Looking Closer and Testing Theories

Last week, while looking at some of the best images from the Cassini spacecraft, I commented on the fact that the smooth rings of Saturn are small, varied chunks of ice and rock when you get down to the smaller scales.  Reflecting on that this morning, I was thinking about how observing objects in our universe at smaller scales gives new insight into the variety and complexity of natural phenomena.  Not long after, I came across a story of a new interesting object in our own Solar System. A new binary asteroid was discovered.  This in itself isn’t too different...

The Ancient Martian Shift

It takes a long time for things to change in the Universe.  Time takes on an entirely different role when it comes to the lives of planets, stars, and galaxies.  A million years in the life of a star or planet is the equivalent of a single day in the life of a human being.  Human lifetimes come and go while stars and planets stay pretty much the same.  However, just like human lives, where many days can build up to an important event, millions of years of lead-up can produce some incredible changes to a planet or star.  New...