Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun.  It is commonly mistaken for a star.  Uranus and Neptune have a different atmosphere than those of the larger gas giants Jupiter and Saturn.  It's atmosphere is categorized as a ice giant, it is mainly composed of hydrogen and helium and ice that is composed of  ammonia, water and methane.  It is one of the coolest (and I do mean temperature) in the Solar System, -224 degrees Celsius.    

So is there life on Uranus that is the big question for all planets?  

No one knows because we (human) haven't been there personally.  We sent the Voyager spacecraft which provided us with alot of data.  The conditions are very different from Earth so if there was life, the organisms would most likely be very different as well.  Scientist have found that Uranus has a rocky core which are covered by a deep ocean of  water.  We all know water in an essential part of live.  So maybe there are organisms growth, living, reproducing, evolving and civilizing the planet Uranus.    




Friday, March 14, 2008

Saturn



The planet with the Big Ring around it.  Saturn is fairly far from Jupiter, it's neighbor planet.  It 's also the second largest planet in our solar system, just a bit smaller than Jupiter.  Like Jupiter it is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium and has no solid surface.  Although all four of the giant planets have rings, Saturn is the only one that you can see through a telescope.  These rings are made up of small particles that orbit the planet like a moon does.  Saturn has many moons, most are the size of a small asteroid or comet.  The most interesting moon is Titan, which is larger than Mercury.  
Titan is the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere and surface liquid evidence.  The surface temperature is -180 degrees Celsius.  Because the temperature is so low the water would be solid ice,  but there is strong evidence for liquid hydrocarbons having flowed on Titan.  The atmosphere is %90 Nitrogen and there is no appreciable oxygen to breathe.  Even if there is no biology on this moon, the study of it could still tell us a lot.    

Friday, March 7, 2008

Jupiter


Jupiter, the large planet close to Mars.  In fact it is the largest planet in our Solar System.  Jupiter is classified as a gas giant (Jovian planet).  It is primarily composed of hydrogen with some helium.  There is a visible atmosphere and storms.  Jupiter has been explored by spacecraft, the latest spacecraft (New Horizons) exploration was in late February 2007.  In 1994 Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter.  This Comet was in many pieces ranging in size up to 2 kilometres in diameter and collided with a speed of approximately 60 km/sec.  Now with all this information do you think there could be life on this planet?
We know that the planet Earth was created with several impacts.  That is how it received the main elements for life.  Maybe Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts brought all the essential element to start life on Jupiter.