Rings And Moons Circling Uranus, Taken By Hubble Space Telescope.

Ok but what about space emojis ??

I recently got to view this through my very own telescope, super exciting!!

Star cluster, Pleiades.

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Saturn’s Rings

HST/WFPC2 Image of Jupiter and Ganymede, 2007.

Credit: NASA, ESA and E Karkoschka

Happy leap day!!!

Leap Day…Why Does It Exist?

Once every four years, an extra calendar day is added: a leap day. But why?

The reason for adding leap days to the calendar is to align the calendar year with the actual year – which is defined by the time it takes Earth to circle the sun. It is equal to 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds, or 365.24219 days.

If all calendar years contained exactly 365 days, they would drift from the actual year by about 1 day every 4 years. Eventually, July would occur during the northern hemisphere winter! Wouldn’t that be weird?

To correct (approximately), we add 1 day every 4 years…resulting in a leap year.

By making most years 365 days but every fourth year 366 days, the calendar year and the actual year remain more nearly in step.

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It’s Pi Day!

Pi Day, the informal holiday beloved by math enthusiasts — and even by the math averse — is here! March 14 marks the yearly celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi).

What is Pi?

Pi (3.1415….) is the ratio of circumference to diameter in a circle. Any time you want to find out the distance around a circle when you have the distance across it, you will need this formula.

Despite its frequent appearance in math and science, you can’t write pi as a simple fraction or calculate it by dividing two integers. For this reason, pi is said to be “irrational.” Pi’s digits extend infinitely and without any pattern, adding to its intrigue and mystery.

How Do We Use Pi at NASA?

Measurements: Pi can be used to make measurements – like perimeter, area and volume. 

For example, sometimes we use lasers to explode ice samples and study their composition. In this scenario, we can uses pi to calculate the width of the laser beam, which in turn can be used to calculate the amount of energy, or fluence, that hits the ice sample. A larger fluence equals a bigger explosion in the ice.

Commanding Rovers: Pi is also used every day commanding rovers on the Red Planet. Everything from taking images, turning the wheels, driving around, operating the robotic arm and even talking to Earth!

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Furbonacci Sequence Proves That Cats Are Purrfect

We exist for a mere blink of an eye in astronomical terms.

The Largest Moons in the Solar System

Ganymede: Orbits Jupiter, Diameter 5,262 km

Titan: Orbits Saturn, Diameter 5,150 km

Callisto: Orbits Jupiter, Diameter 4,821 km

Io: Orbits Jupiter, Diameter 3,643 km

The Moon: Orbits Earth, Diameter 3,475 km

Europa: Orbits Jupiter, Diameter 3,122 km

Triton: Orbits Neptune, Diameter 2,707 km

Titania: Orbits Uranus, Diameter 1,578 km

Rhea: Orbits Saturn, Diameter 1,529 km