The Asteroid Mathilde

Simply put, an asteroid is a body of rock or metal, of any size orbiting the sun. The largest known asteroid is Ceres, the largest member of the asteroid belt and the smallest known dwarf planet (Pluto is a dwarf planet) after when in 2006, the International Astronomical Union, formalized their definition of a planet. This then, begs the question, “what is the difference between a planet, a planetoid and an asteroid? If you are a chunk of rock applying for planet status; you need to have sufficient mass to orbit the sun in a nearly circular fashion, and have cleared your orbit of any other celestial bodies – get beefy and take out the trash as it were. Dwarf planet, planetoid, asteroid or minor planet were terms that were used interchangeably until 2006 when the IAU again stepped in and created guidelines for a specific classification system: if you didn’t meet the onerous requirements to officially become a planet, you could be labeled a dwarf planet as your consolation prize – you need only to have an ellipsoid orbit around the sun. Thus, Ceres is a dwarf planet, but still classified by most in the know to be an asteroid.

A meteor is the streak of light that an asteroid, or any other space debris creates as it collides with our atmosphere; an object in in transition. You can’t pick up a meteor – it is like a rainbow, an effect created by a phenomenon. If you are lucky enough to pick up a space rock that your species has not been rendered extinct by, you have in your hands a meteorite. To summarize, an asteroid is still outside Earth’s orbit; it becomes a meteor as it collides and passes through the Earth’s orbit and a meteorite is the actual matter left at the end.

Various propulsion systems are being contemplated/designed that would bring you to the red planet much more quickly. Among them, are anti matter drives that could get you there in days or even hours. The problem with this out there technology is that it would require about 1 kilogram of anti matter to power this trip, and the Earth doesn’t even have one millionth of this amount. Another technology being considered is the Solar Sail. This provides an unlimited amount of flight time, but makes the trip way longer than traditional rocket fuel. Nuclear powered rockets are much more powerful and could get us there quickly, but political and environmental concerns interfere in exploring this option further. Lastly, an ion propulsion system, using charged xenon gas could get us there more quickly. I am not sure of the exact time, but I have seen estimates of 30 to 90 days for a one way, or round trip.

The biggest telescope in the world is the Large Binocular Telescope located in southeastern Arizona. Like its name suggests, it uses two 8.4 meter mirrors mounted side by side to produce one image with the light gathering capacity of an 11.8 meter aperture. The massive, multimillion dollar project began in 1996 and took its first look at the sky in March 2008.

The LBT beats out another brand new project, the Grand Telescopio Canarias, a 10.4 meter telescope located on La Palma in the Canary Islands. This telescope took 7 years to complete and has had its “eye” open on the sky for less than one year. From its 2400 meter mountain perch, it is poised at one of the best locations in the world for astronomical viewing. It is scheduled to officially open sometime in May 2008.

As a point of reference, the W.M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea in Hawaii has two, identical 10 meter telescopes that can work individually or together as one large telescope. Keck I was operational in 1993 and Keck II became operational in 1996.

Jupiter is classified as a Gas Giant planet, meaning that it is mainly composed of gases; hydrogen with a little helium mixed in and trace amounts of other elements. It does have a solid core, made of different materials and thought to be roughly 12 times or more the mass of the Earth. Interestingly, stars are made mainly of hydrogen and helium, so what sets Jupiter apart from being a star? A couple of things: Firstly, its mass; Jupiter would have to be 60 times larger to qualify as a star. Secondly, the source of heat and light coming from Jupiter is internal, and not as a result of nuclear fusion, like our sun. If Jupiter were 60 times more massive, gravitational forces would be strong enough to initiate nuclear fusion.

One of the most noticeable features of Jupiter is the Great Red Spot. This spot is created by a massive storm that has been going for several hundred years. The Great Red Spot is wider than two planet Earths side by side.

Jupiter has 63 known moons, but four are large enough to be of note; Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The Galileo spacecraft, the only space mission dedicated to Jupiter, orbited the planet for 7 years enabling us to glimpse up close and personal the Shoemaker-Levy comet’s collision with the planet and to gain some spectacular photographs of its larger moons.

Want to know what is the smallest planet in the solar system?

]]> http://www.wereyouwondering.com/what-is-the-biggest-planet-in-the-solar-system/feed/ 0 http://www.wereyouwondering.com/what-is-the-smallest-planet-in-the-solar-system/ http://www.wereyouwondering.com/what-is-the-smallest-planet-in-the-solar-system/#comments Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:31:44 +0000 admin http://www.wereyouwondering.com/?p=41 The smallest planet in the solar system is Mercury, the closest planet to the sun. Up until now, there has been very little of footage taken of Mercury’s surface. Two NASA orbiters have been sent to Mercury; Mariner 10 in 1974 and Messenger in 2008. Mariner 10 was able to capture only 45% of the planet’s surface, and only recently, have we seen more of Mercury from the Messenger expedition in January 2008. Two more fly-by’s are scheduled to map the parts of Mercury that we have not yet seen; one for October 2008 and one for September 2009.

Mercury is grey with spidery lighter grey lines. Mercury is one of four terrestrial planets in our solar system. The other three are Earth, Mars and Venus. Its density is very close to the density of our planet at 5.43 grams per cubic centimeter comprising an inner core or molten iron, a 600 kilometer thick mantle and a crust that is 100 to 200 kilometers thick. The whole planet measures almost 4900 kilometers across the equator.

Mercury is named for the Roman Messenger God whom they based on Hermes, the Greek equivalent. The symbol for Mercury is said to be a stylized version of Hermes’ Caduceus; a short staff with two serpents entwined around it. When I look at it, I see the symbol for woman; the circle with the plus sign on the bottom, with a smile at the top of the circle. I am not sure I see the similarities between the two. Incidentally, the symbol for Mercury the planet is also the symbol for Mercury the element.

Did you think that Pluto was the smallest planet? Sorry, Pluto is not a planet anymore.

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Red Dwarf stars are the most numerous classification of star in the universe, and the most difficult to spot. They cannot be seen with the naked eye. They burn long and slow, and therefore the oldest Red Dwarf is the same age as that of our universe. It is thought that once these stars run out of usable hydrogen, they slowly become dimmer and dimmer, but since any Red Dwarfs to enter this stage would have to be older than our universe, there are none in known existence. Red Dwarfs turn hydrogen into helium using the proton proton chain mechanism. The smallest Red Dwarf possible is only 0.4 times the mass of the sun.

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