Life on the Moon

Breaking News…Breaking News…..Breaking News..

Indias’s probe to the moon, Chandrayan, has discovered evidence of water in the lunar surface. Although the dust which covers the moon appears as a fine dry powder, it seems that there are water molecules locked away within its minerals.This means that in future if ever we were to go a nd actually try a live on the moon we could probably extract the water , a basic need for life.

Considering that the moon was actually formed from Earth along time ago, it’s only natural that we find water there! I wonder what else they will find there….gold, uranium and other very precious metals probably! I predict that a mining and drilling mission to the moon will be next. Watch this space…!

Space Exploration

Go to the National Geographic Time LIne to see how space travel has evolved. Click Here.

Atlas of The Universe

This site is especially recommended by a Falcons Girl on the Hubble Telescope Post. I must say it’s an EXCELLENT find.
Well done for recommending it to How on Earth?, KoolkatFreak.

Click Here or on the picture to go onto Atlas Of the Universe

The Hubble Telescope

Year 5 have just begun their topic on Our Universe.

In recent years we have been very fortunate at obtaining images of galaxies and other space objects through the Hubble telescope.

CLICK HERE to look at some of these beautiful and exciting images.

If you would like to find out where the Hubble Telescope is right now, then CLICK HERE.

The Largest Full Moon for 15 Years!

If you watch out for the Moon tonight, you will see the largest FULL MOON for 15 years.
The Moon has a slightly oval orbit . Tonight the Moon will be at the closest point to the Earth at the same time as it reaches the FULL MOON phase in its 28 day lunar cycle. This means that , clouds permitting, it should be the brightest and the largest it has been for 15 years. There should also be some meteorites passing through.

I hope that you get a chance to witness this awe inspiring natural event! If it is cloudy, CLICK HERE to see how it should look!
If you want to find out more about the PHASES OF THE MOON, then CLICK HERE .

This National Geographic Video ( CLICK HERE) is an excellent source of information about the formation and facts regarding the moon.

Space Cow!

As the space shuttle Endeavour lands successfully in California, I thought we should celebrate by playing one of my favourite space games.

Click here to play WAY OUT! from the HubbleSite

NASA astronauts prepare for the FOURTH spacewalk!

All Pictures Courtesy of NASA

The space shuttle Endeavour has been docked near the International Space Station (ISS) in order to repair a damaged solar panel and the rotation mechanism of the solar panels. The astronauts have already been out of the shuttle to repair some of the damage. They have a planned FOURTH spacewalk today which they expect to last for six and a half hours!
CLICK HERE to go to the NASA website for more information
You can WATCH the BBC coverage of the THIRD spacewalk here.

The International Space Station as viewed from approaching Endeavour

The solar panels torn as they were automatically unfurled!

Spacewalk by NASA astronauts to repair the ripped panels.

Breaking News…Breaking News….Breaking News……Helium Leak at CERN!

Click here to read the actual press release from Cern.

There has been a leak at the large particle accelerator called LHC ( large Hadron Collider ) at Cern. Unfortunately this means that the whole series of experiments which set out to discover the secrets of the Universe has had to be postponed to SPRING 2009. Visit the Cern Press Office to find out more.

Hunt the Higgs Particle

This is a SMASHING activity from the Science Museum website. It teaches you all about what they are doing at CERN, trying to find evidence of a very special particle called the Higgs Particle. Have a go!

A Black Hole at CERN ?

Picture courtesy of CERN

So many of you have mentioned the experiment at Cern to me that I thought it was worth another mention!

The scientists at Cern have been completing a very long circular tunnel ( LHC Large Hadron Collider) deep underground for the last few years. Finally, they completed it this year and then began to cool it using liquid nitrogen gas. They have managed to cool it to the lowest temperatures known anywhere on Earth.

This Wednesday, 10th September, they started the actual experiment: accelarating particles in the tunnel at very fast speeds. They are hoping that the particles will collide and smash each other up, releasing even smaller particles which they hope to detect.

There are some people very worried about the possibility of a Black Hole being formed under these extreme conditions which would absorb everything around it. This is what some of you are also worried about.

Well, these collisions are happening around us all the time, only we can’t detect the particles being released as they disperse or change far too quickly, before we can get our detectors out and run after them. So, basically, at Cern, the super brains have created these collisions in a closed space so that the particles can’t escape and are easier to detect.

Whether the released particles are detected or not is pure chance. They are hoping that by varying the conditions and trying different experiments we will be able to solve some of the mysteries regarding the creation of this Universe. Who knows, we might actually find more mysteries the deeper we go !

If you want to find out more, click here!