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----------------------------- 1910 - Looking back on 2016.
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- Happy New Year 2017. What happened last year in 2016 in astronomy and space exploration? Viewing it from the big pictures to me the most significant happening was finding water on so many moons and planets. Water essential for live as we know it.
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- During the formation of the early Solar System Earth got too hot to retain water. It all evaporated into space. Much later when things cooled down the many asteroids and comets smashing into Earth’s surface brought us a new reservoir of water. It filled the oceans. Look at the pock marks on the Moon to get an idea of what this barrage of impacts was like. The Moon does not have enough gravity to retain water.
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- If this is a true scenario then there must have been a lot of water in the outer Solar System. And, there still is. What does this mean for life elsewhere? Over 4,000 planets have been discovered orbiting other stars. 100’s of these are orbiting in the habitable zones where water could be retained. The same could be said for the many moons orbiting these planets.
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- But, let’s get back to 2016 and the small steps for man, or robots, and the giant leaps for mankind:
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- Mars has had 40 visiting space probes, 20 have been successful in completing their mission, or part of their mission. Some have gone far beyond what was expected. ExoMars 2016 is orbiting Mars today arriving last October 19. The “ lander” unfortunately made a crash landing while the mother ship continues to orbit with measuring instruments collecting data.
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- “Curiosity” is the successful Mars lander that is entering its 5th year exploring the surface. The unmanned nuclear “rover” is still searching areas where life could exist, but, the rover is on its last legs.
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- On July 4 the “ Juno” probe went into orbit around Jupiter. This is a 20-month mission designed to come within 2,500 miles of the Jovian north pole.
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- “Cassini” is reaching the end of its 20-year mission orbiting Saturn. It successfully sent detailed radar images of the surface of the Saturn moon, Titan. Its mission is scheduled to end in September next year.
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- “New Horizon” spacecraft flew by Pluto in July 2015. It takes 16 months for it to transmit all the data collected back to Earthlings to analyze. It is currently scheduled to arrive at t a Kuiper Belt object for more research.
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- The biggest surprise with early analysis on Pluto is that it likely contains a slush, sub-surface ocean.
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- “Rosetta” landed on comet 67/P on September 30. Its total voyage was 12 years duration. Its “Philae” lander made its landing November 2014. Philae probe landed softly but in the wrong place and its solar panels were not able to recharge the batteries and continue transmitting data.
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- The James Webb telescope completed assembly in April. It is scheduled to be a Hubble Space Telescope replacement inn 2018.
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- On a sad note, 2016, was the year we said goodbye to the last of the seven Mercury astronauts that started this whole adventure into space.
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- To learn the details on these space missions Google the mission “names”, or, request a review. I might have one already.
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----- 707-536-3272 ---------------- Thursday, January 5, 2017 -----
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