Science Tidbits #4

[Lupine]

The last thread got suddenly full...

For the new one we got some new stuff on Ceres's bright spots. including a cool animation of the dwarf planet spinning.

[RJDiogenes]

Ah, finally I noticed the new thread.

These bright spots are getting more and more interesting-- since they're looking more and more like spaceship debris. There seem to be a few other somewhat-bright blemishes around the surface, so it's probably just subsurface ice, but you have to wonder what's exposing it. There's no crater. There's no wind to cause erosion. Something must be pushing it up. But what could cause geologic activity on a body that size?

[Lupine]

I was wondering about geological activity myself. As cold as it is out there it probably wouldn't take much heat to start some kind of convection.

[RJDiogenes]

I was thinking about the amazingly low albedo. If it only reflects 10% of sunlight, that means it absorbs 90%. It must be much warmer inside than you would expect at that distance.

[Lupine]

The good news is that comet lander Philae is alive!
The bad new is that it's actually an alien replicant that will bombard us with bad Syfy movies.

Elsewhere in space, New Horizons is giving us new images of Pluto. It's looking like Pluto will be visually more interesting than Ceres.

[RJDiogenes]

Wow, that's a shocker. Not only alive, but with plenty of juice. And some historical data. Hopefully, the income from the B-Movies will help fund the mission.

I hope they post that data soon.

Pluto is definitely looking intriguing. Lots of distinguishing features showing up. The probe is now only about a quarter of the distance from the Earth to the sun.

[RJDiogenes]

They have confirmed the smallest Exoplanet yet, a little guy about the size of Mars, the innermost of a three-planet system around a red dwarf. Not in the habitable zone, but we're another step closer.

[Lupine]

It will be even better once they can start studying what kind of atmosphere's exo-planets have.

[RJDiogenes]

I don't think it will be much longer. They've already started making inroads in that direction. We've had imaging of cloud formations and some rudimentary spectroscopy.

[Lupine]

An interesting thing on whether Venus's volcanoes are erupting or not.
Plait lays out quite a bit of evidence and I think it's likely. Carl Sagan once pointed out that there were channels where it looked like liquid was flowing on Venus. He referred to them as a mystery, but I've always assumed they were made by molten sodium- which would stay liquid for quite a long time on Venus. Plait also mentioned the anomaly of all of the planet's surface being the same age, hinting at some global catastrophe. That has always fascinated me and I've wondered if Venus's odd rotation could also be explained by that. It's almost like something massive hit it.

[RJDiogenes]

Yes, the global cataclysm mystery is interesting. Is it because of an impact or because the planet lacks plate tectonics, resulting in a huge buildup of pressure? That could happen even if there is some volcanism at weak spots in the crust. The evidence for active volcanoes is compelling. There's been other evidence over the years, like local weather activity consistent with volcanoes. It might even be signalling another global event is imminent. If something like that happened, I wonder what it would look like. Would we get a break in the cloud cover? Would that release heat and actually cool the planet? It would certainly be interesting.

[Lupine]

^I've often wondered what it would take to clear out the clouds on Venus- or even if it would help at all.

Meanwhile, Ceres continues wit amaze with mysteries. It's looking like this place may be geologically active.
And they should name that mountain Erebor.

[RJDiogenes]

So the white spots are getting weirder and now we've got an inexplicable mountain. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the mountain is the shelter that the aliens built after their ship crashed. In the mouth at the top of the mountain, we'll find a transmitter that signaled futilely for help for a thousand years before breaking down.

[Lupine]

And while Ceres had mysterious white spots, new shots from Pluto are showing really dark spots. Including dark spots at Charon's poles.
I can't wait for next month.

[RJDiogenes]

This is exciting. It amazes me how every new world we look at is so unique and mysterious. The same simple processes at work, and yet it seems like there's an infinite number of outcomes.