We check in with the latest from NASA, including our first interstellar visitor!
Class Discussion Questions:
1) How are the rover's tires different than the tires on your parents car?
2) What is odd about the asteroid Omuamua?
Read the Script:
There has been a ton of stuff going on that is out of this world, literally. Let me fill you in. To begin, NASA observed our first known interstellar visitor. Interstellar meaning it came from a whole different solar system. And no, it wasn't an alien. This artist's rendering might make it look just like a long rock, but that shape is actually what's fascinating about the asteroid. It's nearly a quarter mile long, and only one tenth of that wide, making it the longest, skinniest asteroid ever observed. Other odd things about the asteroid include it's fluctuations in brightness and it's reddish color, that scientists think come from radiation of cosmic rays.
The International Astronomical Union, which officially names objects in space, classified the visitor as an interstellar asteroid, and named it Omuamua, which is Hawaiian for "a messenger from far away arriving first". The asteroid was moving about 85,700 miles per hour on November 20th, and at that rate, it should pass by Jupiter in May. So sayonara, Omuamua.
Now, another NASA first, came with their observation of two neutron stars colliding. A neutron star is an extremely dense and small star. Think of it kind of like a bowling ball that is small and heavy, compared to hot air balloon, that's huge and light. But of course, they're balls of gas. Here is NASA's animation of what they saw when the two stars pulled into each other in August. When they finally crashed into one another, the energy released was more than what our own sun has given off in it's entire lifetime. Mind blown yet?
Some more NASA research suggests that our moon might have had an atmosphere. This is what they think it might have looked like. Very thick, even thicker than Mars' cloudy covering. Researchers studied moon rocks to estimate the amount of gasses that could have been released by lava eruptions on the moon long ago. They think the atmosphere could be a source for water that they found on the moon.
Okay, so one last NASA update. Scientists at NASA Glenn Research Center here in Ohio have developed tires that never go flat. They're meant to withstand the rocky terrain of Mars, but might end up being used here on earth, too. You can see how the rounded mesh tires are able to pop back into shape without being damaged. It's a solution for all the tires issues that the Curiosity rover on Mars has had. Phew, I think we have everything covered. That is until NASA's next big discovery.
Learn a little more... with a link!
- Website Article: DOGOnews, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Zips Off To Collect Asteroid Sample | Read up on one of NASA spacecraft & what it learned about earth.
- Website Article: NASA for Students | Catch the latest NASA news for kids here.
- Website Article: European Space Agency, Kids, Life in Space | If you ever dream about being an astronaut, find out more.