People often confuse Venus for Mercury when asked which planet is closest. Mercury actually stands closer on average. Ranking can differ depending on how close or far each planet orbits the sun; due to their elliptical paths, their distance changes over time; for instance Venus rises within an hour before dawn each March before slowly…
Since humans first set foot on another celestial body in 1969, we still marvel at their accomplishment. Put your knowledge of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins through this quiz! Armstrong refers to this action as “rolling over,” which is actually an instruction to rotate and align the Eagle with the Moon’s surface. What…
Many aspects of Saturn’s rings captivate human imagination like few others can, yet astronomers are discovering that their lifespan may be shorter than previously anticipated. Research published earlier this month in Science Advances and Icarus journals suggests that Saturn’s rings are relatively young compared to their cosmic peers; likely having existed for no more than…
Spaceship thrusters are essential engines that propel spaceships forward at tremendous speeds, changing their course or making minor corrections to its trajectory. Thrust is determined by specific impulse, while propellant mass plays an inverse relationship to this equation. Performance specifications of propulsion systems depend on specific impulse, exhaust velocity and power-to-mass ratio as primary measurements…
Why does the sky appear blue? To answer that question, some basic physics may provide the solution. As soon as light hits the atmosphere, it becomes dispersed into many directions by air molecules — mostly nitrogen and oxygen molecules – mostly through scattering. Shorter wavelengths like blue and violet tend to get scattered more strongly….
At the recent National College Media Convention, The Mercury earned college journalism’s top award, the Associated Collegiate Press Newspaper Pacemaker award. Beating out entries from schools such as Midwestern State University to win this coveted prize was no easy task but director of student media Chad Thomas noted it demonstrated the excellence of students on…
If you love honey, here are a few facts about bees you should be aware of. Honey has long been considered one of nature’s wonders and has been enjoyed for millennia; even King Tut’s tomb contained edible honey! Bees are unique among insects in that they produce food for consumption by humans in significant amounts,…
One of the most striking characteristics of China’s Great Wall is that it doesn’t consist of one continuous wall; rather, it consists of several interconnecting walls and trenches across northern Chinese territory. Builders employed conventional building materials like earth and stone, but also employed an unexpected ingredient: sticky rice! This glutinous grain was an integral…
Fire ants derive their moniker from two factors: Their red coloring and painful sting. As invasive organisms, fire ants have the ability to invade homes quickly, chewing through electrical wires and disrupting HVAC systems – giving rise to their popular name of “fire ant”. Fire ants resemble household and garden species in appearance but differ…
