its realitivly tiny size. So to enlighten you like I was englightened….here are ten things you should know about this dwaft planet.

1. If the sun were as tall as a typical front door, Earth would be the size of a nickel and dwarf planet Pluto would be about the size of the head of a pin.
2. Pluto orbits our sun, a star, at an average distance of 3.7 billion miles (5.9 billion kilometers) or 39.5 AU.
3. One day on Pluto takes about 153 hours. That’s the time it takes for Pluto to rotate or spin once. Pluto makes a complete orbit around the sun (a year in Plutonian time) in about 248 Earth years.
4. It is thought that Pluto has a rocky core surrounded by a mantle of water ice with other ices coating its surface.
5. Pluto has five known moons. Pluto is sometimes called a double-planet system due to the fact that its moon Charon is quite large and orbits close to its parent planet.
6. There are no known rings around Pluto.
7. Pluto has a thin, tenuous atmosphere that expands when it comes closer to the sun and collapses as it moves farther away — similar to a comet.
8. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is the first mission sent to encounter the Pluto-system and other members of the Kuiper Belt.
9. Scientists do not think Pluto can support life as we know it. Although, some scientists believe it is possible Pluto could possess a hidden ocean under its surface.
10. Pluto was considered a planet from 1930, when it was first discovered, until 2006. The discovery of similar-sized worlds deeper in the distant Kuiper Belt sparked a debate which resulted in a new official definition of a planet. The new definition did not include Pluto.

If you are further interested like I was, check out the hashtag #Pluto2015 on Twitter and follow the updates. You can also follow NASA on Facebook to get daily updates

To read more about Pluto and to get a betetr understanding, click here

To watch an awesome video rearding Pluto, click here

 

(photo credit to NASA Image of the Day)

SAVE THE DATE- a Lunar Eclipse APRIL 14th

So if you’re not completely sure what a lunar eclipse is, well then you came to the right place! If you think of the root word…Lunar…you’re probably thinking of the moon. Well, you are correct. A lunar eclipse is when the moon appears to be darkened as it passes in earths shadow.

In order for a full Lunar eclipse to happen, the moon must be full, which means it has to be directly opposite the sun, with the earth right in between. This Eclipse happens when the moon moves into the shadow cast by the sun shining on the earth. The reason we don’t have an eclipse every month or even every couple months is because the moon is often either above the shadow or below the shadow. It has to be in the perfect position for us to see this beautiful occurrence.

Luckily, if you live in the United States, you will be able to see this eclipse from anywhere in the states. Eastern North America and western South America can see beginning stages of the partial umbral eclipse low in the west before sunrise April 4, whereas middle Asia (India, western China, mid-Asian Russia) can view the ending stages of the partial umbral eclipse low in the east after sunset April 14. Greenland, Iceland, Europe, Africa and the Middle East won’t see this eclipse at all.  If you are interested in seeing a world map of eclipse availability, just click this.

“During the eclipse, the Moon often looks reddish because sunlight has passed through Earth’s atmosphere, which filters out most of its blue light.” This eerie, harmless effect has earned the tongue-in-cheek nickname “blood moon.”

The partial eclipse will begin at 6:16 EDT and 10:15UT
Total eclipse begins at 7:58 EDT and 11:57 UT
The greatest the eclipse will be will begin at 8:00 EDT and 12:00 UT
The eclipse will end at 9:45 EDT and 1:45 UT

What’s really cool about this eclipse in that NASA will be responding to questions addressed to #eclipse2015 via Twitter. If you are curious and have a question, sign on to your twitter account, tweet your question, and hashtag #eclipse2015. NASA will begin responding by 6pm that night.

A telescope is not needed to view a lunar eclipse– just find the Moon in the sky and enjoy.

Fancy Planet

Seriously. A planet so fancy that it is made up entirely of diamonds. WHAT. Pretty crazy to think of a diamond planet, but believe it!

How could it be possible? Well you know how science fiction writers like to create worlds based on lava, water, ice, forest, etc.? Scientists, being the awesome people that they are, studied over 700 planets out of our solar system thus far, and in the midst of that…they found planet Fancy.

So, some of the most fascinating planets we have discovered were once nothing but a simple star. IN this particular case, this diamond planet started off as one of two parts of a BINARY star. The larger part of the star heated up so hot, that it exploded…, which we now know, is called a supernova! The aftermath of the supernova resulted in a pulsating star and a white dwarf. The dwarf stabilized just far enough away from its former half able to keep its carbon core.

Carbon is just a lot of heat and a lot of pressure, and when in perfect conditions such as this example, the core of a planet can remain completely crystallized.

Imagine that? a world of diamonds, and nothing else. Pretty crazy if you ask me. I think it’s time to start searching for a way to get the planet-to-planet earth.

One step closer to Mars!

For the first time ever, NASA is sending a crew team of two members on a one year mission in space. Astronaut Scott Kelly launches this Friday to begin his journey.

Why is this so fascinating? Well not only has no one ever spent a full year in space before, but this allows us to be one step closer to settling on Mars. By completing this mission, the crew will have been able to study, observe, and understand how people can successfully live on Mars. They can learn how to protect us, naturally adapt, learn about the weather conditions, and water supply. All of these topics need to be confidently resolved before we send anyone into Mars. With this one year mission, we can now say the Mars One plan is progressing a little bit further.

While that may not excite everyone as much as it does for me, being able to say we lived through a time here people left earth to live in mars, now that would be pretty amazing. What excites me the most is the information NASA will receive and how that knowledge will help them protect the people planning to live in Mars. We have the opportunity to experience life changing events. AS generations pass by and time progresses, we will be on mars. When people are born into the era where this is occurring, it will be normal to them, they won’t think twice about it and maybe they won’t appreciate it as much. But for us. We get to go through the motions with NASA. We get to see life change as we know it and turn into something out of our comfort zone. That is what makes this mission so special. It means NASA is 100 percent serious about their progression in the Mars One Mission. And for that, I can’t wait to read about all the information Scott Kelly will gather a year from now.

To read more about this awesome one year mission, click here.

I wanted to be an astronaut when I was younger

Growing up as a kid, I know we were all asked the infamous question of ” what do you want to be when you’re older?” For me, I knew the answer. I wanted to be the person who flew into space and got to see where we were lucky enough to live. I remember being pretty young when I realized how fascinating the stars were and when my brother one night explained to me how it works and the extent of space. I was an inspired child with a huge almost unimaginable goal. As I grew up and learned more about it, I kind of kept it as a hobby, studying it while i could and reading books about it. I became in love with the idea of space and all it had to offer. Here was my problem though. In order to be an astronaut, you have to have a variety of different credentials that I did not qualify for and found to be too academically intense. So instead, I now write about cool things that fascinate me and try to talk about new updates in NASA. So for today, I chose to talk about how incredible it is to consider yourself an astronaut, because it takes a lot to become one.

For starters, your eye sight must be 20/100 or better uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 each eye.

Your blood pressure must be 140/90 measured in sitting position.

Your height needs to be between 62 and 75 inches.

You need a BA degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science, or mathematics. An advanced degree is desirable. Quality of academic preparation is important.

You need at least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft. flight test experience is highly desirable.

AND you need the ability to pass a NASA space physical which is similar to a military or civilian flight physical.

(information found from this article.)

So while saying “I want to be an astronaut” seems like a very easy thing, the people who actually accomplish it dedicate their lives to it and because of them, we are able to talk about all the cool things they find up there. So lets give a round of applause to all of out astronauts!

SAVE THE DATE to experience an eclipse!

On April 4th, 2015 a lunar eclipse will occur! It will be visible in Asia, Australia, Pacific, and the Americas. Click here to view the entire 2015/2016 Eclipse calender.

If you don’t know what an eclipse is, you came to the right place. Eclipses happen to be one of my favorite things to witness. We get to literally see our moon and earth and sun cooperating in space. An eclipse occurs when one object gets in the way of another a object and blocks your view. From Earth, we routinely experience two kinds of eclipses: an eclipse of the Moon and an eclipse of the Sun.

In order for an eclipse of the moon to happen, the earth must come between the Sun and the Moon as it is orbiting around the sun. This causes the Earth’s shadow to cast over and across the Moon. In conclusion, an eclipse of the moon, or more commonly know- Lunar Eclipse.

( credited to the Star Child site )

Sometimes though, the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. If this happens, the moon will then block the Sun’s light causing the Moon’s shadow to be cast onto the Earths Surface. This Is known as a Solar Eclipse.

  ( credited to the Star Child site )

However, there are 3 types of Solar Eclipses: total, partial, and annular. A total eclipse happens when the Moon completely covers the sun. A partial Eclipse happens when the Moon, Sun, and Earth aren’t perfectly aligned. The eclipse can only be total if the Moon’s shadow is able to reach the Earth. An Annular Eclipse occurs when the Moon is as far away as it possibly can be from the Earth. The Moon then looks too small to block out the disk around the sun, causing you to see a black circle inside of the Sun.

I’m sure you have all seen this occur once or twice before, and if you’re unsure…then take a look at the awesome pictures below! And don’t forget…APRIL 4TH!

Total Eclipse: credited to Bruce McClurr in Tonight Astronomy Essentials

Partial Eclipse: credited to : JAXA/NASA/Hinode via Getty Images)

Annular Eclipse: credited to JAXA/NASA/Hinode via Getty Images

Supernova?

You ever hear about the crazy time we call 2012 when half of everyone thought the world was going to end? Well if you have, and if you’re reading this, then you know that is clearly untrue. Were the Myans wrong? Was religion wrong? Who knows. What I do know is the only way for the world to end as of right now would be if the sun had a supernova. Now don’t get me wrong, we as a popular are destroying our earth everyday, but we will all be long gone before it’s rapidly deteriorating.  The only hypothetical scenario would be a supernova, which is still unlikely.

What is a supernova? Supernova is the explosion of a star. It is the largest explosion that takes place in space. A supernova happens where there is a change in the core, or center, of a star. A change can occur in two different ways, with both resulting in a supernova.

The first type of supernova happens in binary star systems (don’t know what that is? click here).
One of the two stars, a CO white dwaf in this situation, steals it’s matter from the other star. The white dwaf accumulates too much matter. And why is that bad? Because too much matter causes the star to explode, resulting is a SUPERNOVA.

The second type of supernova occurs at the end of a single star’s lifetime. The star will begin to run out of nuclear fuel, causing some of that mass to flow into its core. The core is already so heavy that it cannot hold its own gravitational force. When this happens, the core will collapse, which makes a big explosion…a SUPERNOVA.

To draw back to my very first paragrpah- A supernova of the sun, causing our earth to cease, is highly unlikely because although the sun is a single star, it does not have enough mass to explode anytime soon. According to Dr. Phil Plait from Bad Astronomy, Supernova progenitors are stars capable of becoming supernovae – they are extremely massive, at least 8 to 12 times the mass of our Sun. When a star this big runs out of fuel, its core collapses. In a fraction of a second, material falls inward to creating an extremely dense neutron star or even a black hole. This process releases an enormous amount of energy, which we see as a supernova.

In other words, you would need to crash an equally massive star into our Sun. And then do it again, and again.. and again… another half dozen more times. Then, and only then would you have an object massive enough to detonate as a supernova.

So you see, the world will not be ending coming from a more scientific approach.

The Mystery of Dark Energy

(photo cred to: Jason Carr)

To start off with a very vague comment, the universe is a wondrous and confusing place.  People dedicate their lives to learning about it and making discoveries and trying to understand how it is possible for us to even be here. But one of the biggest mysteries known to scientists, especially NASA, is the concept of Dark energy.

What is Dark Energy? Dark energy is thought to be the enigmatic force that is pulling the cosmos apart at ever-increasing speeds, and is used by astronomers to explain the universe’s accelerated expansion. This elusive force has yet to be directly detected, but dark energy is thought to make up roughly 73 percent of the universe.

In the early 1990s, one thing was fairly certain about the expansion of the Universe. It might have enough energy density to stop its expansion and recollapse, it might have so little energy density that it would never stop expanding, but gravity was certain to slow the expansion as time went on. Granted, the slowing had not been observed, but, theoretically, the Universe had to slow. The Universe is full of matter and the attractive force of gravity pulls all matter together. Then came 1998 and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of very distant supernovae that showed that, a long time ago, the Universe was actually expanding more slowly than it is today. So the expansion of the Universe has not been slowing due to gravity, as everyone thought, it has been accelerating. No one expected this, no one knew how to explain it. But something was causing it.

Eventually theorists came up with three sorts of explanations. Maybe it was a result of a long-discarded version of Einstein’s theory of gravity, one that contained what was called a “cosmological constant.” Maybe there was some strange kind of energy-fluid that filled space. Maybe there is something wrong with Einstein’s theory of gravity and a new theory could include some kind of field that creates this cosmic acceleration. Theorists still don’t know what the correct explanation is, but they have given the solution a name. It is called dark energy.