Solar System Happenings

Scientific American, the respected magazine ran an article about a subject I happen to be very interested in and that is the idea of the multiverse. I have talked about it before, it is the theory which states our universe is only one of many and the physics of each are the same. Here is where things get interesting however, some physicists believe in the multiverse theory, but they believe physics will operate differently in each universe. They believe most of the other universes would be sterile, but life would exist in some. What makes me laugh is the fact this can be discussed forever, but probably no human will ever be able to prove there are other universes. Perhaps there is only one universe, but galaxies go on forever because there were many big bangs in different parts of the universe. Some might say there is no proof for this, but I would say there is no proof for a multiverse. I find it difficult to argue something which we can never prove. It is one thing to have a certain theory about something, but to debate it when there is no proof seems like folly and a waste of time. It seems to me we might not even know if we are in a different universe even if we stumble into one.

Scientists have found an object which orbits the sun every 364.92 days and crosses earth’s orbit in several different places. It is amazing that the orbital period is only .08 days different than ours. The object is OL339 and it not only orbits the sun in an elliptical orbit which crosses ours several times, but it is alone in that orbit. When two objects orbit the same object in periods of time very close to each other or in simple multiples, this is called a resonant orbit. Its orbit makes it look like it is actually orbiting the earth, but it isn’t. When a small object orbits like this the orbit is likely to decay over time, because of the gravitational pull of the earth on it. OL339 is no exception to the rule and it is believed in another 165 years or so it will be gone. These type of objects usually last in orbit for about 1,000 years, but this object has been around so long it only has a relatively short time left according to astronomers. There are other objects which orbit this way and they are (164207) 2004 GU9, (277810) 2006 FV35 and 2013 LX28. Since they move relatively slow they would make a good target for landing and exploration.

NASA issued a couple of photos showing sunlight glistening off liquid on Saturn’s moon Titan. Titan is an interesting place. Could there be life in the oceans on that moon? Β It doesn’t seem so if we hold that moon to the standards of our planet, but how do we know some type of alien life couldn’t exist there just because it would be deadly to us? The problem is we have nothing to compare life to except ourselves and the animals found on our world. We have not found another body in our solar system except for ours which has oceans. The oceans on Titan are made up of hydrocarbons and organic compounds. In case you are wondering where the organic compounds come from on Titan, scientists say they come from methane and when sunlight destroys the methane they form. Titan is a frozen world with a surface temperature of -180 degrees Celsius. Scientists believe the building blocks of Titan might have formed before the planet Saturn it orbits. It is believed by some that Titan itself formed out of the cloud Saturn was composed of.

First we though we found remnants of microscopic bacteria in rocks from Mars and this has been debated over and over for years. Now there is a new discovery in a rock from Mars and it looks like a microbial cell. It was found inside a Martian meteorite. The researchers discovered what looks like a cell inside the Nakhla Mars meteorite which fell to Earth in Egypt in 1911. The scientists who found it say it was most likely formed by geological processes and discount the chance it could have been formed by a biological process. Some scientists believe biology could have been involved. The truth is we keep finding out life can form it almost impossible conditions so life can never be ruled out.

Scientists think the water on earth is older than our sun. This means there is a possibility of life having evolved among the stars. It looks like water just might be a common ingredient in the dust and gas which forms planets and stars. This has great implications. It means the chances of finding life are even greater than once thought. If water formed first it would have been in tiny crystals floating in space. There are those scientists who are not convinced and who believe the earth is more unique than we first suspected and the chances of life on other planets is less than first thought.

It looks like Jupiter is not the only place with a large red spot, Titan has one, but it is a lot smaller. Scientists first discovered this spot when the Cassini spacecraft discovered it. It is about 100 square miles in size and is located in Ligeia Mare one of Titan’s seas. Cassini observed it twice with its radar but it changed in appearance between the two sightings. It was first seen in 2013, but couldn’t be located again until 2014. It stood out as a bright red object against a dark sea. NASA is not sure what the object is, but they suspect it changed in appearance due to a change in seasons.

Quasars are believed to be super massive black holes. They can be found most times in the center of massive galaxies. They put out waves across the entire electromagnetic spectrum and are like beacons in space. Scientists have found the qualities of a Quasar are determined by our viewing orientation and the efficiency of the way the black hole is being fed. Scientists were puzzled by the fact quasars were so different from each other in the way they looked. Now they think they know why.

Scientists are now saying there are traces of recent water on Mars. To them recent means 200,000 years ago. There is a crater in the southern hemisphere which contains gullies and debris flow deposits. So what does this mean to us? I will tell you what it means to me, there is a good chance life existed on Mars and NASA may already know this since so many strange things are being found on the planet. It could turn out if future archaeologist begin digging on Mars they will find all sorts of proof of intelligent life and it could turn out to be the precursor to human life on earth.