The sky appears blue because light passing through Earth’s atmosphere gets scattered and dispersed into space, most dramatically when directly overhead by the Sun. Light rays that have shorter wavelengths like blue and violet are deflected in different directions by minute air molecules, while when longer wavelengths such as red, orange and yellow reach the…
Saturn’s rings are one of the most mesmerizing sights in our solar system, yet they won’t last forever. Scientists have long known that its icy rings are slowly sinking into its upper atmosphere – this process is known as “ring rain”, and every second enough water evaporates from these particles to fill an Olympic-sized swimming…
Mercury may have a poor rep for being responsible for technology glitches, travel delays and communication breakdowns – but that doesn’t make everything bad! There is good news too! As Mercury orbits closer to the sun than Earth does, its path across the zodiac is much faster. Three or four times each year an optical…
Space can be an unpredictable place; we’re continually losing pieces of vehicles that exploded on-orbit or experienced violent separation during orbit. Probably the best-known example was when Challenger disintegrated shortly after launch in 1986, killing its crew due to an O-ring failure and rubber seal separation issues on its booster rockets. Debris Researchers still are…
Saturn’s iconic rings are disintegrating rapidly. That is because their age was underestimated, causing tons of mass to evaporate every second. Astronomers estimate that Saturn’s rings will only remain visible for another 100 million years or so, according to stargazers’ research. To witness them one last time, stargazers should view Saturn when its rings are…
Mercury oxide decomposes when exposed to heat, producing elemental mercury and liquid metal mercury in an orderly and balanced chemical reaction that was conducted by Antoine Lavoisier who studied chemical reactions as well as classifying substances into elements and compounds. Mercury(II) sulfide is a dense black or red crystalline solid used to produce zinc-mercuric oxide…
No one can resist a beautiful day with blue skies! These lovely views result from sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere and being scattered by oxygen and nitrogen molecules present therein, particularly those with shorter wavelengths, like blue. As light with shorter wavelengths like blue has more chance to get scattered than other colors due to…
Egypt is an extremely popular travel destination in the Middle East. Make an impressionful first impression when visiting by learning some fun facts about this great nation! Ancient Egyptians held cats in high esteem. They believed they brought luck and were often worshiped as deities. Ancient Egyptians used mineral-based eye makeup such as malachite and…
Saturn’s rings have long held a special place in our imaginations, but our view may soon become restricted by atmospheric obstructions. NASA’s Cassini probe has unveiled surprising evidence indicating that Saturn’s rings may not have endured nearly as long as previously thought. The Age of the Rings Astronomers have long speculated on how Saturn’s rings…
