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Showing posts with the label astronomers

Space Signal From Little Green Men?

It seems that the eavesdropping of telescopes into outer space has paid off. Something interesting has been heard. Don't get too excited though. The signals originated way outside the Milky Way. If an intelligent civilization made them, the little green guys are long gone. The mystery sound is a series of radio bursts. Most curious is a double signal followed by four single bursts. This takes the count to 11 unidentified "displays" from out yonder. Unfortunately, the first 10 didn't last. The "Wow signal" was the most famous. An observer only had time to write down the word "wow" and it was never heard again. Let's hope the latest sound will hang around. Anyway, a double burst is something new. It appears that there is a mundane explanation for the signal. The source must be extremely powerful, too strong to be controlled by even intelligent creatures. Or, it could be very local indeed, like the leakage from microwave over doors i

A Shock in Space

Something is happening - out there! Yes, something mysterious has occurred in space. Astronomers are aghast at the total disappearance of a broad ring around Jupiter. This is a shock and totally unexpected. Things in space are supposed to be quite stable. The ring was not on a picture taken on May 8. The band was very large, twice as broad as the diameter of Earth. A view with binoculars clearly shows that the "bottom" half of the planet is now all white. The twin banded planet is now "held together" by a single band - quite disconcerting. Have no fear. The disappearance could be only temporary. Jupiter's second belt could be covered by cloud higher in the planet's atmosphere. Ammonia can cause ice crystals to form which develops into cirrus clouds. Wind patterns have probably changed on the planet. This has led to a climate change. Just why the bands are brown is a mystery anyway. Only a few probes have been sent to Jupiter so knowledge about it is limited.