Space News & Beyond
NEWS FROM OUR UNIVERSE
PLUTO DEMOTED AS A PLANET!
After years of debate, a recent vote by only 5% of the eligible members of the International Astronomical Union voted to demote Pluto as a planet, and instead classify it as a “dwarf planet.” Get the official word from CNN , see a list of new mnemonics to help children memorize the names of the 8 remaining planets or find out how this decision will affect another famous Pluto, the one with the long floppy ears!
A GOOD MARS STORY NEVER DIES!
In 2003, Mars came closer to Earth than it had in 60,000 years. The story was circulated widely on the Internet. And even though Mars will not come that close to Earth again until 2014, and even then, no where near as close as this annual hoax proclaims, the story has found its way into millions of email boxes every year since 2003, as it did once again recently. Get the scoop from an official source – NASA – or from the king of urban legend websites, Snopes.com
BACKWARD SUNSPOT MAY SIGNAL THE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER STORMY SOLAR CYCLE
A magnetically backward sunspot, which first appeared on July 31, 2006, could be an indication that the currently quiet solar cycle is about to become stormy again. All of the details are available here from NASA.
JUPITER AND SATURN KILLING OUR PRESIDENTS?
Since 1840, every president except one elected in a year that is evenly divisible by 20 has been killed or died in office. And the one exception narrowly escaped death! These unexplainable events coincide with the cycle of alignments between Jupiter and Saturn, whose orbits line up every twenty years. Read this eerie story here, and see why our current president should watch out!!
BLOGS ABOUT SPACE
Live Science.com – advertised as “your daily dose of science scuttlebutt” âÂ?¦ is a website of blogs on every imaginable science topic, including one on astronomy.
Space Blog Alpha – “SpaceBlog Alpha is a collaborative Blogzine committed to gathering, sorting and disseminating global news and information meant to inspire everyone who looks up at the star filled sky to see, not darkness, distance and cold, but an endless sea of life; adventure, opportunity and the destiny of all humankind.” (description of the blog taken from blogflux.com)
