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The Tale of Earth and it’s sister Theia.

Have you found it weird that the earth’s axis is tilted by 23.5 degrees and wondered what led to this? Wait, Where did the moon come from?

Well, Here’s what scientists have theorized.

The Giant Impact Hypothesis

Theia, a mars sized planet collided ( it glanced and thankfully did not collide head on, else it would have destroyed earth ) with the Earth around 4.553 billion years ago.

Theia’s debris gathered together around Earth to form what we now call- The Moon.

The collision between the early earth and Theia was so immense that it tilted the axis of rotation of the early earth by 23.5 degrees.

And it remains tilted so that way even today!!

Why do they believe in this hypothesis ?

Scientists have a very good reason to believe in the Giant Impact Hypothesis:

Earth’s spin and the Moon’s orbit have similar orientations.

Moon samples indicate that the Moon once had a molten surface.

The Moon has a relatively small iron core.

The Moon has a lower density than Earth.

Evidence exists of similar collisions in other star systems (that result in debris disks).

Giant collisions are consistent with the leading theories of the formation of the solar system.

The stable-isotope ratios of lunar and terrestrial rock are identical, implying a common origin

Have a good day !

PC: sarice,

We’re With You When You Fly

Did you know that “We’re With You When You Fly”? Thanks to our advancements in aeronautics, today’s aviation industry is better equipped than ever to safely and efficiently transport millions of passengers and billions of dollars worth of freight to their destinations. In fact, every U.S. Aircraft flying today and every U.S. air traffic control tower uses NASA-developed technology in some way. Here are some of our objectives in aeronautics:

Making Flight Greener

From reducing fuel emissions to making more efficient flight routes, we’re working to make flight greener. We are dedicated to improving the design of airplanes so they are more Earth friendly by using less fuel, generating less pollution and reducing noise levels far below where they are today.

Getting you safely home faster

We work with the Federal Aviation Administration to provide air traffic controllers with new tools for safely managing the expected growth in air traffic across the nation. For example, testing continues on a tool that controllers and pilots can use to find a more efficient way around bad weather, saving thousands of pounds of fuel and an average of 27 minutes flying time per tested flight. These and other NASA-developed tools help get you home faster and support a safe, efficient airspace.

Seeing Aviation’s Future

Here at NASA, we’re committed to transforming aviation through cutting edge research and development. From potential airplanes that could be the first to fly on Mars, to testing a concept of a battery-powered plane, we’re always thinking of what the future of aviation will look like.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

I love seeing other worlds through the eyes of artists!

Artist Rendition of Saturns moon Titan

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This is one slice of an incredible high resolution, enhanced color image of Pluto, recently released by NASA. You can see the full, larger version here. 

Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

SpaceX Update:

The Jason-3 launch was successful.

The landing attempt on the droneship, however, didn’t go perfectly. The rocket booster is “on target at droneship” but SpaceX has said that a landing leg was broken due to a hard landing. I don’t know exactly what this means for the booster quite yet. I’ll update when I find out.

Clouds casting thousand-mile shadows when viewed from the ISS

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straight ppl: haha they can't be gay they're space rocks lol

me: by that logic they can't be straight either

straight ppl: ...

straight ppl: I don't appreciate your tone.

Sounds like I'm already on the right track!

5 Myths About Becoming an Astronaut

Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to become a NASA Astronaut? The term “astronaut” derives from the Greek word meaning “space sailor,” and refers to all who have been launched as crew members aboard NASA spacecraft bound for orbit and beyond.

We’re looking for a new class of astronauts to join the NASA team, and here are a few things to know.

Here are a few myths about becoming an astronaut:

MYTH: All astronauts have piloting experience.

FACT: You don’t need to be a pilot to be an astronaut. Flying experience is not a requirement, but could be beneficial to have.

MYTH: All astronauts have perfect vision.

FACT: It’s okay if you don’t have 20/20 vision. As of September 2007, corrective surgical procedures of the eye (PRK and LASIK), are now allowed, providing at least 1 year has passed since the date of the procedure with no permanent adverse after effects.

MYTH: All astronauts have advanced degrees like, a PhD.

FACT: While a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university is necessary, an advanced degree is not required to become an astronaut.

MYTH: Astronauts are required to have military experience in order to be selected.

FACT: Military experience is not required to become an astronaut.

MYTH: You have to be a certain age in order to be an astronaut. 

FACT: There are no age restrictions. Astronaut candidates selected in the past have ranged between the ages of 26 and 46, with the average age being 34.

Okay, but What are the requirements?

Commander and Pilot Astronauts

Pilot astronauts serve as International Space Station commanders and pilots. During flight, the commander has onboard responsibility for the vehicle, crew, mission success and safety of flight. The pilot assists the commander in controlling and operating the vehicle.

Basic requirements for an Astronaut Pilot include the following:

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. An advanced degree is desirable. Quality of academic preparation is important.

At least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command  time in jet aircraft. Flight test experience is highly desirable.

Ability to pass a NASA space physical which is similar to a military or civilian flight physical and includes the following specific standards:

Distant visual acuity: 20/100 or better uncorrected, correctable to 20/20, each eye Blood pressure: 140/90 measured in a sitting position Height between 62 and 75 inches

Mission Specialist Astronauts

Mission specialist astronauts work with the commander and the pilot and have overall responsibility for coordinating operations in the following areas: systems, crew activity planning, consumables usage and experiment/payload operations.

Basic requirements for a Mission Specialist include the following:

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics. Degree must be followed by at least three years of related, progressively responsible experience. An advanced degree is desirable and may be substituted for part or all of the experience requirement. Quality of academic preparation is important

Ability to pass a NASA space physical which is similar to a military or civilian flight physical and includes the following specific standards:

Distant visual acuity: 20/200 or better uncorrected, correctable to 20/20, each eye Blood pressure: 140/90 measured in a sitting position Height between 58.5 and 76 inches

Applications for our next astronaut class open on Dec. 14! Visit: http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com 

It’s a Spooky Universe

Consider yourself warned!

- Our universe is almost certainly going to die a heat death in which energy in the universe shall be spread so thinly that everything will freeze, the stars will burn out and not shall be left but eternal darkness.

- We might live in a multiverse. If in fact, we do: basic statistics shows that we may in fact be more likely than not be a computer program, living in a sort of simulated universe. Yes, there’s actual scientific research being done to figure out if we’re a hologram and others trying to make progress into multiverse theory. 

Imagine the existential horror if we turned out to be the artificial intelligence of someone else’s universe!

- There are almost certainly a multitude of “rogue black holes”, secretly drifting through the Milky Way. If one were to drift into the solar system it could spell our end… that’s obvious though I’m sure.

- As many of you are aware, Earth’s been sending out signals for around a century now. The fact that these signals get exponentially weaker doesn’t mean they stop existing:

Who’s to say such signals can’t be detected by some advanced-and-none-too-benevolent extraterrestrial civilization?

After all, we astronomers regularly tout our exponential advancements in the search for extraterrestrial life. Maybe next time you see that light moving against a backdrop of stars it… never mind. It couldn’t possibly be…

- Certain galaxies, like M87, emit jets of matter at near the speed of light. The high amounts of energy speeding out of these galaxies could, in some cases, end life in any solar system it were to point at:

I hope all the stars above you still seem pleasant!  

I’m not necessarily advocating in favor of any of these events and don’t necessarily think any of them are likely but for each item above, there are astrophysicists who do…

(Image credit: Spooky Space Kook of Scooby Doo from © Hanna-Barbera, NASA/ESA, agsandrew/Shutterstock.com, NASA, NASA/ESA/Anderson/van der Marel and NASA and STScI/AURA respectively)

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