The American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson reveals: How long can you survive on every planet in the Solar System

photo: curiosity.com

Apart from Terra, things are not rosy on other planets regarding life, the longest being more than two minutes (with no spacesuit and if you hold your breath), and the shortest practically instant.

Mercury, which is always showing only one side of the Sun, offers the possibility of death (almost instant) or from excessively high temperatures or at a temperature excessively low.

Atmosphere of Venus is suitable, but for a furnace atmosphere composition that if we add 97% carbon dioxide and the remaining 3% of a number of toxic substances.

Mars because the rarified atmosphere, low temperature does not feel so strong, but the air, of course, is unbreathable. Tyson gives the chance of survival of less than 2 minutes.The rest of the planets give no chance of survival even for a second, pressures, temperatures and atmospheric composition being in no way suitable to sustain life.

Key Facts In This Video


1
On Mercury, the side that faces the sun is super hot, and the opposite side is extremely cold. (0:51)

Mercury observatory.astro.utah.edu

Atmosphere of Mercury - Universe Today

2
The surface of Venus is 900 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than a pizza oven. (1:11)

This is an actual picture taken on the surface of Venus Reddit

3
Jupiter has no surface to land on—you would descend into its gaseous atmosphere until you were crushed by the pressure. (1:54)

On Earth is ok. In many places. Well, in some places, but the blame is not only the planet.

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• 10 fascinating planets outside the Solar System

• The newfound alien world named HD 131399Ab

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The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Curiosity . Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Chances are very high that Europa , Jupiter's moon host alien life. NASA announcement

Europa, Jupiter's satellite, is hosting an ocean under the ice and water vapor erupting from the surface, said NASA astronomer from William Sparks, during a press teleconference. This means that there may exist extraterrestrial life. The discovery was made in 2013, but astronomers have taken three years to confirm and make a Inspection.

William Sparks said Europe is the second closest satellite of Jupiter, orbiting once every three days. ,, We obtained 10 images of Europe while in front of Jupiter's orbit, "said Sparks.

Observations made with the Hubble telescope, have revealed the discovery of vapor on the surface that could prove the existence of an ocean under the ice.

Brithney Schmidt, professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Science at the Institute of Technology in Atlanta, said on Europa was measured, its size is similar to our moon. In some areas the ice is broken, the majority of the planet is covered peaks. ,, It will be very difficult to penetrate the ice to reach the water, '' she said. Steam and could help researchers analyze the composition under the ice, without having to drill.

Jennifer Wiserman researcher in the project Hubble at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, says that Hubble was the only one who managed to investigate Jupiter and Europe at this level. The UV rays, water vapor were found on the surface of Europe. ,, We are excited at the thought that we will use the James Webb Space Telescope that will launch in 2018. It will study in more detail the fumes emitted by the satellite Europa. We are extremely interested in planets with characteristics similar to those of Earth '. Although the discovery vapor was conducted in 2013, one of the researchers said: ,, It took a lot of work to process images. After all the work we have already achieved results. It is not as if you take a picture, you need a lot of preparation. ''

'' The amount of material that would have produced steam at the level that I saw could be worth millions of kilograms, '' said William Sparks. Each tool analyzes the steam probe on the surface of Europa. There are a lot of assumptions that may explain the presence of water on Europa.

Among the tools that researchers have used to analyze Europe are UV, heat-sensitive instruments and compositional tools such as Cassini, which can fly through fog and steam can analyze the composition. Researchers said they still are not sure if steam comes from the evaporation of water beneath the frozen layer of Jupiter's moon.

Vapors are not necessarily placed in the poles, they appeared and disappeared, were present more often in equator. ,, We believe that the ship is made of hydrogen and oxygen, but more research will reveal us whether it is water vapor or not, '' said one of the researchers.

Researchers need to further investigate the existence of vapor to ensure that substances that are formed can support extraterrestrial life.
The discovery was made using images recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope.

In the teleconference attended by Paul Hertz, director of the Division of Astrophysics at the NASA headquarters in Washington, William Sparks, an astronomer at the Institute of Science in Baltimore, Brithney Schmidt, professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Science at the Institute of Technology Atlanta, and Jennifer Wiserman researcher in the project Hubble at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

Astrobiologists have said long before that Europe could support extraterrestrial life. In the story ,, 2001 A Space Odyssey '', Arthur C. Clarke said that Europe is a satellite of Jupiter with a diameter of 3,100 kilometers that could have a liquid ocean beneath its frozen surface. Also astrononii it believes that underground ocean is in connection with the rocky mantle and by contact might produce a chemical reaction that can create life.

The most interesting aspect is the fact that researchers who controls the Juno probe will not let her collapse on the satellite after the mission, as happened in other cases because they do not want contaminating Jupiter's moon.

Source: Wattsup with That

Unusual phenomenon on the surface of one of Jupiter's moons. It's happening every 42 hours

Io, the third largest satellite of Jupiter (Photo: sen.com/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)

The process was known by researchers, but could be noticed only recently.

Atmosphere Io, one of the largest moons's Jupiter, freezes and thaws every time the subject comes from cosmic giant planet. The phenomenon of extreme cooling takes about 2 hours, out of the 42 that Io makes a complete orbit around Jupiter. It is the first time scientists were able to observe this process.

Io's atmosphere is composed mostly of sulfur dioxide formed during volcanic eruptions on Jupiter. Until now it was assumed that Io's atmosphere turns into ice during the 2 hours that satellite is in the shadow of the planet, but no one has managed to prove this.

Recently, a team of astronomers led by Constantine C.C. Tsang used ground-based telescopes to observe the natural satellite of Jupter. With this device could emit infrared specialists, which once reached Io's atmosphere, they were absorbed by sulfur dioxide. In this way, the researchers were able to measure the surface temperature of cosmic object.

It has been found that, when Io is behind Jupiter, the surface temperature of the satellite decreases from -146 degrees to -168, making the atmosphere of Io to freeze the extent of about 80%. After two hours the object is in this state, the sulfur dioxide contained in atmosefera evaporated and converted back into gas.


            Jupiter Moon Io

Scientists say that recent results will help us to better understand the system in which the center is Jupiter. In this regard, experts have already estimated that over half of sulfur dioxide from volcanoes on Io propelled arrive, finally, to circulate around the gas giant.


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A special cosmic phenomenon will happen in August.The Event Will Be seen from anywhere in the world, with the naked eye.

In case you missed alignment of the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn earlier this year, you'll have the opportunity to be witnessing a similar event to be held in August. The same five planets will be visible after sunset and before sunrise is not, as has been the case with previous phenomenon.

According to researcher Dr. Alan Duffy (Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia), planetary alignment can be best seen in August 21.

The astronomical phenomenon can be observed most clearly after sunset, at which Mercury and Venus will be at the smallest distance from the solar orb. For example, Venus will be positioned at a time, at an angle of only 10 degrees from the sun.

Venus and Jupiter will be most easily seen with the naked eye, since they are some of the largest cosmic objects in the Solar System. Mercury, Mars and Saturn will be also sighted in the sky, but they will be less visible.

The alignment of Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn can be seen from any place on Earth, and if you miss and this event will have the opportunity to witness one similar to what will occur in October 2018





Source: iflscience.com

JUPITER'S GREAT RED SPOT IS MYSTERIOUSLY HOT AND MAY BE GENERATING HEAT IN THE PLANET'S ATMOSPHERE

Heating System Researchers believe that the energy from the Great Red Spot may be contributing to heating the atmosphere. Karen Teramura, UH IfA, James O’Donoghue

Jupiter's most distinctive feature is so hot right now.

In a paper published in Nature today, researchers have found that the spot is hot -- hot enough that it might explain the mysteriously high temperatures of Jupiter's atmosphere.

The researchers write that during observations of Jupiter made at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii they discovered that "the upper atmosphere above Jupiter’s Great Red Spot—the largest storm in the Solar System—is hundreds of degrees hotter than anywhere else on the planet."

Hot Spot

An artist's illustration of Jupiter

The placement of the hot spot at the very visible Great Red Spot led the researchers to conclude that the heat source was coming from lower levels in the atmosphere and traveling upwards.

The observations have the potential to answer a question that has long puzzled scientists, and has been labeled the "giant-planet energy crisis". Jupiter's atmosphere is just too hot -- hotter than can be explained by heat from the sun alone. So where is that extra heat coming from?


With these new observations, researchers think that they might have an answer. The Great Red spot is a giant storm, where parts of the atmosphere are roiling as the storm makes its way across the planet. The frenetic energy in the storm generates waves that travel through the atmosphere.





Both acoustic and mechanical waves can transfer energy to higher altitudes in the atmosphere, heating up those outer layers. The same kind of phenomenon has been observed in thunderstorms over the Andes, albeit on a much smaller scale.

We're likely to learn even more about Jupiter and its atmosphere in the coming months, now that NASA's Juno spacecraft has arrived at the panet, and will start sending back more data and pictures soon.



Other articles on the same theme:

• SEE JUPITER’S AURORAS LIKE NEVER BEFORE

• NASA's Juno spacecraft is almost at Jupiter Prepare for awesome pictures!

• Chances are very high that Europa , Jupiter's moon host alien life. NASA announcement

• Unusual phenomenon on the surface of one of Jupiter's moons. It's happening every 42 hours

Source: popsci

The newfound alien world named HD 131399Ab

The newfound alien world, named HD 131399Ab, resides in the HD 131399 system, about 320 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Centaurus.

Its orbit around HD 131399A, the brightest of the three stars, is by far the widest known within a multi-star system. Such orbits are often unstable, because of the complex and changing gravitational attraction from the other two stars in the system, and planets in stable orbits were thought to be very unlikely.

“For about half of the planet’s orbit, which lasts 550 Earth-years, three stars are visible in the sky,” said team member Kevin Wagner, from the University of Arizona.

“The fainter two stars are always much closer together, and change in apparent separation from the brightest star throughout the year.”

The astronomers estimate that HD 131399Ab is at least four times as massive as Jupiter and has a surface temperature of around 1,076 degrees Fahrenheit (580 degrees Celsius).

The planet is approximately 16 million years old, making it also one of the youngest exoplanets discovered to date, and one of very few directly imaged planets.

“HD 131399Ab is one of the few exoplanets that have been directly imaged, and it’s the first one in such an interesting dynamical configuration,” said team member Dr. Daniel Apai, also from the University of Arizona.

“The fainter two stars are always much closer together, and change in apparent separation from the brightest star throughout the year.”

The astronomers estimate that HD 131399Ab is at least four times as massive as Jupiter and has a surface temperature of around 1,076 degrees Fahrenheit (580 degrees Celsius).

The planet is approximately 16 million years old, making it also one of the youngest exoplanets discovered to date, and one of very few directly imaged planets.

“HD 131399Ab is one of the few exoplanets that have been directly imaged, and it’s the first one in such an interesting dynamical configuration,” said team member Dr. Daniel Apai, also from the University of Arizona.

Although repeated observations will be needed to precisely determine the trajectory of HD 131399Ab, VLT observations and simulations seem to suggest the following scenario:

(i) HD 131399A is orbited by the less massive stars, HD 131399B and HD 131399C, at about 300 astronomical units (AU);

(ii) HD 131399B and HD 131399C twirl around each other like a spinning dumbbell, separated by a distance roughly equal to that between the Sun and Saturn (10 AU);

(iii) the planet HD 131399Ab travels around the host star HD 131399A in an orbit with a radius of about 80 AU, about twice as large as Pluto’s in the Solar System, and brings the planet to about one third of the separation between star HD 131399A and the HD 131399B/C star pair.

Sourrce; sci-news

Juno Spacecraft has arrived on Jupiter

A burst of flame will streak across the skies of Jupiter in the early hours of July 5 as humankind’s newest robotic explorer arrives at the giant planet. NASA’s Juno spacecraft will be entering the unknown, penetrating deep into the radiation-filled heart of the Jupiter system in a bold attempt to unlock the secrets of the gas giant’s origins

This ambitious mission could completely reshape our understanding of how the solar system’s largest world came to be – and how it influenced the evolution of other planets. But this is only if Juno survives the perils of exploring an environment that no spacecraft has dared venture into before.

This ambitious mission could completely reshape our understanding of how the solar system’s largest world came to be – and how it influenced the evolution of other planets. But this is only if Juno survives the perils of exploring an environment that no spacecraft has dared venture into before.

So far, only the Galileo mission has orbited Jupiter, parachuting a probe into its churning, cloud-filled atmosphere in 1995. Despite its successes, there remain huge gaps in our knowledge of how Jupiter formed and whether it contains a planetary core, a remnant of our early solar system. Indeed, Jupiter’s powerful gravity has forever entrapped the original material from which it formed, making it an enormous time capsule that records the conditions that existed when our solar system was young.

The formation of this giant planet played a crucial role in shaping the architecture of the solar system as we see it today. With its immense gravity, Jupiter could have been both our destroyer and our saviour. That’s because its early motion through the young solar system could have destroyed the forming terrestrial worlds, leading to cataclysmic collisions that threatened Earth’s very existence.

Later on, Jupiter’s gravity is thought to have shepherded debris such as comets and asteroids that may have delivered the essential ingredients for life to our home planet. The story of Jupiter’s origins is therefore key to understanding our place in the solar system, and the tantalising possibility that similar events unfolded elsewhere.

Crucial measurements

Just like Jupiter’s mythological counterpart, who veiled himself in clouds to hide his mischief, the giant planet will not give up its secrets easily. Juno’s suite of sophisticated instruments must probe deeper than ever before, to regions beneath the churning cloud decks that are invisible to our Earth-bound telescopes. After a five-year journey, the solar-powered spacecraft will embark on a series of fortnightly orbits around the planet, taking it high above the planet’s poles and then skimming within 5,000 kilometres of the cloud tops.

These close passes will permit precise measurements of Jupiter’s gravity and magnetic fields, probing its inner structure and its density. This will help examine the exotic interior of the gas giant, where simple hydrogen gas is compressed under immense, crushing pressures to become metallic and conducting (a state only glimpsed fleetingly in laboratories on Earth). These measurements could potentially provide the first glimpses of a core, if one exists at all.

If our theories of planetary formation are correct, then Jupiter’s heavier elements, such as carbon, nitrogen and sulphur, should have been delivered as molecules trapped in water ice cages, frozen in the cold outer reaches of our young solar system. That should have left behind a huge amount of water in Jupiter, but as water condenses in the frigid conditions of the planet’s atmosphere, we have never had a reliable estimate of how much is really down there. If there isn’t enough water present, then the prevailing theory of Jupiter’s formation would have to undergo a complete revision.

The exotic interior of Jupiter, hidden deep below the visible cloud layers. Does a dense core actually exist? 

In the coming months, Juno will answer this question. It carries an instrument that can map Jupiter at microwave wavelengths, allowing it to reveal the distribution of water deep below the clouds for the first time. Combined with the gravity measurements, Juno will peel back the layers of Jupiter to finally test our theories of how giant planets form – is a heavy planetary embryo required, or can these enormous worlds form directly from the collapse of the gases surrounding a young star?

Juno’s unique orbit will also provide our first direct views of Jupiter’s poles, exploring the powerful auroras and dynamic atmosphere. The spinning spacecraft (three rotations per minute) will sweep the array of sensors through the radiation environment to explore the immense plasma and magnetic fields. Its camera will target atmospheric features, such as erupting storms and spinning vortices, at breathtaking resolutions. In addition to the scientific instruments, Juno also carries the first Jupiter camera to be aimed primarily at education and outreach, with the public invited to suggest the targets.

To add to this intense scrutiny, an army of professional and amateur observers, including those here at the University of Leicester, are engaged in an international campaign to support the mission. These observations will provide global views of the planet to support Juno’s up-close observations; reveal how Jupiter’s dynamic atmosphere changes throughout the mission, and observe it in wavelengths of light that Juno cannot access. An example of the incredible capabilities of Earth-based observers is shown by our recent images from the Very Large Telescope in Chile.

Ground-based observations of Jupiter to support Juno. The left hand image shows Jupiter’s infrared glow with dark clouds in silhouette against the bright background (Credit: ESO/L.N. Fletcher), the right hand image is an amateur observation acquired at nearly the same time (Credit: D. Peach)

But during all of these unique observations, the intrepid Juno spacecraft will be taking a pummelling from the high-energy particles within Jupiter’s harsh radiation belts, equivalent to 100m dental X-rays in the first year alone. No spacecraft has ever had to cope with such severe conditions. Even with the instrument components shielded in a vault with 1cm thick titanium walls, there will still be an accumulation of radiation damage and a degradation of equipment.

No one knows exactly how the instruments will fare as the long-suffering spacecraft heroically battles on to complete its 20-month mission. But one thing is certain – Jupiter’s cloak of clouds will no longer shroud its mischief, as Juno’s instruments gaze down into the heart of the giant for the first time.

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by NASA. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.â

Gas giants could have a layer of mysterious 'dark hydrogen' the third form of hydrogen new discovery

We've just found a third form of hydrogen

For the first time, scientists have successfully forced hydrogen into a state that exists between metal and gas - a form known as 'dark hydrogen' - that they say could occur naturally on gas giants like Jupiter.

If this is true, having the ability to study dark hydrogen in the lab might offer a greater insight into how gas giants expel heat and generate magnetic fields.

"This dark hydrogen layer was unexpected and inconsistent with what modelling research had led us to believe about the change from hydrogen gas to metallic hydrogen inside of celestial objects," said team member Alexander Goncharov, from the Carnegie Institute of Science in Washington, DC. "This observation would explain how heat can easily escape from gas giant planets like Saturn."

Scientists claim to have turned hydrogen into a metal photo: Science News for Students

Although hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe, we still have a lot to learn about it. Scientists already know that there are two forms of hydrogen - the molecular hydrogen we're used to here on Earth, and metallic hydrogen inside the core of giant planets, which has been squeezed until it becomes liquid metal capable of conducting electricity with no resistance.

Now they've created a third form of hydrogen in the lab, somewhere between the two.

Since the new dark hydrogen exists somewhere between a metal and a gas, the researchers think it could actually sit between the molecular hydrogen on the surface of Jupiter (and planets like it) and the metallic hydrogen of the core beneath.

That's because this intermediate hydrogen phase doesn't reflect or transmit visible light, but can transmit infrared radiation (or heat). It can also transmit electricity, albeit very poorly, which could explain how a magnetic field can be generated around the planet.

Alexander Goncharov - Wikipedia

This is quite important because, right now, we just don't know all that much about how hydrogen reacts to extreme temperature and pressure. To find out, the team simulated conditions to match up to 1.5 million times atmospheric pressure and up to 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5,538 degrees Celsius).

The Very Large Array (VLA) in Socorro, New Mexico. Photograph by Dave Download Scientific Diagram

As Michael Franco reports for Gizmag, the team recreated these conditions by using a laser-heated diamond anvil cell to put the hydrogen under extreme pressure. The device uses two diamond tips to exert force way beyond what we experience on Earth, making it more like the pressures found on Jupiter.

Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the UK managed to produce a metallic form of hydrogen by putting it under 3.25 million times the pressure of Earth's atmosphere, another step forward in gaining insight into how the giant planets of the Solar System work.

As well as being the most abundant element in the Universe (accounting for three-quarters of its overall mass), it's also the simplest, with a single electron in each atom. Under high pressure, hydrogen molecules begin to separate into single atoms, with the atoms' electrons showing signs of behaving like those of a metal.

These new findings come only a month after researchers working with the Very Large Array in New Mexico detected hydrogen in a galaxy some 5 billion light-years away.

The study has been published in Physical Review Letters.

NASA's Juno spacecraft is almost at Jupiter Prepare for awesome pictures!

On 4 July, NASA’s basketball court-sized Juno spacecraft will finally arrive at Jupiter, completing its approximate 600 million-kilometre (372 million-mile) trip through the Solar System.

While there, Juno hopes to perform 37 close approaches, collecting valuable data for researchers back here on Earth. If all goes well, Juno will explore the gas giant closer than any other spacecraft in history, including 1974’s Pioneer 11.

"At this time last year our New Horizons spacecraft was closing in for humanity’s first close views of Pluto," said Juno’s program executive Diane Brown. "Now, Juno is poised to go closer to Jupiter than any spacecraft ever before to unlock the mysteries of what lies within."

The mission will not be easy, though. To perform the necessary experiments, Juno will have to fly inside Jupiter’s atmosphere, a place that's pretty intense.

Here, Juno will experience immense pressures from the planet’s quick rotation – a day on Jupiter is only 10 hours long – which creates a powerful magnetic field, coupled with extremely high levels of radiation and atmospheric pressure. In fact, NASA says that Jupiter’s radiation-filled environment is the harshest in the Solar System.

"Over the life of the mission, Juno will be exposed to the equivalent of over 100 million dental X-rays," said Juno’s project manager Rick Nybakken.

NASA's Juno spacecraft finds deep winds and patterned cyclones on Jupiter photo: The Verge

"But, we are ready. We designed an orbit around Jupiter that minimises exposure to Jupiter’s harsh radiation environment. This orbit allows us to survive long enough to obtain the tantalising science data that we have travelled so far to get."

The good news is Juno is armoured like a knight prepared for cosmic battle from its wires to its sensors. But the most important piece of protection is its 'titanium vault', which houses its central computer.

This titanium vault weighs roughly 181 kilograms (400 pounds) and will reduce the amount of radiation felt by the instruments inside by 800 times that of the surrounding environment. Even so, that amount of radiation will still take its toll, allowing for the craft to only operate for roughly 20 months before it gets overwhelmed.

"Over the course of the mission, the highest energy electrons will penetrate the vault, creating a spray of secondary photons and particles," said team leader Heidi Becker, who is responsible for monitoring radiation levels during the mission. "The constant bombardment will break the atomic bonds in Juno’s electronics."

Originally launched on 5 August 2011, Juno is set to become the first spacecraft to ever pull off such a detailed mission to the gas giant - but the first craft to reach Jupiter was Pioneer 10 back in 1973, which provided the first close-up images of the planet.

Pioneer 10 was followed a year later by Pioneer 11, which flew within 34,000 kilometres (21,127 miles) of Jupiter’s clouds. Juno, on the other hand, will fly only 4,667 kilometres (2,900 miles) above the clouds.

Juno’s arrival at Jupiter couldn’t come at a better time, either. Earlier this month, researchers working with the Very Large Array – a radio telescope in New Mexico – were able to examine what is behind Jupiter’s famed clouds. Now, Juno has a chance to verify some of these findings up close.

Over the coming months, we should start to see the results of the mission pour in just like we did last year when New Horizons performed its Pluto flybys, capturing the world’s imaginations in the process.

               But, if you’re still not pumped for the mission, check out NASA’s trailer for it below

Source: sciencealert