‘Planets’ Articles at NetMassimo Blog, Page 12

Artistic concept of the planet orbiting the star Alpha Centauri B (Image ESO/L. Calçada/N. Risinger (skysurvey.org))

Planet found in the Alpha Centauri system, the closest to the Sun

Massimo Luciani October 17, 2012 1

A team of ESO (European Southern Observatory) astronomers announced that they found a planet slightly larger than the Earth orbiting the star Alpha Centauri B, only 4.3 light years away from our solar system.

The pyramid-shaped rock Jake Matijevic photographed by the Mars Rover Curiosity (Photo NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The Mars Rover Curiosity is studying a pyramid and the moons of Mars

Massimo Luciani September 21, 2012 0

On the way to the place called Glenelg, the Mars Rover Curiosity stopped to study a small pyramid-shaped rock. Over the last week, the Mars Rover Curiosity has also worked to its astronomical mission taking pictures with its Mast Camera (Mastcam) of the two moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos, as they passed in front of the Sun.

Picture of Martian spheres taken by the Mars Rover Opportunity (Photo NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./ USGS/Modesto Junior College)

Strange spheres discovered by the Mars Rover Opportunity

Massimo Luciani September 18, 2012 0

The Mars Rover Opportunity is in the segment called Cape York, in northern area of the Endeavour crater, where it photographed odd speres in the ground.

Map of the dry ice snowfalls on the South Pole of Mars (Image NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Dry ice snowfalls on Mars

Massimo Luciani September 13, 2012 0

NASA’s space probe Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has provided evidence of snow made of dry ice, which is solid carbon dioxide, falls on Mars. It’s the only known example of this type of snowfall throughout the solar system.

A comparison between the Kepler-47 system and our solar system (Image NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle)

Kepler-47 is a binary system with at least two planets

Massimo Luciani August 31, 2012 0

Last year the discovery of Kepler-16b, a planet orbiting two stars, was announced. Now the Kepler Space Telescope discovered that in the binary system Kepler-47 there are at least two planets, one of which is within the system’s habitable zone, the area in which water can be in its liquid state on the surface of the planet in conditions similar to those of the Earth.