How planets die: pulverized in a deluge of asteroids and comets!
Where would we be without the occasional asteroid crashing into the Earth?
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Can moons have moons?
Planets orbit stars. Moons orbit planets. But no moons have their own moons (let’s call them submoons). Why is that?
Is Pluto a mega-comet?
Short answer: Well sort of, but it’s more useful to think of it as being built from the same stuff as comets. Like an Uncle of the comets. Read on for an explanation. Earlier this week my wife mentioned a headline she saw. “Pluto is a giant comet? Whoa!” It was all over the place:…
The MOJO videos
One fine week in May, well, I needed some peace
I packed up my bags and I headed to Nice…
Mars’ growth stunted!
Mars is a weirdo. (Well, as far as planets go). Why is it so small (just 11% as massive as Earth)?
‘Oumuamua: a shred of its former self
I once ordered a beer then straight away spilled it all over the bar. There was just a tiny sip left in the glass. Frowny face.
Remember ‘Oumuamua, the weird-shaped rock flying through the Solar System? Just like my sip of beer, it might only be a small piece of what it once was.
A cigar from another star
In Rendezvous with Rama (by Arthur C. Clarke), a mysterious object is discovered passing through the Solar System. The object has a strange shape — it’s a giant cylinder. It was discovered by the Spaceguard survey, designed to find objects that might impact Earth (so-called near-Earth objects). Spoiler alert: the cylinder is a spaceship sent…
