…or is it? Here are some objects which may or may not be moons, shown to scale. Enjoy! Organised by diameter: Endor – 4900 km Mercury – 4879 km Luna – 3474 km Pluto – 2377 km Tethys – 1062 … Continue reading
I stumbled across this rather lovely size comparison of small Solar System objects, and I thought I’d share. Click it for a larger view! Taking pride of place is Ceres, empress of asteroids, with her smaller sibling Vesta, the largest … Continue reading
Mars is a funny little place, but it seems that Mars orbit may be even funnier. As we all know, Mars has two small and lumpy moons which would be no more than a pair of mundane asteroids if they weren’t … Continue reading
This is not a delicious 台湾水餃子 (Taiwanese boiled dumpling) drifting through space, no matter how much it may look like it. It is, in fact, one of Saturn’s moons! This is Pan. A tiny moon, only 35 km in diameter, … Continue reading
Take a look at these five oblate spheroidal spacey things and tell me which one is the odd one out. Not sure? I’ll admit, it’s not too easy. They’re all unique in their own ways. One of them has a dense … Continue reading
So this is the first part of my series of analyses and perspectives on the ongoing planet debate. Honestly, I can’t believe it’s been like, a decade already. Which is probably the main reason I’m going into some detail on … Continue reading
As some of my readers will probably know quite well, every astronomer’s favourite argument of what exactly a planet is has been drifting in and out of discussions for years now. This delightful nest of conversational wasps was recently shaken up again … Continue reading
Amateur astronomers really do accomplish some fantastic things. Things like this gorgeous little video! Between December 2014 and March 2015, 91 astronomers from around the world took over 1000 photographs of our planet’s largest sibling and arranged them into this … Continue reading
Wanderers, by Erik Wernquist. Relax for 4 minutes and let your mind drift with a short film. Oh, and click the button to watch it in full screen. Trust me, it’s entirely worth seeing in full definition.
It’s that time of year when those of us who live on islands high in the northern hemisphere are really tired of cold, rainy weather. So why not plan a trip away somewhere? And what better destination than Venus? Supernova … Continue reading
Writing this blog is a labour of love, and one which I evidently need a little encouragement towards on occasion. If you like what I write, the best way to show your gratitude would be to fuel my caffeine addiction and buy me a coffee to say thank you. All coffee donations are gratefully accepted!
Never stop dreaming...
