Finding out which planet is closest to Earth requires using various calculations. Venus often holds this title; however, that could change depending on when she aligns with the Sun. A new calculation, using the point-circle method, takes time into account and puts Mercury at the top of the list. Mercury Mercury, as the smallest planet…
The sky appears blue due to sunlight being scattered by gases and particles in the atmosphere, with blue wavelengths being scattered more readily than any other. At midday, when the sun is directly overhead, its light appears white. But during sunrise and sunset when more of its rays must travel through atmosphere layers to reach…
NASA is commemorating their 50th anniversary with a logo honoring those responsible for six crewed moon landing missions with this logo, featuring a gold symbol representing flight overlaid by Earth and Moon images. Michael Collins designed the initial mission patch, featuring an American bald eagle clutching an olive branch in its beak with Earth as…
Landing on the moon occurs when a spacecraft touches down or enters orbit around its surface, such as Luna 2 did in 1966. Armstrong and Aldrin used Eagle to deploy instruments that collected rock and soil samples, took pictures and verified their equipment was working as intended. The astronauts also conducted engine tests for Eagle,…
Old Egyptian myths depict gods and goddesses with various roles; Sobek is associated with crocodiles and represents strength and power. Ma’at is an important character in these tales, embodying ideas of balance and universal order. Anubis is often associated with chaos and violence while Horus represents royalty and rebirth. Osiris Osiris, meaning “mighty” or “strong,”…
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa that eventually flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Originating in Ethiopia, its initial course takes it through Sudan and Egypt before entering Europe. At its source, tropical rainforest teems with biodiverse tropical trees such as banana and coffee shrubs. However, as the river progresses northward, its…
Celeste (Spanish: [the’leste, selest]) is a pale turquoise blue colour used widely as sky color. Two conventional hues known by this name: pure celeste as used for sky coloring and light sky blue which closely resembles its hex code but offers lighter hues are both known by this name. Argentina’s national color is red, and…
Galileo was designed to collect scientific information on Jupiter and its moons. Unfortunately, its high-gain antenna, shaped like an umbrella, failed to open properly, while the probe’s tape recorder became jammed. Galileo ultimately succeeded in its mission despite these setbacks by studying Jupiter’s four large moons and two main-belt asteroids, discovering that Ida has its…
United States and Soviet Union competed to be the first nations to land people on Earth’s natural satellite, while many other nations and private companies also made attempts at reaching lunar territory. Moon landings present unique challenges due to its weak gravity – just one-sixth as strong as on Earth – but absence of atmosphere….
