No matter how still we stand, or if we’re in Scotland, Malaysia, or the United States, we are always spinning. Our Earth spins at a constant, very fast speed as we make a trip around the sun.
But it’s not just the Earth that spins, said my friend Guy Worthey, an astronomy professor at Washington State University. The moon, the sun, and almost all the other planets spin, too.
There is a greater chance of finding life on other planets by adopting a new system of searching, scientists claim. There are only two questions that matter, says an international working group of scientists who are examining the chances of finding life on other planets.
Astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch, from the Washington State University School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, says, “The first question is whether Earth-like conditions can be found on other worlds, since we know empirically that those conditions could harbour life. The second question is whether conditions exist on exoplanets that suggest the possibility of other forms of life, whether known to us or not.”
Recently published research in astrophysics suggests that some moons of exoplanets — planets beyond our solar system — are the right size, in the right position and have sufficient water to support life.
WSU astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch responded to the research findings, saying: “Everyone right away tends to categorically exclude the possibility of life on Io.” Conditions on Io might have made it a friendlier habitat in the distant past. If life did ever develop on Io, there is a chance it might have survived to the present day, Schulze-Makuch suggested. » More …
More than 700 archaeologists have signed a letter urging President Obama to protect the Bears Ears region in southeastern Utah.
A coalition of five tribal nations has proposed a 1.9 million-acre national monument to protect Bears Ears. The nations are the Hopi, Navajo, Ute Mountain Ute, Uintah and Ouray Ute, and Zuni.
“All these groups continue to see this area as important because: one, ancestors are buried there; two, it’s part of their history; three, they may visit the area to visit shrines, special places, and to collect medicinal herbs and plants that are important in religious ceremonies,” said Bill Lipe, a professor emeritus at Washington State University. » More …
You might find Guy Worthey at the WSU Planetarium narrating a show on meteors. Or up at Jewett Observatory playing bass guitar with his band for the Jazz BBQ Star Party. » More …