Brazil´s most preserved meteor crater to be considered National Natural Heritage
The crater, located in Tocantins, central Brazil, is 8 miles wide (13 km). According to NASA, this is Brazil´s most preserved meteor crater, but second biggest. The bigger one, also in central Brazil, is 25 miles wide (40 km).
The crater, seen in satellite photo above, is known since 1973 and is about to be considered National Natural Heritage for it helps to tell the planet´s geological history.
The second picture shows the border of the crater and its 0,25 mile height (400 meters).
Source: G1.
(via npr)
Source: itsfullofstars
Are we there yet? Data show Voyager could reach interstellar space at any time
“Scientists analyzing recent data from NASA’s Voyager and Cassini spacecraft have calculated that Voyager 1 could cross over into the frontier of interstellar space at any time and much earlier than previously thought. The findings are detailed in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.”
“Data from Voyager’s low-energy charged particle instrument, first reported in December 2010, have indicated that the outward speed of the charged particles streaming from the sun has slowed to zero. The stagnation of this solar wind has continued through at least February 2011, marking a thick, previously unpredicted “transition zone” at the edge of our solar system.”
“‘These calculations show we’re getting close, but how close? That’s what we don’t know, but Voyager 1 speeds outward a billion miles every three years, so we may not have long to wait,’said Ed Stone, Voyager project scientist, based at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.”
Astronomy news, recent research results, and pretty pictures from the media along with context, commentary, and explanations for folks who dig this sort of thing. Written by a quasi-professional astronomer affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin.
